Reuters (2/17, Rapaport) reports that after conducting an extensive review of studies on autism screening, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued a statement published Feb. 16 in the Journal of the American Medical Association saying there is insufficient evidence to recommend universal screening of autism in very young children.

TIME (2/16, Park) reports that the USPSTF’s statement “adds to growing contention among experts about which babies should be screened for autism, with the” task force’s “recommendations disagreeing with those from other prominent medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics.”

Kaiser Health News (2/16, Luthra) points out that the USPSTF’s recommendations “apply to children between the ages of 18 months and 30 months who haven’t exhibited any signs of the disorder.” Nevertheless, some medical “professionals worry the position could result in pediatricians missing opportunities for early intervention and could exacerbate disparities in treating autism.”

Related Links:

— “Doctors unsure if early childhood autism screening makes sense,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, February 16, 2016.

In her column in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (2/14), Gail Rosenbloom wrote that the University of Minnesota faculty members “are moving into the classrooms of first- and second-year” medical “students to tell them what it’s really like to be a psychiatrist” in “an effort to demystify the field and combat the stigma related to working with people living with mental illness” and to attract more students to the specialty. Explaining the advantages of becoming a psychiatrist, American Psychiatric Association president Renee Binder, MD, said, “Psychiatry offers a way of developing close relationships with patients.” What’s more, psychiatry “is becoming more collaborative, she noted, with mental health practitioners sharing office space with pediatricians, obstetricians and other disciplines.”

Related Links:

— “Rosenblum: In Minnesota, the push for more psychiatrists gets creative,” Gail Rosenblum, Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 14, 2016.

The San Diego Union-Tribune (2/14, Steele) reported “momentum in the battle against suicide” among veterans “with several bills pending in Congress.” One measure, “which applies to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, addresses the higher suicide rate among female veterans and the mental health care needs of vets privy to classified material.” Meanwhile, there is still ongoing “tension between medical privacy rights and family involvement.” Privacy between a physician and a patient “is a basic principle of medicine.” American Psychiatric Association president Renee Binder, MD, “said there are exceptions to confidentiality, including an emergency. But otherwise, the best a psychiatrist or therapist can do is encourage a patient to include loved ones, she said.”

Related Links:

— “Congress considers veteran suicide bills,” Jeanette Steele, San Diego Union-Tribune, February 14, 2016.

The Military Times (2/11, Kime) reports, “A scientific panel has concluded that the Veterans Affairs Department should stop searching for links between environmental exposures in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and veterans’ illnesses and instead focus on monitoring and treating those who have health problems related to deploying 25 years ago.” In their report, Institute of Medicine researchers “said Gulf War veterans are at increased risk for developing some physical and psychological health conditions like post-traumatic stress, anxiety, Gulf War illness and chronic fatigue syndrome, but other diseases like cancer, respiratory illnesses and most neurodegenerative conditions do not appear to occur at higher rates in these former troops.”

Related Links:

— “Panel to VA: Stop studying causes of Gulf War illnesses, focus on treatment,” Patricia Kime, Military Times, February 11, 2016.

STAT (2/10, Thielking) reports that new data (pdf) from the CDC indicate that approximately “8.4 percent of women smoke during pregnancy, despite the risks for the developing fetus.” The agency “warns that smoking while pregnant raises the risk of premature deliveries, low birth weight, and certain birth defects.”

Related Links:

— “More than 8 percent of women smoke while pregnant, despite risks,” Megan Thinking, STAT, February 10, 2016.