The Wall Street Journal (5/17, Radnofsky, Subscription Publication) reports that according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, some 9.1% of Americans, or 28.6 million people, were uninsured in 2015. That figure was 16 percent in 2010, when President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Commenting on the data, HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said 2015 was “the first year in our nation’s history that fewer than 1 in 10 Americans lacked health insurance, and the report documents the progress we’ve made expanding coverage across the country.”

Related Links:

— “Number of Uninsured in U.S. Dropped Below 10% for First Time in 2015,” Louise Radnofsky, Wall Street Journal, May 17, 2016. [Subscription Needed]

Medscape (5/16, Cassels) reports that even though the “two thirds” of “Americans believe that untreated mental illness has a significant negative impact on the US economy and that there is a strong need for mental health care reform, only 5% believe that mental health problems are a priority for Congress,” the findings of a “new national poll” conducted by the American Psychiatric Association suggest. The findings of the poll were released at APA’s annual meeting. Commenting on the poll’s findings, APA president Renée Binder, MD, said in a news release, “We applaud the lawmakers in Congress who recognize the dire need to improve our nation’s mental health system. But we call upon Congress as a whole to embrace this issue.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The Boston Globe (5/17, Vaznis) reports Massachusetts schools have embarked on programs to help reintroduce students who have been absent from school due to mental health issues. For example, Brooklyn High School partnered with the Brookline Community Health Center to create the Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition program, which enables students “to catch up on schoolwork, receive some extra therapy, and ease back into the daily routine of school.” The program is housed in a two-room suite at the school. According to the article, Brookline is planning to expand the program nationwide.

Related Links:

— “Schools struggle to cope with rising mental health needs,” James Vaznis, Boston Globe, May 17, 2016.

Medical Daily (5/16, Olson) reports that the findings of a study published online May 11 in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry suggests “how a diet rich in omega-3s, which are naturally found in salmon, tuna, avocado, and seeds, influences a child’s behavior on the short and long-term basis.” The study, which involved some 290 11- and 12-year-old kids, found that children who “who had a combination of” cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and “omega-3s and an omega-3s-only intervention reported less aggression compared to the groups receiving only CBT or information on aggression.”

Related Links:

— “Omega-3 Benefits Child Brain Development, May Reduce Aggressive Behavior,” Samantha Olson, Medical Daily, May 16, 2016.

HealthDay (5/12, Thompson) reports, “People taking one of the alternative mood stabilizers were 40 percent more likely to harm themselves compared to patients on lithium,” researchers found.

According to MedPage Today (5/12, Jenkins), the findings of the 6,671-patient study published online May 11 in JAMA Psychiatry also reveal that “self-harm rates in those prescribed valproate were not higher than in those on other nonlithium maintenance therapies, contrary to the an existing… warning” by the Food and Drug Administration.

Psychiatric News (5/12) quotes the study authors, who theorized, “The lower rates of self-harm in those prescribed lithium may be due either to improved mood stabilization compared with other treatments or specific effects on impulsive aggression and risk taking.” The study authors concluded, “Self-harm, unintentional injury, and suicide are important morbidity and mortality outcomes in BPD [bipolar disorder] that appear to be amenable to modification through appropriate drug treatment.”

Related Links:

— “Lithium Beats Newer Meds for Bipolar Disorder, Study Finds,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, May 12, 2016.