The Huffington Post (8/31, Pearson) reports a study examining the impact of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on the children of “dreamers” found that children’s mental health improved when their mothers were considered eligible for the program. Prior to DACA, diagnoses for mental illnesses induced or exacerbated by external stressors “were roughly even”; but after DACA, children’s mental health issue rates “dropped from 7.8 percent to 3.3 percent.”

Related Links:

— “DACA Has Profound Mental Health Benefits For Children Of Dreamers,” Catherine Pearson, Huffington Post, August 31, 2017.

The Huffington Post (8/31, Yam) reports older Chinese-Americans impacted by “prejudice and racial bias” were twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts compared to those who did not experience discrimination, according to a study published in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Most respondents said they suffered discrimination in public spaces, and many said they also faced it in work environments.

Related Links:

— “Older Chinese-Americans Who’ve Faced Bias Are More Likely To Have Suicidal Thoughts,” Kimberly Yam, Huffington Post, August 31, 2017.

USA Today (8/26, O’Donnell) reported on the mental health impacts Hurricane Harvey may have on those “who survived Hurricane Katrina 12 years ago or last August’s flood in Louisiana,” even if these survivors are not in the path of Harvey. In some cases, people may be “more likely to experience symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Harvey can be hazardous to your mental health, even if you aren’t in path of the storm,” Jayne O’Donnell, USA Today, August 26, 2017.

The NPR (8/25, Weinstock) “Shots” blog reported that sibling survivors of suicide have been “overlooked in medical research” until recently, but, “according to several studies of survivors, those who lose a sibling to suicide, especially one of the same sex or close in age, have more serious mood disorders and thoughts of suicide themselves than survivors who lose a sibling for any other reason.” A recent survey of 3,432 bereaved young adults in the UK between 18 and 40 who lost a friend or relative by suicide found that 20 percent did not receive mental health support. The report was published online Aug. 27 in the BMJ.

Related Links:

— “Sibling Survivors Of Suicide Often Don’t Receive Mental Health Treatment, Study Finds.,” CHERYL PLATZMAN WEINSTOCK, NPR, August 25, 2017.

Reuters (8/28, Rapaport) reports, “Data obtained from 14 previously published studies with a total of more than 4.2 million men and women showed that people with sleep-disordered breathing had 26 percent higher odds of developing cognitive impairment,” researchers found. The review’s findings were published online Aug. 28 in JAMA Neurology. Healio (8/28, Miller) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Nighttime breathing problems tied to cognitive decline,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, August 28, 2017.