The New York Times (2/1, A12, Carey, Subscription Publication) reported, “A new approach to treating early schizophrenia, which includes family counseling, results in improvements in quality of life [QoL] that make it worth the added expense,” a study published online Jan. 31 in Schizophrenia Bulletin suggests. The study “included 183 people who received typical care and 223 who got…more comprehensive services.” The study, a cost analysis based on the National Institute of Mental Health’s RAISE (Recovery After Initial Schizophrenia Episode) trial data, “was an important test of the new care program’s value.”

The study concluded that “coordinated specialty care for young people with first-episode psychosis may be more cost-effective than typical community care,” Psychiatric News (2/2) reports. In fact, “when converted to monetized Quality Adjusted Life Years…benefits exceeded costs, especially at future generic drug prices.”

Related Links:

— “New Plan to Treat Schizophrenia Is Worth Added Cost, Study Says,” Benedict Carey, New York Times, February 1, 2016.

The Washington Post (1/31, Nutt) “Health & Science” blog reported that loneliness “is increasingly seen today as a serious public health hazard.” Researchers are finding that “social isolation changes the human genome in profound, long-lasting ways,” resulting in damage “comparable to the injuries to health from smoking and, even worse, from diabetes and obesity.”

Related Links:

— “Loneliness grows from individual ache to public health hazard,” Amy Ellis Nutt, Washington Post, January 31, 2016.

The Military Times (1/29, Kime) reported that in a notice to be published today in the Federal Register, “the Defense Department will propose several changes to mental health services to better align the military health program with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” The Pentagon is proposing to eliminate “limits on inpatient services” and to allow “Tricare to cover hormone therapy for transgender individuals.”

Related Links:

— “Gender dysphoria treatment included in proposed mental health services overhaul,” Patricia Kime, Military Times, February 1, 2016.

In its “Shots” blog, NPR (1/27, Rancano) reports that a study published online Jan. 27 in the journal Pediatrics found, among three-year-olds, 50 percent fewer children showed signs of hyperactivity after receiving pediatric care in which a professional “filmed each mother and child reading or playing together for a few minutes” and then “talked to the mother about the positive things she did with her child.” NPR adds that “improving a child’s ability to focus, regulate behavior and cooperate with other kids can help a child learn.” The study also touted the benefits of “using pediatric checkups as a way to engage parents.”

Related Links:

— “Teaching Parenting Skills At Doctor Visits Helps Children’s Behavior,” Vanessa Racaño, National Public Radio, January 27, 2016.

US News & World Report (1/28, Miller) reports that an article published this month in ​ the journal Military Medicine examines pregnancy rates among US servicewomen. Even though oral contraceptives and “some other forms of contraception are covered by the military (women are allowed a 180-day supply prior to deployment), access can be spotty, according to a 2013 study in the journal Contraception that found one-third of the 281 active duty servicewomen surveyed couldn’t get the type of birth control they wanted before deploying, and 41 percent had trouble refilling prescriptions on duty.

It is estimated that “rates of unintended pregnancies among active duty servicewomen range between 50 percent and 62 percent – the same as the civilian population, the Military Medicine article reports.” Retired colonel and forensic psychiatrist Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, MD, MPH, “urges the military to take birth control ‘much more seriously’ by better educating service members during basic training and counseling women on long-term birth control options like IUDs.” ​

Related Links:

— “Military Fertility: It’s Complicated,” Anna Medaris Miller, US News & World Report, January 28, 2016.