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.

Reuters (5/10, Seaman) reports that the risk for having a motor vehicle accident is “significantly reduced” for people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “when they are taking” AD/HD “medication, a 10-year study” revealed. Included in the study were some “2,319,450 people over age 18 with” a diagnosis of AD/HD. Of that group, “about 1.9 million of them received at least one prescription to treat” the disorder during the course of the study. The findings were published online May 10 in JAMA Psychiatry.

According to MedPage Today (5/10, Bachert), the authors of an invited commentary “noted the findings confirm and extend existing experimental studies, and have impressive implications for the use of” medication for AD/HD. Also covering the study are Psychiatric News (5/10), the Washington Times (5/10, Kelly) and Healio (5/10, Oldt).

Related Links:

— “ADHD treatment tied to lower car crash risk,” Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters, May 10, 2017.

The Boston Globe (5/9, Kowalczyk) reports that investigators “posing as the parent of a depressed 12-year-old called hundreds of child psychiatrists and pediatricians looking for appointments, and discovered what many actual parents know through bitter experience: Most of the time the calls were fruitless.” After phoning some 913 physicians listed as in network “by Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations in Boston, Chapel Hill, Houston, Minneapolis, and Seattle,” researchers discovered that “after two attempts, they were able to get an appointment with a pediatrician 40 percent of the time and with a psychiatrist a meager 17 percent.” The findings were published online May 5 in the International Journal of Health Services.

Related Links:

— “Search for mental health care for children is often fruitless,” Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, May 2, 2017.

The Los Angeles Times (5/8, Karlamangla) reports some physicians are referring to their patients to peer support groups to help them cope with chronic diseases that can affect their lifestyles. The article highlights one such group in Los Angeles for patients with diabetes, and points out that the Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recommends peer groups as a way to address concerns that might not be given adequate attention during a short visit with a physician.

Related Links:

— “Doctors turn to the power of peer groups to help diabetics,” Soumya Karlamangla, Los Angeles Times, May 8, 2017.