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.

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.