USA Today (10/10, Jayson) reports that research published in the journal Crisis suggests that “suicide talk on Twitter mirrors state suicide rates closely enough that the social network could prove to be an early-warning system for those at risk.” The researchers “found that Midwestern and Western states and Alaska had a higher proportion of suicide-related tweeters than expected, as well as higher actual rates of suicide.” The investigators found that “the opposite was true for Southern and Eastern states.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide talk on Twitter mirrors state suicide rates, “Sharon Jayson, USA Today, October 10, 2013.

On its “Tell Me More” program, NPR (10/8, Martin) interviewed Annelle Primm, MD, MPH, director of minority and national affairs for the American Psychiatric Association, who discussed “questions about black women’s access to mental” healthcare. Dr. Primm pointed out that blacks are “less likely to get treatment” for mental health disorders than their white peers for many reasons, including cultural stigma, lack of health insurance, and in some areas of the country, a lack of available psychiatric services.

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Care: Why Some Get It And Some Don’t, NPR, October 8, 2013.

In The Hill (10/8) “Congress Blog,” American Psychiatric Association president Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, and former Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), who was the co-sponsor of the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), wrote, “We hope that the long-anticipated Final Rule will fill the gap left in the Parity Law so that the millions of Americans with a mental illness are no longer the subject of discrimination and abuse, and will have fair access to evidence-based treatments.” The pair asserted, “We must hold the government, insurers, and providers accountable until every person who is in need has access to affordable” mental healthcare of good quality. Only then will it be possible to achieve “a truly equitable system.”

Psychiatric News (10/9) quotes Dr. Lieberman, who said that “the promise of the MHPAEA remains unfulfilled and will until the Final Rule for its implementation is issued and we are assured of its enforcement.” Kennedy is quoted as saying, “With health exchanges taking
root in all 50 states, we can’t wait another moment for the final rule on this law, which helps to remove the arbitrary distinctions between the brain and the body…when it comes to health care.”

The Time (10/9, Sifferlin) “Healthland” blog reported that “mental illness is an increasingly prominent plot line on television.” However, “portrayals can be a double-edged sword…as they raise awareness of the realities of living with mental illness while frequently focusing on some of the more extreme symptoms and therapies.” Forensic psychiatrist Vasilis Pozios, MD, a spokesperson for the American Psychiatric Association, focused on the positive aspects, explaining that “aside from helping those unfamiliar with mental illnesses to have a more realistic and unbiased view of psychiatric disorders, the depictions may help patients struggling with mental illness as well.”

Related Links:

— “Make good on mental health parity, “Jeffrey Lieberman, The Hill, October 8, 2013.

In an opinion piece in the San Antonio Express-News (10/5), Sally E. Taylor, MD, senior vice president and chief of behavioral medicine at University Health System, wrote, “The US Surgeon General has reported that stigma is a major barrier to people seeking help when they need it.” For that reason, Mental Illness Awareness Week (Oct. 6-12) “is so important.” Taylor concluded that when it comes to awareness of mental illness, “the more people know, the better they can help themselves or their loved ones to get the support they need.”

Related Links:

— “Access a key issue in mental health treatment, “Sally Taylor, San Antonio Express-News, October 4, 2013.

HealthDay (10/5, Mozes) reported that research published in Pediatrics suggests that “a simple, short mental health test already used for pediatric patients has been found effective at predicting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) risk among preschoolers seriously injured by such things as a burn or car crash.” The “Pediatric Emotional Distress Scale” questionnaire “was retooled into the PEDS-Early Screener (or PEDS-ES), designed to sift through parent-provided information and zero in specifically on long-term PTSD risk among injured preschoolers.” The study indicated that “by establishing an optimal scoring method, investigators achieved an 85 percent success rate at picking up PTSD risk, and a 63 percent success rate at specifically predicting the onset of either full or partial PTSD.”

Related Links:

— “New Test Spots Risk for PTSD in Injured Kids, “Alan Mozes, HealthDay, October 4, 2013.