Just under 50,000 Americans died by suicide in 2022, according to a new report from CDC, making it the second year in a row that Americans have seen an increase in deaths by suicide, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Georgia, Massachusetts, and New York.

• Georgia: Just under 50,000 Americans died by suicide in 2022, according to a new report from CDC. 2022 saw a 2.6% increase over suicide death in 2021 — following two straight years of declines in suicide deaths. The largest increase in suicide deaths of any age group between 2021 and 2022 came among adults ages 65 and older, which saw an 8.1% increase in suicide deaths. Experts noted that recent increases in suicides could be driven by a variety of factors, including higher rates of depression and limited availability of mental health services. "Mental health has become the defining public health and societal challenge of our time," said Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. "Far too many people and their families are suffering and feeling along." Murthy said the numbers from CDC "are a sobering reminder of how urgent it is that we further expand access to mental health care, address the root causes of mental health struggles, and recognize the importance of checking on and supporting one another." (Stobbe, Associated Press, 8/11; Singh, CBS News, 8/11)
• Massachusetts: Playing tackle football could increase a person's risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a recent study conducted by Boston University published in JAMA Network Open. For the study, researchers looked at 1,875 men enrolled in an online study by the Michael J. Fox Foundation and found that having a history of playing football was associated with a 61% increased risk of having a Parkinsonism or Parkinson's diagnosis, and that those who played football at a college or professional level were 2.93 times as likely to receive such a diagnosis. "Previous research has focused on the association between American football and risk for CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy)," said Hannah Bruce, study author and research specialist at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. "However, similar to what has historically been seen in boxers, Americans football might also affect risk for other neurodegenerative conditions such as [Parkinson's disease]." (Reed, Axios, 8/11; Gardner, USA Today, 8/11)
• New York: Regulators with HHS have suspended research on human subjects at the New York State Psychiatric Institute as they investigate safety protocols following the suicide of a research participant. On Wednesday, Kate Migliaccio-Grabill, a spokesperson for HHS, said the agency's Office for Human Research Protections was investigating the institute "and has restricted its ability to conduct HHS-supported human subject research." The pause comes after a patient enrolled in a study testing levodopa, a drug for Parkinson's disease, as a treatment for depression and reduced mobility in older people, died by suicide. Carla Canto, the institute's director of communications, would not confirm that a death occurred during a clinical trial and said the institute has "worked to assist federal agencies in their audit and has subsequently restructured and strengthened its research compliance and monitoring programs across the institution." (Barry, New York Times, 8/10)