JAMA psychiatry
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Provisional records from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through July 2020 indicate that overdose deaths spiked during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet more recent trends are not available, and the data are not disaggregated by month of occurrence, race/ethnicity, or other social categories. In contrast, data from emergency medical services (EMS) provide a source of information nearly in real time that may be useful for rapid and more granular surveillance of overdose mortality. ⋯ In this cohort study, records from EMS agencies provided an effective manner to rapidly surveil shifts in US overdose mortality. Unprecedented overdose deaths during the pandemic necessitate investments in overdose prevention as an essential aspect of the COVID-19 response and postpandemic recovery. This is particularly urgent for more socioeconomically disadvantaged and racial/ethnic minority communities subjected to the compounded burden of disproportionate COVID-19 mortality and rising overdose deaths.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, associated mitigation measures, and social and economic impacts may affect mental health, suicidal behavior, substance use, and violence. ⋯ These findings suggest that ED care seeking shifts during a pandemic, underscoring the need to integrate mental health, substance use, and violence screening and prevention services into response activities during public health crises.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Aspirin vs Placebo on the Prevention of Depression in Older People: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Depression is associated with increased inflammation, which may precede its onset, especially in older people. Some preclinical data suggest potential antidepressant effects of aspirin, supported by limited observational data suggesting lower rates of depression in individuals treated with aspirin. There currently appears to be no evidence-based pharmacotherapies for the primary prevention of depression. ⋯ Low-dose aspirin did not prevent depression in this large-scale study of otherwise healthy older adults.