The Washington Post (5/31, Cha) reports that “depression in many children appears to start as early as age 11,” research indicated. What’s more, “by the time they hit age 17, the analysis found, 13.6 percent of boys and a staggering 36.1 percent of girls have been or are depressed,” investigators found after examining “data compiled from in-person interviews with more than 100,000 children who participated in the National Survey of Drug Use and Health from 2009 to 2014.” The findings were published online May 30 in Translational Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “ More than a third of teenage girls experience depression, new study says,”Ariana Eunjung Cha, The Washington Post, May 31, 2017.

Healio (5/25) reports the American Psychiatric Association has “renewed its call for a bipartisan solution to health care” in light of the “recently released Congressional Budget Office estimates regarding the American Health Care Act [AHCA],” particularly since “the CBO score confirmed” APA’s “concerns that the AHCA will negatively affect individuals with mental health and substance use disorders.” Outgoing APA President Maria A. Oquendo, MD, PhD, said in a press release, “We are deeply troubled that 23 million Americans could lose access to health care.” Dr. Oquendo added, “Taking away their coverage is unconscionable.” APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, said, “We stand ready to work with both parties to ensure adequate health care for all Americans.”

Psychiatric News (5/25) reports that “an estimated 1.3 million Americans with serious mental illness and 2.8 million Americans with substance use disorders gained coverage for the first time under the expansion of Medicaid in the” Affordable Care Act. In a press release, the APA wrote, “As the Senate debates reforms to the health system, services for people with mental health and substance use disorders – and their families – must be maintained.” For that reason, “the APA urges the Senate to reject the American Health Care Act in favor of bipartisan legislation.”

Related Links:

— “APA renews call for bipartisan health care reform, Healio, May 25, 2017.

Reuters (5/25, Seaman) reports that “the risk of suicide 10 years after adolescents were hospitalized for drug problems, alcohol abuse or violent injury was similar to the risk among those hospitalized for self-harm,” researchers found after examining “data on nearly 650,000 adolescents with accidental injuries and 333,000 with adversity-related injuries.” The findingswere published online May 25 in The Lancet. The authors of an accompanying editorial wrote, “Health-care professionals should no longer see an adolescent presenting in distress as a nuisance, wasting valuable clinical time, but as a vulnerable person deserving the second chance that responsive and sustained health care can provide.”

Related Links:

— “Alcohol, drug, violence and self harm among teens need similar attention,”Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters, May 25, 2017.

MedPage Today (5/24, Visk) reports, “Treating sleep disorders may improve depressive symptoms,” researchers found after evaluating “electronic medical record data from 1,981 patients ages 18 and up evaluated at the Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorders Center between Jan. 1, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2014.” Specifically, “positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy was associated with significantly improved scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) over six months,” the study revealed. The findings were reported during a poster session at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Treating Sleep Problems May Ease Depression,” DeeAnn Visk, MedPage Today, May 24, 2017.

The New York Times (5/24, Hauser, Subscription Publication) reports that currently, “at least nine states now ban ‘conversion therapy’ for minors, a discredited method meant to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, after Nevada and Connecticut this month joined others in prohibiting the practice.” As state lawmakers around the country “have debated the bans, many have noted during the legislative process that conversion therapy has been discredited by experts.”

Related Links:

— “Nevada and Connecticut are Latest to Ban Discredited ‘Conversion Therapy’,”Christine Hausermay, The New York Times, May 24, 2017.

Healio (5/12) reported, “One in five children experiences a serious mental disorder at some point in their life, according to the” National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The article went on to highlight some of the most popular “research articles” on youngsters’ mental health this year, including a report released by the “American Academy of Pediatrics and other pediatric behavioral health organizations…that outlines guidance and recommendations for clinicians treating children with past maltreatment.”

Link contains information from several studies.

Related Links:

— “NIMH: 20% of children develop mental health disorder,” Healio, May 12, 2017.

Healio (5/15, Oldt) reports researchers found “a high rate of relapse after low-intensity” cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) “for anxiety and depression, suggesting a need for relapse prevention, particularly among individuals with residual depressive symptoms.” Specifically, “53% of participants relapsed within 12 months.” The findings of the 439-patient study will be published in the July issue of Behaviour Research and Therapy.

Related Links:

— “More than 50% of low-intensity CBT patients relapse,”Amanda Oldt, Healio, May 15, 2017.

Healio (5/15, Oldt) reports the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be “associated with increased risk for dementia among veterans, which varied with use of psychotropic medications,” researchers found after evaluating “a nationwide sample of US veterans (n = 417,172) aged 56 years or older.” The findings were published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Related Links:

— “PTSD, psychotropic medication increase dementia risk,”Amanda Oldt, Healio , May 15, 2017.

Healio (5/10, Oldt) reports a review has “found little evidence of negative long-term effects of antipsychotics for schizophrenia and indicated significant efficacy for acute psychosis treatment and prevention of relapse.” The findings of the review were published online May 5 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Review supports long-term effects of antipsychotics for schizophrenia,” Goff DC, et al., Healio, May 10, 2017.

HealthDay (5/10, Preidt) reports that research suggests hypertension, “elevated cholesterol or a smoking habit early in life increases your odds for mental decline during middle age.” Investigators looked at “data from thousands of people…who were followed from childhood to adulthood.” The study indicated that hypertension “and high cholesterol in childhood, the teen years and young adulthood – as well as smoking in the teens and young adulthood – were associated with worse midlife mental performance, especially memory and learning.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Related Links:

— “What Harms the Young Heart Also Hurts the Brain Later
,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, May 10, 2017.