The New York Times (8/1, O’Connor) “Well” blog reports, “For those with heart failure, exercise may help ease depression,” according to astudy published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Reuters (8/1, Pittman) reports that researchers followed about 2,300 heart failure patients, about half of whom were randomly assigned to participate in an in-home exercise program, in addition to receiving standard heart failure treatment. The remaining patients were assigned to receive only standard treatment.

MedPage Today (8/1, Neale) reports that the researchers found that “at both three and 12 months, patients who were exercising in addition to receiving usual care had modestly but significantly reduced depressive symptom scores compared with those who were receiving usual care alone.”

WebMD (8/1, Goodman) reports that additionally, “the exercisers were about 15% less likely to die or be hospitalized for heart failure compared with the group getting usual care.”

HeartWire (8/1, Stiles) reports that study author Dr James A Blumenthal “said for heartwire, the magnitude of benefit was tied to how much the patient exercised. ‘It didn’t require marathon training. It looks like about 90 minutes a week, or three 30-minute sessions, was really sufficient to reduce depressive symptoms.'”

Related Links:

— “Exercise May Ease Depression in Heart Failure Patients, “Anahad O’Connor, The New York Times, July 31, 2012.

BBC News (8/1, Selvadurai) reports, “People with mild mental illnesses, such as anxiety or depression, are more likely to die early,” according to a study published online July 31 in the BMJ. For the study, researchers “looked at data over 10 years and matched it to information on death certificates.” They found that “low level distress raised the risk by 16%, once lifestyle factors such as drinking and smoking were taken into account,” and that “more serious problems increased it by 67%.”

The UK’s Telegraph (8/1, Adams) reports that people with subclinical anxiety or depression may also be “at a 29 per cent increased risk of dying from ‘external causes’ like road accidents and suicide, although these only accounted for a tiny proportion of deaths.” Previously, “it had been thought that depressed or anxious people were more likely to die early because they failed to take good care of themselves — perhaps smoking and drinking more, eating worse and doing less exercise.” However, according to the study’s lead author, stress may alter “the physiology of the body to make it intrinsically less healthy,” somehow making it more susceptible to stroke and heart attacks.

“Professor Glyn Lewis, of the University of Bristol, reviewed the findings for the journal and said they add to evidence suggesting a causal association between psychological distress and heart disease, although it is not clear how to intervene,” the UK’s Daily Mail (8/1, Watson) reports.

WebMD (8/1, Goodman) reports, “The study findings did not surprise Viola Vaccarino, MD, PhD, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at Emory University in Atlanta who studies the role of depression in heart disease.” Dr. Vaccarino, who was not involved in the study, stated, “Clearly there is evidence that depression is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and total mortality as well.”

Related Links:

— “Mild mental illness ‘raises risk of premature death’, “Emily Selvadurai, BBC News, August 1, 2012.

Reuters (7/31, Rosen) reports that, according to a study by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Alaska Native men in their twenties may face a very high risk of suicide. Researchers found that individuals from this group commit suicide at a rate that is roughly 13 times higher than the US average.

Related Links:

— “Study: Young Alaska Native men at high risk for suicide, “Yereth Rosen, Chicago Tribune, July 30, 2012.

MedWire (7/31, Cowen) reports, “Symptoms of elation and irritability are significantly associated with an increased likelihood for developing bipolar disorder (BD),” according to a study published online July 27 in the Journal of Affective Disorders. The study findings “come from a study of 40,512 individuals who participated in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) who did not meet criteria for mania/hypomania at baseline in 2001-2002.”

Related Links:

— “Elation and irritability increase BD risk, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, July 31, 2012.

The Augusta (GA) Chronicle (7/25, Martin) noted, “An online chat service of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ national crisis hot line has experienced a 62 percent increase over last year, according to information provided” by the department. The Chronicle added, “The data are further evidence that veterans are responding to…VA’s increasing use of technology, said Lisa Gerardot, the suicide prevention case manager at the uptown VA hospital in Augusta. It’s especially critical that resources are accessible from different points because with younger veterans, ‘it’s a reflex for them to reach for an electronic device,’ she said.”

Related Links:

— “Online technology shows veterans reaching out crisis help, “Kyle Martin, The AUgusta Chronicle, July 24, 2012.