ArcaMax

According to the Global Burden of Disease, approximately 746,000 people died by suicide worldwide in 2021. That's a grim number but also encouraging, as it reflects an ongoing downward trend, from almost 15 deaths per 100,000 in 1990 to nine per 100,000 in 2021.

While the overall suicide mortality rate has decreased over the last three decades, there are regions where it has increased, specifically parts of Latin America and North America. Regional mortality rates are highest in eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.

Not surprisingly, the gun-related suicide rate was highest in the U.S., almost double that of the next two countries: Venezuela and Greenland.

Body of Knowledge

You cannot taste food if your saliva cannot break down its constituent chemicals for detection by receptors on taste buds. And when you're about to throw up, your salivary glands work overtime to produce additional protection from exiting stomach contents, whose acidity can harm your throat, mouth and teeth.

Get Me That, Stat!

Fewer than 10% of women called back for more tests after a mammogram are found to have breast cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Stories for the Waiting Room

The U.S. could face a national hospital bed shortage within seven years if there isn't a reduction in the hospitalization rate, an increase in the number of staffed hospital beds or some combination, say researchers in a new study.

A shortage occurs when 85% of hospital beds across the country are occupied. Estimates put that happening as soon as 2032.

The authors projected the total number of annual hospitalizations in the U.S. to increase from 36,174,000 this year to 40,177,000 in 2035.

There are some caveats, including substantial variation between states and an inability to predict future trends, good or bad, that might affect hospitalizations.

Stay healthy, America!

Doc Talk

Medulla: Refers to the middle of something, such as medulla oblongata, part of the long, stem-like structure that enters the bottom middle of the brain, or the medulla, the innermost layer of the hair shaft.

Mania of the Week

Dromomania: An old psychiatric term for an obsession with walking or just wandering about, also called traveling fugue.

Food for Thought

Maltodextrin is a highly refined carbohydrate derived from rice, corn, wheat or potato starch. In its final form, it's a white powder used as an additive in everything from yogurt and beer to spices and soft drinks. It replaces sugar and improves texture, shelf life and taste. The Food and Drug Administration considers it a generally safe food additive, though it should be consumed in moderation by persons with celiac disease or diabetes.

Best Medicine

Patient: "I think I'm suffering from memory loss."

Doctor: "Have you ever had it before?"

Observation

"After all, what is death? Just nature's way of telling us to slow down." -- British scriptwriter Dick Sharples (1927-2015)

Medical History

This week in 1923, the first operation using only a local painkiller during removal of a brain tumor was performed. The condition of the patient, Henry A. Brown, had been deemed too risky for general anesthesia.

The procedure was undertaken at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City. The large tumor was life-threatening but not malignant. Brown remained fully conscious while his skull was opened, was able to answer the doctors' questions and was reported to have "cooperated cheerfully."

(The brain itself has no pain receptors. It cannot sense pain directly but processes pain signals from other parts of the body, such as meninges, blood vessels and nerves in the head and neck.)

Perishable Publications

Many, if not most, published research papers have titles that defy comprehension. They use specialized jargon, complex words and opaque phrases like "nonlinear dynamics." Sometimes they don't, yet they're still hard to figure out. Here's an actual title of actual published research study: "A lucky catch: Fishhook injury of the tongue."

It hurts to even think about it, but the study authors wanted to more closely examine the medical consequences when a fishhook ends up in a (non-fish) mouth. They cited the case of a 13-month-old male child who wasn't actually fishing but instead found an unused fishhook at home.

The penetrating findings were published in the Journal of Emergencies, Trauma and Shock. After undergoing minor surgery under general anesthesia, the kid was fine.

Self-Exam

Q: What is mind blindness?

A: Formally known as aphantasia, it's a rare condition that affects only 4% of the general population. It happens when the brain doesn't form or use mental images as part of thinking or imagination. It can occur in degrees. Experts don't define aphantasia as a medical condition, disorder or disability but rather as a characteristic, a difference in how an individual's mind works.

Epitaphs

"Curiosity did not kill this cat." -- American writer Louis "Studs" Terkel (1912-2008), best known for his oral histories of ordinary Americans. Terkel died at age 96 from complications of a fall in his home.

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To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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