In a front-page article, the Washington Post (3/4, A1, Bernstein) reports the rights of those suffering from mental disabilities to receive transplants is “emerging [as an] ethical issue” in medicine. Currently, physicians, “nurses, psychologists and social workers at 815 US transplant programs are free to take neurocognitive disabilities such as autism into consideration any way they want,” which the Post says has led to a wide range of variation across these programs.

A spokesperson for Health and Human Services said in a statement that the department has been working “to clarify the obligations of covered entities participating in the transplant process and to provide equal access to their programs to individuals with disabilities.”

Related Links:

— “People with autism, intellectual disabilities fight bias in transplants,” Lenny Bernstein, Washington Post, March 4, 2017.

HealthDay (3/6, Norton) reports that research published in Pediatrics suggests kids “with certain mental or behavioral disorders” may have higher “risk of abuse or neglect.” Investigators found that “overall…children with autism, Down syndrome or certain birth defects, such as spina bifida, were not at heightened risk of abuse.”

However, kids “with intellectual disabilities were,” as were “kids who fell into the broad category of ‘mental or behavioral disorder’ – which included problems ranging from depression and anxiety to developmental delays to personality disorders.” Data on nearly half a million Australian children were used in the study.

Related Links:

— “Disabled Kids at Higher Risk of Abuse, Study Finds,” Amy Norton, HealthDay, March 6, 2017.

HealthDay (3/6, Preidt) reports, “Mental health patients are more likely to reject treatment if it involves only” medication, researchers found after analyzing “186 studies of patients who sought help for mental health conditions.” Investigators found that “overall, the average treatment refusal rate was more than eight percent.” The findings were published online March 6 in Psychotherapy.

Related Links:

— “Patients Often Reject Drug-Only Psychiatric Treatment,” Robert Priedt, HealthDay, March 6, 2017.

Reuters (3/2, Crist) reports that research suggests kids “under age 5 are more likely to accidentally get injured if their mothers are having a depression or anxiety episode.” Investigators found that “the rates of child poisonings, small fractures and minor burns increased during these episodes – with poisonings more than doubled when mothers suffered both depression and anxiety – but there was no link to more severe injuries such as third-degree burns or femur fractures.” Investigators came to this conclusion after looking at “hospitalization data for more than 200,000 children.” The findings were published online in Injury Prevention.

Related Links:

— “Children of depressed mothers at risk for unintentional injuries,” Carolyn Crist, Reuters, March 3, 2017.

MedPage Today (3/1, Walker) reports a study published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine found “young children whose mothers were exposed to pyrethroid insecticides while pregnant showed increased rates of behavioral difficulties.”

Researchers from the French national research institute INSERM determined that, “after adjusting for certain potential confounders, there was a positive association between high prenatal concentrations in maternal urine of certain neurotoxic chemicals found in insecticides, on one hand, and on the other, internalizing behavioral difficulties at age 6 in offspring.”

The report explains that “there was a more than twofold increased risk of abnormal or borderline social behavior” for children showing the highest exposure levels.

Related Links:

— “Insecticide Exposure Linked to Behavioral Problems in Kids — Associations found for both pregnant women, young children,” Molly Walker , MedPage Today, March 1, 2017.

The New York Times (3/1, Reynolds, Subscription Publication) reports that, according to a study published in PLoS One, “for some people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, frequent, brisk walks may help to bolster physical abilities and slow memory loss.”

Researchers at the University of Kansas recruited about 70 men and women with Alzheimer’s and while one group “began a supervised walking program,” the second control group began stretching and toning classes “that would not increase aerobic endurance.”

The Times says “the toning had not slowed the progression of their disease” but “some of the walkers were thinking and remembering much better.” Researchers found that “walkers who had increased their aerobic fitness had also improved their ability to remember and think and bulked up the volume of their brains.”

Related Links:

— “Frequent, Brisk Walks May Aid Those With Early Alzheimer’s,” GRETCHEN REYNOLDS, New York Times, March 1, 2017.

USA Today (3/1, Guynn) reports, “Faced with an alarming phenomenon, people taking their own lives on its live-streaming service, Facebook is stepping up efforts to prevent suicides.” Yesterday, “Facebook announced it will integrate real-time suicide prevention tools into Facebook Live.” Additionally, “it…said it will offer live-chat support from crisis support organizations…and make it easier to report suicide or self-injury.”

The Washington Post (3/1, Bever) reports that “Facebook is also testing artificial intelligence to scan for posts as well as comments that indicate suicidal ideation and report them to the community operations team for review and possible intervention.”

Related Links:

— “Facebook takes steps to stop suicides on Live,” Jessica Guynn, USA Today, March 1, 2017.

Healio (2/28) reports that research indicated “mood and adjustment disorders, such as anxiety and depression, predicted the number of outpatient visits, hospital admissions and days spent in the hospital for patients with breast or prostate cancer.” Additionally, “between 2007 and 2014, the incidence of mood and adjustment disorders increased from 21% to 28% among women with breast cancer and from 9% to 13% among men with prostate cancer.” The findings were scheduled to be presented at the Quality Care Symposium.

Related Links:

— “Anxiety, depression predict increased medical use in patients with breast, prostate cancer,” Healio, February 28, 2017.

In a special report, STAT (2/6, Thielking) explains that colleges and universities across the US “are failing to keep up with a troubling spike in demand for mental health care – leaving students stuck on waiting lists for weeks, unable to get help.” After surveying “dozens of universities about their mental health services,” STAT discovered that “students often have to wait weeks just for an initial intake exam to review their symptoms.” Even “longer still” is the waiting time “to see a psychiatrist who can prescribe or adjust medication – often a part-time employee.”

Related Links:

— “,” MEGAN THIELKING, STAT, February 6, 2017.

The Winston-Salem (NC) Journal (1/29, Howse) reports that next month, the national Stepping Up Process to End Recidivism (SUPER) “initiative to reduce the number of people with mental illness in jails will start accepting participants.” The initiative’s goal is “to raise awareness of factors that contribute to the over-representation of people with mental illnesses in jails, and to develop practices and strategies to reduce the numbers.” Leading the “national initiative” are “the National Association of Counties, the Council of State Governments Justice Center and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation.”

Related Links:

— “Forsyth County launching initiative to reduce number of people jailed who have mental illness,”Jordan Howse Winston, The Winston-Salem Journal, January 30, 2017.