The Wall Street Journal (5/17, Radnofsky, Subscription Publication) reports that according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, some 9.1% of Americans, or 28.6 million people, were uninsured in 2015. That figure was 16 percent in 2010, when President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Commenting on the data, HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said 2015 was “the first year in our nation’s history that fewer than 1 in 10 Americans lacked health insurance, and the report documents the progress we’ve made expanding coverage across the country.”

Related Links:

— “Number of Uninsured in U.S. Dropped Below 10% for First Time in 2015,” Louise Radnofsky, Wall Street Journal, May 17, 2016. [Subscription Needed]

Medscape (5/16, Cassels) reports that even though the “two thirds” of “Americans believe that untreated mental illness has a significant negative impact on the US economy and that there is a strong need for mental health care reform, only 5% believe that mental health problems are a priority for Congress,” the findings of a “new national poll” conducted by the American Psychiatric Association suggest. The findings of the poll were released at APA’s annual meeting. Commenting on the poll’s findings, APA president Renée Binder, MD, said in a news release, “We applaud the lawmakers in Congress who recognize the dire need to improve our nation’s mental health system. But we call upon Congress as a whole to embrace this issue.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The Boston Globe (5/17, Vaznis) reports Massachusetts schools have embarked on programs to help reintroduce students who have been absent from school due to mental health issues. For example, Brooklyn High School partnered with the Brookline Community Health Center to create the Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition program, which enables students “to catch up on schoolwork, receive some extra therapy, and ease back into the daily routine of school.” The program is housed in a two-room suite at the school. According to the article, Brookline is planning to expand the program nationwide.

Related Links:

— “Schools struggle to cope with rising mental health needs,” James Vaznis, Boston Globe, May 17, 2016.

Medical Daily (5/16, Olson) reports that the findings of a study published online May 11 in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry suggests “how a diet rich in omega-3s, which are naturally found in salmon, tuna, avocado, and seeds, influences a child’s behavior on the short and long-term basis.” The study, which involved some 290 11- and 12-year-old kids, found that children who “who had a combination of” cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and “omega-3s and an omega-3s-only intervention reported less aggression compared to the groups receiving only CBT or information on aggression.”

Related Links:

— “Omega-3 Benefits Child Brain Development, May Reduce Aggressive Behavior,” Samantha Olson, Medical Daily, May 16, 2016.

HealthDay (5/12, Thompson) reports, “People taking one of the alternative mood stabilizers were 40 percent more likely to harm themselves compared to patients on lithium,” researchers found.

According to MedPage Today (5/12, Jenkins), the findings of the 6,671-patient study published online May 11 in JAMA Psychiatry also reveal that “self-harm rates in those prescribed valproate were not higher than in those on other nonlithium maintenance therapies, contrary to the an existing… warning” by the Food and Drug Administration.

Psychiatric News (5/12) quotes the study authors, who theorized, “The lower rates of self-harm in those prescribed lithium may be due either to improved mood stabilization compared with other treatments or specific effects on impulsive aggression and risk taking.” The study authors concluded, “Self-harm, unintentional injury, and suicide are important morbidity and mortality outcomes in BPD [bipolar disorder] that appear to be amenable to modification through appropriate drug treatment.”

Related Links:

— “Lithium Beats Newer Meds for Bipolar Disorder, Study Finds,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, May 12, 2016.

USA Today (5/10, Painter) reports, “Zero-tolerance policies that kick bullies out of school are not the answer to the persistent bullying problem plaguing the nation’s classrooms, playgrounds and social media sites,” National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine experts pointed out in a new report called “Preventing Bullying Through Science, Policy, and Practice.” Instead, experts “said prevention efforts should…target entire schools and give extra attention to students at risk or already involved in bullying, including both victims and the perpetrators themselves.”

The AP (Unknown Date, Kerr) reports that “zero-tolerance policies may lead to an underreporting of bullying because suspensions are perceived as too punitive,” the report found. Instead, “programs that teach children how to get along with one another and what to do if they see kids who are being bullied, are more effective…said” Frederick Rivara, MD, MPH, chairman of the committee who wrote the report and a professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of Washington. Rivara also “cautioned that bullying has lasting negative consequences and cannot be ignored.”

Related Links:

— “Report: Expelling bullies doesn’t work, but education might,” Kim Painter, USA Today, May 10, 2016.

Reuters (5/10) reports that when compared to members of the general population, former NFL players appear not to be at an increased risk for suicide, research suggests. CDC researchers arrived at this conclusion after examining the suicide rate for some 3,500 retired NFL members. The study was published online May 6 in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Ex-NFL players not at greater risk of suicide than general population: study,” Joseph Ax, Reuters, May 10, 2016.

Reuters (5/10, Rapaport) reports that medication and psychotherapy may help adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) deal with their symptoms better and improve scholastically, the findings of a 17-study review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest. Nevertheless, the authors of the review concluded that the treatment needs of teens differ markedly from those of children who are younger. For example, certain extended-release forms of stimulant medications may be better options for teens.

Related Links:

— “Teens with ADHD have special treatment needs,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, May 10, 2016.

HealthDay (5/10, Norton) reports that in the study, participants were randomized “to either 12 weeks of meditation and other yoga practices, or 12 weeks of memory enhancement training – which taught strategies for improving forgetfulness.” While “both groups did a little better on tests of verbal memory,” participants in the “meditation group showed a bigger change, on average, in tests of visual-spatial memory – which is needed for navigating while walking or driving, or trying to recall a location.” In addition, participants in the meditation group “showed fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety.”

Related Links:

— “Meditation May Sharpen Memory,” Amy Norton, HealthDay, May 10, 2016.

US News & World Report (5/9, Leonard) reports that on Monday, the Obama Administration announced a challenge called “A Bill You Can Understand,” which seeks to provide simpler medical bills. HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell made the announcement during the Health Datapalooza conference. The article says, “An overarching goal of the contest is to come up with a better bill design that will help patients understand what they owe, what their health insurance plan covers and whether the bills they receive are accurate and complete.”

Related Links:

— “Obama Administration: Design a Better Medical Bill,” Kimberly Leonard, US News & World Report, May , 2016.