Medscape (9/14, Brauser) reports that “new research suggests that long-term psychotherapy can decrease defensiveness” in patients with psychiatric disorders. “The observational study, which included 21 adults with anxiety, depression, or personality disorders, showed significant changes in the participants’ defensiveness after roughly 2.5 years of dynamic psychotherapy.” The researchers reported that “these changes were then significantly associated with improvements in both symptoms and overall functioning 2.5 years later.”

HealthDay (9/14) reports, “Although depression affects about one-third of all stroke victims, male stroke survivors are more likely to become depressed than females, a small new study suggests.” Investigators followed “36 people who had a first stroke within the previous” three years. The researchers found that “uncertainty about health was strongly associated with greater depression for both men and women,” with the association being “stronger for the men.”

Related Links:

— “Men More Prone to Depression After Stroke: Study, “Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, September 13, 2012.

HealthDay (9/13, Dallas) reports, “People who take medication for anxiety, depression or insomnia may be at greater risk of having a car accident than drivers not taking psychotropic” medications, according to a study published Sept. 13 in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. After comparing medication “use in nearly 5,200 people involved in major car accidents with that of more than 31,000 similar people with no record of serious accidents,” the researchers concluded that physicians “should think about advising patients not to drive while taking these medications.”

Related Links:

— “Psych, Sleep Meds May Affect Driving, “Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, September 12, 2012.

MedWire (9/13, Cowen) reports, “Higher levels of perceived stigma are associated with poorer functioning in patients with bipolar disorder (BD),” according to a study published in the Oct. Issue of the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. After studying “60 outpatients (73% women) with BD who were aged an average of 48 years,” researchers “also found that increased depressive symptoms, older age at diagnosis, and older age at onset of treatment were significantly associated with poorer functioning in patients with the mood disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Stigma impacts functioning in bipolar disorder, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, September 13, 2012.

The New York Times (9/12, Reynolds) “Well” blog reports that “a growing and very appealing body of science has established that exercise spurs the creation of new brain cells, a process known as neurogenesis.” According to a study published last month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “male sex hormones surge in the brain after exercise and could be helping to remodel the mind. The research was conducted on young, healthy and exclusively male rats – but scientists believe it applies to female rats, too, as well as other mammals, including humans.”

Related Links:

— “How Testosterone May Alter the Brain After Exercise, “Gretchen Reynolds, The New York Times, September 12, 2012.

MedWire (9/12, Cowen) reports, “The occurrence of hallucinations and delusions is associated with poorer mental health outcomes in the nonclinical general population,” according to a study published online Sept. 4 in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. After examining “data on 225,842 individuals (55.6% women), aged 18-65 years (mean age 37.3 years) from 52 countries, who answered questions about psychotic symptoms as part of the World Health Organization’s World Health Survey,” researchers “also found that people who experience both hallucinations and delusions have poorer mental health outcomes than those who experience either of these symptoms in isolation.”

Related Links:

— “Hallucinations, delusions linked to poorer outcomes in general population, “Mark Cowen, MedWire, September 12, 2012.

The Time (9/11, Sifferlin) “Healthland” blog reports, “Children of moms who reported depressive symptoms during the first nine months after giving birth were more likely to be shorter than their peers by the time they reached preschool age,” according to a study published online Sept. 10 in the journal Pediatrics.

HealthDay (9/11, Goodwin) reports that for the study, “researchers examined data on 10,700 children from the nationally representative US Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort. The children were born in 2001 and followed through 2007.”

Related Links:

— “Mom’s Depression May Lead to Shorter Kids, “Alexandra Sifferlin, TIME Healthland, September 10, 2012.

On Monday, the Federal government unveiled a new national strategy to prevent suicides, especially those of veterans. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, military personnel, and representatives from the private sector made the announcement, which garnered extensive print coverage.

USA Today (9/11, Painter) reports, “Many of the 36,000 annual deaths from suicide in the United States could be prevented by making suicide prevention a part of routine health care and getting people to talk frankly about suicide in homes, schools, workplaces, the military and even on Facebook, says an updated national strategy from the surgeon general and a coalition of public and private groups.” The strategy, the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, was announced by US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius during a Monday news conference.

The AP (9/11) reports that the Obama Administration is “urging a new focus on preventing suicides, especially among military veterans — and is beefing up the nation’s crisis hotline to help.” On Monday, the Federal government “announced…it will boost staff by 50 percent at the national hotline — 1-800-273-TALK — that’s open to military and civilians alike. It provided $55.6 million for state and local programs, and highlighted Facebook features that link distressed users to counselors.” The AP notes that the Federal government is also “beginning public service announcements urging people to seek help if they spot signs that someone is suicidal.”

Related Links:

— “Surgeon general urges new focus on suicide prevention, “Kim Painter, USA TODAY, September 11, 2012.

Medscape (9/8, Johnson) reported, “Pain patients who smoke experience significantly more pain, depression, and anxiety than those who are nonsmokers — regardless of whether they suffer from centralized or noncentralized pain,” according to a study presented at the International Association for the Study of Pain 14th World Congress on Pain. Investigators “compared smoking rates, pain, and mood in patients with centralized (n = 347) and noncentralized (n = 624) pain conditions.” The study revealed “a high smoking rate (40%) in patients with centralized pain — almost double that of patients with noncentralized pain (26%; P < .001), and higher than the 20% smoking rate in the general population, said" the study's lead author Jenna Goesling, PhD.

In his “Military Update” column carried by the Kitsap (WA) Sun (9/8) and other outlets, Tom Philpott focused on a proposal by Mitt Romney to open “military TRICARE networks of civilian health care [practitioners] to veterans who can’t get timely mental health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs,” According to Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, “the Romney idea has real merit” and “is a reasonable step on a path Miller wants to travel — giving veterans more access to private sector health care, at VA expense, rather forcing them to commute long distances to a VA facility or to endure long delays to get a VA appointment.” Miller says the Romney “idea…would swiftly address VA’s shortage of mental health care [professionals]…by immediately doubling the number of available mental health care [clinicians].”

Related Links:

— “TOM PHILPOTT | Proposal could shift VA from provider of mental health care to insurer, Kitsap Sun, September 7, 2012.