HealthDay (4/14, Preidt) reported, “Adults with mental illness are more likely to have certain types of chronic physical health problems than those without mental illness,” according to a report (pdf) issued April 5 by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). “The report said adults aged 18 and older who had any type of mental illness in the past year had higher rates of high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.” In addition, “people with mental illness had higher rates of emergency-department use and hospitalization,” the report found.

“Those with any mental illness, serious mental illness, or a major depressive episode also had greater use of healthcare resources,” MedPage Today (4/14, Neale) pointed out. “Among those with any mental illness, for example, the rate of emergency department use was 38.8% (versus 27.1% for those who reported no mental illness) and the rate of hospitalization was 15.1% (versus 10.1%).”

Related Links:

— “Mental Illness Tied to Higher Rates of Physical Problems: Report,”Robert Preidt , HealthDay, April 13, 2012.

MedPage Today (4/26, Fiore) reports, “Modern youth may roll their eyes at the statement, but researchers recently confirmed its truth: being an adolescent today is a whole lot different than it was years ago.” According to a paperpublished online April 25 in The Lancet, “the adolescent phase in human development now lasts much longer than it once did,” lasting from about ten to 24, “expanded at both ends by an earlier onset of puberty and a delay of mature social roles, respectively.” The length of the period and “‘heightened sensitivity’ to peer pressure…can lead to a greater likelihood of substance misuse and abuse,” the paper concluded.

Related Links:

— “Kids Today Really Are Different,”Kristina Fiore , MedPage Today, April 25, 2012.

The National Journal (4/26, Fox, Subscription Publication) reports, “Just under five percent of US adults, or 11 million people, had a serious mental illness in 2009,” according to a report (pdf) issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). “The latest data” also show that “13 percent of US children aged eight to 15 had a mental health disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Report Shows 11 Million With Serious Illness,”Maggie Fox , National Journal, April 25, 2012.

The Detroit Free Press (4/26, Walsh-Sarnecki) reports, “The number of those diagnosed with autism has increased dramatically in the last 20 years, threatening to overwhelm the already limited services available for those…who are entering adulthood with the brain disorder.” While educational programs exist in schools to help children with autism, “most of those aging into adulthood will find an alarming lack of services designed to help transition into the next stage of their lives.” For many of these young adults with autism, it is difficult, if not impossible, to live a normal adult life. “Some experts estimate that 90% or more of adults with autism spend their lives in their parents’ home or group homes, playing video games or drawing pictures — over and over and over.” Not enough money exists on the state or local level to provide the special social skills training needed for young adults with autism to hold down a job successfully.

Related Links:

— “Lack of state services for aging autistic makes adulthood like ‘falling off a cliff’,”Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki , Detroit Free Press, April 25, 2012.

The Kaiser Health News (4/24, Graham) “Capsules” blog reported that according to a survey by the John A. Hartford Foundation, “large numbers of seniors aren’t receiving recommended interventions that could help forestall medical problems and improve their health.” The 12-month survey found, for example, that 62 percent of respondents said that clinicians did not ask after their mental health. The survey also revealed that “more than two-thirds of the time doctors and nurses didn’t ask older patients whether they’d taken a tumble or provide advice about how to avoid tripping on carpets or slipping on the stairs,” even though falls are the cause of some two million injuries each year in US seniors.

Related Links:

— “Poll: Doctors Fall Short In Helping Many Seniors,”Judith Graham , Kaiser Health News, April 24, 2012.