A new study published in the journal Pediatrics examined trends in overdose mortality and found that, among youth, opioid overdoses more commonly involved multiple substances than opioids alone, starting at age 21. Polysubstance-involved overdose deaths occurred among youth as young as 15 years old, and rose steadily with age. The findings also demonstrated that fentanyl and other synthetic opioids were involved in more than 93% of overdose deaths, while stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine were the primary contributors to polysubstance-involved deaths.

While scientists have long known that certain core genes help regulate circadian rhythms, a new study led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine reveals that there is an additional layer of regulation – diet interacts with an individual’s genetic makeup, influencing daily patterns of gene activity in the liver, especially those related to fat metabolism.

Firearms were involved in 38.5 percent of suicides among older women from 2014-2023, up from 34.9 percent in 2014, according to a new study in JAMA Network Open. Even though older men had substantially higher firearm suicide rates than older women, the rates among older men remained relatively stable. Women represent nearly half of all new gun owners in the United States; as female gun ownership surges across many states, these findings highlight a need to better understand the immediate and long-term consequences of firearm suicides among older women, as well as develop tailored interventions to mitigate firearm suicides among all older adults.