Trending News Today: Study Finds 1 in 3 Americans Taking Medications Linked to Depression

On Tuesday, leaders of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published an outline of how it plans to spend the $500 million Congress gave it to fight the opioid epidemic, The Hill reported. According to the article, NIH leaders wrote in an opinion piece that they will focus on improving treatments for opioid misuse and addiction and bolster strategies to manage pain. The effort will be conducted through the NIH’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) initiative, the article reported.

In a new study, more than a third of participants were taking medications known to have depression or suicidal thoughts as potential adverse effects, NPR reported. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, included 26,192 adults who participated in a federal survey called the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. According to the findings, about 15% of participants who simultaneously used 3 or more of these drugs were depressed and about 7% of those who used just 1 of these medications were depressed, the article reported.

A recent US study found that the number of children missing out on recommended vaccinations in states that permit parents to skip inoculations due to personal beliefs is increasing, Reuters reported. Arizona, Idaho, Maine, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin had non-medical exemption rates for the measles vaccine approaching or exceeding 5%, according to the article. Additionally, 8 of the 10 counties with the highest rates of non-medical exemptions were in Idaho, primarily in rural areas, Reuters reported.