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.

The Los Angeles Times (9/7, MacVean) reports in its “Booster Shots” blog on a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, which found that “popular kids are more likely to smoke cigarettes.” The piece notes, “The researchers found that students’ perceptions of their peers’ behavior mattered as much as whether or not they actually smoked.”

HealthDay (9/7, Gray) quotes study author Thomas Valente, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, who said, “Popularity is a strong predictor of smoking. We haven’t done enough to make it cool not to smoke.”

Related Links:

— “Popular kids more likely to smoke, research says, “Mary MacVean, Los Angeles Times, September 06, 2012.

The NBC News (9/7, Huus) website reports, “The Department of Veterans Affairs will cover the costs of service dogs to help veterans with impaired vision, hearing or mobility, but will not cover canines assigned for mental disabilities, according to regulations published on Wednesday in the Federal Register.” The agency “said that despite many individual veterans’ testimonials that mental health service dogs provide relief from the symptoms of combat-related disabilities, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it lacked research substantiating the efficacy of mental health service dogs.”

Related Links:

— “VA won’t cover costs of service dogs assigned for PTSD treatment, “Kari Huus, NBC News, September 06, 2012.

HealthDay (9/7, Preidt) reports, “The stress of readjusting to civilian life is a major reason some US. soldiers seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder,” according to a study published in the September issue of the journal Psychiatric Services. After surveying “National Guard soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) three months after they returned from Iraq,” researchers found that “for older soldiers with family and job responsibilities, readjustment issues related to their marriage, finances or family were associated with seeking help for PTSD more than actual symptoms of the disorder or depression.”

Related Links:

— “Vets’ Readjustment Issues May Spur PTSD Treatment, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 06, 2012.