The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (5/27, Roth) reports in the “largest study of its kind,” researchers at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden have “determined that actual autism rates probably have not changed in recent years, even though diagnoses of autism cases continue to climb.” Researchers “found that about 1 percent of those in an ongoing study of twins met the criteria for having autism, even though the number of officially diagnosed autism cases in the country’s national health registry had climbed steadily over a 10-year-period.”

Related Links:

— “Swedish study suggests cases of autism have not been rising,” Mark Roth, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 26, 2015.

HealthDay (5/27, Thompson) reports that Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have found that hospice care “may help a surviving spouse better cope with depression following the death of a loved one.” Lead author Katherine Ornstein said, “If a spouse dies, you’re more likely to be depressed. That’s the way it is. Hospice doesn’t get rid of that. But we found that the group in hospice is improving afterward.”

Related Links:

— “Hospice May Help Ease Depression After Loss of Spouse,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, May 26, 2015.

The Washington Post (5/23, Gorman) “Health & Science” blog reported that “when it comes to mental health care, Asian Americans often get short shrift.” Investigators “say people in this minority group, which makes up about five percent of the US population, are less well studied and less likely to seek treatment than other ethnicities.” For many Asian American teens dealing with depression and other psychiatric disorders, sometimes “parents stand in the way of treatment, intentionally or not.” Ranna Parekh, MD, director of the division of diversity and health equity for the American Psychiatric Association, said, “It takes a few generations before they can finally be free.” The APA provides a fact sheet on its website detailing mental health issues of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Related Links:

— “For many Asian Americans, depression is an unfamiliar word,” Anna Gorman, Washington Post, May 22, 2015.

HealthDay (5/23, Dotinga) reported that anger often appears to escalate rapidly “in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when they’re depressed,” according to a study published earlier this month in the journal Psychological Trauma: Theory Research, Practice and Policy. After examining “the mental-health records of almost 2,100 soldiers – mostly men – who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and later sought treatment,” researchers found that “those who showed signs of depression and PTSD had higher levels of anger and believed they were more likely to hurt themselves.” Nearly three-fourths “of those with signs of PTSD also appeared to suffer from depression,” the study found.

Related Links:

— “Depression May Intensify Anger in Veterans With PTSD: Study,” Randy Dotinga, HealthDay, May 22, 2015.

The New York Times (5/21, A14, Carey, Subscription Publication) reports, “The rate of severe mental illness among children and adolescents has dropped substantially in the past generation,” according to a report published May 21 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The report’s conclusions come at a time when “critics argue that modern psychiatry is over-diagnosing and treating an increasing number of the worried well or merely quirky.” In addition, the report “exposed gaps in scientists’ grasp of mental health trends,” particularly those of youths, making it difficult for organizations funding research and government policymakers to target resources appropriately.

The AP (5/21, Marchione) reports, “The study used nationwide surveys done by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality over three periods from 1996 to 2012, covering more than 53,000 youths ages six to 17.” Researchers found that an increasing number of youngsters and adolescents “are taking mental health medicines than ever before, but more also are getting therapy, not just” medication, with “the biggest rise in treatment rates” seen “among the most troubled kids.” Still, more than half (56%) of troubled young people are not getting any care whatsoever.

Related Links:

— “Severe Mental Illness Found to Drop in Young, Defying Perceptions,” Benedict Carey, New York Times, May 20, 2015.

The Hill (5/21, Ferris) reports that Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), in an effort to revive the “long-stalled” Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, authored by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), “is demanding changes to one of its most controversial provisions,” the one regarding court-ordered involuntary outpatient treatment, a provision that “has created a sharp divide between mental health groups and has prevented the bill from advancing.” In a Facebook chat this week concerning mental health, Sen. Murphy said, “We are trying to find a less draconian way to go.”

Related Links:

— “Dem senator eyes changes to ‘draconian’ provision in mental health bill,” Sarah Ferris, The Hill, May 21, 2015.

HealthDay (5/22, Preidt) reports that a study from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reveals that “4.3 million Americans with full-time jobs had an anxiety disorder in the past year,” a number that “represents 3.7 percent of full-time workers aged 18 and older, according to” SAMHSA. Researchers arrived at this conclusion after analyzing “data from 67,500 respondents aged 12 and older who took part in SAMHSA’s annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health between 2008 and 2012.”

Related Links:

— “Over 4 Million Working Americans Suffer From Anxiety Disorders,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, May 21, 2015.

Medscape (5/21, Jeffrey) reports that nearly two decades after the 1995 terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City, “survivors report more depression and anxiety than controls, and almost a quarter of them report symptoms that would meet criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” according to research presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting. Researchers arrived at this conclusion after surveying “138 direct survivors of the bombing, more than 80% of whom had been injured by the blast,” then comparing “their responses…with those of 171 community members who were demographically similar but who were not directly or indirectly exposed.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

ABC World News (5/20, story 11, 0:20, Muir) reported that a new study suggests there may be “a link between depression and Parkinson’s disease.”

The New York Times (5/21, Bakalar) “Well” blog reports that the study published online May 20 in Neurology “compared 140,688 people with depression with 421,943 controls without” depression, then followed both groups from seven to 25 years. Researchers found that “the rate of Parkinson’s disease among people with depression was almost three times that of people without it.”

The New York Daily News (5/21, Pearson) reports that people “with more serious cases of depression were more likely to develop Parkinson’s – people who were hospitalized five or more times were 40% more likely to develop the disease than those who had been hospitalized only once,” the study found.

Related Links:

— “Nicholas Bakalar,” , New York Times, May 20, 2015.

MedPage Today (5/20, Smith) reports, “A general predisposition to mental illness, rather than any specific condition, is the major risk factor for suicide attempts,” according to research presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting and published May 18 in Molecular Psychiatry. During a follow-up period lasting three years, “mental disorders were linked to the risk of suicide attempts” in an “analysis of the first two waves (in 2001-2002 and 2004-2005) of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a nationally representative face-to-face survey of the US adult population.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide Attempts Linked to General Mental Illness,” Michael Smith, MedPage Today, May 19, 2015.