In an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal (10/2, Morgenthau, Subscription Publication), attorney and WWII veteran Robert M. Morgenthau calls on Congress and the Administration to take responsibility of veterans’ suicide rate being about double that of the general population. He applauds the work being done in many areas of the Department of Veterans Affairs in helping many veterans deal with mental health issues and PTSD.

However, the rate of suicide among veterans has remained unchanged and the VA has not been able to meet the needs of those it serves, Morgenthau asserts, calling for allowing veterans to access civilian mental-health services and improving treatment by expanding both public and private partnerships.

Related Links:

— “The VA’s Faltering Battle Against Veteran Suicide,” ROBERT M. MORGENTHAU, Wall Street Journal, October 2, 2016.

In a special piece for the New York Times (9/29, Szalavitz, Subscription Publication), author Maia Szalavitz writes that the four traits of “sensation-seeking, impulsiveness, anxiety sensitivity, and hopelessness” may put children at risk for addiction, according to the Preventure antidrug program. Preliminary research indicates that “personality testing can identify 90 percent of the highest risk children, targeting risky traits before they cause problems.”

Related Links:

— “The 4 Traits That Put Kids at Risk for Addiction,” MAIA SZALAVITZ, New York Times, September 29, 2016.

HealthDay (9/29, Preidt) reports that research suggests “knowing they have a family history of breast cancer or a high-risk gene mutation doesn’t lead to increased anxiety or depression in teen girls.” Such “teens may actually have greater self-esteem and a better understanding of cancer risk than their peers, researchers said.” The findings of the 320-girl study were published in the October issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Related Links:

— “Knowing Their Breast Cancer Risk May Empower Teens,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 29, 2016.

Kaiser Health News (9/28, Rodriguez) reports that a study “found women using hormonal contraception faced a higher rate of developing depression and using antidepressants than women who did not use the drugs.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

STAT (9/28, Robbins) reports that investigators “found that among more than 1 million Danish women, those using hormonal contraception were more likely to be diagnosed with depression or prescribed an antidepressant for the first time, in the subsequent months or years, compared to their peers not using hormonal contraception.” STAT adds, “Increased risks were found across nearly all types of hormonal contraception, and were highest among adolescent girls.”

Related Links:

— “Large Danish Study Links Contraceptive Use To Risk Of Depression,” Carmen Heredia Rodriguez , Kaiser Health News, September 28, 2016.

Reuters (9/27, Rapaport) reports that giving stimulants to children with AD/HD “may not help them complete homework or get better grades,” according to a small study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Researchers randomly assigned 75 children “to receive either behavioral treatment that included daily report cards for kids and coaching parents to help with homework or a long-acting stimulant.”

Children “were around 8 years old on average, but ranged from 5 to 12” and all had a diagnosis of AD/HD. The results suggest that medication “had no significant effects on homework completion or accuracy, compared with a placebo,” whereas children receiving behavioral treatment “got 10 percent to 13 percent more homework problems finished and completed 8 percent more problems accurately than they did without the treatment.”

Related Links:

— “ADHD drugs no help with homework,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, September 27, 2016.