The Time (9/11, Sifferlin) “Healthland” blog reports, “Children of moms who reported depressive symptoms during the first nine months after giving birth were more likely to be shorter than their peers by the time they reached preschool age,” according to a study published online Sept. 10 in the journal Pediatrics.

HealthDay (9/11, Goodwin) reports that for the study, “researchers examined data on 10,700 children from the nationally representative US Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort. The children were born in 2001 and followed through 2007.”

Related Links:

— “Mom’s Depression May Lead to Shorter Kids, “Alexandra Sifferlin, TIME Healthland, September 10, 2012.

On Monday, the Federal government unveiled a new national strategy to prevent suicides, especially those of veterans. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, military personnel, and representatives from the private sector made the announcement, which garnered extensive print coverage.

USA Today (9/11, Painter) reports, “Many of the 36,000 annual deaths from suicide in the United States could be prevented by making suicide prevention a part of routine health care and getting people to talk frankly about suicide in homes, schools, workplaces, the military and even on Facebook, says an updated national strategy from the surgeon general and a coalition of public and private groups.” The strategy, the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, was announced by US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius during a Monday news conference.

The AP (9/11) reports that the Obama Administration is “urging a new focus on preventing suicides, especially among military veterans — and is beefing up the nation’s crisis hotline to help.” On Monday, the Federal government “announced…it will boost staff by 50 percent at the national hotline — 1-800-273-TALK — that’s open to military and civilians alike. It provided $55.6 million for state and local programs, and highlighted Facebook features that link distressed users to counselors.” The AP notes that the Federal government is also “beginning public service announcements urging people to seek help if they spot signs that someone is suicidal.”

Related Links:

— “Surgeon general urges new focus on suicide prevention, “Kim Painter, USA TODAY, September 11, 2012.

Medscape (9/8, Johnson) reported, “Pain patients who smoke experience significantly more pain, depression, and anxiety than those who are nonsmokers — regardless of whether they suffer from centralized or noncentralized pain,” according to a study presented at the International Association for the Study of Pain 14th World Congress on Pain. Investigators “compared smoking rates, pain, and mood in patients with centralized (n = 347) and noncentralized (n = 624) pain conditions.” The study revealed “a high smoking rate (40%) in patients with centralized pain — almost double that of patients with noncentralized pain (26%; P < .001), and higher than the 20% smoking rate in the general population, said" the study's lead author Jenna Goesling, PhD.

In his “Military Update” column carried by the Kitsap (WA) Sun (9/8) and other outlets, Tom Philpott focused on a proposal by Mitt Romney to open “military TRICARE networks of civilian health care [practitioners] to veterans who can’t get timely mental health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs,” According to Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, “the Romney idea has real merit” and “is a reasonable step on a path Miller wants to travel — giving veterans more access to private sector health care, at VA expense, rather forcing them to commute long distances to a VA facility or to endure long delays to get a VA appointment.” Miller says the Romney “idea…would swiftly address VA’s shortage of mental health care [professionals]…by immediately doubling the number of available mental health care [clinicians].”

Related Links:

— “TOM PHILPOTT | Proposal could shift VA from provider of mental health care to insurer, Kitsap Sun, September 7, 2012.

CNN (9/9, Dornin) reported on its website on Iraq War veterans and husband and wife Roberto and Amanda Melecio, both of whom have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suffer the effects together. The two met during the war. CNN says that “while studies show women in the general population are twice as likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress as men, the rates for returning veterans are about the same — 20% for both men and women.” Men and women do experience PTSD differently, with women more likely to “be more anxious and depressed” and men “more angry,” with “trouble controlling anger.” Treatment of both “is similar,” however.

Related Links:

— “Couple combats war, post traumatic stress disorder together, “Rusty Dornin, CNN, September 8, 2012.