USA Today (11/13, Szabo) reports that the National Health Interview Survey (pdf) “has found a big jump in the number of children with autism, although researchers caution that the increase is likely due to the way that questions were asked.” The “annual survey” now reveals that “more than 2.2% of children ages three to 17 – about one in 45 – have autism.”

The Los Angeles Times (11/13, Healy) reports in “Science Now” that the report, which was prepared by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, points out that “from 2011 to 2013, the National Survey of Children’s Health found that 1.25% of US children had” an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The new figure of 2.24% “reflects changes in surveying techniques designed to prod parents’ memories for past diagnoses their children may have” received. It now “appears parents who in the past would have reported an intellectual disability or other neurocognitive disorder in a child now are more likely to report autism spectrum disorder.”

The AP (11/13, Stobbe) reports that the CDC previously estimated that one in 68 children may have ASD, but “the lower CDC estimate is from researchers checking health and school records for more than 47,000 children.” Nevertheless, “the one in 68 [figure] will still be treated as the best estimate, said Michael Rosanoff, director of public health research for the advocacy group Autism Speaks,” even though “the new number supports a belief that one in 68 is an underestimate, he added.”

The NBC News (11/13, Fox) website reports that the new “findings fit in with other studies seeking to show whether autism is actually occurring more frequently, or simply being recognized and diagnosed more often.” Recently, researchers from Penn State University “also found that children are being reclassified from something broad, like pervasive developmental disorder, to the more specific autism.” Bloomberg News (11/13, Tozzi) and LiveScience (11/13, Nierenberg) also cover the story.

Related Links:

— “Study finds more than 2% of children have autism,” Liz Szabo, USA Today, November 13, 2015.

The New York Times (11/11, Lucchesi) “Well” blog reported that a study published online June 4 in the journal Social and Personality Psychology Compass “found that those who were overweight or obese were more likely to report problems like depression, anxiety, substance abuse and low self-esteem if they had experienced weight-based discrimination in the past.”

Related Links:

— “Is Fat Stigma Making Us Miserable?,” Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, New York Times, November 11, 2015.

HealthDay (11/10, Preidt) reports, “Young women who weigh themselves frequently may be at risk for depression,” a study published in the November/December issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior suggests. Researchers arrived at this conclusion after tracking the “weight and psychological well-being of” some “1,900 young adults” for 10 years. Medical Daily (11/10, Scutti) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Frequent Self-Weighing by Young Women Linked to Depression,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, November 9, 2015.

Modern Healthcare (11/10, Johnson, Subscription Publication) reports that a study involving “more than 50,000 Medi-Cal patients ages 18 and older diagnosed with severe mental illness who take antipsychotic medications” suggests that nearly “three-quarters…are not being adequately screened for diabetes despite a higher likelihood of chronic disease in that population.” The findings were published online Nov. 9 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Many adults with severe mental illness aren’t adequately screened for diabetes,” Steven Ross Johnson, Modern Healthcare, November 9, 2015.

Reuters (11/7, Rapaport) reported that children subjected to multiple moves may have an increased likelihood for mental health problems compared to peers who do not move, a study published online Oct. 16 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggests. After following some 50,000 children in Northern Ireland for a decade, researchers found that children who underwent five or more moves had three times the likelihood of having a mental health problem.

Related Links:

— “Moving during childhood linked to poor mental health,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, November 6, 2015.

In a letter to the editor of the New York Times (11/6, A26, Subscription Publication) regarding a front-page article called “Rise in Deaths for US Whites in Middle Age,” Maria A. Oquendo, MD, president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association, observes that “death rates due to suicide and poisoning” are a “tragedy.” Dr. Oquendo calls for “routine screening and treatment for common psychiatric conditions like depression and substance use disorders, crucial antecedents of suicide and poisonings” in order to “stem the tide of deaths in what could be the prime of life.”

Related Links:

— “,” Maria A Oquendo, New York Times, November 6, 2015.

HealthDay (11/4, Dotinga) reports that an 87-participant study published in Health Psychology indicates that a patient’s doubts about the effectiveness of a medication may actually influence the medicine’s effectiveness. Researchers found that a placebo pain medication that was labeled with a brand name provided as much headache relief as ibuprofen, but placebo pills with a generic label appeared not to have the same effect. The study, “although small and only in college students,” suggests that the branding on a placebo could influence its effect.

Related Links:

— “People Have Less Faith in Generic Drugs, Study Suggests,” Randy Dotinga, HealthDay via U.S. News & World Report, November 5, 2015.

Modern Healthcare (11/3, Muchmore, Subscription Publication) reports that a provision “keeping a House mental health reform bill from relatively easy passage involves assisted outpatient treatment [AOT].” Some organizations “and about 20 Democrats in the House Energy & Commerce Committee say…AOT is not proven to be helpful and the law as currently written would punish the five states that don’t have AOT laws on the books.” But, “John Snook, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, said AOT treatment is necessary.” In fact, “the practice is supported by the US Justice Department, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, American Psychiatric Association and National Alliance on Mental Illness, he said.”

Related Links:

— “Congress wrestles with court-ordered mental health treatment,” Shannon Muchmore, Modern Healthcare, November 2, 2015.

The Boston Globe (11/3, Albernaz) reports that a report issued in September by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reveals that “rates of major depressive episodes among teens have risen in recent years, and many of those affected are not receiving treatment.” Conclusions of the report were “based on survey data from a nationally representative sample of more than 17,000 12- to 17-year-olds.”

Related Links:

— “Depressive episodes on rise among teens, many not being treated, report says,” Ami Albernaz, Boston Globe, November 3, 2015.

On its “Morning Edition” program and in its “Shots” blog, NPR (11/2, Silberner) reported that “nearly three times as many Americans die from suicide as from homicide” annually. Last month, as Thomas Insel, MD, “prepared to step down from his job” as director of the National Institute of Mental Health, “he cited the lack of progress in reducing the number of suicides as his biggest disappointment.” Even though the US “homicide rate…has dropped 50 percent since the early 1990s, the suicide rate is higher than it was” 10 years ago.

Related Links:

— “What Happens If You Try To Prevent Every Single Suicide?,” Joanne Silberner, NPR, November 2, 2015.