The AP (2/8, Marchione) reports, “One in 12 stroke survivors thought about suicide or that they would be better off dead,” according to research presented yesterday at the American Stroke Association conference in Honolulu. “That’s more than those with other health problems such as heart attacks or cancer, and it suggests that depression after stroke is more serious than many had realized.” The AP explains, “Depression may develop partly because strokes damage the very thing that controls mood – the brain, said a neurologist with no role in the study, Dr. Brian Silver of Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital.”

HealthDay (2/8, Preidt) reports, “The investigators analyzed data from the 2005 to 2010 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys and found that nearly eight percent of stroke survivors reported suicidal thoughts, compared with about six percent of heart attack survivors, five percent of diabetes patients and four percent of cancer patients.” Notably, “stroke survivors who had more severe depression, were younger, had higher body mass index…had less education, and were poorer, single or women were more likely to have suicidal thoughts,” the study found. “Seventeen percent of the people who’d had a stroke also had depression, which is the most common mental health complication in stroke survivors, the study authors noted.”

Related Links:

— “STUDY: MANY STROKE SURVIVORS THINK ABOUT SUICIDE,”Marilynn Marchione, Associated Press, February 7, 2013.

HealthDay (2/8, Mann) reports, “Preschoolers whose parents report depression and intimate partner violence may be more likely to develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) by the age of six.” Furthermore, “young children with depressed moms may be more likely to receive prescription drugs to treat behavioral and mental health issues down the road,” according to a study published online Feb. 4 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The study “included more than 2,400 children who were three years old” and their parents who answered questionnaires regarding domestic violence and personal depression history.

Related Links:

— “Maternal Depression, Violence at Home May Raise Child’s ADHD Risk, “Denise Mann, HealthDay, February 7, 2013.

The AP (1/30, Freking) reports on House Committee on Veterans Affairs Jeff Miller’s (R-FL) proposal, under which veterans having trouble receiving timely mental healthcare from VA hospitals and clinics would have access to Tricare’s network of psychologists and psychiatrists, a move that “allows veterans to get care closer to home, particularly those who live in rural communities.” Miller “doesn’t have an estimated price tag yet but says that whatever it is, that’s part of the cost of war. … Even a modest increase in spending could make Miller’s proposal a tough sell at a time when Congress is focused on cutting the federal debt and dealing with the threat of [sequestration].”

Related Links:

— “Rep. looks outside VA to fill mental care gap, “Kevin Freking, The Associated Press, January 29, 2013.

USA Today (1/29, Stoller) reports, “In the third of four hearings scheduled by a legislative task force formed to prevent gun violence and improve school safety in the wake of December’s Newtown school shooting massacre,” Connecticut’s Mental Health Services Commissioner Patricia Rehmer “said risk assessments of mental-health patients are difficult and cannot be done with complete accuracy.” Jeremy Richman, whose daughter was killed at Sandy Hook, testified along with his wife. They “have started the Avielle Foundation to honor those killed on Dec. 14 and to prevent future violent acts by enhancing mental health care and ‘fostering community.'” Rehmer, “who said she was asked to address gaps in the mental health system, alternatives to outpatient commitment and mental health first aid, said the biggest gaps are for those with private insurance.”

The Wall Street Journal (1/30, A15, De Avila, Subscription Publication) notes the commission doesn’t know whether Newtown shooter Adam Lanza was ever treated for mental illness, and privacy laws suggest that the panel may never know. Testimony from Jennifer Maksel, the mother of a Sandy Hook survivor, explained that getting help from the local schools and hospital is hard when it comes to her son, who she said had Asperger’s Syndrome, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder.

Related Links:

— “Mental health experts talk about systemic issues, “Gary Stoller, USA Today, January 29, 2013.

The New York Daily News (1/29, Miller) reported that according to a new study by Canadian researchers published in Psychosomatic Medicine, gays, lesbians and bisexuals who come out about their sexuality are “less anxious, depressed and burnt out than their closeted counterparts, or even than heterosexual people of similar age.” The study examined “87 men and women of varying sexual orientations, all of whom were around 25 years old,” and found that the out participants “had lower stress hormone levels and fewer symptoms of depression than those who weren’t public about their sexuality. Out gay and bisexual men also had lower stress and depressive symptoms than heterosexual men.” The study concluded that the constant stress of hiding one’s sexuality “can cause the hormone cortisol to spike, creating inflammation in the body – which in turn has been linked to increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illness.”

NBC News (1/30, Alexander) in its “Vitals” blog reports the study’s finding “could help explain a remarkable study published last year by a group of researchers from Columbia University in the American Journal of Public Health. They found that after Massachusetts enacted its same-sex marriage law in 2003, there was a significant drop in medical and mental health care visits – and therefore costs – incurred by gay men.” The lead author of the study by McGill University and University of Montreal researchers, Robert-Paul Juster, said, “It seems to be that if you’re using more avoidance coping, and wishful thinking, then you get poorer health. If you aren’t dealing with the problem, it affects health in a negative way.”

Related Links:

— “Coming out is good for your health: Lesbians, gays, bisexuals less stressed than closeted and some hetero counterparts: study, “Tracy Miller, New York Daily News, January 29, 2013.