HealthDay (2/19, Dotinga) reports, “A protective effect in females may help explain one of the biggest mysteries of autism: Why boys are five times more likely to develop the developmental brain disorder than girls.” The study of “more than 3,800 pairs of non-identical twins from Great Britain and more than 6,000 pairs of non-identical twins from Sweden” indicated that “developing females are much better able than males to fight off genetic pressure to develop symptoms of autism.” The research was published online Feb. 18 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Related Links:

— “Researchers Detect an Anti-Autism Advantage in Females,” Randy Dotinga, HealthDay, February 18, 2013.

Medwire (2/1) says Valeria Mondelli at King’s College London led a study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, that found schizophrenia patients “commonly have a poor diet,” which “may partly account for the increased incidence of metabolic abnormalities in these patients. The poor diet was mainly characterized by a high intake of saturated fat and calories and a low consumption of fiber and fruit.” The researchers wrote, “We can only suggest that a poor diet represents one of the factors involved in the development of metabolic abnormalities.”

Related Links:

— “Poor diet provides clue to metabolic abnormalities in schizophrenia, “Lucy Piper, Medwire News, February 1, 2013.

The New York Times (2/1, Goode, Healy, Subscription Publication, 1.68M) says some mental health experts have scrutinized many state proposals to bolster mental health services in response to the Newtown school shooting – proposals they deem hastily executed, “politically expedient,” and “unlikely to repair a broken mental health system.” Some mental health and legal experts “say that politicians’ efforts might be better spent making the process of involuntary psychiatric commitment – and the criteria for restricting firearms access once someone has been forcibly committed – consistent from state to state. And some proposals have caused concern, raising questions about doctor-patient confidentiality, the rights of people with psychiatric disabilities and the integrity of clinical judgment.”

McClatchy (2/1, Pugh) says healthcare advocates lobbying in the nation’s statehouses “hope growing tax revenues and renewed outrage over gun violence will lead lawmakers to boost funding” for mental health services, even though the states cut a collective $4.4 billion from their mental health budgets from 2009 to 2012, according to the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. In South Carolina, “where the state mental health budget has shrunk by $74 million since 2009, Republican Gov. Nikki Haley is calling for an $11 million increase for the state’s beleaguered mental health agency.” Meanwhile, in Idaho, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter “is backing plans to have the Department of Correction build a $70 million hospital to house nearly 600 mentally ill prisoners, along with non-offenders who’ve been involuntarily committed by the courts.”

Stigma of mental illness an obstacle to diagnosis, treatment. CBS Evening News (1/31, story 7, 4:00, Pelley, 5.58M)says Connecticut lawmakers, in a recent hearing on gun violence, listened to testimony from Sandy Hook library clerk Marianne Jacobs, who called for better mental health services for children. “We don’t know what drove the gunman in Newtown to kill, and the fact is that 95% of violent acts are committed by people with no serious mental illness. Even so, the shooting has put a spotlight on the treatment for the mentally ill.” The report profiles Zac Pogliano, who heard voices for a year until he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He delayed the diagnosis fearing the stigma associated with mental illness, but pharmaceutical and outpatient treatment have put him on a better path. His story “is a reminder that the stigma attached to mental illness makes people ashamed to admit their symptoms. Until that stigma is erased there will continue to be a delay in the proper diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disease.”

Survey: Majority back gun control, more mental healthcare. The Los Angeles Times (1/31, Healy, 692K) says the New England Journal of Medicine published a survey, conducted between January 2-14, that found “a majority of Americans – gun owners and non-owners alike – support stricter measures to keep handguns from people under 21 and to block ownership of any guns for 10 years by those who have perpetrated domestic violence, brandished a weapon in a threatening manner, or committed two or more drug- or alcohol-related crimes. … Almost 70% of respondents supported greater government spending and insurance coverage for mental healthcare as a means of averting gun violence.” Between 75% and 85% of respondents said that states, healthcare providers, and the military “should be required to notify a central background-check registry when a person has been declared mentally incompetent or committed to psychiatric care involuntarily, has threatened to harm himself or others, or has been rejected from service due to mental illness or drug- or alcohol-abuse.”

Related Links:

— “Focus on Mental Health Laws to Curb Violence Is Unfair, Some Say, “Erica Goode, The New York Times, February 1, 2013.

Medwire (2/2, McDermid) reported, “Delirium occurs in about one in five inpatients, but appears to be a low priority with hospital staff,” according to a study published Jan. 7 in the journal BMJ Open. Researchers “assessed the occurrence of delirium across an entire tertiary hospital during a single day, excluding patients in the emergency department, the intensive care unit, and isolation rooms, as well as those who were severely aphasic.” Notably, “the rates of delirium among the 280 patients assessed were 19.6% according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV criteria, 17.6% with the Confusion Assessment Method, and 20.7% with the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98.”

Related Links:

— “Delirium overlooked in hospital patients,”Eleanor McDermid, Medwire News, February 1, 2013.

USA Today (2/4, Healy) reports that although “high school students who identify as lesbian, gay and bisexual tend to face higher rates of bullying in school than their heterosexual peers,” research published in Pediatrics “suggests that things get better for these young people, with harassment declining as they get older and leave school.”

The AP (2/3) reports, “The seven-year study involved more than 4,000 teens in England who were questioned yearly through 2010, until they were 19 and 20 years old.” Researchers found that “at the start, just over half of the 187 gay, lesbian and bisexual teens said they had been bullied; by 2010 that dropped to 9 percent of gay and bisexual boys and 6 percent of lesbian and bisexual girls.” Reuters(2/4) and MedPage Today (2/4, Petrochko) also cover the story.

