No Laughing Matter: Nitrous Oxide May Help Patients With Depression

Stat: A Low Dose Of Laughing Gas May Help Patients With Major Depression 
Laughing gas may be most associated with its use in dentistry, but in recent years, scientists have been inching toward using the chemical for another purpose: depression that defies treatment. The results of a small trial, published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine, suggest that a low dose of laughing gas could help improve depressive symptoms in patients with a severe form of depression that fails to respond to antidepressants. (Lloreda, 6/9)

AP: US Deaths From Heart Disease And Diabetes Climbed Amid COVID
The U.S. saw remarkable increases in the death rates for heart disease, diabetes and some other common killers in 2020, and experts believe a big reason may be that many people with dangerous symptoms made the lethal mistake of staying away from the hospital for fear of catching the coronavirus. The death rates — posted online this week by federal health authorities — add to the growing body of evidence that the number of lives lost directly or indirectly to the coronavirus in the U.S. is far greater than the officially reported COVID-19 death toll of nearly 600,000 in 2020-21. (Stobbe, 6/9)

USA Today: Teens And Adults Miss 26 Million Doses Of CDC-Recommended Vaccines During The COVID-19 Pandemic, Study Finds
As Americans get vaccinated against the coronavirus, a report published Wednesday found teens and adults may have missed millions of routine vaccinations recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2020. The study, commissioned by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and conducted by Avalere Health, analyzed vaccine claims from January through November 2020 and compared them with the same timeframe in 2019. Researchers found teens and adults may have missed more than 26 million doses of recommended vaccines in 2020, which includes 8.8 million missed adolescent vaccines and 17.2 million missed adult vaccine doses. (Rodriguez, 6/9)

Modern Healthcare: Gap In Death Rates Between Rural And Urban Americans Widens
Researchers warn there is a widening disparity in death rates between rural and urban America that goes beyond racial lines. While mortality rates overall among both urban and rural residents declined over the past 20 years, the decline was much slower among rural Americans, which fell by 9% compared to 23% among urban residents. The disparity in rural and urban deaths tripled between 1999 and 2019, according to the finding of a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Ross Johnson, 6/9)

The Washington Post: The U.S. Hasn’t Recorded A Single Lightning Fatality This Year 
Nobody has been killed by lightning in the United States this year, according to data from the National Weather Service. This is a record for the latest in the year the nation has made it without recording a lightning fatality. As one of the leading killers associated with thunderstorms, the death toll that lightning incurs sometimes rivals that of tornadoes. Last year, 17 Americans were killed by lightning. (Cappucci, 6/8)

Also —

The Wall Street Journal: Heavier Passengers On Planes Mean New Safety Limits For Airlines 
Passengers keep getting bigger. Now airlines must account more accurately for that. The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring updates to passenger and baggage weight estimates that airlines use to keep each flight within airplane safety limits. Each U.S. airline must submit a plan by June 12 explaining which average weights for passengers and baggage they’ll use, down to phones and clothing, and how they estimated those weights. The FAA must approve each airline’s plan. (McCartney, 6/9)

AP: Pandemic Shows Risk Of Obesity, And Challenge Of Weight Loss
Jennifer Bergin was already obese and pre-diabetic before the pandemic, and learning she also had high blood pressure made her worry about how sick she might get with COVID-19. She began walking three hours a day, eventually losing 60 pounds. “I just knew I was a prime candidate for getting it and not recovering,” said Bergin, a 50-year-old resident of Charlotte, North Carolina. Now 170 pounds and 5 feet, 4 inches tall, she is no longer considered obese, but would like to continue improving her health. (Choi, 6/9)

Houston Chronicle: It's Mosquito Season, And The Wet Spring Means Bigger, More Aggressive Biters Are Out In Force
The number of mosquitoes with West Nile in 2021 will depend on if this summer is dry or rainy, as well as the number of local birds that are carrying the West Nile virus. Mosquitoes get the virus from birds and can then transmit it to people, said Sonja Swiger, an entomologist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. But one thing is for sure — right now, mosquitoes are out in full force. “We’re having a higher load than normal in a lot of areas of the state because they’re getting more rain than they normally get,” Swiger said. “Will that continue into the next couple of months? That’s hard to say for sure.” (Leinfelder and Serrano, 6/9)

The Washington Post: How To Protect Yourself From The Sun For A 2nd Covid Summer 
The millions of Americans who are too young or medically fragile to receive coronavirus vaccines, and those who are vaccinated but want to play it safe, still need open, outdoor spaces for getting together — especially in public venues such as restaurants, event sites, resorts, beaches and parks. Meanwhile, most Americans are acutely aware that they are supposed to avoid direct sunlight to protect themselves from skin cancer. The two health directives converge under porches, awnings, umbrellas and canopies, where there’s precious little space to accommodate all the sun-averse visitors. (Cleaver, 6/8)