In a nearly 1,800-word article, STAT (7/21, Graham) reports that in June, the Association of American Medical Colleges “convened a meeting to address an escalating crisis of depression, burnout, and suicide among physicians” and medical students. Ideas presented include “encouraging medical students to join clubs so they feel less isolated; ensuring that counseling is more accessible and private; and more actively tracking the mental health of students” and physicians.

Meanwhile, in an opinion piece for STAT (7/21), psychiatrist Joan M. Anzia, MD, of Northwestern Medicine and director of the residency program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, writes that some “300 to 400” US physicians commit suicide annually, with the “great majority of these deaths” attributed to “untreated depression.”

Dr. Anzia calls for destigmatizing efforts to seek help, providing “physicians with prompt and targeted mental health assessments, support, and treatment when they’re feeling burned out or depressed,” and working “to prevent burnout and depression by removing barriers such as intensely busy work schedules, the cost of mental health treatment, and the difficulty of finding resources during nonwork hours, which are often few and far between.”

Related Links:

— “Why are doctors plagued by depression and suicide? A crisis comes into focus,” JUDITH GRAHAM, STAT, July 21, 2016.

Reuters (7/21, Doyle) reports that research published in Stroke suggests “having heart disease risk factors” prior to “suffering a stroke may influence a person’s risk for a second stroke or dementia years later.” Investigators studied approximately 1,200 individuals older than 45 who had experienced a first stroke and nearly 5,000 individuals who had not had a stroke. After one “year of recovery, stroke survivors were about three times as likely as others to have another stroke and twice as likely to develop dementia.” The researchers found that “for stroke survivors, having high blood pressure, diabetes, low levels of good cholesterol or smoking earlier in life accounted for almost 40 percent of the risk for second strokes and 10 percent of risk for post-stroke dementia.”

Related Links:

— “Pre-stroke lifestyle tied to long term risk of more strokes, dementia,” Kathryn Doyle, Reuters, July 21, 2016.

USA Today (7/20, Perez) reports that according to a new poll of 537 parents surveyed by i9 Sports, 100 percent of parents said they are “affected in some way by concussions” of their children. Moreover, 62.3 percent of respondents said they felt “tackle football under age 12 is unsafe” and 55.7 percent think “there isn’t enough concern about the risk of concussions in youth sports.” The survey’s results reflect those shown in another “released by the UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion on Wednesday that polled 1,000 American adults.”

The Washington Post (7/20, Boren) also reports, adding that “a steady stream of information from new studies, coupled with reports of high-profile athletes who have suffered from the effects of concussions, appears to be having an effect on attitudes.”

Related Links:

— “Survey: 100% of parents ‘affected in some way by concussions’,” A.J. Perez, USA Today, July 20, 2016.

According to US News & World Report (7/20, Leonard), “researchers who have studied the psychological effects of terrorism say that while atrocities can influence the way people think and make decisions and can damage their mental health, in most cases these effects tend not to linger.” Approximately “30 percent of people who survive disasters develop post-traumatic stress disorder within a month, according to the American Psychiatric Association.” But, even though “victims are unlikely to forget what happened, half will recover within three months.”

Related Links:

— “What Does Terrorism Do to the Mind?,” Kimberly Leonard, US News & World Report, July 20, 2016.

HealthDay (7/20, Dallas) reports that research indicates “sleep disorders are six times more likely among American military veterans than in the general population.” Investigators found that “veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) seem to have the highest rates.” Researchers came to this conclusion after studying “more than 9.7 million veterans treated by the Veterans Health Administration system between 2000 and 2010.” The findings were published in Sleep.

Related Links:

— “Sleep Disorders 6 Times Higher Among Veterans,” Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, July 20, 2016.

Reuters (7/20, Rapaport) reports, “When babies are extremely premature, parents are about 10 times more likely to become depressed than mothers and fathers of full-term, healthy infants,” research suggests. Included in the study were “113 mothers and 101 fathers of preemies, as well as 117 mothers and 151 fathers of healthy, full-term infants.” The findings were published online July 18 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Parents of preemies often depressed after birth,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, July 20, 2016.

Fox News (7/19, Carstensen) reports that “a new randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial suggests” hormone “therapy does not impact mental skills like verbal memory…regardless of when an individual begins taking estradiol after menopause.”

Related Links:

— “Hormone therapy has no effect on verbal memory after menopause, study suggests,” Melinda Carstensen, Fox News, July 19, 2016.

HealthDay (7/18, Dotinga) reports researchers found that certain types of hits to high school football players’ heads are especially damaging to players, according to a new study published in Pediatrics. The researchers reviewed data collected from devices inside football helmets and found that hits to the head that were preceded by running a long distance as well as hits caused by other players were especially damaging, according to University of Georgia assistant professor Julianne Schmidt, the study’s author.

Related Links:

— “Concussion Study Shows Player-to-Player Hits Most Damaging,” Randy Dotinga, HealthDay, July 18, 2016.

The Washington Post (7/18, Hurley) reports that the Food and Drug Administration has concluded “that for carefully selected patients with profound depression, the benefits of electroconvulsive therapy…outweigh the risks of possible memory loss caused by its use.”

The FDA “is proposing to downgrade” ECT from Class III to Class II “for those whose depression has not responded to other treatments or is so severe that they need the kind of rapid response that only ECT can provide.”

However, the FDA “said that too few randomized trials have been published to justify a Class II designation” for other medical conditions like catatonia.

Related Links:

— “FDA: Electroshock has risks but is useful to combat severe depression,” Dan Hurley, Washington Post, July 19, 2016.

In a patient advice column in US News & World Report (7/15), psychiatrist and American Psychiatric Association (APA) past president Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, wrote that over the past five decades, “progress in science and technology…has dramatically changed the scientific basis and therapeutic capability of psychiatry.”

These days, “the greatest hindrance to effective care is not a gap in medical knowledge or a shortcoming in effective treatments, but the enduring social stigma of mental illness and the understandable – but no longer warranted – lack of confidence in the competence of psychiatrists.” Patients needing a referral to a psychiatrist should start with their own primary care physician, but district branches of the APA can also help patients “find a well-trained a competent psychiatrist.”

Related Links:

— “When Should You See a Shrink?,” Jeffrey Lieberman, US News & World Report, July 15, 2016.