USA Today (10/14, Healy) reports on a new study published online in Pediatrics, which found “aspects of the health toll” inflicted on adolescents from gun injuries other than the death toll “get much less attention, including injury severity, the need for major surgical intervention, and high care costs.” The study found the impact to be particularly heavy for adolescent males aged 15 to 19, accounting for 83.2 percent of the gunshot wounds suffered by children in the study. According to the researchers, “the study provides ‘a broader look’ at the disproportionate and negative effects beyond fatalities.”

Related Links:

— “Death tallies belie true impact of kids’ gun injuries, “Michelle Healy, USA Today, October 14, 2013.

In an opinion piece in the Denver Post (10/13, Milofsky), retired psychiatrist Jean E. Milofsky, MD, wrote in response to a recent “60 Minutes” appearance by psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey, MD, author of “The Insanity Offense,” and psychiatrist Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD, president of the American Psychiatric Association, in which the pair expressed the view that finding and then treating people with severe mental illness would reduce the chances of violent acts occurring, including those involving firearms and mass shootings. Dr. Milofsky pointed out that mental healthcare in the US is underfunded and that more than half of the US homeless population includes people with mental illnesses, and that no clinician is able to detect with absolute certainty the potential for violence in people with mental illness. She also reminded readers that the majority of people with severe mental illnesses are not violent and concluded that mental health reform is indeed needed, but so are societal approaches to reducing gun violence, an entirely separate issue.

Related Links:

— “And now it’s mental illness being blamed for violence, “Jean E. Milofsky, The Denver Post, October 12, 2013.

Reuters (10/11, Doyle) reported that, according to a study (10/14) published online Sept. 27 in the American Journal of Epidemiology, working the night shift appears not to result in long-term cognitive impairment in middle-aged women. Researchers arrived at this conclusion after analyzing data from the Nurses’ Health Study on some 16,000 middle-aged female nurses.

Related Links:

— “Night shifts not linked to mental decline, “Kathryn Doyle, Reuters, October 11, 2013.

HealthDay (10/11, Preidt) reports that, according to the results of a 512-participant study published online in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, an erroneous belief that people “suffer from a serious disease (hypochondria) can worsen as they scour the Internet in an attempt to pinpoint symptoms.” The study’s lead author explained that “persistent fear about having a disease can trigger worries about potential medical bills, disability and job loss, which can lead to even more Internet searching…unnecessary medical tests and stress,” and visits to physicians.

Related Links:

— “Too Much Online Health Info May Worsen Worriers’ Anxiety, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, October 10, 2013.

In the Forbes (10/11) “The Apothecary” blog, contributor Nicole Fisher writes that the nation’s capital “has been consumed by a government shutdown, with lawmakers and policymakers trying to determine how to rein in our country’s financial burdens and overspending.” But, “as federal and state governments look to cut budgets at every turn, mental and behavioral health services are often” the first to be cut from budgets. These budget “cuts, compounded with US stigma often applied to mental health troubles and disparate access to services across the county, mean that those who need services most are often those left without proper care.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Loses Funding As Government Continues Shutdown, “Nicole Fisher,, Forbes, October 10, 2013.

CNN (10/10, Rodriguez) reports, “In 2011, 15.9% of Hispanic adults reported suffering from a mental illness the previous year, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.” Still, many do not seek treatment. Experts believe “the most problematic issue for the Latino community is their fear of being highly stigmatized for accessing mental health services.” According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Office of Minority and National Affairs, “among Hispanics with a mental disorder, fewer than one in 11 contact a mental health specialist.”

Related Links:

— “Latinos struggle to find help for mental health issues, “Cindy Y. Rodriguez, CNN, October 9, 2013.

Reuters (10/10, Raven) reports that, according to a study published online Sept. 24 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, there appears to be an increased rate in depression in US women in those states in which there are large variations in personal income. Researchers arrived at this conclusion after analyzing mental health survey data on some 34,653 adults, then calculating income inequality levels for each state. Notably, women resident in the District of Columbia and in New York, appeared to have twice the risk for depression compared to women living in Alaska and Utah, where incomes did not vary so much.

Related Links:

— “Income inequality linked to depression, “Kathleen Raven, Reuters, October 9, 2013.

USA Today (10/10, Jayson) reports that research published in the journal Crisis suggests that “suicide talk on Twitter mirrors state suicide rates closely enough that the social network could prove to be an early-warning system for those at risk.” The researchers “found that Midwestern and Western states and Alaska had a higher proportion of suicide-related tweeters than expected, as well as higher actual rates of suicide.” The investigators found that “the opposite was true for Southern and Eastern states.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide talk on Twitter mirrors state suicide rates, “Sharon Jayson, USA Today, October 10, 2013.

On its “Tell Me More” program, NPR (10/8, Martin) interviewed Annelle Primm, MD, MPH, director of minority and national affairs for the American Psychiatric Association, who discussed “questions about black women’s access to mental” healthcare. Dr. Primm pointed out that blacks are “less likely to get treatment” for mental health disorders than their white peers for many reasons, including cultural stigma, lack of health insurance, and in some areas of the country, a lack of available psychiatric services.

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Care: Why Some Get It And Some Don’t, NPR, October 8, 2013.

In The Hill (10/8) “Congress Blog,” American Psychiatric Association president Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, and former Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), who was the co-sponsor of the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), wrote, “We hope that the long-anticipated Final Rule will fill the gap left in the Parity Law so that the millions of Americans with a mental illness are no longer the subject of discrimination and abuse, and will have fair access to evidence-based treatments.” The pair asserted, “We must hold the government, insurers, and providers accountable until every person who is in need has access to affordable” mental healthcare of good quality. Only then will it be possible to achieve “a truly equitable system.”

Psychiatric News (10/9) quotes Dr. Lieberman, who said that “the promise of the MHPAEA remains unfulfilled and will until the Final Rule for its implementation is issued and we are assured of its enforcement.” Kennedy is quoted as saying, “With health exchanges taking
root in all 50 states, we can’t wait another moment for the final rule on this law, which helps to remove the arbitrary distinctions between the brain and the body…when it comes to health care.”

The Time (10/9, Sifferlin) “Healthland” blog reported that “mental illness is an increasingly prominent plot line on television.” However, “portrayals can be a double-edged sword…as they raise awareness of the realities of living with mental illness while frequently focusing on some of the more extreme symptoms and therapies.” Forensic psychiatrist Vasilis Pozios, MD, a spokesperson for the American Psychiatric Association, focused on the positive aspects, explaining that “aside from helping those unfamiliar with mental illnesses to have a more realistic and unbiased view of psychiatric disorders, the depictions may help patients struggling with mental illness as well.”

Related Links:

— “Make good on mental health parity, “Jeffrey Lieberman, The Hill, October 8, 2013.