HealthDay (7/13, Pallarito) reports, “People with serious mental illness who are victims of violence or exposed to stressful events are more likely to engage in a violent crime in the week following the trauma,” research indicates. Researchers arrived at this conclusion after analyzing “a nationwide sample of more than 2.8 million people born in Sweden between 1958 and 1988 to study potential triggers for violent crime.” The findings were published online July 13 in JAMA Psychiatry. An accompanying editorial suggested “the need for further research into the role of stress in triggering violence.”

Related Links:

— “Can Trauma Trigger Violent Crime in Mentally Ill?,” Karen Pallarito, HealthDay, July 13, 2016.

HealthDay (7/13, Doheny) reports that “children who suffer from epilepsy or fever-related seizures may face a higher risk of also having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD),” research suggests. After tracking Danish youngsters born “from 1990 through 2007…until 2012,” the study authors also found that kids “with both epilepsy and fever-related seizures had a risk of AD/HD more than three times higher than those without a history of either condition.” The findings of the nearly one million-participant study were published online July 13 in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Epilepsy May Triple ADHD Risk, Danish Study Finds,” Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay, July 13, 2016.

TIME (7/11, Park) reports a new study published in JAMA Neurology suggests head injuries may be linked to a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease. Study participants who had reported head injuries saw a 3.5 times higher chance of developing symptoms of Parkinson’s compared to those who did not report head injuries. The study, however, did not find a correlation between reported head injuries and a higher risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s.

HealthDay (7/11, Reinberg) reports that the research also showed a link between traumatic head injuries and a “greater risk of microscopic stroke.”

Related Links:

— “Parkinson’s Head Trauma Link Looks Even Stronger,” Alice Park, Time, July 11, 2016.

Kaiser Health News (7/11, Ostrov) discusses and dubunks four myths about mental illness. The article points out that “nearly 20 percent of American adults will suffer from a mental illness at some point in a given year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.”

Related Links:

— “Busting Myths About Mental Illness,” Barbara Feder Ostrov, Kaiser Health News, July 11, 2016.

US News & World Report (7/11, Leonard) reports that research indicates “state laws that require health insurance companies to cover autism treatment still aren’t reaching the vast majority of children with the disorder.” The findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics. Investigators “found that in states without insurance mandates, the treated prevalence of autism was 1.6 per 1,000 children, compared with 1.8 per 1,000 children in states with insurance mandates.” Although “the difference represents an increase in treated prevalence of 12.7 percent, the higher total still makes up only a small fraction of the” CDC’s “estimate of 15 in 1,000 children who have autism.”

HealthDay (7/11) reports that since Indiana first implemented insurance mandates 15 years ago, “43 other states have also made autism treatment more accessible to families that couldn’t afford it.”

Related Links:

— “Do Autism Laws Help Kids?,” Kimberly Leonard, US News & World Report, July 11, 2016.