The Kids Are Not All Right: Brainstorm Health
Good afternoon, readers.
Suicide has been on the rise in America in recent years. And a new report suggests the trend has hit teenagers especially hard.
Harvard Medical School and Tel Aviv University researchers found that “adolescents are of particular concern” when it comes to the 30% spike in American suicides between 2000 and 2016, “with increases in social media use, anxiety, depression, and self-inflicted injuries.” The research was published in the medical journal JAMA.
The study authors note that suicide rates rose sharply among both female and male teens and young adults in 2017, reaching their highest levels since 2000 (there was a 21% increase in males aged 15 to 19 dying by suicide between 2016 and 2017 alone).
It’s important to note that a one year spike could ultimately prove to be temporary, and that the figures will settle back into a more conventional trend. But the new research appears to be in line with earlier reports of a concerning rise in self-harm and suicidal thoughts among America’s youth.
Read on for the day’s news.
Sy Mukherjee @the_sy_guy sayak.mukherjee@fortune.com
DIGITAL HEALTH
The Roche app trying to map multiple sclerosis. Drug giant Roche tells FiercePharma about its Floodlight Open app to passively collect data from multiple sclerosis patients, including information individual patients’ experience with the disease. It’s a two-pronged approach to mobile health data collection – personalize the information and feedback to patients and their caregivers, but also pool it into a de-identified database that can be used by researchers. (FiercePharma)
INDICATIONS
Is Allergan headed for a split? Shares of Botox maker Allergan enjoyed a not-too-shabby 4.2% spike in Tuesday trading following a note from influential Evercore ISI analyst Umer Raffat predicting the company will split. Raffat says he believes Allergan will lay out the plans and timeline for a split in the coming months after persistent investor concerns over the drug giant’s pipeline and the future of Botox in a crowded competitive field.
THE BIG PICTURE
Preschool obesity ticks downward. And now for a bit of good news: The downtick in childhood obesity rates may be a persistent trend, with new data showing that it edged down to 14% in 2016 compared with 16% in 2010. Childhood obesity, especially among the youngest, is a critical predictor of future obesity and its associated chronic health problems. (NBC News)
REQUIRED READING
Facebook Announces Project Libra, Its Wildly Ambitious Plan to Bring Crypto to the Masses, by Jeff John Roberts
Commentary: Cashless Isn’t Just Classist – It’s Bad for Business, by Hikmet Ersek
Google Pledges $1 Billion to Develop 20,000 New S.F. Bay Area Homes Over Next Decade, by Kevin Kelleher
Exclusive: Fintech Startup Tally Raises $50 Million to Automate People’s Finances, by Robert Hackett
Produced by Sy Mukherjee @the_sy_guy sayak.mukherjee@fortune.com Find past coverage. Sign up for other Fortune newsletters.
