Rural Residents Get Depressed More Than Urban Dwellers
Rural residents experience depression more than urban residents, a new study found. Several lawmakers also talk about their mental health. And in other health news from across the US, California considers mandating HPV shots for all college students.
Houston Chronicle:
U. Of Houston Study: Rural Residents More Depressed Than Urban Ones
While people might associate remote settings with peaceful landscapes and quiet lifestyles, rural residents experience more depression and anxiety than their urban counterparts, a new University of Houston study has found. The research did not assess why people living in rural areas reported worse psychological well-being and higher levels of neuroticism, but researchers and advocates believe some of the findings align with scarcer mental health resources outside of larger cities — a well-documented national problem that is especially the case in Texas. (Ketterer, 4/11)
More mental health news —
ABC News:
4 Lawmakers Share Their Mental Health Struggles: It's 'A Form Of Public Service'
In the wake of Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman entering treatment for severe depression, four Democratic colleagues in Congress exclusively sat down with ABC News to share their support for him and his recovery while applauding his courage on the stigma-clouded topic, which has historically been associated with great political risk. The four lawmakers -- Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York -- also spoke candidly about their own mental health battles, ranging from clinical depression to post-traumatic stress disorder, in the occasionally emotional interview. (Shepherd and Murray, 4/11)
KFF Health News:
As Montana’s Mental Health Crisis Care Crumbles, Politicians Promise Aid
When budget cuts led Western Montana Mental Health Center to start curtailing its services five years ago, rural communities primarily felt the effect. But as the decline of one of the state’s largest mental health providers has continued, it’s left a vacuum in behavioral health care. It started in places like Livingston, a town of 8,300 where, in 2018, Western closed an outpatient treatment clinic and told more than 100 patients to travel 30 miles over a mountain pass to Bozeman for stabilizing mental health care. This spring, Western closed that clinic too, a crisis center in one of Montana’s fastest-growing cities. (Houghton, 4/12)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
AP:
Kansas To Raise Age To Buy Tobacco To 21 Starting July 1
Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill Tuesday that will require Kansans to be 21 or older to legally buy tobacco products, starting July 1. The current age to buy cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and tobacco products is 18. (4/11)
The Hill:
North Dakota Governor Signs Bill Restricting Transgender Women In School Sports
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) signed into law two bills that ban transgender girls and women from competing in women’s sports in K-12 school and college in the state, putting it on a growing list of Republican-led states that have taken similar action. (Neukam, 4/11)
KFF Health News:
California Bill Would Mandate HPV Vaccine For Incoming College Students
When she was a college freshman, Joslyn Chaiprasert-Paguio was told by a doctor she had a common sexually transmitted infection called the human papillomavirus but not to worry. Four years later, a few days before her wedding, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, which caused complications when she became pregnant. She had a hysterectomy eight years later, after the disease returned in 2021. The 38-year-old medical journal editor of Menifee in Riverside County, California, hadn’t been immunized as a teenager because there wasn’t yet a vaccine for HPV, which causes nearly all cervical cancers and a handful of other potentially lethal forms of the disease in men and women. Now, her 10-year-old daughter, Samantha, is scheduled to get her first shot this month. “This is the only vaccine that prevents cancer,” Chaiprasert-Paguio said. (Scheier, 4/12)
The Texas Tribune:
Expanded Access To Medical Marijuana Gains Traction As Texas House Advances Bill
Texans who suffer from chronic pain and potentially other debilitating conditions would be able to access the state’s medical marijuana program under a bill advanced by the Texas House on Tuesday. The bipartisan legislation, sponsored by House Public Health chair Stephanie Klick, is an expansion on the state’s 2015 “Compassionate Use” law — which has, in a number of legislative changes since it was created, allowed a growing number of patients in Texas to legally use cannabis to treat debilitating symptoms of conditions such as epilepsy, autism, cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. (Harper and Lopez, 4/11)
North Carolina Health News:
WNC Dentists Brush Up On Skills In Pilot Program
Amanda Stroud has a passion for public health — an enthusiasm that’s so palpable many of her peers in dentistry describe it as contagious. As the dental director at AppHealthCare, which serves Ashe, Alleghany and Watauga counties, Stroud is familiar with the challenges of providing oral health care to many in the western part of the state. (Blythe, 4/12)
AP:
Virginia Rep. Jennifer Wexton Reveals Parkinson's Diagnosis
Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton of Virginia announced Tuesday she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease but vowed to continue her work in Congress, saying, “I’m not going to let Parkinson’s stop me from being me.” Wexton, 54, serving her third term from a competitive district in Northern Virginia suburbs near Washington, revealed the diagnosis on World Parkinson’s Day. She said in a video that she hopes to be a voice for those coping with the disease and to fight in Congress to devote greater resources toward the search for a cure. (Freking, 4/11)
