Medscape (11/10, Brown) reported, “Female veterans who experience military sexual trauma (MST) often find it difficult to seek help; even with treatment, they can live with the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for years, according to a presentation” given at the American Psychiatric Nurses Association 26th Annual Conference held last month. “Ursula Kelly, PhD, ANP-BC, PMHNP-BC, assistant professor at the Emory University School of Nursing and a nurse scientist at Atlanta Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Georgia, works with female veterans who have experienced MST.” Medscape Medical News interviewed Kelly, who is “currently conducting research on factors that influence the ability of these women to seek treatment for PTSD.”

USA Today (11/12, Healy) reports, “In a study that’s already being greeted with notes of caution, Danish researchers report that children whose mothers had the flu or ran a fever lasting more than a week during pregnancy had an increased risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder [ASD].” However, Coleen Boyle, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, stressed that “the new study, out in today’s Pediatrics, is ‘exploratory’ and does not offer a specific cause of the developmental disability.” USA Today notes, “The study analyzed data collected from 97,000 mothers of children born from 1997 through 2003.”

Drawing a different conclusion from USA Today, MedPage Today (11/12, Walsh) reports, “It remains unclear whether mothers who develop common infections during pregnancy are more likely to have” children with autism. “Overall, no associations were seen for infections and autism spectrum disorder [ASD], although a twofold increased risk was seen for the more severe subtype of infantile autism (adjusted HR 2.3, 95% CI 1 to 5.3) following maternal influenza infection,” researchers reported. “There also was a threefold increase in risk for infantile autism when mothers reported having had a febrile episode lasting for a week or more (aHR 3.2, 95% CI 1.8 to 5.6),” the study found. Also covering the story are the NBC News (11/12, Fox) “Vitals” blog, theHuffington Post (11/12, Pearson) and Reuters (11/12, Pittman).

Related Links:

— “Study: Flu, fever in pregnancy linked to autism risk, “Michelle Healy, USA TODAY, November 12, 2012.

HealthDay (11/9, Mundell) reports that a study including 9,200 people presented at the American Heart Association annual meeting found that “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)…may raise the risk for major bleeding in patients also taking warfarin.” Nevertheless, “because depression is such a tough-to-treat illness, experts say the finding is no reason for patients on warfarin to immediately drop their SSRI” antidepressants.

Related Links:

— “Common Antidepressants Tied to Higher Bleeding Risk in Warfarin Users: Study, “E.J. Mundell, HealthDay, November 8, 2012.

Medscape (11/9, Brauser) reports, “Preexisting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be ‘an important component’ in identifying which children will be most negatively affected by watching television coverage of natural disasters, including hurricanes,” according to a 141-participant studypublished online Oct. 15 in the journal Psychological Science. “In one of the first studies to assess children after each of two disasters, investigators found that those who had residual symptoms of PTSD after going through hurricane Katrina had significantly higher levels of stress three years later after watching television coverage of hurricane Gustav than the kids who did not have earlier symptoms.”

The Washington Post (11/8, Huget) reports that a study published in the November issue of Preventive Medicine “found that those with the best mental health were those who exercised between 2.5 hours and 7.5 hours per week (150 minutes to 450 minutes; the optimal number varied a bit according to age, gender and physical health), as compared to those who exercised less — or more.” Notably, after examining “self-reported data for 7,674 participants in the US Health Information National Trends 2007 Survey,” investigators “determined that after the 7.5-hour-per-week mark was reached, symptoms of depression and anxiety started kicking in.”

Related Links:

— “More good reasons to exercise – but not too much!, “Jennifer LaRue Huget, The Washington Post, November 8, 2012.

The Los Angeles Times (11/9, Morin) “Booster Shots” blog reports that whether it’s called “‘pre-drinking,’ ‘pre-partying’ or ‘pre-funking’…it usually involves chugging cheap alcoholic drinks before heading out to a bar, club or sporting event.” And, “while addiction experts estimate that 65% to 75% of college-age youths engage in such boozy behavior, a Swiss study” published online Nov. 8 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research “concludes that such ‘pre-loaded’ evenings are far more likely to end in blackouts, unprotected sex, unplanned drug use or injury.”

