The New York Times (9/20, Steinhauer) reported that Be Connected, a veteran-focused suicide prevention program, has earned “a rare – and quiet – spot of bipartisan cooperation between congressional Democrats…and the Trump administration, which has moved aggressively to try to turn around the intransigent veteran suicide rate.” The program’s philosophy is based on an “increasing awareness that suicidal veterans often are best reached through members of their own community, and not the federal government.” Its goal “is to intervene on ‘the myriad issues that service members and their families struggle with’ before they ‘lead to crisis,’” according to Thomas Winkel, director of the Arizona Coalition for Military Families, which operates the program. The Times explains that “by identifying veterans who have the kinds of struggles that often lead to suicide, the program can connect them with the services they need while they still can be helped.”

Related Links:

— “Program to Prevent Suicide by Veterans Earns Bipartisan Support, “Jennifer Steinhauer, The New York Times, September 20, 2019

The New York Times (9/20, Sohn) reported that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “can affect both children and adults, but it has increasingly become a common condition of childhood.” Even though “the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t recommend giving children a diagnosis of” AD/HD “until after age four, one study found that nearly half of the 237,000 two-to-five-year-olds who had an” AD/HD “diagnosis in 2011 and 2012 were diagnosed before age four.” Medications to treat the condition, particularly “short-acting amphetamines…have been approved for children as young as three,” and “liquid, dissolvable and chewable formulations of methylphenidate” are now “available for little kids who can’t yet swallow” tablets. But, “with concerns over – and a lack of data about – how such medications might affect young brains in the long term, some researchers are trying to spread the word about other, nonmedication options, such as behavior therapies and training programs for parents of preschoolers with the condition.”

Related Links:

— “Your Toddler Has A.D.H.D. Should You Medicate?, “Emily Sohn, The New York Times, September 20, 2019

Psychiatry Advisor (9/19, Rans) reports, a study suggests “linkage to an office‐based buprenorphine treatment program following discharge from a short-term managed detoxification program was associated with reduced rates of illicit opioid use in patients with opioid use disorder.” The findings from the randomized trial published in Addiction showed “that patients in the short-term detoxification program had significantly reduced rates of illicit opioid use at follow-up on day 12,” 35, 95, and 185.

Related Links:

— “Post-Detoxification Primary Care Treatment Linked to Reduced Illicit Opioid Use, “Caleb Rans, Psychiatry Advisor, September 19, 2019

Reuters (9/18, Rapaport) reports, “Treating kids’ behavior problems might have the additional benefit of reducing their risk of insomnia as adults,” researchers concluded after following “8,050 people over more than four decades, assessing behavior problems at ages 5, 10 and 16, then administering sleep surveys when participants were 42 years old.” The study revealed that children “with severe behavior issues were 39 percent more likely to have insomnia by the time they were adults than children who had normal behavior.” The findings were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Childhood behavior problems linked to insomnia in adulthood, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuter, September 18, 2019

Medscape (9/18, Brauser, Subscription Publication) reports, “Parental incarceration is associated with a significantly increased risk of mental illness in offspring that can start in childhood and extend into adulthood,” research indicated. In the study, which involved “more than 1400 participants,” investigators found that “children of incarcerated parents were twice as likely to have a childhood diagnosis of depression,” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, “and conduct disorder compared with their counterparts whose parents did not serve jail time.” The findings were published online Aug. 23 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)