The Hill (7/25, Viebeck) “Healthwatch” blog reports, “Adolescent girls reported experiencing depression at three times the rate of their male peers over a recent period,” according to a study released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that relied on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Specifically, “twelve percent of girls ages 12 to 17 said they experienced a ‘major depressive episode,’ compared with 4.5 percent of boys.” In addition, “SAMHSA noted that the rate of depression among girls appeared to triple between the ages of 12 and 15 from 5.1 percent to 15.2 percent.”

Related Links:

— “Study: More adolescent girls reporting depression than boys, “Elise Viebeck, The Hill, July 24, 2012.

In his opinion column in the New York Times (7/24, A21, Subscription Publication), David Brooks discusses the Aurora tragedy and other “spectacular spree killings” of the past, including the Virginia Tech incident of 2007. Brooks observes, “People who commit spree killings are usually suffering from severe mental disorders. The response, and the way to prevent future episodes, has to start with psychiatry, too.” He concludes, “The best way to prevent killing sprees is with relationships — when one person notices that a relative or neighbor is going off the rails and gets that person treatment before the barbarism takes control.”

Related Links:

— “More Treatment Programs, “Dave Brooks, The New York Times, July 23, 2012.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (7/24, Gaestel) reports, “Mentally ill people will have a much easier time accessing care two years from now, thanks to the new federal health care law,” although “advocates worry that current budget cuts may create a shortage of the very mental health services the newly insured will want to use.” Joseph Rogers, chief advocacy officer at the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania “said mentally ill people end up in emergency rooms, homeless centers, and prisons when they cannot access treatment.”

Related Links:

— “Affordable Care Act will expand mental health coverage, but budget cuts a worry, “Allyn Gaestel, The Inquirer, July 24, 2012.

The Salt Lake (UT) Tribune (7/24, Moulton) reports, “The more severe combat a warrior experiences, the more likely he or she is to later attempt suicide, new research at the University of Utah’s National Center for Veterans Studies shows. It might seem like common sense, says David Rudd, the center’s scientific director and the dean of social and behavioral sciences, but it had never before been empirically validated, he says.” The Tribune also notes that psychologist Craig Bryan, the center’s new associate director, says research that Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department have been funding over the last 10 years is “going to actually shape the way” mental healthcare is delivered in both the US military and in the civilian world.

VA Unveils “About Face” Online Resource For Troops, Veterans With PTSD. The digital edition of the Army Times (7/23) reported, “The Veterans Affairs Department has a new resource for troops and veterans who think they might have” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Times added, “‘About Face’ offers online assessments and videos to help current and former service members recognize PTSD symptoms and get help.” The Times noted that VA is trying to expand its mental health services. The agency’s secretary, Eric Shinseki, said VA must do all “it can to help veterans identify possible indicators that they may be suffering from PTSD.”

Related Links:

— “U. study: Combat puts soldiers at high suicide, PTSD risk, “Kristen Moulton, The Salt Lake Tribune, July 23, 2012.

HealthDay (7/21, Preidt) reports, “People with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have a 2.6 times increased risk of developing cancer,” according to a study published in the July issue of the journal Psychiatric Services. After analyzing “data from more than 3,300 Maryland Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder to determine how many of them were diagnosed with cancer between 1994 and 2004,” researchers found that, “compared to people in the general population, schizophrenia patients were more than 4.5 times more likely to develop lung cancer, 3.5 times more likely to develop colorectal cancer, and nearly three times more likely to develop breast cancer.” Similarly, people with bipolar disorder also had a greater risk for those three types of cancer.

Related Links:

— “Serious Mental Illness Tied to Higher Cancer, Injury Risk: Studies, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 20, 2012.