HealthDay (4/17, Preidt) reports, “Teens undergoing treatment for alcohol or drug abuse can benefit from the 12-step program used by groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA),” according to a study published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. “The new study included 127 teen substance abuse-treatment outpatients (95 males, 32 females, aged 14 to 19) who were assessed when they began treatment and three, six and 12 months later.” Notably, “more meeting attendance was associated with significantly better substance use outcomes — particularly attending meetings at least once per week or more,” the study’s author suggested.

Medscape (4/17, Hitt) points out that the “study was funded by a grant award from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.”

Related Links:

— “12-Step Meetings May Help Teens Beat Alcohol, Drug Abuse,”Robert Preidt , HealthDay, April 16, 2012.

The CNN (4/17, Bixler) “The Chart” blog reports that according to a study published in the journal Child Development, “if mom is depressed, she’s more likely to wake her baby up in the middle of the night, even if the baby is fine.” After observing 45 families with infants and toddlers for about a week, researchers found that mothers “who had higher levels of symptoms of depression were more likely to respond to minor sounds, wake their baby up and nurse them (even if they weren’t hungry), or pick their sleeping child up and put them in bed with them.” The UK’s Telegraph (4/17, Smith) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Depression and baby sleep: Vicious cycle?,”Jennifer Bixler , CNN Health, April 17, 2012.

HealthDay (4/14, Preidt) reports, “Receiving emotional support and acceptance from parents benefits the long-term health of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults,” according to a study published in the Journal of Homosexuality. Investigators found that “about three-quarters of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults aged 18 to 64 surveyed in Massachusetts said they had revealed their sexual orientation to their parents, typically when they were about 25 years old.” The story adds, “Rates of mental health and substance-abuse problems were significantly lower among those who received support from their parents than among those who felt rejected, the study found.”

Related Links:

— “Gay Adults Rejected by Parents Have Worse Health, Study Finds,”Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 13, 2012.

The Huffington Post (4/14, Chan) reported, “Exercise could be the secret weapon to help breast cancer patients combat common side effects of cancer and cancer treatments,” according to research presented at a Society of Behavioral Medicine meeting.

HealthDay (4/14, Preidt) reported, “University of Miami researchers examined the physical activity levels and mental/physical health of 240 women with non-metastatic breast cancer…who were recruited for the study four to 10 weeks after surgery.”

WebMD (4/14, Boyles) reported, “Half the women took part in a 10-week, group-based behavioral therapy program aimed at reducing stress, while the other half participated in a much less intensive, single-day educational session.” The investigators “found that women who increased the time they spent engaged in physical activity between the time of surgery and other treatments had less fatigue-related disruptions in everyday activities.” The researchers reported that “women in both groups who exercised more also experienced less depression and scored higher on tests measuring quality of life.”

Related Links:

— “Exercise Could Lower Fatigue And Depression In Breast Cancer Patients: Study,”Amanda L. Chan, The Huffington Post , April 13, 2012.

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.