HealthDay (3/9, Preidt) reported, “Mental health problems can last into adulthood for girls who start having their periods at an early age,” researchers concluded after following some “8,000 US girls for about 14 years, generally from adolescence until their late 20s.” The study revealed that “the younger the girls were when their periods started, the more likely they were to have depression and antisocial behaviors,” problems that “persisted at least until the girls were in their late 20s.” The findings were published online Dec. 26 in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Early Periods Tied to Mental Health Issues Into Adulthood,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, March 9, 2018.

Healio (3/8, Demko) reports, “A high school peer-to-peer depression awareness program in Michigan that encouraged students to both learn about and educate other students about mental illness reduced stigma and increased knowledge about depression, perception in identifying those who may have depression and willingness to get help for themselves,” researchers concluded after examining data from “the 2015 to 2016 outcome data from 10 high schools involved in the Peer-to-Peer Depression Awareness Program.” The findings of the 878-participant study were published online March 1 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Student-led awareness program boosts teens’ knowledge of depression,” Parikh SV, et al., , March 8, 2018.

Medscape (3/7, Davenport) reported, “Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for severe depression does not appear to raise long-term dementia risk,” researchers found in a “large, retrospective registry analysis of more than 1600 patients who underwent ECT.” The study found that “the procedure conferred no additional risk for cognitive impairment relative to matched control persons who did not undergo ECT, even after up to 40 years of follow-up.” The findings were presented at the European Psychiatric Association 2018 Congress.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

In a front-page story, the Wall Street Journal (3/8, A1, Whalen, Subscription Publication) reports the opioid crisis is creating a financial crisis for many families taking on huge debts to finance treatment and rehab. The Journal spotlights the highly fragmented rehab field offering expensive services which insurers often do not cover.

Related Links:

— “After Addiction Comes Families’ Second Blow: The Crushing Cost of Rehab,” Jeanne Whalen, Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2018.

The Washington Post (3/7, Moyer) reports, “Nationwide, suicides among black children under 18 are up 71 percent in the past decade, rising from 86 in 2006 to 147 in 2016, the latest year such data is available from the” CDC. During “that same period, the suicide rate among all children also increased, up 64 percent.”

Meanwhile, the Washington Post (3/7, Moyer) reports according to experts “parents should be on guard for an array of warning signs” that might indicate their child is thinking about suicide. One expert lists “risk factors” to be aware of, including “abuse, head trauma, chronic pain, addiction, mental illness and a family history of mental illness or suicide.”

Related Links:

— “‘HE WAS HAPPY. SO FAR AS I KNOW’,” Justin Wm. Moyer, Washington Post, March 7, 2018.