In a 1,000-word article, Prevention Magazine (6/27, Corbett) reported that a 2015 report released by the National Institutes of Health and published in JAMA Psychiatry found that “nearly one-third of American adults at some point in their life have” an alcohol use disorder, “and only 20% seek treatment.”

Related Links:

— “6 Sneaky Signs You Drink Too Much,” Holly C. Corbett, Prevention, June 26, 2015.

In a four-minute segment, NBC Nightly News (6/28, story 8, 4:10, Quintanilla) reported that last year, the VA was “rocked by allegations with problems in its medical system, including long waits for patient care,” while “another controversy” was in Wisconsin, where allegations from whistle blowers claimed that the “chief of staff and other medical personnel have been overmedicating” psychiatric patients. The piece interviewed the father of a former Marine who died from “mixed drug toxicity” seven years ago, and added that the VA has started an initiative to reduce narcotics given to patients with mental health disorders.

Related Links:

— “Families of Two Vets Accuse Wisconsin VA Center of Over-Prescribing [VIDEO],” , http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/families-of-two-vets-accuse–wisconsin-va-center-of-over-prescribing-472684611703, June 28, 2015.

MedPage Today (6/26, Minerd) reports, “Women taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to treat menopausal symptoms are up to 76% more likely to break a bone,” according to a study published in Injury Prevention. After studying “more than 137,000 women ages 40 to 64 with no mental health issues who started SSRIs between 1998 and 2010,” researchers also found that “the increased risk persists for at least five years following initiation of SSRI treatment, suggesting that shortening treatment could reduce the risk.” The National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Aging supported the study.

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants Linked to Bone Fractures in Menopausal Women,” Jeff Minerd, MedPage Today, June 25, 2015.

In its “Sleepless in America” special series, NBC Nightly News (6/24, story 9, 2:45, Holt) reported, “The CDC has called lack of sleep a public health epidemic, and most sleep experts say all our digital devices we’re taking into the bedroom are taking a toll on getting a good night’s rest.” NBC News correspondent Hallie Jackson explained, “Experts say it’s no coincidence 95 percent of us look at some kind of screen within an hour of bedtime and 85 percent have trouble falling asleep.” Blue light emitted from “screens send[s] a signal it’s still daylight, triggering a surge of energy and blocking the melatonin that makes us sleepy.” Therefore, it’s “no wonder then that with the device on nearly every nightstand one in three people sleeps less than six hours a day, raising the risk for diabetes, heart disease, obesity and depression.”

Related Links:

— “,” Hallie Jackson, NBC Nightly News, June 24, 2015.

TIME (6/25, Park) reports that a study published online June 24 in the journal Neurology suggests that Alzheimer’s disease may begin 18 years before diagnosis. For the study, researchers “followed 2,125 elderly people with an average age of 73 and who did not [have] dementia,” testing the participants “every three years” on their “mental skills,” then comparing “these results over time.”

HealthDay (6/25, Dallas) reports that “after the first year, those with lower test scores were about 10 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than those with the best scores.” What’s more, “these odds increased as the scores dropped below average.” Lower scores on memory and thinking tests may “serve as a ‘red flag’ for the progressive brain disease up to 18 years before it can be diagnosed, the study authors” concluded.

Related Links:

— “Alzheimer’s May Begin 20 Years Before Symptoms Appear,” Alice Park, Time, June , 2015.