Mortality and morbidity in the 21st century

In “Mortality and morbidity in the 21st century,” Princeton Professors Anne Case and Angus Deaton follow up on their groundbreaking 2015 paper that revealed a shocking increase in midlife mortality among white non-Hispanic Americans, exploring patterns and contributing factors to the troubling trend. Case and Deaton find that while midlife […] Read more »

Teen use of any illicit drug other than marijuana at new low, same true for alcohol

Teenagers’ use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco declined significantly in 2016 at rates that are at their lowest since the 1990s, a new national study showed. But University of Michigan researchers cautioned that while these developments are “trending in the right direction,” marijuana still remains high for 12th-graders. CONT. U. […] Read more »

One-third of long-term users say they’re hooked on prescription opioids

One-third of Americans who have taken prescription opioids for at least two months say they became addicted to, or physically dependent on, the powerful painkillers, according to a new Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey. Virtually all long-term users surveyed said that they were introduced to the drugs by a doctor’s […] Read more »

Survey of Long-Term Prescription Painkiller Users and Their Household Members

As the nation struggles to address the ongoing prescription painkiller and heroin abuse and overdose epidemic, The Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation Survey of Long-Term Prescription Painkiller Users and Their Household Members takes a closer look at those who are long-term users of prescription painkillers to better understand from […] Read more »