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Recreational ketamine use has increased in the United States in recent years, outpacing its rise as a treatment for depression, a new analysis suggests. The hallucinogenic drug — a controlled substance designed for use as an anesthetic — has been touted for its potential as a therapy for depression. The recent study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, used data from the 2015-2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to gauge ketamine use among U.S. adults. (Blakemore, 1/19)

Most ads for liquor or beer include a reminder to “drink responsibly.” Still, the alcohol industry depends on people who drink more than public-health officials say is safe. A fifth of adults account for an estimated 90% of alcohol sales volumes in the U.S., according to an analysis published in 2023 by equity research firm Bernstein. (Cooper, 1/21)

About half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, a major risk for heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, even dementia. Many people don’t even realize they have hypertension until it’s done serious damage. ... And only a fraction of patients have their hypertension well-controlled, meaning there’s a need for novel strategies. The Food and Drug Administration approved that “renal denervation” option about a year ago, based on studies showing a modest benefit in patients whose blood pressure remains high despite multiple medicines. (Neergaard, 1/18)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Long-Covid Patients Are Frustrated That Federal Research Hasn't Found New Treatments

Erica Hayes, 40, has not felt healthy since November 2020 when she first fell ill with covid. Hayes is too sick to work, so she has spent much of the last four years sitting on her beige couch, often curled up under an electric blanket. “My blood flow now sucks, so my hands and my feet are freezing. Even if I’m sweating, my toes are cold,” said Hayes, who lives in Western Pennsylvania. She misses feeling well enough to play with her 9-year-old son or attend her 17-year-old son’s baseball games. (Boden, 1/22)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: The Growing Inequality In Life Expectancy Among Americans

The life expectancy among Native Americans in the western United States has dropped below 64 years, close to life expectancies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti. For many Asian Americans, it’s around 84 — on par with life expectancies in Japan and Switzerland. Americans’ health has long been unequal, but a new study shows that the disparity between the life expectancies of different populations has nearly doubled since 2000. “This is like comparing very different countries,” said Tom Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations and an author of the study. (Maxmen, 1/22)