Healio (1/3, Oldt) reports, “Approximately two-thirds of females with eating disorders recovered by age 22 years and [while recovery from] bulimia nervosa occurred earlier, recovery from anorexia nervosa continued over the long-term,” researchers found after conducting “clinical interviews with females with DSM-III-R or DSM-IV anorexia or bulimia at 9 years’ follow-up and 20 to 25 years’ follow-up,” then re-interviewing “77% of the original cohort…(n = 228).” The findings were published in the January issue of Child Abuse & Neglect.

Related Links:

— “Long-term recovery is common in eating disorders,” Eddy KT, et al., Healio, January 3, 2017.

HealthDay (1/2, Preidt) reports that research suggests “sleeping soon after a traumatic event can help some people cope.” In the small study, participants divided into two groups viewed a video containing “traumatic images.” Study author Birgit Kleim said, “Our results reveal that people who slept after the film had fewer and less distressing recurring emotional memories than those who” stayed awake. The findings were published in the December issue of Sleep.

Related Links:

— “Sleep May Help People Process Traumatic Events,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, January 2, 2016.

MedPage Today (12/29, Firth) reports that the 21st Century Cures Act, “the nearly 1,000-page healthcare spending bill which President Obama signed in mid-December, also aims to reform the nation’s fragmented mental health system.” About 13 million Americans “have a serious mental illness or substance use disorder, according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which applauded the 21st Century Cures Act, calling its reforms to mental health a ‘huge step forward.’”

Related Links:

— “What Else is in the 21st Century Cures Act?,”Shannon Firth, MedPage Today, December 29, 2016.

USA Today (12/29, Brook) reports newly released statistics from the Pentagon show that suicide is “the leading killer of US troops deployed to the Middle East to fight Islamic State militants.” As of Dec. 27, 31 troops have died in Operation Inherent Resolve. Of those, 11 took their own lives, eight died in combat, seven died in accidents, and four died as a result of illness or injury. One other death is under investigation. Experts on military suicide say the reasons it is the leading cause of troop deaths “are complex and poorly understood,” but they “likely include mental illnesses that enlistees brought with them to boot camp, post-traumatic stress, multiple combat deployments and heightened anxiety in a military at war for 16 years.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide kills more U.S. troops than ISIL in Middle East,”Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, December 29, 2016.

The New York Times Magazine (12/28, Chivers) has a 17,000-word profile of Marine Corps veteran Sam Siatta, who served in Afghanistan and, according to the VA, “suffered from depression, alcohol dependency and PTSD.” In 2014, he committed a home invasion in Normal, Illinois and was sentenced to prison. Writer C.J. Chivers talks with Siatta about his wartime experiences and how they led to his actions at home.

Related Links:

— “The Fighter,”C. J. Chivers, The New York Times Magazine, December 28, 2016.