Reuters (9/8, Rapaport) reported, “Protecting young undocumented immigrants known as ‘dreamers’ from deportation may also help lower the risk of mental health problems for their US-born children,” researchers concluded after examining data on “5,653 mothers in Oregon born just before and after the cutoff for DACA eligibility.” The findings were published online Sept. 8 in the journal Science.

Related Links:

— “DACA tied to better mental health for children of immigrants,” Lisa Rapaprt, Reuters, September 8, 2017.

Healio (9/7, Oldt) reports, “Screening for postpartum depression in well-child care was associated with lower rates of depression and improvements in parenting, anxiety and mental health functioning when compared with usual care,” researchers concluded in a study involving some 3,089 mothers. The findings were published online Sept. 5 in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Postpartum depression screening in well-child care lowers maternal depression rates,” van der Zee-van den Berg AI, et al., Healio, September 7, 2017.

Young Women With Anorexia Nervosa Who Resume Menstruation By End Of Treatment May Experience Greater Improvement In Psychological, Physiological Well-Being Than Those Who Do Not, Small Study Suggests.
Medscape (9/7, Davenport) reports, “Young women with anorexia nervosa (AN) who resume menstruation by the end of treatment experience greater improvement in both psychological and physiologic well-being than those who do not,” researchers found after studying 39 women with AN and 40 women with bulimia nervosa. The findings were presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Medscape (9/6, Jenkins) reports that researchers found “no increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease following treatment with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in a group of men age 67 years and older with advanced prostate cancer.” The research was published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. This “finding contrasts with recent reports suggesting that there is an increased risk for cognitive impairment in patients who receive ADT.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Reuters (9/6, Kelland) reports, “Treating young people who suffer from insomnia by using online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) could reduce debilitating mental health problems such as anxiety and depression,” researchers concluded in a study involving some 3,755 UK university students. The findings were published online Sept. 6 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

According to MedPage Today (9/6, Bachert), the authors of an accompanying comment“noted that internet therapies are an easily available and low-cost option for insomnia which ‘might help reduce the burden of mental ill health and prevent onset of symptoms such as hallucinations and paranoia.’”

Related Links:

— “Treating insomnia can ease depression and paranoia, study finds,” Kate Kelland, Reuters, September 6, 2017.

The AP (9/5, Sharon Cohen |, Ap) reports, “Some of the most common stress-related reactions to disasters such as Harvey are anxiety, a change in appetite, insomnia and a sense of uncertainty…according to Dr. Anita Everett, president of the American Psychiatric Association.” Dr. Everett said, “It’s a little bit like a grieving process.” She added, “We sort of expect that there’s going to be waves of worry, waves of anxiety and that’s all within the normal experience.” Still, Dr. Everett “says that those who are struggling three months after a disaster and can’t work or make decisions may want to seek professional help.”

Related Links:

— “Harvey began with raging winds, but its legacy will be water,” Sharon Cohen, Associated Press via Washington Post, September 5, 2017.

The New York Times (8/31, Carroll, Frakt, Subscription Publication) reports on the likely long-term health consequences for people living in communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey, particularly its associated floods. Hurricanes and floods are associated with more than just the expected immediate death toll; such disasters frequently lead to an increase in nonlethal injuries, waterborne illnesses, communicable diseases, sanitation problems, and increase in depression rates, chronic heart and respiratory illnesses, and other health issues that lead to a higher mortality rate in flooded areas for month after the waters recede.

The Times concludes, “Everyone is understandably focused on the immediate dangers from flooding. But analysis of previous natural disasters shows that Harvey’s survivors will need attention and care far into the future.”

Related Links:

— “The Long-Term Health Consequences of Hurricane Harvey,” AARON E. CARROLL and AUSTIN FRAKT, New York Times, August 31, 2017.

The Huffington Post (8/31, Pearson) reports a study examining the impact of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on the children of “dreamers” found that children’s mental health improved when their mothers were considered eligible for the program. Prior to DACA, diagnoses for mental illnesses induced or exacerbated by external stressors “were roughly even”; but after DACA, children’s mental health issue rates “dropped from 7.8 percent to 3.3 percent.”

Related Links:

— “DACA Has Profound Mental Health Benefits For Children Of Dreamers,” Catherine Pearson, Huffington Post, August 31, 2017.

The Huffington Post (8/31, Yam) reports older Chinese-Americans impacted by “prejudice and racial bias” were twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts compared to those who did not experience discrimination, according to a study published in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Most respondents said they suffered discrimination in public spaces, and many said they also faced it in work environments.

Related Links:

— “Older Chinese-Americans Who’ve Faced Bias Are More Likely To Have Suicidal Thoughts,” Kimberly Yam, Huffington Post, August 31, 2017.

USA Today (8/26, O’Donnell) reported on the mental health impacts Hurricane Harvey may have on those “who survived Hurricane Katrina 12 years ago or last August’s flood in Louisiana,” even if these survivors are not in the path of Harvey. In some cases, people may be “more likely to experience symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Harvey can be hazardous to your mental health, even if you aren’t in path of the storm,” Jayne O’Donnell, USA Today, August 26, 2017.