The Department of Veterans Affairs receives extensive, mostly positive coverage of its Thursday announcement that it will hire 1,900 more mental-health professionals.

The AP (4/20, Tucker) reports that VA “said Thursday it was increasing its staff of mental health workers by roughly 1,900, part of an effort to address a shortage of specialists and to better prepare for the medical needs of veterans returning home from war.” The last point was emphasized in a statement about the new hires from VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. The “move was cheered by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which also called on the VA to reduce its claims backlog and urged President Barack Obama to issue a national call for service for mental-health professionals.” The House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman, US Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), “said the announcement was a good start, but that the VA also needs to strengthen training of employees who encounter veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Related Links:

— “VA to add about 1,900 to mental health staff,”Erick Tucker , Associated Press, April 20, 2012.

The New York Times (4/19, Dao, Subscription Publication) reports, “The Department of Veterans Affairs will announce on Thursday that it plans to hire about 1,600 additional psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and other mental health clinicians in an effort to reduce long wait times for services at many veterans medical centers. The hiring…would increase the department’s mental health staff by nearly 10 percent at a time when the veterans health system is being overwhelmed not just by veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, but also by aging veterans from the Vietnam era.” The Times notes that VA’s “announcement comes as the department is facing intensified criticism for delays in providing psychological services to veterans at some of its major medical centers.”

Related Links:

— “Veterans Department to Increase Mental Health Staffing, “James Dao, The New York Times, April 19, 2012.

HealthDay (4/19, Mozes) reports, “Teens who use the party drugs ecstasy (MDMA) and speed (methamphetamine and/or amphetamine) appear to face a notably higher risk of depression afterward,” according to a study published online April 18 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. “Interviews and mental health assessments conducted among nearly 3,900 10th-grade residents of Quebec revealed that, compared to non-users, adolescents who acknowledged taking either speed or ecstasy had a 60 percent to 70 percent greater risk of experiencing telltale signs of depression a year after their last recorded use.” In addition, adolescents “who said they had tried both speed and ecstasy showed double the risk for depressive symptoms, when compared to non-users.”

Related Links:

— “Use of Ecstasy, Speed by Teens Tied to Later Depression,”Alan Mozes , HealthDay, April 19, 2012.

HealthDay (4/17, Preidt) reports that according to a study published online April 16 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, individuals sporting piercings and tattoos (body art) “tended to drink more alcohol than their peers.” After asking “nearly 3,000 French youth to take a breathalyzer test as they left bars and other drinking establishments,” researchers found through breathalyzer readings that “those with tattoos and body piercings had consumed more alcohol than those without the adornments.”

Related Links:

— “Tattoos, Piercings Tied to Heavier Drinking in French Study,”Robert Preidt , HealthDay, April 16, 2012.

The Miami Herald (4/17, Burton) reports, “According to a recent report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the number of US adults age 50 or older needing substance abuse treatment is expected to double from 2.8 million to 5.7 million by the year 2020. A 2010 report by the Drug Abuse Warning Network said drugs used for pain relief, anxiety or insomnia were involved in almost a quarter of adverse drug reactions among older adults.” One specialist said that “for about 80 percent of the population, prescribing these drugs is the right thing to do,” but “for about 20 to 25 percent…there is a risk of developing a dependency.”

Related Links:

— “Substance abuse in seniors expected to rise,”Rebecca Burton , The Miami Herald, April 16, 2012.

HealthDay (4/17, Preidt) reports, “Teens undergoing treatment for alcohol or drug abuse can benefit from the 12-step program used by groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA),” according to a study published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. “The new study included 127 teen substance abuse-treatment outpatients (95 males, 32 females, aged 14 to 19) who were assessed when they began treatment and three, six and 12 months later.” Notably, “more meeting attendance was associated with significantly better substance use outcomes — particularly attending meetings at least once per week or more,” the study’s author suggested.

Medscape (4/17, Hitt) points out that the “study was funded by a grant award from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.”

Related Links:

— “12-Step Meetings May Help Teens Beat Alcohol, Drug Abuse,”Robert Preidt , HealthDay, April 16, 2012.

The CNN (4/17, Bixler) “The Chart” blog reports that according to a study published in the journal Child Development, “if mom is depressed, she’s more likely to wake her baby up in the middle of the night, even if the baby is fine.” After observing 45 families with infants and toddlers for about a week, researchers found that mothers “who had higher levels of symptoms of depression were more likely to respond to minor sounds, wake their baby up and nurse them (even if they weren’t hungry), or pick their sleeping child up and put them in bed with them.” The UK’s Telegraph (4/17, Smith) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Depression and baby sleep: Vicious cycle?,”Jennifer Bixler , CNN Health, April 17, 2012.

HealthDay (4/14, Preidt) reports, “Receiving emotional support and acceptance from parents benefits the long-term health of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults,” according to a study published in the Journal of Homosexuality. Investigators found that “about three-quarters of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults aged 18 to 64 surveyed in Massachusetts said they had revealed their sexual orientation to their parents, typically when they were about 25 years old.” The story adds, “Rates of mental health and substance-abuse problems were significantly lower among those who received support from their parents than among those who felt rejected, the study found.”

Related Links:

— “Gay Adults Rejected by Parents Have Worse Health, Study Finds,”Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 13, 2012.

The Huffington Post (4/14, Chan) reported, “Exercise could be the secret weapon to help breast cancer patients combat common side effects of cancer and cancer treatments,” according to research presented at a Society of Behavioral Medicine meeting.

HealthDay (4/14, Preidt) reported, “University of Miami researchers examined the physical activity levels and mental/physical health of 240 women with non-metastatic breast cancer…who were recruited for the study four to 10 weeks after surgery.”

WebMD (4/14, Boyles) reported, “Half the women took part in a 10-week, group-based behavioral therapy program aimed at reducing stress, while the other half participated in a much less intensive, single-day educational session.” The investigators “found that women who increased the time they spent engaged in physical activity between the time of surgery and other treatments had less fatigue-related disruptions in everyday activities.” The researchers reported that “women in both groups who exercised more also experienced less depression and scored higher on tests measuring quality of life.”

Related Links:

— “Exercise Could Lower Fatigue And Depression In Breast Cancer Patients: Study,”Amanda L. Chan, The Huffington Post , April 13, 2012.

HealthDay (4/14, Preidt) reported, “Adults with mental illness are more likely to have certain types of chronic physical health problems than those without mental illness,” according to a report (pdf) issued April 5 by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). “The report said adults aged 18 and older who had any type of mental illness in the past year had higher rates of high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.” In addition, “people with mental illness had higher rates of emergency-department use and hospitalization,” the report found.

“Those with any mental illness, serious mental illness, or a major depressive episode also had greater use of healthcare resources,” MedPage Today (4/14, Neale) pointed out. “Among those with any mental illness, for example, the rate of emergency department use was 38.8% (versus 27.1% for those who reported no mental illness) and the rate of hospitalization was 15.1% (versus 10.1%).”

Related Links:

— “Mental Illness Tied to Higher Rates of Physical Problems: Report,”Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 13, 2012.