On Monday, the Federal government unveiled a new national strategy to prevent suicides, especially those of veterans. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, military personnel, and representatives from the private sector made the announcement, which garnered extensive print coverage.

USA Today (9/11, Painter) reports, “Many of the 36,000 annual deaths from suicide in the United States could be prevented by making suicide prevention a part of routine health care and getting people to talk frankly about suicide in homes, schools, workplaces, the military and even on Facebook, says an updated national strategy from the surgeon general and a coalition of public and private groups.” The strategy, the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, was announced by US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius during a Monday news conference.

The AP (9/11) reports that the Obama Administration is “urging a new focus on preventing suicides, especially among military veterans — and is beefing up the nation’s crisis hotline to help.” On Monday, the Federal government “announced…it will boost staff by 50 percent at the national hotline — 1-800-273-TALK — that’s open to military and civilians alike. It provided $55.6 million for state and local programs, and highlighted Facebook features that link distressed users to counselors.” The AP notes that the Federal government is also “beginning public service announcements urging people to seek help if they spot signs that someone is suicidal.”

Related Links:

— “Surgeon general urges new focus on suicide prevention, “Kim Painter, USA TODAY, September 11, 2012.

Medscape (9/8, Johnson) reported, “Pain patients who smoke experience significantly more pain, depression, and anxiety than those who are nonsmokers — regardless of whether they suffer from centralized or noncentralized pain,” according to a study presented at the International Association for the Study of Pain 14th World Congress on Pain. Investigators “compared smoking rates, pain, and mood in patients with centralized (n = 347) and noncentralized (n = 624) pain conditions.” The study revealed “a high smoking rate (40%) in patients with centralized pain — almost double that of patients with noncentralized pain (26%; P < .001), and higher than the 20% smoking rate in the general population, said" the study's lead author Jenna Goesling, PhD.

In his “Military Update” column carried by the Kitsap (WA) Sun (9/8) and other outlets, Tom Philpott focused on a proposal by Mitt Romney to open “military TRICARE networks of civilian health care [practitioners] to veterans who can’t get timely mental health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs,” According to Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, “the Romney idea has real merit” and “is a reasonable step on a path Miller wants to travel — giving veterans more access to private sector health care, at VA expense, rather forcing them to commute long distances to a VA facility or to endure long delays to get a VA appointment.” Miller says the Romney “idea…would swiftly address VA’s shortage of mental health care [professionals]…by immediately doubling the number of available mental health care [clinicians].”

Related Links:

— “TOM PHILPOTT | Proposal could shift VA from provider of mental health care to insurer, Kitsap Sun, September 7, 2012.

CNN (9/9, Dornin) reported on its website on Iraq War veterans and husband and wife Roberto and Amanda Melecio, both of whom have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suffer the effects together. The two met during the war. CNN says that “while studies show women in the general population are twice as likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress as men, the rates for returning veterans are about the same — 20% for both men and women.” Men and women do experience PTSD differently, with women more likely to “be more anxious and depressed” and men “more angry,” with “trouble controlling anger.” Treatment of both “is similar,” however.

Related Links:

— “Couple combats war, post traumatic stress disorder together, “Rusty Dornin, CNN, September 8, 2012.

The Los Angeles Times (9/7, MacVean) reports in its “Booster Shots” blog on a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, which found that “popular kids are more likely to smoke cigarettes.” The piece notes, “The researchers found that students’ perceptions of their peers’ behavior mattered as much as whether or not they actually smoked.”

HealthDay (9/7, Gray) quotes study author Thomas Valente, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, who said, “Popularity is a strong predictor of smoking. We haven’t done enough to make it cool not to smoke.”

Related Links:

— “Popular kids more likely to smoke, research says, “Mary MacVean, Los Angeles Times, September 06, 2012.

The NBC News (9/7, Huus) website reports, “The Department of Veterans Affairs will cover the costs of service dogs to help veterans with impaired vision, hearing or mobility, but will not cover canines assigned for mental disabilities, according to regulations published on Wednesday in the Federal Register.” The agency “said that despite many individual veterans’ testimonials that mental health service dogs provide relief from the symptoms of combat-related disabilities, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it lacked research substantiating the efficacy of mental health service dogs.”

Related Links:

— “VA won’t cover costs of service dogs assigned for PTSD treatment, “Kari Huus, NBC News, September 06, 2012.

HealthDay (9/7, Preidt) reports, “The stress of readjusting to civilian life is a major reason some US. soldiers seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder,” according to a study published in the September issue of the journal Psychiatric Services. After surveying “National Guard soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) three months after they returned from Iraq,” researchers found that “for older soldiers with family and job responsibilities, readjustment issues related to their marriage, finances or family were associated with seeking help for PTSD more than actual symptoms of the disorder or depression.”

Related Links:

— “Vets’ Readjustment Issues May Spur PTSD Treatment, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 06, 2012.

Research on a link between playing in the NFL and dying from certain degenerative brain diseases received extensive coverage in print, online, and on the national broadcast news.

ABC World News (9/5, story 7, 1:50, Muir) reported, “Now, with football season here, a troubling new report tonight, we’ve long heard about the link between football and head injuries, concussions and tonight a new study finds the risks are even greater than we imagined — Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s Disease — a startling new reality check just as the season kicks off.”

The CBS Evening News (9/5, story 6, 2:45, Pelley) reported that the research, published “in the medical journal ‘Neurology,’ looks at what a career of collisions can do to the brain.”

USA Today (9/6, Lloyd, Mihoces) reports that the “study finds retired football players are three to four times more likely to die from diseases of the brain compared with the general population.” USA Today points out, “The NFL, which on Wednesday announced it had pledged $30 million for medical research to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, points to the steps it has taken in response to concerns about head injuries.”

The AP (9/6) reports, “NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the research could benefit athletes and potential areas of study may include CTE, concussion management and treatment and disorders from later in life such as Alzheimer’s.”

The New York Times (9/6, Tierney) “The Fifth Down” blog reports, “The findings were based on a review of death certificates by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Researchers found that, “of the 334 player deaths prior to 2008 that were inspected, Alzheimer’s was an underlying or contributing factor in seven and Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in seven others. The rate for the general population is two in each category.”

Related Links:

— “Study Finds Increased Risks for N.F.L. Players, “Mike Tierney, The New York Times, September 6, 2012.

USA Today (9/6, Zoroya) reports there “is emerging evidence that” American’s newest combat veterans “appear to be growing old before their time,” with former troops in their 20s and 30s showing “early signs of heart disease and diabetes, slowed metabolisms and obesity — maladies more common to middle age or later.” If this is early aging, scientists say it won’t be proven “until they can study these veterans over the next few years.” Still, “scientists with the Department of Veterans Affairs are rushing to understand” the research, which suggests the condition is “most common to those with both blast-related concussion and PTSD.” Scientists suggest that “early aging might stem from the nature of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, where troops served long and repeated deployments at an unprecedented rate.”

Related Links:

— “War might be making young bodies old, “Gregg Zoroya, USA Today, September 6, 2012.

In continuing coverage, American Medical News (9/4, Krupa) reports on the recent study which found nearly half of doctors suffer from at least one symptom of burnout. The article explains, “The many rigors and stresses of medical practice mean that physicians experience burnout at higher rates than the general population. They work an average of 10 hours more per week and are nearly twice as likely to be dissatisfied with their work-life balance, according to an Archives of Internal Medicine study published online Aug. 20.”

Related Links:

— “Nearly half of physicians struggle with burnout, “Carolyne Krupa, American Medical News, September 3, 2012.