In its continuing “The Cost of Not Caring” series, USA Today (12/23, Szabo) reports in a 2,700-word article that “according to the National Institute of Mental Health, neglect of Americans with serious mental illness costs the nation $444 billion a year – mostly from lost earnings – and consigns millions to lives of suffering, addiction, homelessness or incarceration.”

However, research suggests that “supported housing, which provides a variety of services beyond low-cost apartments, not only reduces homelessness, but also helps participants spend less time in shelters, hospitals and jail.” In addition, “supported employment programs, which provide one-on-one help to people with serious mental illness, have been proved effective in 20 high-quality studies,” in some cases even tripling the rate of employment of people challenged by severe psychiatric illnesses.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency has found, however, that just two percent of people in US public mental health systems are getting either of these services.

Related Links:

— “Solutions to woes of mentally ill exist but aren’t used,” Liz Szabo, USA Today, December 22, 2014.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune (12/21, O’Donoghue) reported that according to a report issued by the Pew Charitable Trusts, “Louisiana has decreased government spending on mental health” over the past two fiscal year budget cycles, even though 29 states and the District of Columbia “increased mental health spending during the current fiscal year.” In addition, the advocacy organization Mental Health America “ranked Louisiana as one of the worst states for mental health services and access, according to a recent report.”

Related Links:

— “Most states increase mental health budgets, but not Louisiana, Pew reports,” Julia O’Donoghue, New Orelans Times-Picayune, December 19, 2014.

MedPage Today (12/22, Walker) reports that according to a study published online in the journal Pediatrics, teens appear to be “more likely to engage in substance use and risky behavior if they were exposed to symptoms of maternal depression during their middle childhood years.” The study, which involved “2,910 mother-youth pairs,” revealed that “adolescents who had been exposed to ‘high symptoms’ of maternal depression from ages four to eight, and ‘decreasing symptoms’ as they got older were more likely to engage in ‘nonviolent delinquent behaviors’ (P=0.03) as teenagers than adolescents exposed to a ‘lower level of maternal depressive symptoms.’” Such behaviors could include staying out all night, destroying property or “running away.”

Related Links:

— “Do Depressed Moms Predispose Kids to Behavorial Problems?,” Molly Walker, MedPage Today, December 22, 2014.

In a 1,880-word story titled “Substance Abuse Treatment Often Impossible to Find,” USA Today (12/19, Copeland) reported in its ongoing series called “Mental Illness: The Cost of Not Caring,” that research suggests that “about two-thirds of people who have a substance abuse condition also have a mental health condition, says Ron Manderscheid, executive director of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors.”

Many substance abusers cannot conquer addiction until they seek professional help for underlying mental illness. Unfortunately, “the lack of treatment options for people with substance addictions and mental illness ‘remains a huge problem in the United States,’ says Frances Levin, chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Addiction Psychiatry.”

Dr. Levin added, “Programs need to be set up to recognize general mental health issues as well as attending to substance abuse problems.”

Related Links:

— “Substance abuse treatment often impossible to find,” Larry Copeland, USA Today, December 19, 2014.

The Kansas Health Institute (12/19, Smith) reports that in an article published in the Journal of Special Education, Jason Travers, an assistant professor in the special education department at the University of Kansas, “demonstrates that Hispanic and black children are diagnosed with autism at lower rates than white children.” Instead, many of these children may be diagnosed with “adjustment disorder” or having some sort of “intellectual disability.” Currently, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every 68 youngsters in the US has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

Related Links:

— “KU researcher questions lower autism diagnoses among minority children,” Alex Smith, Kansas Health Institute, December 18, 2014.

The Huffington Post (12/18, Maltby) reports that use of medications to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder “is rising rapidly” among women, according to “a groundbreaking report released earlier this year by the prescription management company Express Scripts.” The report also found that “the number of adults in the United States taking AD/HD medications…rose 53 percent from 2008 to 2012.” Additionally, “women are using AD/HD medication at notably higher rates than girls, with those in the 26-to-34 age range posting a staggering 85 percent jump in the use of such drugs in just five years.”

Related Links:

— “The New ADHD Debate Every Woman Should Know About,” Anna Maltby, Huffington Post, December 17, 2014.

Reuters (12/18, Begley) reports that a study conducted by scientists at Harvard School of Public Health and published in the online journal Environmental Health Perspectives found that children whose mothers were exposed to high levels of fine particulate pollution in late pregnancy have as much as twice the risk of developing autism. The study, which involved 116,430 women, found no correlation between autism and fine particulate pollution before, during early pregnancy, or after the child was born. High levels of exposure during the third trimester, however, doubled the risk of autism.

Related Links:

— “Autism risk linked to particulate air pollution,” Sharon Begley, Chicago Tribune, December 17, 2014.

In “Op-Talk” in the New York Times (12/17), Anna North writes that according to a paper published in the American Journal of Public Health, “mental-health screening may not be the best way to prevent mass shootings — and expecting psychiatrists to identify potential shooters may do more harm than good.” In the paper, Jonathan M. Metzl, MD, PhD, and Kenneth T. MacLeish, PhD, “cite research showing that most gun violence isn’t committed by people who are determined to have mental illness — and that most people with mental illness don’t commit violence,” nor can psychiatrists even readily determine which patients may become violent.

Related Links:

— “Can Psychiatrists Stop Gun Violence?,” Anna North, New York Times, December 16, 2014.

The Washington Post (12/16, Bernstein) “To Your Health” blog reported that according to a study on 317 adults in late middle age, those who “exercised five times a week or more had fewer of the age-related changes in the brain that are associated with” Alzheimer’s disease, “and did better on cognitive tests.”

Related Links:

— “More evidence that exercise can help fight Alzheimer’s disease,” Lenny Bernstein, Washington Post, December 16, 2014.

The Los Angeles Times (12/16, Kaplan) “Science Now” blog reports that according to a research letter published online Dec. 15 in JAMA Internal Medicine, “when it comes to longevity, feeling young may be more important than being young.” After analyzing “data on nearly 6,500 English adults,” researchers “found that those who felt at least one year older than their actual age were 41% more likely to die within eight years than were those who felt at least three years younger than the age listed on their birth certificates.”

The AP (12/16, Tanner) reports that “feeling older was a predictor of death even when the researchers accounted for things that could affect death rates, including illnesses, wealth, education, smoking, alcohol intake and physical activity.” The reason for that link is unknown, but it is “possible that health conditions and lifestyle choices that the researchers didn’t study explain why feeling old may help predict death.” Another theory is that “it may be that those who feel younger than their real age have ‘greater resilience, sense of mastery, and will to live,’ the researchers said.”

Related Links:

— “It’s OK to be old if you feel young, study suggests,” Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, December 15, 2014.