In a 2,700-word article on the front of its Science Times section, the New York Times (3/15, D1, Goode, Subscription Publication) reports that the programs and residential care centers aimed at patients with eating disorders “have proliferated in recent years, with some” for-profit companies “expanding across the country.” There are currently over 75 centers, compared to 22 a decade ago. The industry growth is attributed to the Affordable Care Act and other changes in health insurance laws “that have increased coverage for mental disorders, as well as by investments from private equity firms.”

Related Links:

— “Centers to Treat Eating Disorders Are Growing, and Raising Concerns,” Erica Goode, New York Times, March 14, 2016.

HealthDay (3/11, Preidt) reported that research suggests “major surgery and general anesthesia” do not “cause long-term mental decline in older adults.” The research involved “nearly 4,300 twins younger than 70 and about 4,200 twins aged 70 and older in Denmark who were given tests to assess their thinking and memory abilities.” Investigators found “no significant link between major surgery, general anesthesia and long-term mental decline.”

Related Links:

— “Anesthesia Not Linked to Long-Term Mental Decline, Study Finds,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, March 11, 2016.

In a 1,200-word article on its front page, the Boston Globe (3/14, A1, Kowalczyk) reports that “there is a growing realization that many” patients treated in intensive care units “are left emotionally troubled by” their experience in the ICU, “which can be marred by hallucinations, poor communication, lack of respect for privacy, and, later, post-traumatic stress syndrome.” According to the Globe, “Now, a group of leading hospitals…is working to make the ICU less terrifying and more humane, using innovative tools such as iPad applications that feature patient biographies and journals kept by nurses.”

Related Links:

— “Hospitals working to make intensive care less terrifying,” Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, March 14, 2016.

In “To Your Health,” the Washington Post (3/11, Izadi) reported that “social support may end up discouraging some men from seeking out professional help” for depression, the findings of a study published in the April issue of the journal General Hospital Psychiatry suggest. After analyzing “data from 1,379 adults with depression symptoms who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,” researchers found that “depressed men who said they had inadequate social support were more likely to get that professional help.” This dynamic “doesn’t appear to play out for depressed women, the study found.”

Related Links:

— “What everyone should know about men and depression,” Elahe Izadi, Washington Post, March 11, 2016.

According to the Los Angeles Times (3/10, Healy) in “Science Now,” investigators “at Boston University have identified specific state laws that, if implemented across the nation, might dramatically reduce the death toll from gun violence.” The “three initiatives” tied to “robust declines in suicides, homicides and fatal accidental shootings” include “universal background checks for firearms sales, background checks on those buying ammunition, and a requirement that gun owners get their firearms microchipped or ‘fingerprinted’ for identification purposes,” the report published online March 10 in The Lancet reveals. Were all three initiatives enacted across the US, “the number of gun deaths…might decline by as much as 90%.”

The Washington Post (3/10, Johnson) “Wonkblog” reports that the author of an accompanying comment “questioned” the “finding that nine minor laws might increase firearm fatalities, such as police inspection of firearm dealers or required theft reporting by gun dealers.” But, rather than putting “too much importance to those findings,” the editorialist “thinks it’s reasonable to look at the study as yet another piece of supporting evidence for the broader idea gun control works.”

Related Links:

— “Aiming to drive down gun deaths? Put these three laws on the books, researchers say,” Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, March 10, 2016.

MedPage Today (3/9, Phend) reports that research indicated “caregivers feeling strained by their duties for a spouse were more likely to suffer strokes.” Investigators found that “spousal caregivers who reported being under moderate or severe strain had a 5.1% rate of incident stroke, compared with 2.6% among propensity-matched people who were not caregivers.” Meanwhile, “high strain overall among caregivers, regardless of relationships to the family member cared for, showed a nearly identical hazard ratio, but it fell just short of statistical significance.” The findings were presented at the Epidemiology and Prevention and Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions meeting.

Related Links:

— “Stressed Spouse Caregivers at Higher Stroke Risk,” Crystal Phend, MedPage Today, March 9, 2016.

The Bend Bulletin (3/10, McLaughlin) reports that in Oregon and across the US, “psychiatrists are in short supply.” What’s more, “the Health Resources Services Administration predicts a decline in psychiatrists per capita by 2025.” To address that situation, “the American Psychiatric Association is promoting more public funding for specialist training, as well as bipartisan mental health legislation that includes fixes for the workforce shortage.” In addition, the APA is “counting on the integration of mental health, substance abuse and primary-care services to lessen the load on specialists.”

Related Links:

— “Psychiatrists in short supply for Central Oregon,” Kathleen McLaughlin, Bend Bulletin, March 10, 2016.

HealthDay (3/8, Preidt) reports that “abuse of AD/HD stimulant drugs…is on the rise, and” research published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence “finds that most teens who abuse the drugs get them from someone else.” About 11,000 US children and teens were surveyed. Approximately “7 percent of the participants said they had used a prescription stimulant drug in the past 30 days, and more than half said their use was non-medical.” The researchers found that nearly “90 percent of the kids who were abusing an AD/HD” medication “said they had used someone else’s medication.”

Related Links:

— “Most Teens Who Abuse ADHD Meds Get Them From Others,” Robert Preidt, Healthy, March 8, 2016.

MedPage Today (3/3) reports, “Staying engaged in activities like reading, crafting, and socializing may stave off the development of mild cognitive impairment (MCI),” research suggests. “In an analysis of data from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging” to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in April, “five ‘mentally stimulating’ activities – playing games, reading magazines, doing crafts, using the computer, and social activities – were each associated with a reduced risk of MCI in patients 70 and up.”

Related Links:

— “Engaged Brain Tied to Lower Cognitive Risk,” Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today, March 3, 2016.

HealthDay (3/3, Thompson) reports, “People diagnosed with psychosis will probably have a longer, harder struggle to maintain their mental health if they’re regular marijuana users,” the findings of a study published online March 3 in the journal BMJ Open suggest. After reviewing “the electronic health records of slightly more than 2,000 people treated for a first episode of psychosis between 2006 and 2013,” researchers also found that patients “who just experienced their first episode of psychotic illness are 50 percent more likely to need subsequent hospitalization for their condition if they use marijuana.”

Related Links:

— “Psychosis Plus Pot a Bad Mix: Study,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, March 3, 2016.