HealthDay (11/9, Dotinga) reports that in order to arrive at these conclusions, “researchers tracked the drinking behavior of 183 young adults — average age 23 — over five weeks on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. By cellphone, the researchers kept tabs on what the participants drank and where.” Notably, “those who drank before going out to bars consumed an average of 7.1 drinks a night, compared to 4.2 drinks by those who just went to bars and 4.3 who drank elsewhere, such as home or a public place.” The Daily Mail (UK) (11/9, Bates) also covers the story.

Impulsive Female College Students At Risk For Problem Drinking. HealthDay (11/9, Preidt) reports, “Female college students who act impulsively when they’re distressed are at increased risk of developing a drinking problem,” according to a study published online Nov. 8 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. “The study included 319 women (235 drinkers and 84 nondrinkers) in their first semester at a large university in the southeastern United States.” Notably, “The largest increase in alcohol dependence symptoms was seen in women who had high negative urgency and said they wanted to drink to change their emotions (either to enhance positive feelings or get rid of negative feelings),” the study found.

Related Links:

— ““Pre-drinking” or “pre-funking” common among young alcohol users, “Monte Morin, Los Angeles Times, November 8, 2012.

Medscape (11/7, Brauser) reports, “A study to assess national trends showed that clinical visits from 1996 to 2009 for anticonvulsants to treat youth diagnosed with any psychiatric illness increased 1.7-fold.” According to research published in the November issue of the journal Psychiatric Services, “the individual disorders that saw the greatest increase in treatment with these medications were attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), pediatric bipolar disorder, and disruptive behavior disorders.” Of the “six specific anticonvulsants examined, lamotrigine showed the greatest increase in use during the study period, whereas use of divalproex decreased significantly.”

The NPR (11/7, Rau) “Shots” blog reports, “Depression is the most costly among 10 common risk factors linked to higher health spending on employees, according to” an analysis published in the journal Health Affairs. The study, which was “drawn from the experience at seven companies,” revealed that “these factors — which also included obesity, high blood sugar and high blood pressure — were associated with nearly a quarter of the money spent on the healthcare of more than 92,000 workers.”

MedPage Today (11/7, Pittman) reports, “Depressed employees — making up roughly 11% of the work force — spent on average $2,184, or about 48% more on healthcare than their nondepressed coworkers,” the study found. MedPage Today points out that the “study surveyed more than 92,400 employees.” The Business Courier of Cincinnati (11/7, Ritchie, Subscription Publication) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Depression And Health Spending Go Together, “Jordan Rau, NPR, November 06, 2012.

HealthDay (11/2, Reinberg) reports, “Some of the numbers are staggering: more than 75 Americans dead, thousands evacuated from their homes, millions left without power for days and billions of dollars in damage from ‘superstorm’ Sandy.” According to mental-health professionals, “the effect of all this sudden, violent loss on people’s psyches will be powerful. Not only those who suffered the loss of a loved one or a beloved home, but also people who just watched the constant storm coverage may be scared and unsettled, experts say.”

Psychiatrists Left Struggling To Connect With Patients. Psychiatric News (11/2) reports that according to Charles Ciolino, MD, chair of the New Jersey Psychiatric Association’s Disaster Preparedness Committee, “there will be a long period of rebuilding physically and psychologically”.

Related Links:

— “For Many, ‘Superstorm’ Sandy Could Take Toll on Mental Health, “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, November 1, 2012.

The Washington Post (11/6, Butler) reports that “more than a dozen double-blind research trials on children’s diets — both from candy and chocolate and from natural sources — has failed to find any behavioral differences between those young people who consume sugar and those who don’t. That’s even true for kids with” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). Pediatrician Ivor Horn, MD, MPH, of Children’s National Medical Center, explained that “environmental and social factors surrounding sugar-centric events or holidays may also contribute to the madness and a general uptick in a child’s activity level.” Other “experts have speculated that other ingredients in candy and sugary snacks, such as food dyes, artificial preservatives and other additives, may also play a role in hyperactivity, especially for certain children.”

Related Links:

— “Sugar may not be the only reason your kid is hyper after Halloween, “Carolyn Butler, The Washington Post, November 5, 2012.