The Los Angeles Times (7/24, Zarembo) reports in “Science Now” that according to a study published online July 23 in JAMA Psychiatry, “in America’s all-volunteer military, men who enlist are about twice as likely to have had troubled childhoods.”

The AP (7/24) reports that included in the study were “nearly 10,000 current and former service members,” the majority of whom were men, as well as some 51,000 civilians. The study indicated that the “disparities were most striking among men during the volunteer era: More than 25 percent had experienced at least four childhood traumas, versus about 13 percent of civilian men.”

The Stars And Stripes (DC) (7/24, Vandiver) reports that the study findings “suggest that the military could serve as a refuge for those seeking to escape troubled home lives.” In addition, the study, “which was a secondary analysis of data from a 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey,” may “provide the military with added insight into its struggle to curb suicide in the ranks, as people who have experienced severe childhood abuse are at a higher risk of attempting suicide.”

Related Links:

— “Study: Men with troubled childhoods may seek refuge in the military,” , Los Angeles Times, July 23, 2014.

HealthDay (7/23, Thompson) reports that according to a study published online July 21 and to appear in the August print issue of the journal Pediatrics, the “stressed-out parents” of children with autism may “benefit from treatments designed specifically for them.” The 243-participant study revealed that moms of kids with autism “who took part in a coping skills program found they connected better with their child and felt less stress, anxiety and depression.”

Related Links:

— “Parents of Children With Autism Need Help, Too,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, July 22, 2014.

Vox (7/23, Kliff) reports on a study published in the American Journal of Managed Care that detailed the “unintended consequences when medicaid tries to save money on anti-psychotic medications,” including the fact that “prior authorization policies in Medicaid programs have significantly higher rates of severe mental illness in their prison populations.”

Related Links:

— “States that deny anti-psychotics to the poor have lots of mentally ill people behind bars,” Sarah Kliff, Vox, July 22, 2014.

In a 3,270-word article on its front page, USA Today (7/22, A1, Johnson) reports from Newport, RI, where 40% “of all calls to police involve people who are mentally ill or have behavioral problems,” a number that “only begins to assess how an overwhelmed criminal justice system has become the de facto caretaker of Americans who are mentally ill and emotionally disturbed.” USA Today notes that from police departments and prisons to courthouses and jails nationwide, “the care of those who are mentally ill weighs heaviest on law enforcement authorities, many of whom readily acknowledge that they lack both resources and expertise to deal with the crushing responsibility.”

Related Links:

— “Mental illness cases swamp criminal justice system,” , USA Today, July 21, 2014.

HealthDay (7/22, Dotinga) reports that according to a study published online July 21 in the journal Pediatrics, children born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). “The new study also hints – but doesn’t prove – that nicotine-replacement products used during pregnancy, such as patches and gum, could pose the same risk to children.” After examining almost 85,000 children’s medical records, researchers found AD/HD signs in over 2,000 youngsters. While 1.8% of children with nonsmoking parents were diagnosed with AD/HD, the disorder was also found in 2% of children in households where the mother quit and the father did not smoke and in 4.2% of households where both parents smoked.

Related Links:

— “Smoking While Pregnant Linked to ADHD in Children,” Randy Dotinga, HealthDay, July 21, 2014.