The New York Times (8/1, O’Connor) “Well” blog reports, “For those with heart failure, exercise may help ease depression,” according to astudy published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Reuters (8/1, Pittman) reports that researchers followed about 2,300 heart failure patients, about half of whom were randomly assigned to participate in an in-home exercise program, in addition to receiving standard heart failure treatment. The remaining patients were assigned to receive only standard treatment.

MedPage Today (8/1, Neale) reports that the researchers found that “at both three and 12 months, patients who were exercising in addition to receiving usual care had modestly but significantly reduced depressive symptom scores compared with those who were receiving usual care alone.”

WebMD (8/1, Goodman) reports that additionally, “the exercisers were about 15% less likely to die or be hospitalized for heart failure compared with the group getting usual care.”

HeartWire (8/1, Stiles) reports that study author Dr James A Blumenthal “said for heartwire, the magnitude of benefit was tied to how much the patient exercised. ‘It didn’t require marathon training. It looks like about 90 minutes a week, or three 30-minute sessions, was really sufficient to reduce depressive symptoms.'”

Related Links:

— “Exercise May Ease Depression in Heart Failure Patients, “Anahad O’Connor, The New York Times, July 31, 2012.

BBC News (8/1, Selvadurai) reports, “People with mild mental illnesses, such as anxiety or depression, are more likely to die early,” according to a study published online July 31 in the BMJ. For the study, researchers “looked at data over 10 years and matched it to information on death certificates.” They found that “low level distress raised the risk by 16%, once lifestyle factors such as drinking and smoking were taken into account,” and that “more serious problems increased it by 67%.”

The UK’s Telegraph (8/1, Adams) reports that people with subclinical anxiety or depression may also be “at a 29 per cent increased risk of dying from ‘external causes’ like road accidents and suicide, although these only accounted for a tiny proportion of deaths.” Previously, “it had been thought that depressed or anxious people were more likely to die early because they failed to take good care of themselves — perhaps smoking and drinking more, eating worse and doing less exercise.” However, according to the study’s lead author, stress may alter “the physiology of the body to make it intrinsically less healthy,” somehow making it more susceptible to stroke and heart attacks.

“Professor Glyn Lewis, of the University of Bristol, reviewed the findings for the journal and said they add to evidence suggesting a causal association between psychological distress and heart disease, although it is not clear how to intervene,” the UK’s Daily Mail (8/1, Watson) reports.

WebMD (8/1, Goodman) reports, “The study findings did not surprise Viola Vaccarino, MD, PhD, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at Emory University in Atlanta who studies the role of depression in heart disease.” Dr. Vaccarino, who was not involved in the study, stated, “Clearly there is evidence that depression is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and total mortality as well.”

Related Links:

— “Mild mental illness ‘raises risk of premature death’, “Emily Selvadurai, BBC News, August 1, 2012.

Reuters (7/31, Rosen) reports that, according to a study by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Alaska Native men in their twenties may face a very high risk of suicide. Researchers found that individuals from this group commit suicide at a rate that is roughly 13 times higher than the US average.

Related Links:

— “Study: Young Alaska Native men at high risk for suicide, “Yereth Rosen, Chicago Tribune, July 30, 2012.

MedWire (7/31, Cowen) reports, “Symptoms of elation and irritability are significantly associated with an increased likelihood for developing bipolar disorder (BD),” according to a study published online July 27 in the Journal of Affective Disorders. The study findings “come from a study of 40,512 individuals who participated in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) who did not meet criteria for mania/hypomania at baseline in 2001-2002.”

Related Links:

— “Elation and irritability increase BD risk, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, July 31, 2012.

The Augusta (GA) Chronicle (7/25, Martin) noted, “An online chat service of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ national crisis hot line has experienced a 62 percent increase over last year, according to information provided” by the department. The Chronicle added, “The data are further evidence that veterans are responding to…VA’s increasing use of technology, said Lisa Gerardot, the suicide prevention case manager at the uptown VA hospital in Augusta. It’s especially critical that resources are accessible from different points because with younger veterans, ‘it’s a reflex for them to reach for an electronic device,’ she said.”

Related Links:

— “Online technology shows veterans reaching out crisis help, “Kyle Martin, The AUgusta Chronicle, July 24, 2012.

MedPage Today (7/26, Kaiser) reports, “Stroke survivors are at an increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which in turn increases the likelihood of poor medication adherence,” according to a 535-patient study published in the August issue of the journal Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. “Two-thirds (67%) of those who were diagnosed with PTSD following stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) were not compliant with their medication,” the study found. “After adjusting for demographic and clinical predictors of non-adherence, PTSD was associated with a nearly threefold increase in the risk of medication noncompliance,” researchers reported.

Related Links:

— “PTSD May Be Barrier to Stroke Recovery, “Chris Kaiser, MedPage Today, July 25, 2012.

The New York Times (7/25, Span) “New Old Age” blog reported that a study published June in the journal Psychiatric Clinics of North America “found that only 19 percent of elders with diagnosed depression who received ‘usual care’ in primary care practices showed substantial improvement.” This can possibly be explained by the fact that “a great majority of older people seek treatment through their primary care doctors, few of whom are able to offer much more than a prescription.” Another study, published last June in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found that “as diagnosis rates climbed, more than two-thirds of older patients with depression received antidepressants, but the proportion receiving psychotherapy declined, to less than 15 percent.”

Related Links:

— “More Older People Treated for Depression, “Paula Span, The New York Times, July 25, 2012.

HealthDay (7/25, Preidt) reports, “People with physical health problems ranging from back pain to cancer are three times more likely to seek mental health care than those without such woes,” according to a study published online in the journal Health Services Research. “The study looked at data from more than 6,000 adults who took part in the 2004 and 2005 US Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys.” Notably, “even after omitting people with catastrophic physical conditions, such as cancer, stroke and heart attack, the researchers still found that people with physical health issues were three times more likely to seek mental health care.”

Related Links:

— “Physical Ailments Take Toll on Mental Health: Study, “Robert Preidt, Healthday, July 24, 2012.

In continuing coverage, the AP (7/25) reports that Delaware “Gov. Jack Markell signed a measure Tuesday changing the way emergency mental health screenings are conducted as part of an effort to avoid unnecessary involuntary detentions.” Now, “instead of police taking a person experiencing a mental health crisis to a hospital emergency department in handcuffs,” the new law “allows a psychiatrist or credentialed mental health screener to evaluate a person anywhere.”

Related Links:

— “Markell signs bill on emergency mental health, “AP, Chron.com, July 24, 2012.

The Hill (7/25, Viebeck) “Healthwatch” blog reports, “Adolescent girls reported experiencing depression at three times the rate of their male peers over a recent period,” according to a study released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that relied on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Specifically, “twelve percent of girls ages 12 to 17 said they experienced a ‘major depressive episode,’ compared with 4.5 percent of boys.” In addition, “SAMHSA noted that the rate of depression among girls appeared to triple between the ages of 12 and 15 from 5.1 percent to 15.2 percent.”

Related Links:

— “Study: More adolescent girls reporting depression than boys, “Elise Viebeck, The Hill, July 24, 2012.