The New York Times (9/19, Louis, Subscription Publication) reports a new study suggests that attention deficit disorder (ADD) “is the most common mental health diagnosis among children under 12 who die by suicide.” In evaluating “deaths in 17 states from 2003 to 2012,” researchers “compared 87 children aged 5 to 11 who committed suicide with 606 adolescents aged 12 to 14 who did, to see how they differed.” The findings were published in the journal Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “More Child Suicides Are Linked to A.D.D. Than Depression, Study Suggests,” CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS, New York Times, September 19, 2016.

Healio (9/15, Oldt) reports, “A literature review” published online Sept. 9 in the American Psychiatric Association’s American Journal of Psychiatry suggested that Food and Drug Administration-approved “hypnotic medications were associated with increased risk for suicidal ideation.” In particular, the study authors “expressed concern regarding benzodiazepine receptor agonist hypnotics, which can cause parasomnias and may lead to suicidal ideation or behavior in individuals not known to be suicidal.”

Related Links:

— “Hypnotics may increase risk for suicidal ideation, suicide,” McCall WV, et al., Healio, September 15, 2016.

The New York Daily News (9/14, Fermino) reports New York City health officials announced that more people now die from suicide in the city than from homicide or car crashes. In 2014, 565 people died by suicide while 353 people died from homicides and 270 died in motor vehicle accidents.

Related Links:

— “Suicide claims more lives in New York City than murders or car crashes, data shows,” Jennifer Fermino, New York Daily News, September 14, 2016.

In an opinion piece in USA Today (9/15, Shulkin), David J. Shulkin, MD, undersecretary for health for the Department of Veterans Affairs, writes, “This past year, VA has expanded our suicide prevention efforts providing greater access to our services, and we are continuing to ensure same-day access for urgent mental health needs at every medical center.”

The VA is also “enhancing…partnerships with community-based” practitioners “to broaden the network of mental health professionals and are researching to find new solutions.” Dr. Shulkin concludes, “We believe our partnerships, research and new technologies will benefit all Americans, and we will continue to be seen as the forerunners in suicide prevention efforts.”

Related Links:

— “VA: Suicide prevention is a top priority,” David J. Shulkin, USA Today, September 15, 2016.

In an editorial, USA Today (9/15) asserts, “A veteran is choosing death every 72 minutes, and the” Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) “could be doing more to keep that person alive.” USA Today charges that the VA’s “mammoth bureaucracy, second only to the Pentagon, has been slow to embrace new ideas, chief among them managing the urge to commit suicide and not just treating underlying illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder or severe depression.”

Related Links:

— “Every 72 minutes, a veteran commits suicide: Our view,” USA Today, September 15, 2016.

Medscape (9/15, Nainggolan) reports research suggests “high rates of depressive disorder (10%) in patients with type 2 diabetes.” In a poster at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes 2016 Annual Meeting, a poster presentation “details” findings from the International Prevalence and Treatment Study (INTERPRET-DD), which is following some “3000 patients in 15 countries – Argentina, Bangladesh, China, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Thailand, Uganda, and Ukraine.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (9/15, Preidt) reports, “Negative experiences on Facebook can increase the odds of depression in young people,” researchers found after surveying “264 study participants.” Researchers found “the risk of depressive symptoms was 3.2 times higher among those who had any negative Facebook experiences compared with those who had not.” The findings were published online Aug. 18 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Related Links:

— “Facebook Bullying Can Cause Depression,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 15, 2016.

HealthDay (9/15, Dallas) reports thabt nearly “10 million US adults seriously thought about committing suicide last year,” a report (pdf) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration revealed. The report also found that suicide rates “are at historically high levels, having jumped 27 percent since 2000.” More woman and more young adults are attempting suicide, researchers found. Some “42,000 Americans die from suicide” annually, the CDC reports.

Related Links:

— “Nearly 10 Million U.S. Adults Considered Suicide Last Year,” Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, September 15, 2016.

Psychiatry Online (9/14, Moran) reports the findings of “a cross-sectional survey of US psychiatrists” published online Aug. 15 appearing in Psychiatric Services in Advance. The survey, which received 1,188 responses, revealed that “many psychiatrists are prepared or are preparing to practice in service delivery models consistent with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – including the collaborative care model – but a substantial number are not, and more outreach is necessary to engage psychiatrists in health care reform.”

Study co-author and American Psychiatric Association CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, pointed out, “APA has a wide range of resources to help prepare psychiatrists for performance-based payment reforms and to train psychiatrists for participating in the collaborative care model of integrated care.”

Related Links:

— “Are Psychiatrists Prepared for Health Care Reform? Yes and No,” Mark Moran, Psychiatry Online, September 14, 2016.

BBC News (UK) (9/14) reports that according to a new study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, which was published in the Journal of Neuroscience, memory deterioration “is not an inevitable part of aging” as “a unique group of adults in their 60s and 70s,” so-called “‘super agers,’ performed just as well on memory tests as ‘youngsters’ a third of their age.”

According to brain scans of the elderly group, “several parts of the brain’s memory machinery – including the anterior insula and orbitofrontal cortex and the hippocampus – appeared thicker and healthier than normal for people of their age.”

The study’s authors say the findings “could ultimately help with understanding the processes that lead to dementia and if there are ways to avoid them.”

Related Links:

— “‘Super agers’ offer clue to keeping a sharp memory,” BBC News, September 14, 2016.