HealthDay (6/6, Mozes) reports that even though “suicide rates have been increasing among all active US Navy, Air Force and Army personnel…those in the Army appear to be most at risk,” research published online June 6 in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests. In fact, the “analysis of all US military suicides between 2005 and 2011 revealed that the suicide rate among Army members was roughly double that seen among the second highest risk group, the Marines.”

Related Links:

— “Among U.S. Military, Army Members Face Highest Suicide Risk,” Alan Mozes, HealthDay, June 6, 2016.

BBC News (UK) (6/6) reports that a global review of 48 studies on anxiety conducted by researchers from the University of Cambridge estimated that “four out of every 100 people are affected by anxiety.” The report said “women, young people under 35 and those with health problems were particularly affected.” The findings were published in the journal Brain and Behavior.

The Guardian (UK) (6/5, Davis) reports that the research revealed “women are nearly twice as likely to experience anxiety as men.” Additionally, those “suffering from diseases including cancer, stroke and multiple sclerosis have a higher chance of experiencing symptoms of anxiety than healthy individuals.”

Related Links:

— “Women ‘nearly twice as likely to have anxiety’ as men,” BBC News, June 6, 2016.

The AP (6/1, Golen) reports, “Researchers are moving ahead with efforts to develop a diagnostic test for chronic traumatic encephalopathy – even without the NFL’s help.” Researchers gathered on Wednesday at the Boston University School of Medicine “for the start of a seven-year, $16 million research project designed to find a test for CTE and identify its risk factors.” The DIAGNOSE CTE project “had originally been set to receive money that the NFL earmarked for concussion research” but the league’s “complaints about Boston University researchers led the National Institutes of Health to pay for it with other funds.”

The Boston Globe (6/2, Lazar) reports that the DIAGNOSE CTE study “will be the largest to date of living former football players and includes 240 men ages 45 to 74.” Researchers “say findings from the seven-year study, paid for by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, might be used to help veterans with brain injuries and others who suffer repetitive head traumas.” The researchers “pledge to share their data monthly with researchers around the world.”

Related Links:

— “Can brain damage be found in retired football players?,” Kay Lazar, Boston Globe, June 1, 2016.

Medical Daily (5/31, Bushak) reports, “Maintaining a social media presence that depicts a lifestyle that revolves around drinking and partying may predict future drinking problems among college students,” the findings of a study published in the June issue of the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives suggest.

In the study, which included 364 undergraduate students over the age of 18, researchers found that “a social media account that detailed a student’s drinking escapades was more closely correlated to alcoholism than simply having a drink.” The National Institutes of Health has found that “four in five college students drink alcohol, half of whom take part in binge-drinking,” Medical Daily adds.

Related Links:

— “Social Media Can Help Us Spot College Students With Potential For Drinking Problems,” Lecia Bushak, Medical Daily, May 31, 2016.

The Tampa Bay (FL) Times (5/30, Neuhaus) reports that research “published online in a journal produced by the American Psychiatric Association” suggests “the VA is up to 30 percent better at providing medication to veteran patients than the private sector is for its patients.” This “was largely due to the VA’s ability to provide a one-stop shop for timely medication to patients with appropriate follow-up care, like therapy and blood-level checks to ensure proper medication dosages.”

The Times points out that “Dr. Katherine Watkins, a primary author of the study at the RAND Corporation, said the study compared more than 830,000 veterans against 545,000 non-veterans.” The study “compared data from veterans and patients in the private sector who were being treated for five mental health disorders: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD, major depression and substance abuse disorders.”

Related Links:

— “Study finds that VA treats PTSD better than the private sector,” Les Neuhaus, Tampa Bay (FL) Times, May 30, 2016.