MedPage Today (5/24, Visk) reports, “Treating sleep disorders may improve depressive symptoms,” researchers found after evaluating “electronic medical record data from 1,981 patients ages 18 and up evaluated at the Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorders Center between Jan. 1, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2014.” Specifically, “positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy was associated with significantly improved scores on the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) over six months,” the study revealed. The findings were reported during a poster session at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Treating Sleep Problems May Ease Depression,” DeeAnn Visk, MedPage Today, May 24, 2017.

The New York Times (5/24, Hauser, Subscription Publication) reports that currently, “at least nine states now ban ‘conversion therapy’ for minors, a discredited method meant to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, after Nevada and Connecticut this month joined others in prohibiting the practice.” As state lawmakers around the country “have debated the bans, many have noted during the legislative process that conversion therapy has been discredited by experts.”

Related Links:

— “Nevada and Connecticut are Latest to Ban Discredited ‘Conversion Therapy’,”Christine Hausermay, The New York Times, May 24, 2017.

Healio (5/12) reported, “One in five children experiences a serious mental disorder at some point in their life, according to the” National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The article went on to highlight some of the most popular “research articles” on youngsters’ mental health this year, including a report released by the “American Academy of Pediatrics and other pediatric behavioral health organizations…that outlines guidance and recommendations for clinicians treating children with past maltreatment.”

Link contains information from several studies.

Related Links:

— “NIMH: 20% of children develop mental health disorder,” Healio, May 12, 2017.

Healio (5/15, Oldt) reports researchers found “a high rate of relapse after low-intensity” cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) “for anxiety and depression, suggesting a need for relapse prevention, particularly among individuals with residual depressive symptoms.” Specifically, “53% of participants relapsed within 12 months.” The findings of the 439-patient study will be published in the July issue of Behaviour Research and Therapy.

Related Links:

— “More than 50% of low-intensity CBT patients relapse,”Amanda Oldt, Healio, May 15, 2017.

Healio (5/15, Oldt) reports the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be “associated with increased risk for dementia among veterans, which varied with use of psychotropic medications,” researchers found after evaluating “a nationwide sample of US veterans (n = 417,172) aged 56 years or older.” The findings were published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Related Links:

— “PTSD, psychotropic medication increase dementia risk,”Amanda Oldt, Healio , May 15, 2017.