Bloomberg News (6/18, Lopatto, Ostrow) reports, “Researchers from Harvard University’s School of Public Health found that pregnant women exposed to high levels of diesel particulates or mercury were twice as likely to have an autistic child compared with peers in low-pollution areas.” Bloomberg News adds, “The findings, published today in Environmental Health Perspectives, are from the largest US study to examine the ties between air pollution and autism.”

Related Links:

— “Autism Tied to Air Pollution, Brain-Wiring Disconnection, “Elizabeth Lopatto & Nicole Ostrow, Bloomberg News, June 17, 2013.

The New York Times (6/15, Dao, Subscription Publication) reported that in the “two decades since the 1991 Persian Gulf war, medical researchers have struggled to explain a mysterious amalgam of problems in thousands of gulf war veterans, including joint pain, physical malaise and gastrointestinal disorders. In some medical circles, the symptoms were thought to be psychological, the result of combat stress. But recent research is bolstering the view” that the symptoms of Gulf War illness “are fundamentally biological in nature.”

The Los Angeles Times (6/14, Zarembo) reported, “Their bodies reacted differently to physical exertion, and their brains had atrophied in different regions. None of the patterns were seen in a control group of healthy subjects.” Two separate groups of veterans emerged from the researchers data. One had increased pain levels after exercise, and the other suffered from a condition that caused the heart the race after exercise.

Related Links:

— “Researchers Find Biological Evidence of Gulf War Illnesses, “James Dao, The New York Times, June 14, 2013.

The Los Angeles Times (6/16, Zarembo) reports that “the most recent Pentagon data show that a slight majority – 52% – of troops who have committed suicide while on active duty were never assigned to Afghanistan or Iraq,” numbers that “upend the popular belief that a large increase in suicides over the last decade stems from the psychological toll of combat and repeated deployments to war.” It adds that “the statistics suggest that the mental health and life circumstances of new recruits are at least as important – and possibly more so – than the pressures of being in the military,” and “it is clear that some enter with a predisposition to suicide.”

Related Links:

— “Deployment to war doesn’t figure in majority of military suicides, “Alan Zarembo, Los Angeles Times, June 15, 2013.

USA Today (6/17, Healy) reports, “Bullying and aggressive behavior by a sibling can be as damaging as bullying by a classmate, neighbor or other peer,” according to a study published online in the journal Pediatrics. What’s more, “that association holds true for the various types of aggressive behavior studied, both mild and severe, from physical and psychological aggression to property victimization, researchers say.”

The New York Times (6/17, O’Connor) “Well” blog reports, “The new study, which involved thousands of children and adolescents around the country, found that those who were attacked, threatened or intimidated by a sibling had increased levels of depression, anger and anxiety.” The study examined “physical assaults with and without weapons and the destruction or stealing of property, as well as threats, name-calling and other forms of psychological intimidation.”

Related Links:

— “Bullying by siblings just as damaging, research finds, “Michelle Healy, USA Today, June 17, 2013.

The Los Angeles Times (6/14, Alpert) reports, “High school boys in Los Angeles are twice as likely to induce vomiting or use laxatives to control their weight as the national average, with 5.2% of those surveyed saying they had recently done so,” according to a new CDC survey. Chicago and Houston also saw rates that exceeded the average. “Some experts say they are unsure whether more boys and men are in fact suffering such disorders or whether more are now willing to seek help.”

Related Links:

— “Eating disorders plague teenage boys, too, “Emily Alpert, Los Angeles Times, June 13, 2013.

The Wall Street Journal (6/13, Palazzolo, Subscription Publication) reports that the Obama Administration’s proposal to accelerate the use of mental health records in the national gun background-check database has encountered resistance from medical groups and states. The plan, under which the Department of Health and Human Services would amend a Federal privacy rule, has been opposed by medical groups who contend the plan is unnecessary and could adversely affect doctor-patient relationships. Groups such as the American Psychiatric Association and the American Medical Association have expressed concerns. HHS spokeswoman Rachel Seeger indicated that the agency will consider the medical groups’ positions as it considers what to do next on the issue.

Related Links:

— “Medical Groups Push Back at Gun-Law Change, The Wall Street Journal, June 12, 2013.

Medscape (6/11, Harrison) reports, “In a new analysis of the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study, investigators from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas found that work productivity improved in several domains when depressive symptoms remitted early in depression treatment.” However, “workers who did not achieve symptom remission until later stages of treatment continued to have impaired productivity,” according to the 1,928-patient study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

The Los Angeles Times (6/10, Gorman) reports, “Officials expect many newly insured patients arriving at doctor’s offices and urban and rural clinics to have mental health complications.” Starting “next year, some 2.3 million additional people may require mental health services through Medicaid…according to a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry,” a publication of the American Psychiatric Association. “Failing to diagnose and treat mental problems early can lead to far costlier visits to emergency [departments] and hospitals later.”

Related Links:

— “Treatments of physical and mental health are coming together, “Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times, June 9, 2013.

In a front-page story, the Wall Street Journal (6/8, A1, Fields, Subscription Publication) reported, in a 2,000-word article, that some states are rethinking laws intended to protect the privacy of persons with mental illnesses. Some family members of individuals with mental illnesses are pushing for changes. People who advocate for persons with mental illness are divided over how to maintain patient rights and simultaneously ensure the safety of the public.

Related Links:

— “Families of Violent Patients: ‘We’re Locked Out’ of Care, “Gary Fields, The Wall Street Journal, June 07, 2013.

Medscape (6/7, Meville) reports, “There is a ‘striking discrepancy’ between the perceived knowledge of college-level trainers and their competence in managing athletes with mental health disorders,” according to a study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine 60th Annual Meeting. After surveying 211 trainers at NCAA member schools, researchers found that “overall, 70% of the athletic trainers reported feeling competent to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health disorders and make appropriate referrals.” But, “when competence in the use diagnostic criteria for mental health disorders was assessed, only 44.0% clearly understood the issues, and only 23.5% of respondents reported knowing Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) Fourth Edition, Text Revision norms.”