Related Links:

— “As bullying decreases, some stress eases for gay teens, “Michelle Healy, USA Today, February 4, 2013.

The Hill (2/2, Baker) “Healthwatch” blog reported, “President Obama should address the country when his administration finally implements a law requiring insurers to cover mental health services, former Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-Mass.) said Friday. Kennedy joined Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and actor Bradley Cooper at a press conference to make the case that reducing the stigma associated with mental illness is just as important as a policy approach to mental health.” Both “Kennedy and Stabenow were…prominent supporters of a 2008 mental health parity law, which required insurers to cover mental health services in the same way they cover physical healthcare.”

Therapist Decries Lack Of Medicaid Funding For Kids’ Mental Health. In an opinion piece in the Washington Post (2/1), Alyx Beckwith, a licensed outpatient therapist in Raleigh, NC, wrote that “cuts to Medicaid funding in recent years” result in certain children with mental health issues falling “through the cracks. In the best scenarios, cuts to reimbursement rates result in shortened therapy sessions and restrictions on the number of visits clients are allotted; in the worst, practices that serve the poor are going under.” Beckwith pointed out that despite the fact the majority of Americans favor more spending for mental health programs serving children, “our states are moving in the opposite direction.”

Related Links:

— “Patrick Kennedy: Obama should address nation on mental health, “Sam Baker, The Hill, February 1, 2013.

ABC World News (2/3, story 2, 3:00, Muir) reported that “nearly 20% of returning troops suffer from symptoms of post-traumatic stress. And they’re the ones we know about.” ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz added, “PTSD is not new, but with tens of thousands now coming home, the fear is that we still don’t know enough about it.”

On its website, ABC News (2/4, Moisse) reported that “up to 20 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD, according to a 2008 RAND study.” Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association, explained, “The symptoms can range from mildly disturbing to wholly incapacitating.” Dr. Lieberman added that “we’re still limited in our understanding of why it occurs, what it consists of and the best approaches to treatment.”

Study: 22 US Veterans Commit Suicide Every Day. USA Today (2/2, Zoroya) reported, “An estimated 22 veterans commit suicide in the United States every day, a slightly higher number than the 18-per-day rate the Department of Veterans Affairs had indicated in years past, according to a VA study made public” on Feb. 1. “The analysis found that the actual number of estimated suicides per day among veterans has remained relatively stable, ranging from 20 per day in 2000 to 18 per day in 2007 and 22 per day in 2009 and 2010, the latest estimates available, according to a report on the study released Friday.” The VA “says it has responded to the findings by creating a task force ‘to provide recommendations for innovative mental health care.'” In addition, the VA has bolstered staffing levels for its crisis hotline and is adding people to its mental health staff.

Related Links:

— “Former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s Killing Puts Spotlight on PTSD, “Katie Moisse, abc News, February 3, 2013.

USA Today (2/7, Jayson) reports, “Stress levels for Americans have taken a decidedly downward turn across the USA – except for young adults, whose stress is higher than the national norm,” according to the results of an online survey to be released today. The survey, conducted last August by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American Psychological Association, found that “those ages 18-33 – the Millennial generation – are plenty stressed, and it’s not letting up: 39% say their stress has increased in the past year; 52% say stress has kept them awake at night in the past month. And more than any other age group, they report being told by a health care provider that they have either depression or an anxiety disorder.” A graphic appended to the article lists the primary sources of stress as work, finances, relationships, family issues, and the economy.

Related Links:

— “Who’s feeling stressed? Young adults, new survey shows, “Sharon Jayson, USA Today, February 7, 2013.

In an editorial, the Dallas Morning News (2/7) asks, “Why is Texas near the bottom of all states in per capita spending on mental health services?” The Morning News argues that “the state should be treating a wider array of mental illnesses with public funding, not just a pared-back list of schizophrenia, major depression and bipolar disorder. Unaddressed” mental disorders “wreak havoc in society and turn county jails into de facto psych wards.” The Morning News calls not just for improved funding for mental health services, but also for destigmatization of mental health disorders so people who need help do not have to be afraid to reach out for it.

Related Links:

— “Editorial: Erasing the stigma of mental illness, The Dallas Morning News, February 6, 2013.

In a nearly 2,000 word story on its front page, the New York Times (2/7, A1, Belluck, Subscription Publication) reports on new efforts by Federal and state health officials to try to curb smoking in mental health facilities. The article explains that some institutions have banned smoking altogether, while some still allow it, but only outdoors or during scheduled times. However, “occasionally, hospitals that banned smoking have reinstated it to avoid losing patients. Moreover, smoking is so deeply ingrained that smoke-free hospitals can only dent the problem; many patients are now hospitalized only for short stints and resume smoking later.” Recent CDC data show that mentally ill Americans smoke at rates 70% higher than those without illnesses. Demonstrating the ingrained nature of cigarettes in mental health facilities, CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden said, “In my very first job as an aide in a psychiatric hospital. If patients behaved better they got additional cigarettes.” The article also notes that National Institutes on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow pointed to a possible scientific link between mental illness and the desire to smoke.

Related Links:

— “Smoking, Once Used to Reward, Faces a Ban in Mental Hospitals, “Pam Belluck, The New York Times, February 6, 2013.