The CBS News (2/16, Kraft) website reports on the growing misuse of the stimulant medication Adderall (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine), which is often prescribed for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). A study published online Feb. 16 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry indicates that “incidences of misuse and emergency room visits related to Adderall increased dramatically for young adults between 2006 and 2011.” Researchers arrived at this conclusion after examining data from the “National Disease and Therapeutic Index, a survey of office-based practices; National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a population survey of substance use; and Drug Abuse Warning Network, a survey of hospital emergency department visits.”

Related Links:

— “Adderall misuse rising among young adults,” Amy Kraft, CBS News, February 16, 2016.

The New York Post (2/17) reports that according to NYU professor of Global Public Health Michael Weitzman, some fathers experience a kind of postpartum depression, and “the father being depressed has an influence on the mom and her ability to mother.” A father’s depression can also have a negative impact on a child’s behavior in school.

Related Links:

— “Dads get postpartum depression, too,” Natalie O’Niell, New York Post, February 17, 2016.

Reuters (2/17, Rapaport) reports that after conducting an extensive review of studies on autism screening, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued a statement published Feb. 16 in the Journal of the American Medical Association saying there is insufficient evidence to recommend universal screening of autism in very young children.

TIME (2/16, Park) reports that the USPSTF’s statement “adds to growing contention among experts about which babies should be screened for autism, with the” task force’s “recommendations disagreeing with those from other prominent medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics.”

Kaiser Health News (2/16, Luthra) points out that the USPSTF’s recommendations “apply to children between the ages of 18 months and 30 months who haven’t exhibited any signs of the disorder.” Nevertheless, some medical “professionals worry the position could result in pediatricians missing opportunities for early intervention and could exacerbate disparities in treating autism.”

Related Links:

— “Doctors unsure if early childhood autism screening makes sense,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, February 16, 2016.

In her column in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (2/14), Gail Rosenbloom wrote that the University of Minnesota faculty members “are moving into the classrooms of first- and second-year” medical “students to tell them what it’s really like to be a psychiatrist” in “an effort to demystify the field and combat the stigma related to working with people living with mental illness” and to attract more students to the specialty. Explaining the advantages of becoming a psychiatrist, American Psychiatric Association president Renee Binder, MD, said, “Psychiatry offers a way of developing close relationships with patients.” What’s more, psychiatry “is becoming more collaborative, she noted, with mental health practitioners sharing office space with pediatricians, obstetricians and other disciplines.”

Related Links:

— “Rosenblum: In Minnesota, the push for more psychiatrists gets creative,” Gail Rosenblum, Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 14, 2016.

The San Diego Union-Tribune (2/14, Steele) reported “momentum in the battle against suicide” among veterans “with several bills pending in Congress.” One measure, “which applies to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, addresses the higher suicide rate among female veterans and the mental health care needs of vets privy to classified material.” Meanwhile, there is still ongoing “tension between medical privacy rights and family involvement.” Privacy between a physician and a patient “is a basic principle of medicine.” American Psychiatric Association president Renee Binder, MD, “said there are exceptions to confidentiality, including an emergency. But otherwise, the best a psychiatrist or therapist can do is encourage a patient to include loved ones, she said.”

Related Links:

— “Congress considers veteran suicide bills,” Jeanette Steele, San Diego Union-Tribune, February 14, 2016.

The Military Times (2/11, Kime) reports, “A scientific panel has concluded that the Veterans Affairs Department should stop searching for links between environmental exposures in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and veterans’ illnesses and instead focus on monitoring and treating those who have health problems related to deploying 25 years ago.” In their report, Institute of Medicine researchers “said Gulf War veterans are at increased risk for developing some physical and psychological health conditions like post-traumatic stress, anxiety, Gulf War illness and chronic fatigue syndrome, but other diseases like cancer, respiratory illnesses and most neurodegenerative conditions do not appear to occur at higher rates in these former troops.”

Related Links:

— “Panel to VA: Stop studying causes of Gulf War illnesses, focus on treatment,” Patricia Kime, Military Times, February 11, 2016.

STAT (2/10, Thielking) reports that new data (pdf) from the CDC indicate that approximately “8.4 percent of women smoke during pregnancy, despite the risks for the developing fetus.” The agency “warns that smoking while pregnant raises the risk of premature deliveries, low birth weight, and certain birth defects.”

Related Links:

— “More than 8 percent of women smoke while pregnant, despite risks,” Megan Thinking, STAT, February 10, 2016.

The Hill (2/10, Sullivan) reports on “partisan tensions over gun control” that emerged yesterday during a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee while members took up a mental healthcare reform measure from Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). Cornyn’s bill “seeks to increase treatment for” people with mental illnesses “as an alternative to imprisonment – a bipartisan goal.” Democrats, however, contend that “other sections of the bill would make it easier for” people with mental illnesses to “get guns.” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said, “That is the opposite direction from which we should be moving.”

Related Links:

— “Gun politics stymie mental health push,” Peter Sullivan, The Hill, February 11, 2016.

HealthDay (2/10, Preidt) reports, “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens who experience severe harassment can suffer from serious mental health problems,” a study published online Jan. 21 in the American Journal of Public Health suggests. After following some “250 LGBT youth in Chicago for four years,” researchers found that adolescents at highest risk for “lasting mental health problems – such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder – were those who suffered moderate harassment (such as having things thrown at them) that increased over time and those who had continuously high levels of harassment (such as physical or sexual assault)” while the study was going on.

Related Links:

— “Lasting Damage Seen in LGBT Teens Who Suffer Harassment,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, February 10, 2016.

According to USA Today (2/10, Szabo), a 5,200-patient study published online Feb. 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine and supported by National Institute on Aging reveals that “dementia rates fell steadily over the past four decades, most likely due to declining rates of heart disease.” The biggest decline was seen in rates of vascular dementia, “although rates of Alzheimer’s disease also fell.” The study’s findings were based on data collected from the Framingham Heart Study.

The New York Times (2/11, A14, Belluck, Subscription Publication) reports that the study “provides the strongest evidence to date that a more educated population and better cardiovascular health are contributing to a decline in new dementia cases over time, or,” at a minimum, are “helping more people stave off dementia for longer.” Both findings “suggest that the long-term cost of dementia care may not be as devastatingly expensive as policy makers had predicted.” Nevertheless, “the actual number of dementia patients will increase because” aging baby boomers are “living longer.”

Related Links:

— “Study finds dementia rates falling steadily,” Liz Szabo, USA Today, February 11, 2016.