Medical Bulletin 14/July/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Unaware of the risks: The dangers of skin-lightening products

Skin lightening is prevalent in the U.S. among skin of color individuals – particularly women – but the people who use those products don’t know the risks, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

Colorism, the system of inequality that views lighter skin as more beautiful and advantageous, can be the motivation behind skin lightening, the study also found. The findings also reinforced the prevalence of skin lightening in the U.S.

“The most surprising finding was the lack of awareness of ingredients in products being purchased over the counter and their potentially detrimental effects,” said lead investigator Dr. Roopal Kundu

Reference: Dr.Roopal Kundu et al, Colorism Attitudes and Use of Skin Lightening Agents in the United States, International Journal of Women’s Dermatology.

The impact of unemployment and underemployment on suicide: An analysis

A study examining unemployment and underemployment figures and suicide rates in Australia has found both were significant drivers of suicide mortality between 2004-2016.

The researchers say the findings indicate that economic policies such as a Job Guarantee, which prioritize full employment, should be a core part of any comprehensive national suicide prevention strategy.

Predictive modeling also revealed an estimated 9.5 percent of suicides reported during that time resulted directly from unemployment and underemployment.

Reference: Unemployment and underemployment are causes of suicide, Science Advances, DOI-10.1126/sciadv.adg3758

A new talking therapy for depression, potentially more effective and affordable than CBT

A new talking therapy for depression has shown encouraging early signs of being more effective and cheaper to deliver than the current best practice of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

A pilot trial from the University of Exeter has found Augmented Depression Therapy (ADepT) could be a significant advance in depression care.

ADepT has been developed to pay just as much attention to building well-being as it does to reducing depressive symptoms.

Reference: Primary clinical and cost-effectiveness of augmented depression therapy versus cognitive behavioural therapy for the treatment of anhedonic depression (ADepT): a single-center, open-label, parallel-group, pilot, randomized, controlled trial” and is published in Lancet EClinical Medicine.