The Huffington Post (11/9, Schumaker) reports a study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research reviewed 17 studies concerning the effects of alcohol policies on suicide rates, finding “that polices like alcohol taxation, limiting the number of stores that sell alcohol in a given area, increasing minimum drinking ages and restricting hours for alcohol sales were associated with lower suicide rates.” Study author Ziming Xuan said, “If one can reduce the average alcohol consumption in a population level, then ideally we can shift the [suicide] risk at a population level.”

Related Links:

— “How Little-Known Tax Laws Could Drive Down Our Suicide Rate,”Erin Schumaker, The Huffington Post, November 9, 2016.

HealthDay (11/8, Norton) reports that over the past 10 years, “‘self-harm’ has been the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in Colorado,” researchers found after examining maternal death records in that state between 2004 and 2012, including “both deaths during a pregnancy or in the year afterward.” In fact, “of all 211 maternal deaths in Colorado between 2004 and 2012, 30 percent were attributed to self-harm,” including “suicides and…overdoses – most often in the year after a woman gave birth,” the study revealed.

Related Links:

— “Self-Harm a Cause of Death During Pregnancy and for New Moms,”Amy Norton, HealthDay, November 8, 2016.

Reuters (11/8, Doyle) reports that in the aftermath of a car accident, youngsters may “experience post-traumatic stress disorder for months or years afterward although parents may have trouble recognizing it,” researchers found after studying “71 families of children ages two to 10 and their parents or caregivers who went to an emergency department after a motor vehicle collision in 2004 or 2005.”

HealthDay (11/8, Preidt) reports the study also revealed “a strong link between parents having PTSD and their children having it as well, even years after the traumatic event.” The findings were published online Nov. 8 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “PTSD can persist for years in kids, but parents may not see it,”Kathryn Doyle, Reuters, November 8, 2016.

The New York Times (11/8, D5, Brody, Subscription Publication) reports that a study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry “reveals just how lethal suicide attempts, as a risk factor for completed suicide, are.” After tracking “all first suicide attempts in one county in Minnesota that occurred between January 1986 and December 2007 and” then recording “all the deaths by suicide for up to 25 years thereafter,” researchers found that “the fatality rate among suicide attempters was nearly 59 percent higher than had been previously reported.” The study also found that “the odds of successfully committing suicide are 140 times greater when a gun is used than for any other method.” The authors of an accompanying editorial observed that gun “availability should be restricted through such measures as ‘legal restrictions regarding permission to purchase firearms, waiting periods, safe storage, background checks and registration guidelines.’”

Related Links:

— “After a Suicide Attempt, the Risk of Another Try,”Jane E. Brody, The New York Times, November 8, 2016.

Reuters (11/7, Rapaport) reports on a study published online in Pediatrics finding that state laws requiring schools to help students return to school after a concussion fail to state what sort of help should be given and do not result in the students receiving sufficient help. Illinois alone has a law setting standards for aid, following guidelines developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study only looked at state laws and did not examine school policies or practices or the experiences of individual students.

HealthDay (11/7, Norton) reports that just eight states have laws regarding students returning to the classroom. The laws do not require any training for teachers, nor do they declare who is responsible for ensuring that the students are helped to return to studies.

MedPage Today (11/7, Basen) reports lead author Monica Vavilala, MD, of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center in Seattle, and colleagues wrote that no state law “provided guidance on support of students with persistent postconcussive symptoms.”

Related Links:

— “‘Return-to-Learn’ laws may not help students after concussions,”Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, November 7, 2016.

The New York Times (11/7, Pear, Subscription Publication) reports the Obama Administration “is stepping up enforcement of laws that require equal insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses, a move officials say will help combat an opioid overdose epidemic.” In late October, a White House task force “found that compliance” with Federal mental health parity laws and regulations has been “lagging” and “said insurers needed to understand that coverage for the treatment of drug addiction must be comparable to that for other conditions like depression, schizophrenia, cancer and heart disease.”

Related Links:

— “U.S. Enforcing Insurance Law to Help Fight Opioid Abuse,”Robert Pear, The New York Times, November 7, 2016.

In the Washington Post (11/5) “Wonkblog,” Christopher Ingraham wrote, “The autumn shift” from daylight savings “to standard time appears to be closely linked to a jump in depression diagnoses,” researchers found after examining “a database of 185,419 depression diagnoses in Denmark from 1995 to 2012.” After “comparing the rates of depression diagnoses before and after time changes in the spring and fall,” investigators “found that ‘the transition from summer time to standard time were associated with an 11 percent increase…in the incidence rate of unipolar depressive episodes.” The study was published online Oct. 20 in Epidemiology. HealthDay (11/6, Preidt) and Healio (11/4, Oldt) also covered the study.

Related Links:

— “Turning back the clock 1 hour takes a serious toll on your mental health,”Christopher Ingraham, The Washington Post, November 5, 2016.

MedPage Today (11/4, Kneisel) reported that research suggests “amyloid brain scans can change diagnosis and treatment choice in patients with cognitive impairment.” However, “the researchers cautioned that the effect of amyloid PET scanning on morbidity and mortality, as well as its cost-effectiveness, remains to be assessed.” The findings of the 228-patient study were published online in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Amyloid Scans Change Dementia Diagnoses,”Kate Kneisel, MedPage Today, November 4, 2016.

The San Diego Union-Tribune (11/1, Prine) reports that according to a new “report from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,” wives of military service members appear to be “more likely than their civilian peers to abuse prescription medications meant to treat anxiety,” attention-deficit/hyperactivity “disorder and other psychological problems.” Additionally, military wives may be “more likely than other married women to suffer from mental illness, consume liquor and binge drink, according to the analysis.”

Related Links:

— “Report: military wives more likely to suffer mental illness, alcohol abuse,” CARL PRINE, San Diego Union-Tribune, November 2, 2016.

Medwire News (11/2, McDermid) reports investigators “say that physicians should be alert for worsening depression in patients with type 1 diabetes, after finding it to be associated with poor metabolic control.” The study included “313 patients, aged 28 years on average, 258 of whom participated in all five annual follow-up assessments.” The findings were published online Oct. 27 in Diabetologia.

Related Links:

— “Worsening depression flags poor glycemic control in type 1 diabetes,” Eleanor McDermid, MedWire News, November 2, 2016.