HealthDay (8/29) reports, “Many U.S. Army soldiers who attempt suicide have no prior diagnosis of a mental health issue…and such histories may not be a good predictor of a soldier’s suicide risk,” research indicates. For the study, researchers “tracked the medical histories of thousands of enlisted soldiers (not including Guard or Reserve members) who served from 2004 through 2009.” The study revealed that “attempted suicide risk factors were similar for soldiers with and without a prior diagnosis of a mental health disorder.” The findings (8/29) were published online Aug. 29 in JAMA Psychiatry.

According to Healio (8/29, Demko), the authors of an accompanying editorial (8/29) wrote, “It is essential that suicide prevention efforts move outside of the silo of mental health.” They added that the study’s findings “support the recent changes by the Army to integrate mental health resources into a variety of nontraditional settings to increase access to care and decrease stigma.”

Related Links:

— “Soldiers’ Suicide Attempts Often Come Without Prior Mental Health Diagnosis, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, August 29, 2018.

Reuters (8/28, Rapaport) reports that research suggests “adults with mood disorders like anxiety and depression may be more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than people without mental illness.” The findings were published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

HealthDay (8/28, Mozes) reports that the finding comes “from a four-year study that tracked psychological distress among nearly 222,000 seemingly healthy men and women, aged 45 years and older, with no prior history of heart disease.” MedPage Today (8/28, Monaco) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Anxiety, depression tied to higher risk of heart attack, stroke, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, August 28, 2018.

NPR (8/28, Chatterjee) reports the US Preventive Services Task Force released recommendations urging physicians to “screen pregnant women and new moms” for depression so that “they can be treated before they show symptoms and a diagnosis of depression can be averted.” The task force said that physicians “should look for these risk factors: a history of depression, current depressive symptoms (like sadness, hopelessness about the future, lack of sleep, etc.), and socioeconomic risk factors like being low income, very young or a single parent.”

MedPage Today (8/28, Monaco) reports the group found “convincing evidence” that “referring these women to counseling services, including cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy, will have a ‘moderate net benefit’ in helping prevent perinatal depression among women who are at increased risk.”

Related Links:

— “Panel: Doctors Should Focus On Preventing Depression In Pregnant Women, New Moms, “Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, August 28, 2018.

USA Today (8/28, O’Donnell) reports “preteen suicides…remain rare. But as their numbers rise, they’re getting new attention from researchers.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “the death rate among 10- to 14-year-olds more than doubled from 0.9 per 100,000 in 2007 to 2.1 per 100,000 in 2014.”

TIME (8/28, Ducharme) reports the recent “suicide of a 9-year-old Colorado fourth grader underscores the challenges surrounding youth mental health – particularly the risks LGBTQ kids face.”

Related Links:

— “Preteen suicides are rare, but numbers are on the rise, “Jayne O’Donnell, USA Today, August 28, 2018.

HealthDay (8/27, Norton) reports on a study published in Injury Prevention finding that “more Americans are now dying from suicide and drug overdoses combined than from diabetes” with “29 deaths from suicide or drug overdose per 100,000 Americans” in 2016, “compared to just under 25 deaths per 100,000 from diabetes.” The researchers said that “people who die from suicide or drug overdose often have similar histories – including trauma, untreated depression and a lack of social support.”

Related Links:

— “U.S. Deaths From Suicide, Drugs Surpass Diabetes, “Amy Norton, HealthDay, August 27, 2018.

Endocrinology Advisor (8/22, Rice) reports, “Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with an increased risk for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder,” researchers concluded in a 57-study review that encompassed some “172,040 patients.” The findings were published online July 31 in the journal Endocrine.

Related Links:

— “Are Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome More Likely to Develop Psychiatric Disorder?,”Tyler Rice, Endocrinology Advisor, August 22, 2018.

The New York Times (8/22, Bakalar) reports, “Children whose families move homes frequently may be at increased risk for serious psychiatric illness,” researchers concluded after following “1,440,383 children from birth to age 29, including data on residential moves.” The study revealed that “the more the children under 19 moved, the greater their risk for psychosis.” The findings were published online Aug. 22 in JAMA Psychiatry. Healio (8/22, Demko) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Frequent Home Moves May Increase a Child’s Risk of Psychosis, ” Nicholas Bakalar, The New York Times, August 22, 2018.

HealthDay (8/21, Preidt) reports on a study finding that “children whose parents have cancer are more likely to struggle in school and to have lower incomes as adults.” The study included “more than 1 million people born in Denmark from 1978 through 1999,” and of these, “about one in 20 had a parent diagnosed with cancer” while they were under 18. The children so affected were found to have “lower grade averages in school than their classmates,” and “grade averages were lowest among children who had a parent die of cancer or who had low odds of surviving five years.” The study also found that “by age 30, adults with a childhood experience with parental cancer were more likely to earn less than others” and children under five at the time the parent was diagnosed “appeared to be at greatest risk of problems.” The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

Related Links:

— “When a Parent Has Cancer, Kids Suffer Long Term: Study, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, August 21, 2018.

In “Science Now,” the Los Angeles Times (8/21, Kaplan) reports “new research suggests that taking care of your cardiovascular system will pay off for your brain.”

The New York Times (8/21, Bakalar) reports that in a 6,626-participant study, researchers found that “cardiovascular health in older people is associated with lower risk of dementia and lower rates of cognitive decline.” The findings were published in the Aug. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

TIME (8/21, Park) reports the researchers found that people with good cardiovascular health, as measured by the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 Metrics, were less likely to have dementia.

MedPage Today (8/21, George) reports that in another study, also published in the Aug. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association but involving “125 young adults in England,” researchers found “that better cardiovascular metrics were associated with higher cerebral vessel density and caliber, higher cerebral blood flow, and fewer white matter hyperintensities.” The authors of an editorial accompanying both studies observed that the two new studies examined the relationship between cardiovascular health and brain function in younger and older people, rather than middle-age people as most previous studies have. Healio (8/21, Tedesco) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “The more you do to promote your cardiovascular health, the lower your risk of dementia,”Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, August 21, 2018.

According to the Wall Street Journal (8/20, Reddy, Subscription Publication), research published online Aug. 8 in The Lancet Psychiatry examined how different exercise types may affect mental health. Included in the study were data on 1.2 million adults in the US who responded to a CDC survey. The study revealed that playing on a sports team and bicycling appeared to have the best effect.

Related Links:

— “The Exercise That Helps Mental Health Most,” Sumathi Reddy, The Wall Street Journal, August 20, 2018.