TIME (2/10, Sifferlin) reports that a study published in the journal Academic Pediatrics suggests that “middle schoolers who consume sweetened energy drinks are 66% more at risk for hyperactivity than other kids.” After surveying some “1,649 students in 5th, 7th, and 8th grade about their beverage consumption and” then assessing their inattention and hyperactivity levels, researchers concluded, “Despite considering numerous types of beverages in our analyses (e.g., soda, fruit drinks), only energy drinks were associated with greater risk of hyperactivity/inattention.”

Related Links:

— “Energy Drinks May Drive Kids to Distraction,” Alexandra Sifferlin, Time, February 9, 2015.

Reuters (2/10, Doyle) reports that research published in Circulation indicates that young women may experience more stress following a heart attack than male counterparts, which could potentially explain why female patients have worse recovery than men.

The Today Show Online (2/10, Raymond) reports that investigators looked at data on nearly 2,400 female patients and more than 1,100 male patients, all of whom had survived a heart attack and who were participating in the Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young AMI Patients (VIRGO). The researchers found that “Women had worse recovery one month after heart attack on multiple outcome measures, such as chest-pain-related physical function and quality of life as well as overall health.” Female patients “had a significantly higher level of mental stress.” Higher stress levels “among women partially explained their worse recovery.”

Related Links:

— “After heart attack, women more stressed than men,” Kathryn Doyle, Reuters, February 9, 2015.

HealthDay (2/7, Preidt) reported that survey results published recently in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reveal that “many workers say they wouldn’t tell their manager if they had a mental health problem.” A poll conducted by Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health “of more than 2,200 working adults in the province of Ontario found that 38 percent would not disclose a mental illness to a manager.”

Related Links:

— “Stigma Keeps Employees From Admitting to a Mental Illness: Study,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, February 6, 2015.

TIME (2/7, Worland) reported that that while “the reasons for the high suicide rates” among veterans “are not entirely clear…researchers say that military life exposes soldiers to a series of risk factors that place them at a heightened suicide risk, even though someone in the military is usually healthier physically than someone in the general population.” Among other things, “combat exposes soldiers to traumatic life and death situations, and depression and PTSD may result.” Some soldiers suffer brain injuries. According to Time, “All of these ailments have been linked to increased risk of suicide.”

Related Links:

— “This Bill Could Help Veterans With Mental Health,” Justin Worland, Time, February 6, 2015.

The Dallas (TX) Morning News (2/9, Aguilera) reports that approximately “59 percent of chaplains in the VA system and 79 percent in the active-duty military said they perceive that veterans and service members commonly seek help from clergy instead of a mental” healthcare professional, “according to a 2013 report published by the VA and the Pentagon.” Meanwhile, “over 80 percent of chaplains working in the VA system or in the active-duty military said it’s not uncommon to meet a veteran or service member who is suicidal, according to the survey.”

Related Links:

— “Dallas VA conference discusses clergy’s role in suicide prevention,” Jasmine Aguilera, Dallas Morning News, February 8, 2015.

The Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette (2/9, Smydo) reports, “The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health will participate in a study that could hasten the day when a patient’s genetic profile, not trial and error, helps a doctor determine which medications to prescribe.” Included in the “28-month, $350,000 study” will be “about 400 volunteers with mental-health disorders who are clients of NHS Human Services in Allegheny, Beaver, Dauphin and Lehigh counties.” Investigators “will analyze genetic material from about half of the volunteers and use those insights to make medication adjustments aimed at optimizing drug performance and decreasing side effects and adverse drug interactions,” while the other participants, who will serve as the control group, will get “usual care.”

Related Links:

— “Pitt study seeks to refine prescribing through genetics,” Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 9, 2015.

The Huffington Post (2/5, Holmes) reports that although “the economy may be improving…finances are still a stressful burden on Americans – especially among young adults and parents, according to the American Psychological Association’s new Stress in America survey.”

Related Links:

— “Americans Are More Stressed About Money Than Anything Else — And It’s Taking A Toll On Their Health,” Lindsay Holmes, Huffington Post, February 4, 2015.

TIME (2/5, Stout) reports that a “survey conducted in 34” European and North American countries found that “socioeconomic differences across multiple areas of adolescent mental and physical health increased between 2002 and 2010.” The findings were published Feb. 3 in The Lancet.

HealthDay (2/5, Preidt) reports that “the analysis showed that poorer kids living in countries with greater income inequality were more likely to be in worse health, get less exercise, have more body fat, have lower life satisfaction, and report more physical and mental health symptoms, such as irritability and headache.” An accompanying commentary observed, “To improve health and reduce health disparities across the lifespan, a focus should be on social factors that affect the health and well-being of young people.”

Related Links:

— “There’s a Growing Health Gap Between Rich and Poor Teens,” David Stout, Time, February 4, 2015.

In an opinion piece in USA Today (2/5), former US Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine, and former US Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI), founder of the Kennedy Forum, announce “a partnership between the Kennedy Forum and Morehouse School of Medicine that will fulfill President Kennedy’s vision of ensuring the best possible mental well-being for every American.” First, Satcher and Kennedy call for complete implementation of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. Second, they call for increased “focus on greater innovation to expand research and further our knowledge of the brain.” Third, they seek improved access to “high quality” mental healthcare not only by increasing the number of mental healthcare professionals, but also by asking primary care physicians to “make mental health part of their charge.” Fourth, Kennedy and Satcher call for “better integration to bring mental health into the mainstream” of US medicine.

Related Links:

— “Satcher-Kennedy: How to fix mental health system,” David Satcher and Patrick J. Kennedy, USA Today, February 4, 2015.