Black Veterans Were Denied PTSD VA Benefits More Often: Report
The report was from 2017, but has been "newly surfaced," NBC News explains, and shows that between 2011 and 2016 Black veterans seeking disability benefits for PTSD were denied 57% of the time, compared with 43% for white veterans. High cancer rates in military pilots are also in the news.
NBC News:
Black Veterans Were More Often Denied VA Benefits For PTSD Than White Counterparts, Newly Surfaced Study Shows
A newly surfaced 2017 internal Veterans Affairs report shows Black veterans were more often denied benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder than their white counterparts. (Strickler, 3/17)
In other military health news —
AP:
Higher Cancer Rates Found In Military Pilots, Ground Crews
A Pentagon study has found high rates of cancer among military pilots and for the first time has shown that ground crews who fuel, maintain and launch those aircraft are also getting sick. The data had long been sought by retired military aviators who have raised alarms for years about the number of air and ground crew members they knew who had cancer. They were told that earlier military studies had found they were not at greater risk than the general U.S. population. (Copp, 3/19)
More on mental health —
The Washington Post:
Schools Sue Social Media Companies Over Youth Mental Health Crisis
School districts across the country are increasingly taking on social media, filing lawsuits that argue that Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube have helped create the nation’s surging youth mental health crisis and should be held accountable. The legal action started in January, with a suit by Seattle Public Schools, and picked up momentum in recent weeks as school districts in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida have followed. Lawyers involved say many more are planned. (St. George, 3/19)
Philadelphia Inquirer:
Philly High School Students Now Have Access To Kooth, An Online Mental-Health Platform
Jayme Banks worried last summer — at the end of a school year that was tough for nearly everyone, with students coming off a year of pandemic-forced virtual classes, in a city traumatized by gun violence — that kids’ mental health was fragile. “I was just thinking: ‘How do I know the kids are OK? How do I know that they have resources?’” said Banks, the Philadelphia School District’s deputy chief of prevention, intervention, and trauma. (Graham, 3/20)
Fox News:
'Dad Jokes' Help Kids Develop Into Healthy Adults: Study
A recent study says that despite the embarrassment that "dad jokes" can cause, it might do some kids good in the future. Humor researcher Marc Hye-Knudsen published a study in British Psychological Society‘s journal this week arguing that "dad jokes" actually have a positive effect on development. (Vacchiano, 3/18)
Axios:
International Day Of Happiness: World's Happiest Countries Ranked In UN Report
COVID-19 has killed millions and caused widespread disruptions to people's lives and global economies — but a major new study finds people are slightly happier than before the pandemic began. The 10th annual World Happiness Report, published Monday to coincide with the International Day of Happiness, surveyed over 100,000 people and found that Finland was the happiest country for the sixth consecutive year, while Afghanistan was the least happy, leaving the Taliban-controlled nation ranking last at No. 137. Meanwhile, the report found global misery has declined slightly during the pandemic. (Falconer, 3/20)
In other health and wellness updates —
Axios:
Company Recalls Frozen Fruit Sold Nationwide Due To Hepatitis A Risk
A company in Oregon is recalling frozen fruit distributed to major food retailers such as Costco and Trader Joe's following an outbreak of Hepatitis A illnesses. The recalled products are frozen organic strawberries sold at grocery stores in certain states and a frozen organic tropical fruit blend sold at Trader Joe’s nationwide. (Habeshian, 3/17)
CNBC:
Harvard Diet May Be The Standard For Living A Long And Healthy Life
You’ve definitely heard of the Mediterranean diet and the MyPlate method, but what about Harvard University’s Healthy Eating Plate? Back in 2011, nutrition experts at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health worked alongside researchers at Harvard Health Publications to compile an eating plan for optimal health. “In terms of major chronic diseases like prevention of cardiovascular disease, different types of cancers [and] Type 2 diabetes, this way of eating is going to be helpful to prevent those diseases that are common in America, and the world,” says Lilian Cheung, lecturer of nutrition at Harvard’s school of public health. (Onque, 3/19)
Stat:
'That Scares Me': Childhood Obesity Guidance Raises New Concerns
The rise of childhood obesity in the United States did not happen quickly. But, to medicine, “it sort of cropped up overnight,” says Bob Siegel, a pediatric obesity specialist at Cincinnati Children’s. Despite the fact that obesity rates among children and adolescents have been steadily climbing since the 1960s, researchers and clinicians have had no consensus approach to slowing down the “obesity epidemic.” (Cueto and Gaffney, 3/20)
