Reuters (7/2, Kearney) reports that fireworks on the Fourth of July may trigger stress responses and panic attacks in combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Now, the group Military with PTSD has implemented a sign campaign to let people know that fireworks affect the half million Afghanistan and Iraq veterans with PTSD.

According to the Orlando (FL) Sentinel (7/2, Miller) “Vital Signs” blog, “at least 75 percent of veterans with PTSD say that loud noises bother them, especially fireworks.”

The Riverside (CA) Press Enterprise (7/2, Muckenfuss) reports that the signs from Military with PTSD read, “Please be courteous with fireworks, a combat veteran lives here.” Shawn Gourley, executive director of Military with PTSD, “said the idea is that veterans can place the signs in front of their homes so that neighbors can alert them to any planned firework activity.” KSAT-TV San Antonio (7/2, Gerber) also covers the story on its website and on the air.

Related Links:

— “U.S. campaign highlights stress of fireworks on combat veterans,” Lila Kearney, Reuters, July 1, 2015.

The Washington Post (7/1, Itkowitz) reports in “In the Loop” on “a subtle shift in the way politicians and advocates talk about” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The word “disorder” is being increasingly dropped from the condition, which is now often referred to as “post-traumatic stress.” Some people believe that by dropping the word “disorder,” the stigma surrounding PTSD and its treatment will be lessened.

Related Links:

— “Dropping the ‘D’ in PTSD is becoming the norm in Washington,” Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post, June 30, 2015.

In a nearly 4,000-word article on its front page, the Washington Post (7/1, A1, Leaming, Verma) reports that a Washington Post analysis found that this year police have shot and killed 124 people “in the throes of mental or emotional crisis,” about a fourth of those killed by police in the first half of the year.

While most of those individuals were armed, the officers usually “were called by relatives, neighbors or other bystanders” concerned about erratic behavior, not about crime. Over half of the killings involved police agencies that do not train officers in how to deal with people with mental illness, and in some cases, police tactics “quickly made a volatile situation even more dangerous.”

Current and former police chiefs say that police are being called on to cover for “severe budget cuts for psychiatric services” and that the killings won’t get better “without large-scale police retraining.”

Related Links:

— “DISTRAUGHT PEOPLE,
DEADLY RESULTS,” Wesley Lowery, Kimberly Kindy, Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post, June 30, 2015.

HealthDay (6/30, Reinberg) reports that research suggests that “women who have been through a traumatic event or developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) face an increased risk of heart attack or stroke.” Investigators looked at data on nearly 50,000 women. The researchers found that “women with severe PTSD” had “a 60 percent higher risk of heart attack or stroke compared to women who hadn’t experienced any trauma.” Meanwhile, “the risk was increased 45 percent for women who experienced a traumatic event but didn’t develop PTSD.” The findings were published online June 29 in Circulation. LiveScience (6/30) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Trauma, PTSD May Raise Women’s Odds of Heart Attack, Stroke,” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, June 29, 2015.

Reuters (6/29, Doyle) reported that a study published online June 29 in JAMA Pediatrics examines data derived from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence.

The Huffington Post (6/29, Pearson) reported, “More than one-third of US children experienced some form of physical assault between 2013 and 2014…and the majority of those incidents were at the hands of siblings or peers,” researchers found. The study also revealed that “five percent of children experienced some kind of sexual offense in the past year, while 1.4 percent experienced a full-on sexual assault.” Adolescent girls appeared to be at the “highest risk for sexual assault or abuse.”

Related Links:

— “Nearly four of 10 U.S. kids exposed to violence,” Kathryn Doyle, Reuters, June 29, 2015.

Citing National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism statistics, the Wall Street Journal (6/29, Ward, Subscription Publication) reports that personalized feedback through electronic means, text message or the Web, may be able to reduce alcohol intake among students. The Wall Street Journal adds that the electronic interventions may mimic in-person techniques, which have about a 13 percent success rate in reducing drinking.

Related Links:

— “How to Cut Student Drinking,” Lisa Ward, Wall Street Journal, June 29, 2015.

In a 1,000-word article, Prevention Magazine (6/27, Corbett) reported that a 2015 report released by the National Institutes of Health and published in JAMA Psychiatry found that “nearly one-third of American adults at some point in their life have” an alcohol use disorder, “and only 20% seek treatment.”

Related Links:

— “6 Sneaky Signs You Drink Too Much,” Holly C. Corbett, Prevention, June 26, 2015.

In a four-minute segment, NBC Nightly News (6/28, story 8, 4:10, Quintanilla) reported that last year, the VA was “rocked by allegations with problems in its medical system, including long waits for patient care,” while “another controversy” was in Wisconsin, where allegations from whistle blowers claimed that the “chief of staff and other medical personnel have been overmedicating” psychiatric patients. The piece interviewed the father of a former Marine who died from “mixed drug toxicity” seven years ago, and added that the VA has started an initiative to reduce narcotics given to patients with mental health disorders.

Related Links:

— “Families of Two Vets Accuse Wisconsin VA Center of Over-Prescribing [VIDEO],” , http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/families-of-two-vets-accuse–wisconsin-va-center-of-over-prescribing-472684611703, June 28, 2015.

MedPage Today (6/26, Minerd) reports, “Women taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to treat menopausal symptoms are up to 76% more likely to break a bone,” according to a study published in Injury Prevention. After studying “more than 137,000 women ages 40 to 64 with no mental health issues who started SSRIs between 1998 and 2010,” researchers also found that “the increased risk persists for at least five years following initiation of SSRI treatment, suggesting that shortening treatment could reduce the risk.” The National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging supported the study.

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants Linked to Bone Fractures in Menopausal Women,” Jeff Minerd, MedPage Today, June 25, 2015.

In its “Sleepless in America” special series, NBC Nightly News (6/24, story 9, 2:45, Holt) reported, “The CDC has called lack of sleep a public health epidemic, and most sleep experts say all our digital devices we’re taking into the bedroom are taking a toll on getting a good night’s rest.” NBC News correspondent Hallie Jackson explained, “Experts say it’s no coincidence 95 percent of us look at some kind of screen within an hour of bedtime and 85 percent have trouble falling asleep.” Blue light emitted from “screens send[s] a signal it’s still daylight, triggering a surge of energy and blocking the melatonin that makes us sleepy.” Therefore, it’s “no wonder then that with the device on nearly every nightstand one in three people sleeps less than six hours a day, raising the risk for diabetes, heart disease, obesity and depression.”

Related Links:

— “,” Hallie Jackson, NBC Nightly News, June 24, 2015.