Medscape (10/9, Anderson, Subscription Publication) reported research suggests that “about a quarter of police officers in one large force report past or present mental health problems.” Included in the study were “434 members of the Dallas Police Department, the ninth largest in the United States.” In response “to a survey, 26% of police officers on the Dallas Police Department screened positive for depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or symptoms of suicide ideation or self-harm.” What’s more, “mental illness rates were particularly high among female officers, those who were divorced, widowed, or separated, and those with military experience.” The findings were published online Oct. 7 in JAMA Network Open. In a comment “on the study for Medscape Medical News, Anthony T. Ng, MD, regional medical director, East Region Hartford Healthcare Behavioral Health Network, and member of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Communications, found the study ‘helpful.’”

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Medical Daily (10/8) reports that parents “who are undecided about whether to enroll their children in music classes may want to take notice of a small study published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, which found that music may increase a child’s attention span and improve memory.” The researchers “followed 40 children, half of whom played an instrument.” Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers “examined the blood flow to the brain through the images as children performed tests that measured their memory and reaction time.”

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— “Musical Children Tend to Have Better Memories, Medical Daily, October 8, 2020

HealthDay (10/8, Reinberg) reports, “Kids who reach puberty earlier than other kids are at an increased risk of harming themselves as teens,” investigators concluded. After examining “data from more than 5,000 boys and girls,” researchers concluded that “early puberty resulted in a higher risk for self-harm at age 16.” What’s more, “for girls, the risk continued into adulthood.” The findings were published online Oct. 6 in the journal Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences.

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— “For Kids Who Hit Puberty Early, Risk of Self-Harm Rises “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, October 8, 2020

HealthDay (10/8, Reinberg) reports, “By about age 16, teens diagnosed with depression have substantially lower educational attainment,” investigators concluded after using “British health and education records to identify nearly 1,500 kids under 18 years of age with depression,” then comparing “educational attainment…with a group of young people who were not depressed.” The findings were published online in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

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— “Depressed Teens May Struggle in School “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, October 8, 2020

According to Psychiatric News (10/8), on Oct. 7, the American Psychiatric Association announced “the release of My Mental Health Crisis Plan, a mobile app that allows people with serious mental illness (SMI) to create a plan to inform their treatment should they experience a mental health crisis.” Using the app, individuals “can easily create and share a psychiatric advance directive (PAD), a legal document that outlines one’s preferences around treatment during a crisis.” In a news release, APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, said, “A psychiatric advance directive is an important tool for individuals with serious mental illness to be able to plan ahead and have some control over their treatment at a time when they may not be able to make decisions.”

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— “New App Helps People With Serious Mental Illness Develop a Crisis Plan, Psychiatric News, October 8, 2020

Healio (10/7, Weller) reports, “Paternal self-efficacy in tasks like soothing or putting an infant to sleep was linked to a lower risk for depressive symptoms among fathers in the year after birth,” investigators concluded in a study that included “a total of 881 Black, Latino and white fathers of low socioeconomic statuses who lived in urban, mixed/suburban or rural areas.” The findings were published online Sept. 23 in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.

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— “Fathers who actively parent infants may have lower risk for depression “Madison Weller, Healio , October 7, 2020

HealthDay (10/7, Reinberg) reports cocaine overdose deaths have nearly tripled over a period of five years, according to a CDC report. HealthDay adds, “After a period of stability, cocaine-induced deaths rose by about 27% per year, on average, from 2013 through 2018.”

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— “Overdose Deaths From Cocaine Rising Dramatically “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, October 7, 2020

HealthDay (10/6, Gordon) reports researchers found “girls who played after-school sports in elementary school seem to have fewer symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) once they reach middle school.” The findings were published in Preventive Medicine.

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— “Early School Sports Reduce ADHD Symptoms Years Later for Girls “Serena Gordon, HealthDay, October 6, 2020

CNN (10/6) reports “researchers at New York’s Columbia Business School and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in Chicago found” that “being authentic” on Facebook might be beneficial for people’s mental health. The study’s authors said, “Being prompted to post in an authentic way was associated with more positive mood and affect, and less negative mood within participants. Our findings suggest that all individuals regardless of personality traits could benefit from being authentic on social media.” The study was published in Nature.

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— “Being authentic on Facebook is better for your mental health, researchers say “Katie Hunt, CNN, October 6, 2020

Medscape (10/5, Brauser, Subscription Publication) reports researchers found “substance use disorders, particularly opioid addiction and smoking, are tied to an increase risk for COVID-19 and serious adverse outcomes including hospitalization and death.” The findings were published in Molecular Psychiatry. Dr. Andrew J. Saxon, professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and a member of the APA’s Council on Addition Psychiatry, said, “I found it pretty convincing that people who have substance use disorders are probably at higher risk for getting COVID-19 infection and more complications once they are infected.”

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)