The New York Daily News (10/17, Pesce) reports, “Children in the US foster care system suffer significantly higher risks of emotional and physical health problems…such as depression, asthma and obesity,” researchers found. Specifically, investigators “found those in foster care were seven times more likely to be depressed, five times more likely to be anxious, and six times more prone to behavior problems than other kids in the general population.”

MedPage Today (10/17, Bachert) reports that researchers arrived at the study’s conclusions after having “collected data from” the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health Data, “a nationally representative survey of 95,677 noninstitutionalized children ages 0 to 17 years in the US,” the reviewing “interviews with the adults in the household, usually a parent, regarding the children in the sample.”

Related Links:

— “Science backs how much foster care sucks — kids suffer more health problems ,” Nicole Lyn Pesce, New York Daily News, October 17, 2016.

HealthDay (10/13, Preidt) reports non-heterosexual adults are more likely to use illicit drugs or to have a mental illness than their heterosexual peers, and they are also more likely to seek treatment for drug use or mental illness than their heterosexual peers, according to a report from the US government based on data from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Kana Emoto, the deputy principal administrator at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminisration, said, “This report offers unprecedented insight into the behavioral health needs of lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans – people critical to our community whose health concerns have often been overlooked.”Related Links:

— “Mixed News on Drug Abuse Among Lesbian, Gay Americans,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, October 13, 2016.

On its website, ABC News (10/13, Mohney) reports that natural disasters may cause “an increased risk of substance abuse,” researchers found after examining “data from New Orleans” on people who survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Investigators “found that the rate of hospitalizations for substance abuse increased approximately 30 percent, from 7.13 hospitalizations for 1,000 people to 9.65 hospitalizations for every 1,000 people.” The findings were published in Oct. 13 in the CDC’s Preventing Chronic Disease journal.

Related Links:

— “Natural Disasters May Increase Substance Abuse Risk, Study Finds,” GILLIAN MOHNEY, ABC News, October 13, 2016.

HCP Live (10/12, Lutz) reports, “Mental health treatment disparities exist for black and Hispanic children and youth with behavioral and psychiatric problems,” researchers found after reviewing data from “the 2006 to 2012 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys.” Investigators found that despite similar rates of mental health conditions, “black and Latino children made 37% and 49% fewer visits to psychiatrists, respectively, than white children.” The findings were published online Aug. 12 in the International Journal of Health Services.

Related Links:

— “Ethnic Disparities in Pediatric Psychiatric Treatment Hard to Ignore,” Rachel Lutz, HCP Live, October 12, 2016.

Medscape (10/12, Harrison) reports, “A novel way of delivering healthcare services to” people with severe mental illness “may prevent the predictable downward spiral to homelessness, provided patients have a home where these services can be delivered and a family member who can provide psychosocial support,” researchers found. At the Institute of Psychiatric Services (IPS): The Mental Health Services 2016 Conference, investigators described the success of the Parachute NYC program, which is a “community-based mental health initiative that deploys mobile teams to treat” people with serious mental illnesses “in their homes.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)