In his opinion column in the New York Times (7/24, A21, Subscription Publication), David Brooks discusses the Aurora tragedy and other “spectacular spree killings” of the past, including the Virginia Tech incident of 2007. Brooks observes, “People who commit spree killings are usually suffering from severe mental disorders. The response, and the way to prevent future episodes, has to start with psychiatry, too.” He concludes, “The best way to prevent killing sprees is with relationships — when one person notices that a relative or neighbor is going off the rails and gets that person treatment before the barbarism takes control.”

Related Links:

— “More Treatment Programs, “Dave Brooks, The New York Times, July 23, 2012.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (7/24, Gaestel) reports, “Mentally ill people will have a much easier time accessing care two years from now, thanks to the new federal health care law,” although “advocates worry that current budget cuts may create a shortage of the very mental health services the newly insured will want to use.” Joseph Rogers, chief advocacy officer at the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania “said mentally ill people end up in emergency rooms, homeless centers, and prisons when they cannot access treatment.”

Related Links:

— “Affordable Care Act will expand mental health coverage, but budget cuts a worry, “Allyn Gaestel, The Inquirer, July 24, 2012.

The Salt Lake (UT) Tribune (7/24, Moulton) reports, “The more severe combat a warrior experiences, the more likely he or she is to later attempt suicide, new research at the University of Utah’s National Center for Veterans Studies shows. It might seem like common sense, says David Rudd, the center’s scientific director and the dean of social and behavioral sciences, but it had never before been empirically validated, he says.” The Tribune also notes that psychologist Craig Bryan, the center’s new associate director, says research that Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department have been funding over the last 10 years is “going to actually shape the way” mental healthcare is delivered in both the US military and in the civilian world.

VA Unveils “About Face” Online Resource For Troops, Veterans With PTSD. The digital edition of the Army Times (7/23) reported, “The Veterans Affairs Department has a new resource for troops and veterans who think they might have” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Times added, “‘About Face’ offers online assessments and videos to help current and former service members recognize PTSD symptoms and get help.” The Times noted that VA is trying to expand its mental health services. The agency’s secretary, Eric Shinseki, said VA must do all “it can to help veterans identify possible indicators that they may be suffering from PTSD.”

Related Links:

— “U. study: Combat puts soldiers at high suicide, PTSD risk, “Kristen Moulton, The Salt Lake Tribune, July 23, 2012.

HealthDay (7/21, Preidt) reports, “People with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have a 2.6 times increased risk of developing cancer,” according to a study published in the July issue of the journal Psychiatric Services. After analyzing “data from more than 3,300 Maryland Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder to determine how many of them were diagnosed with cancer between 1994 and 2004,” researchers found that, “compared to people in the general population, schizophrenia patients were more than 4.5 times more likely to develop lung cancer, 3.5 times more likely to develop colorectal cancer, and nearly three times more likely to develop breast cancer.” Similarly, people with bipolar disorder also had a greater risk for those three types of cancer.

Related Links:

— “Serious Mental Illness Tied to Higher Cancer, Injury Risk: Studies, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 20, 2012.

HealthDay (7/20, Preidt) reports, “Sex scenes in movies influence teens’ sexual behavior,” according to a study to be published in the journal Psychological Science in which “US researchers analyzed the sexual content of hundreds of top-grossing movies released between 1998 and 2004, and then asked more than 1,200 kids, aged 12 to 14, which of the movies they had seen. Six years later, the participants were surveyed” on sexual behavior. The results showed that “teens who were exposed to more sexual content in movies started having sex at younger ages, had more sex partners and were less likely to use condoms with casual sex partners.”

Related Links:

— “Kids’ Sexual Behavior Influenced by Movie Scenes: Study, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 19, 2012.

HealthDay (7/2, Preidt) reports, “A father’s strong connection with his child during infancy may reduce the risk of behavioral problems later in life,” according to a study published July 18 in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. “British researchers looked at nearly 200 families and found that children whose fathers were more positively engaged with them at age three months had fewer behavioral problems when they were one year old.”

Related Links:

— “Dad’s Early Engagement With Son May Shape Behavior Later, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 19, 2012.

The Lock Haven (PA) Express (7/19) reported that US Reps. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Charles Rangel (D-NY) recently “introduced HR 6107, the Veterans E-Health and Telemedicine Support (VETS) Act of 2012, a bill aimed at increasing veteran healthcare access at no additional cost to the taxpayer.” The bill “expands the current Department of Veteran Affairs state licensure exemption to allow credentialed health care professionals to work across state borders performing telemedicine without having to obtain a new state license.” According to the Express, “HR 6107 was introduced with the support of 12 additional bipartisan

Related Links:

— “Thompson introduces bill to expand use of telemedicine for veterans, The Express, July 18, 2012.

The Los Angeles Times (7/19, Goldberg) said that on Wednesday, veteran Ruth Moore spoke about her struggle to obtain post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) benefits from Veterans Affairs after she was raped by a superior in the Navy. She made her comments while testifying before a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee. According to the Times, US Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) is “sponsoring a bill that would allow victims of military sexual trauma seeking disability benefits to provide only a diagnosis of PTSD and an opinion from a doctor that an assault could have caused the disorder.” Pingree stated, “It’s outrageous that men and women who sign up to defend our country end up being victims of sexual assault in the first place. Then to deny them the help they need to recover is simply unacceptable.”

Related Links:

— “Military sex assault victims’ PTSD claims neglected, panel told, “Jamie Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2012.

MedWire (7/20, Cowen) reports, “People with serious mental illnesses are significantly more likely to experience injuries than the general population,” according to a study published online June 2 in the journal Injury Prevention. “In a seven-year study of 6,234 Medicaid recipients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other serious mental illnesses, the researchers found that the incidence of injuries requiring a visit to the emergency department or hospital admittance was 80% higher than in the general population.” In addition, investigators “found that the risk for fatal injuries was 4.7 times greater in people with serious mental illnesses, compared with the general population.”

Related Links:

— “Injury risk increased in patients with serious mental illnesses,”Mark Cowen, MedWire News, July 20, 2012.

The CBS News (7/20, Jaslow) “HealthPop” blog reports, “Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities in children, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Yet, “In the latest issue of its journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC investigates drinking rates among pregnant women, and finds about one in 13 pregnant women drink,” and “of those women, almost one in five reported binge drinking…during pregnancy.”

Reuters (7/20, Beasley) reports that 10 percent of women with college degrees reported having a drink in the past month as opposed to just five percent of those with a high school diploma or less. The report was based on a telephone survey of 345,076 women aged 18 to 44 conducted 2006-2010.

Related Links:

— “1 in 13 pregnant women drink alcohol, CDC says, “Ryan Jaslow, CBS News, July 19, 2012.