The CBS Evening News (6/7, lead story, 2:20, Pelley) led off its Thursday broadcast by reporting that the “war in Iraq is over, and the war in Afghanistan is winding down, but the pace of military suicides is actually increasing to a record level. Pentagon figures show that as of this past Monday, 154 service members had taken their lives so far in 2012, an average of more than one a day, and much higher than the 138 killed so far this year in Afghanistan.” Pentagon “officials say one possible reason for this unexpected spike in suicides is the poor economy, which has also caused an increase in civilian suicides.”

The AP (6/8, Burns) reports, “Suicides are surging among America’s troops, averaging nearly one a day this year — the fastest pace in the nation’s decade of war.” The “numbers are rising among the 1.4 million active-duty military personnel despite years of effort to encourage troops to seek help with mental health problems.” The “renewed surge in suicides has caught the attention of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta,” who in an internal memo sent last month to the “Pentagon’s top civilian and military leaders” said, “We must continue to fight to eliminate the stigma from those with post-traumatic stress and other mental health issues.”

Related Links:

— “AP IMPACT: Suicides are surging among US troops,”Robert Burns, Associated Press, June 8, 2012.

The Wall Street Journal (6/7, A25, Subscription Publication) reports on the Jed Foundation founded by the parents of Jed Satow who committed suicide in 1998 while a sophomore at the University of Arizona. The foundation offers programs to help colleges and universities improve their counseling services.

Related Links:

— “Campus Suicide Prevention,The Wall Street Journal, June 06, 2012.

Medscape (6/7, Brauser) reports, “Patients with psychosis, dementia, or substance misuse may be at an increased mortality risk during hot weather,” according to a 22,562-patientstudy published in the June issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry. The study “of adult patients in England showed that for those with severe mental illness, the risk for death increased by almost 5% per 1° C increase in temperature above 18° C.” Notably, “the greatest mortality risk found in this study was for those who were younger than 65 years, those specifically diagnosed with drug or alcohol misuse, and those taking antipsychotics.”

The Grand Forks (ND) Herald /Forum Communications (6/4, Frank) reported, “One in four adults, or almost 60 million Americans, experiences a mental health disorder in a given year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.” In addition, “one in 17 Americans lives with a serious mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).” The piece added, “Diagnosis is based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association.”

Related Links:

— “Many struggle to claim lives in face of depression, anxiety,”Tracy Frank , Grand Forks Herald, June 04, 2012.

Bloomberg News (6/5, Moroney) reports, “Hurricane Irene wiped out the last state-operated psychiatric beds in Vermont nine months ago. Since then, private-hospital emergency rooms have been backed up with mentally ill patients — some handcuffed to ER beds for as long as two days.” Each month, “dozens of people are turned away…without being admitted, and calls to Burlington police about mental-health issues increased 32 percent over the prior year.”

In the Washington Post (6/5) “Wonkblog,” Sarah Kliff discusses the Bloomberg News piece, adding that such “changes aren’t unique to Vermont. During the recession, 3,144 psychiatric beds were eliminated across the country in 2009.”

Related Links:

— “Sleeping in Vermont Dumpster Shows Psychiatric Cuts’ Cost,”Tom Moroney, Bloomberg News, June 04, 2012.