NIH Has Awarded $945 Million to Address Nation’s Opioid Crisis in 2019
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced this week it has awarded $945 million in fiscal year 2019 to 41 states nationwide as part of its Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative, or NIH HEAL.
NIH said its agency-wide research effort is meant to improve treatments for chronic pain; curb the rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) and overdose; and achieve long-term recovery from opioid addiction. The effort leverages the skills and expertise from nearly every NIH institute in the areas of translation of research to practice for opioid addiction, new strategies to prevent and treat opioid addiction, enhanced outcomes for infants and children exposed to opioids, novel medication options for OUD and overdose, clinical research in pain management; and pre-clinical and translational research in pain management.
“It’s clear that a multi-pronged scientific approach is needed to reduce the risks of opioids, accelerate development of effective non-opioid therapies for pain, and provide more flexible and effective options for treating addiction to opioids,” NIH Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., said in an announcement. Collins launched the HEAL initiative in 2018.
VA Releases National Suicide Prevention Report
The number of U.S. Veteran suicide deaths per year rose to 6,139 in 2017 from 5,787 in 2005, increasing alongside the rise in suicide deaths in the United States broadly, according to the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department’s (VA)
2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Report.
Released Sept. 20, the report includes findings from the VA’s most recent analysis of Veteran suicide data from 2005 to 2017. The analysis showed that the number of Veteran suicide deaths has exceeded 6,000 every year between 2008 and 2017.
The report also noted 69 percent of all Veteran suicide deaths resulted in a firearm injury, and that males between the ages of 18 and 34 experienced the highest rates of suicide.
Meanwhile, the VA reported that the rate of suicide was 2.2 times higher among female Veterans than non-Veteran adult women and 1.3 times higher among male Veterans than non-Veteran adult men.
“VA is working to prevent suicide among all Veterans, whether they are enrolled in VA healthcare or not,” VA Secy. Robert Wilkie said in an announcement about the report. “That’s why the department has adopted a comprehensive public health approach to suicide prevention, using bundled strategies that cut across various sectors — faith communities, employers, schools and health care organizations, for example — to reach Veterans where they live and thrive.”
Study Shows Veterans with Mental Illness at Higher Risk for Cardiovascular Disease
A new study sponsored by the VA showed multiple mental illnesses were associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes, which is consistent with the hypothesis that chronic stress leads to greater CVD.
Published in the American Heart Association’s journal
Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, the study found that more severe mental illnesses—such as primary psychotic disorders—have the largest effect sizes even after controlling for other psychiatric diagnoses, conventional CVD risk factors, and psychotropic medication use.
Among men, the study noted, depression, anxiety, psychosis, and bipolar disorder were all associated with an increased CVD risk, while among women, that link was found only for depression, psychosis, and bipolar disorder.
“Surprisingly, a PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) diagnosis in men was tied to a lower risk, but in women, PTSD was not linked to any difference in CVD risk,” the study said.
Methadone Barriers Remain Despite Evidence of Effectiveness to Treat OUD
Despite evidence proving its effectiveness, methadone—one of three medications the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved to treat OUD—continues to be one of the most heavily regulated drugs in the country at a time when additional methadone treatment capacity is needed, according to new
Health Affairs blog post.
Citing statistics from the 2018
National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (a survey of substance use disorder treatment facilities), the blog noted that about 383,000 people were treated with methadone in the past year. Meanwhile, opioid treatment programs (OTPs) are unavailable or inaccessible in many communities, with 88.6 percent of large, rural counties lacking a sufficient number of these programs.
The blog offers recommendations for increasing access to methadone, including regulating mobile methadone vans; urging states to promote using medication units, which are dosing sites affiliated with an existing OTP; and revising policies that unnecessarily restrict the number of OTPs and the services they offer.
Mental Health Awareness Week: Oct. 6-12, 2019
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will recognize Mental Health Awareness Week with the theme WhyCare? between Oct. 6-12.
In an overview about its campaign, NAMI noted there are too many myths surrounding mental illness, and that “with these myths comes stigma, misunderstanding, and discrimination.” NAMI will work to dispel a myth a day on the following topics: prevalence of mental illness (Oct. 6), obsessive-compulsive disorder (Oct. 7), PTSD (Oct. 8), children and mental illness (Oct. 9), anxiety and depression (Oct. 10), borderline personality disorder (Oct. 11), and mental health treatment (Oct. 12). NAMI will also highlight National Day of Prayer for Mental Illness Recovery and Understanding on Oct. 8 and World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10.
Visit
WhyCare? for statistics and resources.
Save the Date for the NABH 2020 Annual Meeting!
Please join us for the NABH 2020 Annual Meeting at the Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C. from
March 16-18, 2020.
NABH will send Save-the-Date cards early next week with additional information about the Annual Meeting. Online registration and hotel booking information also will be available the week of Sept. 30.
We look forward to seeing you in Washington!
Fact of the Week
The availability of opioid treatment programs (OTPs) varies widely by state. For example, the 4.7 million people in Louisiana have access to
10 OTPs in their state, while the 3.6 million residents of Connecticut have access to
41 OTPs.
For questions or comments about CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.