The Tampa Bay (FL) Times (5/30, Neuhaus) reports that research “published online in a journal produced by the American Psychiatric Association” suggests “the VA is up to 30 percent better at providing medication to veteran patients than the private sector is for its patients.” This “was largely due to the VA’s ability to provide a one-stop shop for timely medication to patients with appropriate follow-up care, like therapy and blood-level checks to ensure proper medication dosages.”

The Times points out that “Dr. Katherine Watkins, a primary author of the study at the RAND Corporation, said the study compared more than 830,000 veterans against 545,000 non-veterans.” The study “compared data from veterans and patients in the private sector who were being treated for five mental health disorders: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD, major depression and substance abuse disorders.”

Related Links:

— “Study finds that VA treats PTSD better than the private sector,” Les Neuhaus, Tampa Bay (FL) Times, May 30, 2016.

Reuters (5/26, Rapaport) reports that early puberty and breast development in girls in comparison to their peers may be tied to an increased risk of depression. The findings of the 5,800-child study were published online May 26 in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Girls’ early puberty and breast development tied to depression,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, May 26, 2016.

HealthDay (5/26, Preidt) reports, “Heavy drinking may fuel the risk of suicide among men when the economy is sinking,” research published in the July issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests. Researchers arrived at the study’s conclusions after analyzing “data from 16 states to compare alcohol use between suicide victims and the general population in 2005-2007, during the 2008-2009 recession, and again in 2010-2011.”

Related Links:

— “Tough Economy, Alcohol Fuels Suicide Risk in Men: Study,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, May 26, 2016.

Medscape (5/26, Brooks) reports, “Depressed patients who attempt suicide four or more times have a higher risk of eventually dying by suicide compared with their depressed peers who have never attempted suicide or who have done so fewer times,” research suggests. The findings of the 683-patient study were presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting. Meanwhile, APA president and study coauthor Maria Oquendo, MD, said “physicians need to ‘readjust their view of the multiple suicide attempter as someone who is just trying to get attention.” She added, “One of the things I tell my students is, you really shouldn’t use the term ‘suicide gesture’ because it trivializes the behavior of that individual, and if you can help get them through their rough patch, you might just save a life.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Reuters (5/25, Seaman) reports a study published online May 25 in JAMA Psychiatry suggests that the risk of suicide attempts made by enlisted soldiers in the US Army appears to vary over time.

The ABC News (5/25, Mohney) website reports that after examining “data from 163,178 enlisted soldiers,” researchers found that “enlisted soldiers, who had never been deployed, accounted for 61.1 percent of the enlisted soldiers who attempted suicide.” Soldiers among that group faced the “highest” risk for a “suicide attempt…when they reached their second month of service.” Soldiers who were deployed appeared to be “at highest risk six months into deployment.” And, among soldiers who had returned home from a previous deployment, “five months after getting back home was their highest risk time” for making a suicide attempt.

Related Links:

— “In U.S. Army, enlisted soldiers’ risk of suicide attempts varies over time,” Andrew W. Seaman, Reuters, May 25, 2016.