In a news release (6/28, pdf), the American Psychiatric Association issued a statement from its president, Dilip V. Jeste, MD, who pointed out the significance of the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including the individual mandate. Dr. Jeste stated, “The law is especially significant because, when fully implemented along with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, it will protect the rights of individuals with mental illnesses to have access to appropriate care.”

HealthDay (6/29, Doheny) reports that a new study appearing in Social Science & Medicine finds that “the more work-related stress parents experience, the more likely their children are to eat unhealthy meals.” According to HealthDay, the researchers found that “those mothers employed full time had fewer meals as a family, served more fast-food meals and encouraged their teens to eat healthy less often… The fathers’ only difference by employment status was that full-time workers had fewer hours of food preparation than those who worked part time or were not employed.”

Related Links:

— “Job Worries for Parents May Mean Poorer Nutrition for Kids, “Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay, June 28, 2012.

Medscape (6/29, Lowry) reports, “Good physical fitness at age 18 years is associated with a reduced risk for serious depression later in life,” according to a study involving some 1.1 million men in Sweden that was published online June 14 in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Notably, “after controlling for factors that included body mass index, conscription test center, and familial factors, the hazard ratio (HR) associated with lower cardiovascular [CV] fitness at age 18 for serious depression in adulthood was 1.96 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.71 – 2.23).” However, “there was no such association found for bipolar disorder (HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.84 – 1.47).”

The UK’s Telegraph (6/28, Adams) reports, “Researchers have discovered that teenagers who are ostracised at school are more likely to be at risk of developing heart disease and diabetes when they enter middle age.” And “girls appear much more susceptible to the ruthless social world of adolescence than boys, according to the Swedish study, which followed almost 900 students in the north of the country from 16 to 43.” It was published in the journal PLoS One. “The academics, from the universities of Umea and Stockholm, found those who had the worst time at school socially – being bullied, cast out orf isolating themselves – tended to be at the highest risk of poor health by their early 40s.”

Related Links:

— “Bullied girls ‘suffer poorer health in middle age’, “Stephen Adams, The Telegraph, June 28, 2012.

MedWire (6/28, Cowen) reports, “Results from a US study show that more than half of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) have a significant burden of comorbid medical illnesses.” The 264-patient study revealed that “medical comorbidity most commonly affected the musculoskeletal/integumentary (33%), the respiratory (27%), and the endocrinologic/metabolic (25%) systems, and the most common individual conditions were migraine (25%), history of head trauma with loss of consciousness (19%), and hypertension (16%).” In addition, investigators “found that 31% (n=87) of patients were overweight, with a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0-29.9 kg/m2, and 38% (n=105) were obese, with a BMI of more than 30.0 kg/m2.” The findings were presented earlier this month at the annual meeting of the New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit in Phoenix, Arizona.

Related Links:

— “High medical illness rates in bipolar disorder, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, June 28, 2012.

Reuters (6/28, Norton) reports that according to a study published online Jun3 13 in the journal Fertility and Sterility, women who undergo unsuccessful attempts to have a baby through in vitro fertilization (IVF) may be at increased risk for depression or a clinical anxiety disorder in the months immediately following the failed procedure. A second study also appearing online June 13 in the same journal found that women who were anxious and depressed while trying to conceive through natural methods appeared to have about the same chances of becoming pregnant naturally as their less stressed and depressed peers.

Related Links:

— “Failed IVF attempt tied to depression, anxiety, “Amy Norton, Reuters, June 27, 2012.

ABC World News (6/26, story 8, 3:50, Stephanopoulos) reported on what it called a “hidden underworld of mothers” who abuse the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) medication Adderall [amphetamine, dextroamphetamine mixed salts], which some are calling “mother’s new little helper.” Correspondent Dan Harris reported that ABC News received “a wave of anonymous voicemails and e-mails” from women saying they’ve used the medication. “And these women don’t have AD/HD,” Harris added. The report featured interviews with several women who claim to have abused the medication, and showed Marvin Seppala, MD, of the Hazelden Clinic, saying, “We’re seeing an increase in the use of Adderall and other amphetamines by women. A really powerful stimulant, it can cause seizures, strokes, heart attacks, even death.”

On its website, WUSA-TV Washington (6/27, Brikman) reports, “An event entitled ‘Visible Honor for Invisible Wounds’ will be taking place in Upper Senate Park on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning, June 27th. The idea is to recognize how post traumatic stress, traumatic brain injuries, severe depression, and survivor’s guilt can wound our veterans as much as roadside bombs or a sniper’s fire.” During the event, there will be “an ‘open mike’ portion of the event in which any active duty service member or veteran can share his or her story, all in an effort to further chip away at the stigma of PTSD and to seek mental health help.”

Related Links:

— “Visible Honor For Invisible Wounds, “Anita Brikman, WUSA9, June 26, 2012.

The Washington Post (6/27, Vozzela) reports that in Virginia, “a shortage of group homes and other community-based housing for the mentally ill keeps many patients hospitalized far longer than needed — at significant state expense and possibly in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a report that will be presented to legislators Thursday.” Specifically, “it costs $214,000 a year, on average, to keep a patient in a state psychiatric hospital, compared with $44,000 a year for community-based housing, according to the report, prepared by the inspector general’s office for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.” Currently, “with at least 70 ‘discharge-ready’ patients stuck in state hospitals, the report says, Virginia is spending about $12 million a year on unnecessary psychiatric hospitalizations.”

Related Links:

— “Space in Va. group homes scarce, some mentally ill languish in state care, “Laura Vozzella , The Washington Post, June 26, 2012.

The Fresno Bee (6/26, Anderson) reports, “Hispanics in the central San Joaquin Valley and the state are not getting the mental-health services they need, a UC Davis report released Monday said.”

In a front-page story, the Sacramento (CA) Bee (6/26, 1A, Craft) reports, “According to Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, the study’s lead author and director of the health disparities center, up to 75 percent of Latinos who do seek mental health services opt not to return for a second appointment.” The study, “based on input from more than 550 Latinos, including some in Sacramento, found that the current workforce of psychologists and psychiatrists is ill-equipped to penetrate the disparities and bridge the cultural gulf.” While “the law says mental health services must be provided in native languages of major immigrant groups, the study’s authors found Spanish-speaking professionals few and far between within Latino communities.”

Related Links:

— “UC Davis study: Hispanics shorted on mental-health care, “Barbara Anderson, The Fresno Bee, June 25, 2012.