In continuing coverage, the Military Times (2/29, McMichael) “Scoop Deck” blog reports that a “welcome compromise was reached Monday in federal court in Roanoke, Va., when prosecutors agreed that a Navy veteran of the Persian Gulf War who called a suicide hotline last year and threatened to kill himself with a homemade gun would not be prosecuted if he completes mandatory counseling.”

Under the “agreement, Sean Duvall will be admitted to a state Veterans Treatment Court. The concept, akin to drug treatment courts, offers vets with war-related mental health conditions counseling and treatment alternatives in the context of a highly disciplined environment.”

Related Links:

— “Deal avoids prosecution for former sailor who threatened suicide with homemade gun,”Bill McMichael , MilitaryTimes, February 28, 2012.

In continuing coverage, the ABC News (3/9, Gann) website notes, “Since the start of the Iraq War in 2003, the rate of Suicide among US Army soldiers has soared, according to a new study” from the US Army Public Health Command published online March 7 in the journal Injury Prevention.

The “study, an analysis of data from the Army Behavioral Health Integrated Data Environment, shows a striking 80 percent increase in suicides among Army personnel between 2004 and 2008.”

ABC News added, “Based on the data and the timing of the increase in suicide rates, the authors” of the study calculated that approximately “40 percent of the Army’s suicides in 2008 could be associated with the US military escalation in Iraq.”

The Atlantic (3/9, Walton) reports, “A new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) finds that 20 percent of Americans adults suffered from a mental illness last year.” In other words, “this translates to 45.9 million people. Almost 30 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 suffered from a mental health disorder.” What’s more, “among all adults, women were more likely to suffer than men (23 percent vs. almost 17 percent, respectively).”

Related Links:

— “45.9 Million Americans Suffered From Mental Illness Last Year,”Alice G. Walton, The Atlantic, March 8, 2012.

The Huffington Post (3/9, Wood) reports that VA’s “free and confidential Veterans Crisis Line…is intended to bridge the gap between the vast number of veterans who need help, and the broad array of veterans services offered by the VA. In the four years of its existence, the Veterans Crisis Line operators, or ‘responders,’ as they are called, have initiated 18,600 ‘saves’ of veterans who vowed to kill themselves.” Because “thousands of war-weary men and women are expected to leave military service” in the years ahead “and face the stresses of civilian life, strained family relationships and a sagging economy,” VA “is adding more lines and call stations” to the Veterans Crisis Line.

Related Links:

— “Veterans Crisis Line Seeks To Help Those Struggling With Civilian Life, Unemployment, Post-Combat Stress,”David Wood, Huff Post World, March 8, 2012.

HealthDay (3/6, Dallas) reports, “Older people with heart disease who have undergone a cardiac catheterization may be at much greater risk for mental decline if they also show persistent signs of depression, according to” research published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Investigators looked at data on “350 patients aged 60 or older who had a nonemergency catheterization and found those who had persistent symptoms of depression experienced significantly greater mental decline 30 months after their procedure.”

MedPage Today (3/6, Neale) reports, “Compared with patients with no depressive symptoms or symptoms at baseline only, those with symptoms that persisted at additional visits had greater declines in three cognitive domains and in global cognition within 30 months.” The investigators found that “the three cognitive domains were attention/executive function, learning and memory, and verbal fluency.”

Related Links:

— “Depression Could Worsen Mental Decline in Heart Patients,”Mary Elizabeth Dallas, Health Day, March 5, 2012.