HealthDay (9/28, Preidt) says that “depictions of smoking in top-grossing, youth-rated movies increased in 2011, reversing a five-year decline, a new report” published September 27 in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal Preventing Chronic Disease. This finding “comes just a few months after the US Surgeon General’s office warned that seeing smoking in movies causes young people to start smoking.” According to the article, “the report found that four of the six major Hollywood studios featured more smoking in their youth-rated (G, PG and PG-13) movies in 2011.”

Related Links:

— “Smoking Scenes on Rise in Top-Grossing Youth-Rated Movies: CDC, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 27, 2012.

HealthDay (9/28, Marcus) says that a new report on adoption published online Sept. 24 in the journal Pediatrics “shows that the portrait of adoptive families in the United States is changing and so are the needs of those families, said lead author Dr. Faye Jones, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville.” According to the article, “Jones said the research suggests that families would benefit if their pediatricians were more aware of their unique needs — specialized counseling and emotional support, connections to other adoptive families and tutoring service recommendations, for example.” Additionally, adoption experts suggest that “educating schools and communities would help too.”

Related Links:

— “Families Who Adopt Should Use Extra Health Services, School Support: Experts, “Mary Brophy Marcus, HealthDay, September 27, 2012.

The Baltimore Sun (9/27, Cox) reports that yesterday’s mandatory suicide-prevention training that took place at Fort Meade, MD, “was part of an Army-wide initiative undertaken as the military branch is on pace to reach its highest-ever suicide rate. The number of suicides each year has nearly doubled since 2005, from 87 to 165 last year.” In addition, “the number of monthly suicides doubled from June to July — when suicides outpaced combat deaths of active-duty soldiers.” Efforts such as yesterday’s training are part of the Army’s attempts to change its culture so that soldiers who need mental healthcare experience no stigma in asking for it.

Psychiatrist: Many Troops Who Start PTSD Treatment Do Not Complete It. Medscape (9/27, Brauser) details efforts made by the Department of Defense, Congress, and even the President to stem the tide of psychiatric illnesses, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, in active-duty military members. However, “in a presentation at this year’s American Psychiatric Association (APA) annual meeting, Major Gary H. Wynn, MD, research psychiatrist at the Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institutes of Research…said that between 20% and 50% of soldiers who begin treatment for combat-related PTSD walk away before its completion,” citing “a study published in 2011 in Military Psychology that reported key reasons for this lack of follow-through often include mistrust of mental health clinicians, a belief that these types of problems can work themselves out on their own, and an overall belief that seeking treatment should be a last resort.”

Related Links:

— “Army pauses operations for mandatory suicide prevention training, “Erin Cox, The Baltimore Sun, September 26, 2012.

HealthDay (9/26, Preidt) reports, “Many children with autism have interrelated health problems that can have a significant impact on their home and school lives,” according to a study recently published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. “Researchers looked at nearly 3,000 children with autism and found that nearly one-fourth also had chronic gastrointestinal problems, such as constipation, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and nausea.” The youngsters “with the chronic gastrointestinal problems also had anxiety and so-called ‘atypical sensory responses,’ which are heightened reactions to light, sound or particular textures,” the study found.

Related Links:

— “Many Children With Autism Have Other Health Problems, Study Says, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 25, 2012.

The Chicago Tribune (9/26, Mann) reports that according to a study published Aug. 29 in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, “having frequent, out-of-control, out-of-the-blue tantrums can be a red flag for mental illness” in preschool children. After studying 1,500 youngsters ranging in age from three to five, researchers found that fewer than “10 percent of preschoolers have daily tantrums.” The Tribune points out, “The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.”

Related Links:

— “Preschoolers’ daily tantrums may signal deeper problems, “Leslie Mann, Chicago Tribune, September 26, 2012.