The Columbus (OH) Dispatch (5/19, Ockerman) reports that “a bill proposed by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, would require mental-health assessments for incoming recruits to establish a baseline and then also mandate assessments when service members leave the military.” The senator “joined Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, in introducing the Medical Evaluation Parity for Servicemembers Act in March to help detect mental illness among veterans earlier and more effectively.”

Related Links:

— “Portman finds support for military mental-health screening,” Emma Ockerman, Columbus Dispatch, May 18, 2015.

HealthDay (5/19, Doheny) reports that according to a study due for presentation at a medical meeting, “men with undiagnosed, severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) had more than double the risk of depression compared to those without sleep apnea.” The 860-man study also revealed that “men who had both undiagnosed, severe apnea and excessive daytime sleepiness had” up to a “five times greater” risk of depression.

Related Links:

— “Sleep Apnea May Boost Depression Risk in Men, Study Finds,” Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay, May 18, 2015.

The New York Times (5/19, A14, Tavernise, Subscription Publication) reports that the “suicide rate among black children has nearly doubled since the early 1990s, while the rate for white children has declined,” a study published online May 18 in JAMA Pediatrics found. The findings, covering children ages five to 11, surprised researchers, as “suicide rates are almost always lower among blacks than among whites of any age.”

The AP (5/19, Tanner) reports that the study authors theorize that “black kids may experience more violence, stress or school discipline than whites, and are less likely to seek help for depression and other difficulties, but whether those factors explain the results is not known.”

Related Links:

— “Rise in Suicide by Black Children Surprises Researchers,” Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times, May 18, 2015.

In the US News & World Report (5/15) “Policy Dose” blog, Renee Binder, MD, incoming president of the American Psychiatric Association, and Riki Hokoma, president of the National Association of Counties, write that addressing the need to keep people with mental illnesses out of jail “requires bringing together state and county policymakers, heads of behavioral health programs and leaders in the criminal justice system to create the structure to support change.” For that reason, “we partnered with the Council of State Governments Justice Center to launch ‘Stepping Up: A National Initiative to Reduce the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jails.’”

Now, “with support from the US Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance and guidance from several national groups dedicated to these issues, counties across the country are joining a call to action and taking specific, research-driven actions to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in county jails.” The American Psychiatric Foundation is one of the initiative’s collaborators.

Related Links:

— “A Crisis in Our Jails,” Riki Hokama and Renee Binder, U.S. News & World Report, May 14, 2015.

HealthDay (5/15, Dotinga) reports “people with short-term debt, such as overdue bills or credit card debt, are more likely to be depressed than those who carry long-term debt through mortgages and other big loans,” according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Family and Economic Issues. For the study, researchers “relied on a national survey of more than 13,000 Americans in 1987-1989 and follow-up interviews of about 10,000 of those people in 1992-1994,” focusing on adults of working age. Investigators found that “a 10 percent increase in short-term debt was associated with a 24 percent increase in depression symptoms.” The study’s lead author suggested that “providing people with protection from debt might lead to mental health benefits.”

Related Links:

— “Short-Term Debt Can Depress More Than Your Finances,” Randy Dotinga, HealthDay, May 14, 2015.