The AP (2/4, Wahlberg) reports that Wisconsin is experiencing “a surge in suicides and suicidal thoughts among farmers, who are facing some of the worst economic challenges in years, experts say,” as farmers react to “several years of low milk prices, the high cost of farm equipment, trade wars and other pressures.” Recently, however, the Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program “started a farmer suicide prevention project” effort that is “funded by a $50,000 grant from the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Wisconsin Partnership Program.” This project, in which the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Iowa County is also involved, “plans to develop a mobile crisis service, conduct suicide prevention training sessions and establish networks to address suicide in a region stretching from Eau Claire to the state border with Dubuque, Iowa.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide prevention project aims to help distressed farmers, “David Wahlberg, AP, February 4, 2019

Medscape (2/4, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “In a ‘head-to-head’ article published online” Jan. 30 “in the BMJ, experts debate” the harms and benefits of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for the treatment of severe depression.

According to Healio (2/4, Demko), “John Read, PhD, professor of clinical psychology at University of East London, along with Sue Cunliffe, a patient who underwent the therapy, argued that ECT does not have long-term benefits compared with placebo and may cause brain damage,” while “Sameer Jauhar, MRCPsych, from King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, and Declan McLoughlin, PhD, MRCPsych, professor of psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, St Patrick’s University Hospital, Ireland, argued that the evidence supports ECT as an effective and safe depression treatment with manageable adverse side effects.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Healio (2/1, Webb) reported, “Men with positive perceptions of their relationship with their family physician may be more likely to choose active treatment for depression,” researchers concluded after conducting “a cross-Canada online survey of 1,000 men (mean age, 49.6 years; 819 with a regular family physician).” The findings were published in the January issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Men with quality patient-doctor relationships more likely to seek treatment for depression, “Melissa J. Webb, Healio, February 1, 2019

Reuters (1/31, Crist) reports, “Teens and young men in correctional facilities are at increased risk of dying by suicide, but they are otherwise fairly similar to unincarcerated youth who take their own lives,” researchers concluded after analyzing “the characteristics and circumstances around 10,000 suicides among young men ages 10-24 between 2003 and 2012, including 213 incarcerated youth who were in a short-term juvenile detention center, long-term juvenile correctional facility, adult jail or adult prison.” The findings were published online Jan. 23 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Suicide-risk screening might cut deaths among incarcerated youth, “Carolyn Crist, Reuters, January 31, 2019

According to Healio (1/31, Demko), “women were twice as likely as men to have severe depression after experiencing a stroke,” researchers concluded in a study involving “1,275 men and 1,038 women.” The findings were published online Jan. 7 in the European Journal of Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Severe depression after stroke more common in women than men, “Savannah Demko, Healio, January 31, 2019