In the US News & World Report (9/15) “Policy Dose” blog, Lloyd Sederer, MD, medical director of the New York State Office of Mental Health, writes that “as more people seek” mental healthcare, “thanks to affordability, expanded coverage and greater help-seeking, we won’t have the psychiatric workforce to meet their growing demand.”

In fact, “we now have a serious supply problem when it comes to psychiatrists, as well as other mental health professionals,” he asserts. In two posts to come, Dr. Sederer “will detail a set of potential supply and demand solutions,” which, when “taken together…can help to substantially close the cavernous gap between the real national need for psychiatrists (and other mental health professionals) and the clinical workforce required.”

Related Links:

— “Where Have All the Psychiatrists Gone?,” Lloyd Sederer, U.S. News & World Report, September 15, 2015.

HealthDay (9/15, Dallas) reports that a study published online Sept. 14 in Pediatrics suggests that “natural and man-made disasters can put children’s health and development at risk for years to come.” Researchers found that some “14 percent” of US youngsters “between the ages of two and 17 have been exposed to some” sort of natural or man-made disaster. Many of these children may display “no visible signs of trouble,” and “even those who develop post-traumatic stress disorder may not be diagnosed unless their” physician “specifically asks about their symptoms.”

Related Links:

— “Disaster Aftereffects May Linger for Children,” Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, September 14, 2015.

In an editorial, the Baltimore Sun (9/15) points out that “in 2013, more than 41,000 people took their own lives in the United States, or an average of 113 per day.” After listing a number of factors that “put individuals at greater risk for suicide,” the Sun points out that “there is a critical role for all of us to communicate to our friends, our family members and our co-workers, particularly those who might be suffering suicidal thoughts, that there’s nothing wrong with seeking help and support.”

Related Links:

— “The unseen epidemic,” Baltimore Sun, September 14, 2015.

Reuters (9/15, Boggs) reports that seniors with low levels of vitamin D may lose their cognitive abilities faster than seniors whose vitamin D levels are normal, according to a study published online Sept. 14 in JAMA Neurology.

TIME (9/15, Park) reports that researchers studied “383 people enrolled in a long term Alzheimer’s study who participated in a series of cognitive studies and had their blood levels of a version of vitamin D measured yearly for five years.” At study start, “61% of the volunteers had vitamin D levels below recommended levels, and those with dementia showed lower levels of the vitamin.”

The NPR (9/15, Shute) “Shots” blog points out that the “study is notable because of the diversity of the participants: 62 percent were women, 30 percent were African American 25 percent Hispanic and 41 percent white.” The majority of prior “studies looking at cognitive decline and vitamin D were in white people.”

Related Links:

— “Low vitamin D levels linked to faster memory loss in older adults,” Will Boggs, MD, Reuters, September 14, 2015.

The AP (9/14, Crary) reports on the worsening shortage of psychiatrists in the US. “According to the American Medical Association…the number of adult and child psychiatrists rose by only 12 percent, from 43,640 to 49,079,” from 1995 to 2013. Within this same period of time, “the US population increased by 37 percent; meanwhile, millions more Americans have become eligible for mental health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.”

American Psychiatric Association president Renee Binder, MD, “says the perception of inadequate pay is a factor in discouraging some medical students from choosing psychiatry as a specialty.” Yet “another problem,” Dr. “Binder said, is the paperwork requirements imposed by Medicare and private insurance companies,” which, she pointed out, “interferes with our ability to have the time to sit with our patients.”

Related Links:

— “Across much of U.S., a serious shortage of psychiatrists,” David Crary, Associated Press via Express News, September 13, 2015.