The AP (2/4, Wahlberg) reports that Wisconsin is experiencing “a surge in suicides and suicidal thoughts among farmers, who are facing some of the worst economic challenges in years, experts say,” as farmers react to “several years of low milk prices, the high cost of farm equipment, trade wars and other pressures.” Recently, however, the Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program “started a farmer suicide prevention project” effort that is “funded by a $50,000 grant from the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Wisconsin Partnership Program.” This project, in which the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Iowa County is also involved, “plans to develop a mobile crisis service, conduct suicide prevention training sessions and establish networks to address suicide in a region stretching from Eau Claire to the state border with Dubuque, Iowa.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide prevention project aims to help distressed farmers, “David Wahlberg, AP, February 4, 2019

Medscape (2/4, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “In a ‘head-to-head’ article published online” Jan. 30 “in the BMJ, experts debate” the harms and benefits of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for the treatment of severe depression.

According to Healio (2/4, Demko), “John Read, PhD, professor of clinical psychology at University of East London, along with Sue Cunliffe, a patient who underwent the therapy, argued that ECT does not have long-term benefits compared with placebo and may cause brain damage,” while “Sameer Jauhar, MRCPsych, from King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, and Declan McLoughlin, PhD, MRCPsych, professor of psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, St Patrick’s University Hospital, Ireland, argued that the evidence supports ECT as an effective and safe depression treatment with manageable adverse side effects.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Healio (2/1, Webb) reported, “Men with positive perceptions of their relationship with their family physician may be more likely to choose active treatment for depression,” researchers concluded after conducting “a cross-Canada online survey of 1,000 men (mean age, 49.6 years; 819 with a regular family physician).” The findings were published in the January issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Men with quality patient-doctor relationships more likely to seek treatment for depression, “Melissa J. Webb, Healio, February 1, 2019

Reuters (1/31, Crist) reports, “Teens and young men in correctional facilities are at increased risk of dying by suicide, but they are otherwise fairly similar to unincarcerated youth who take their own lives,” researchers concluded after analyzing “the characteristics and circumstances around 10,000 suicides among young men ages 10-24 between 2003 and 2012, including 213 incarcerated youth who were in a short-term juvenile detention center, long-term juvenile correctional facility, adult jail or adult prison.” The findings were published online Jan. 23 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Suicide-risk screening might cut deaths among incarcerated youth, “Carolyn Crist, Reuters, January 31, 2019

According to Healio (1/31, Demko), “women were twice as likely as men to have severe depression after experiencing a stroke,” researchers concluded in a study involving “1,275 men and 1,038 women.” The findings were published online Jan. 7 in the European Journal of Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Severe depression after stroke more common in women than men, “Savannah Demko, Healio, January 31, 2019

Reuters (1/30, Carroll) reports researchers found that aerobic exercise can improve cognition in younger adults. The findings of the 132-person study were published online in Neurology.

HealthDay (1/30, Salamon) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Aerobic exercise may improve thinking skills in adults of all ages, “Linda Carroll, Reuters, January 30, 2019

According to Healio (1/30, Demko), “Early-risers may have better mental health than night owls,” researchers concluded after asking “250,000 participants of 23andMe and 450,000 UK Biobank participants if they were a morning or evening person.” Next, investigators “analyzed participants’ genomes to see which genetic loci they had in common that may affect their sleep patterns,” and then “also examined data from 85,760 UK Biobank participants with activity-monitor–derived measures of sleep timing.” Research “indicated that being genetically programmed to rise early may lead to greater well-being and a lower risk for schizophrenia and depression.” The findings were published online Jan. 29 in the journal Nature Communications.

Related Links:

— “Early-risers may have better mental health than night owls, “Savannah Demko, Healio, January 30, 2019

According to CNN (1/30, Howard), “a mild traumatic brain injury…may come with a higher risk of mental health problems,” research “supported by the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Defense” indicates.

Healio (1/30, Demko) reports, “Some patients were more likely to develop” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD “and/or major depressive disorder [MDD] following mild traumatic brain injury, or TBI,” researchers concluded in a study of “1,155 adult patients with mild TBI and 230 patients with non-head orthopedic trauma injuries evaluated in the” emergency departments of 11 hospitals in the US. The findings were published online Jan. 30 in JAMA Psychiatry.

MedPage Today (1/30, George) reports that National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke supported the study, and NINDS program director Patrick Bellgowan, PhD, said, “Mental health disorders after concussion have been studied primarily in military populations, and not much is known about these outcomes in civilians.” He added, “These results may help guide follow-up care and suggest that doctors may need to pay particular attention to the mental state of patients many months after injury.”

Related Links:

— “Mild TBI linked to PTSD, depression in some patients, “Savannah Demko, Healio, January 30, 2019

According to USA Today (1/29, O’Donnell, Quarshie), “witnessing abuse carries the same risk of harm to children’s mental health and learning as being abused directly,” research indicated. Investigators “who followed 1,420 children in North Carolina from age nine to 30 found that exposure to domestic violence in the home had the same serious and life-changing effects as experiencing the abuse directly.” The findings were published online Nov. 9 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “The startling toll on children who witness domestic violence is just now being understood, “Jayne O’Donnell and Mabinty Quarshie, USA Today, January 29, 2019

MedPage Today (1/29, Walker) reports researchers found that counties with “higher long-term unemployment rates and a” shortage of mental health clinicians had “higher rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).” The findings were published in JAMA. Katy B. Kozhimannil, PhD, of the University of Minnesota, and Lindsay K. Admon, MD, of the University of Michigan, wrote in an accompanying editorial that the link between shortages of mental health clinicians and NAS was a “key finding.”

HealthDay (1/29, Preidt) reports the researchers examined “6.3 million births between 2009 and 2015 in 580 counties in Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Tennessee and Washington,” and found that “in counties with high, long-term unemployment, 20 of every 1,000 newborns were exposed to opioids” in utero, compared to only “7.8 per 1,000 births in counties with the lowest unemployment.”

Related Links:

— “Opioid Danger to Newborns Varies By Region, “Robert Preidt, Healthday, January 29, 2019