The Los Angeles Times (9/29, Healy) reports in “Science Now” that a new study published in PNAS revealed that “multiple vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal…resulted in none of the key brain or behavioral changes linked to autism.” The study also “administered a wide range of vaccines including the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine – which never contained thimerosal – to rhesus macaques” and “found no evidence of changes in brains or behavior that would implicate either the much-maligned MMR vaccine or a combination of many vaccines as a cause of or contributor to autism.” The results cast further doubt on the supposed link between autism and vaccines, “which has fueled widespread resistance to vaccinations.”

Related Links:

— “Old-school and current vaccines have no link to autism (again), study says,” Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2015.

Reuters (9/29, Doyle) reports that students in college appear to have a decreased likelihood of being warned by physicians about dangers posed by alcohol or substance abuse, compared to their peers who do not attend college, according to a research letter published online Sept. 28 in JAMA Pediatrics. The letter was authored by Ralph Hingson, ScD, MPH, of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and colleagues.

The AP (9/29, Tanner) reports that included in the survey were “about 2,100 college students and other young adults across the” US who “were asked in 2012 and 2013 if they’d seen a doctor in the previous year and had been asked and counseled about their drinking, smoking and drug use.” The survey revealed that “fewer than half the college students said they’d been counseled about risks of those habits,” whereas “non-students were slightly more likely to get that kind of counseling.” Hingson “said it’s possible participants didn’t tell doctors the truth about their drinking habits,” but “even so, physicians’ lack of advice may send a message that heavy drinking is OK, Hingson said.”

Related Links:

— “Many college students aren’t warned about substance use risks,” Kathryn Doyle, Reuters, September 28, 2015.

HealthDay (9/26, Preidt) reported “regular exercise may lower bullied teens’ risk of suicide,” according to research published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. After analyzing “data from more than 13,500 US high school students,” investigators “found that being physically active four or more days a week reduced bullied teens’ suicidal thoughts and attempts by 23 percent.”

Related Links:

— “Bullied Teens Who Exercise May Lower Suicide Risk, Study Finds,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 25, 2015.

Medscape (9/27, Davenport) reported that a new position statement “released by the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research” and published online Sept. 25 in the journal World Psychiatry, “emphasizes that there is epidemiologic, basic scientific, and clinical evidence to show that diet both influences risk for and outcomes of mental health disorders.” Because “a number of nutrients are linked to brain health,” the position statement also “calls for more robust research to determine the clinical impact of dietary changes and to identify biomarkers.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (9/26, Preidt) reported, “People with sleep apnea are at increased risk for depression, but continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy for their apnea may ease their depression,” according to the results of a 293-participant study published in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Sleep Apnea May Raise Risk of Depression,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 25, 2015.

Reuters (9/24) reports that the American Psychiatric Association recently told regulators that mergers of major health insurers could reduce access to mental healthcare.

Related Links:

— “U.S. insurance mega mergers could hurt care: psychiatric group,” Caroline Humer, Reuters, September 24, 2015.

The Huffington Post (9/24) reports that research suggests that “white men are more likely to face depression associated with stressful life events than black men or women of any race.” The study included nearly 6,000 adults.

Related Links:

— “White Men Have Less Life Stress, But Are More Prone To Depression Because Of It,” Erin Schumaker, Huffington Post, September 23, 2015.

The Chicago Tribune (9/23) and Forbes report that the study, published online in American Journal of Preventive Medicine, used data from the United Kingdom Women’s Cohort Study, following 12,778 women age 37 to 78 over a 12-year period. The women were divided into three groups based on self-assessments of their fidgeting habits: low, middle, or high. Among the women who did not fidget, the researchers “found that women who sat for seven or more hours daily had a 30 percent increased risk of dying from any cause,” compared to those who sat less than five hours a day. Meanwhile, “middle or high fidgeters saw no increased risk.”

Related Links:

— “Fidget While You Work: It May Be Good For Your Health,” Alice G. Walton, Forbes, September 23, 2015.

Medscape (9/22, Brooks) reports that “a ‘sizable’ number of US children with mental disorders who are from low-income households do not receive federal benefits under the Social Security Administration’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.” But, “the number of these children who are receiving SSI funds is growing at a pace consistent with the mental health trends in the general population, the report indicates.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Reuters (9/21, Harding) reports that a study published online Sept. 21 in Pediatrics found that girls who enter puberty early are far more likely to abuse alcohol as teens if their parents don’t supervise them. Dr. Brett Laursen of Florida Atlantic University in Fort Lauderdale and colleagues followed 957 girls from a Swedish town over a four-year period.

They found that while alcohol abuse increased among all girls as they grew older, the levels of autonomy granted by parents among on-time and late-maturing girls did not correlate with the rates of alcohol abuse. However, for the early-maturing group, the latitude of autonomy was significant.

The study found that early-maturing girls with strict parents had an 84 percent increase in alcohol abuse from seventh to tenth grade, while alcohol abuse increased by 234 percent among girls given the most autonomy.

Related Links:

— “Watchful parents help early-maturing girls avoid alcohol abuse,” Anne Harding, Reuters, September 21, 2015.