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Mental Health in the Headlines: Week of June 30, 2014
Week of June 30, 2014
Mental Health in the Headlines is a weekly newsletter providing the latest developments at Mental Health America and summaries of news, views and research in the mental health field. Coverage of news items in this publication does not represent Mental Health America’s support for or opposition to the stories summarized or the views they express.
NEWS FROM MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA
Mental Health America 2014 Annual Conference, September 10-12, Atlanta, Georgia—Parity and the Affordable Care Act: Bridging Gaps to Advance Mental Health. Don't miss this unique opportunity to discuss what we have learned in the process of implementing the Affordable Care and Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Acts, and to collaborate to identify next steps and opportunities for action.
The MHA Career Center matches the best employers with the best talent in the mental health field. Find your employment match at http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/mhacareercenter.
NEWS FOR THE FIELD:
askforhelp.org: Peter Rodger, father of Elliot Rodger, has launched a website and blog called askforhelp.org. The site provides links to mental health resources and allows people to share their stories around asking (or not asking) for help. The idea is to start breaking down the stigma of asking for help in our society.
IN THE NEWS
Women More Likely than Men to Seek Mental Health Help: Women with chronic physical illnesses are 10 percent more likely to seek support for mental health issues than men with similar illnesses, according to a new study. The study also found that women tend to seek out mental health services months earlier than men. Researchers looked at people diagnosed with at least one of four illnesses: diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Of people diagnosed with these conditions, women were not only more likely than men to seek mental health services, but they also used medical services for mental health treatment six months earlier than men in any three-year period. The findings, published in the British Medical Journal’s Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, may mean that women feel more comfortable seeking mental health support than men or that men delay seeking support. The study could also imply that symptoms are worse among women, which would encourage more women to seek help and to do so sooner. (TIME, 6/26/14)
1 in 10 Deaths among Adults Tied to Excessive Drinking of Alcohol—CDC: Excessive drinking contributes to nearly one in 10 deaths among working-age adults, an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control finds. Among 20- to 64-year-olds, nearly 10 percent of all mortality from 2006 to 2010 was attributable to excessive drinking. That averaged out to 87,798 deaths annually from binge drinking, or from having more than 14 drinks a week for men or eight a week for women, researchers reported in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease. (HealthDay News, 6/26/14)
Kids with ADHD More Likely to Abuse Drugs—Analysis: Children suffering from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more than twice as likely to try and abuse drugs, a new analysis finds. But the finding does not mean that the medications that are prescribed to treat ADHD play a part in that increased risk. Researchers, whose finding is published in the journal Pediatrics, say that treating ADHD both with behavioral techniques and medications seems to lower the risk of substance use. It is possible that the same biology that causes ADHD also puts some children at a higher risk for substance use, they say. Other social factors, such as struggles in school, may also contribute to the increased risk. (HealthDay News, 6/30/14)
[Correction: A headline on a story in last week’s edition should have read: “Majority of People that Bought Insurance Under ACA Previously Uninsured.”]
IN DEPTH
Reporting on Health looks at “The high cost of childhood trauma.”
In USA Today, Patrick J. Kennedy and Husseini Manji write “Why Brain Research is Vital.”
NBC News reports on how “Teens at Risk Can Hide Mental Illness.”
The New York Times looks at adolescence and anxiety.
ESPN The Magazine reports on “How Brandon Marshall is confronting the NFL's mental health crisis.”
USA Today examines the mental health system and “The cost of not caring.”
NPR looks at online psychotherapy.
LATEST RESEARCH
Children Born to Women after Fertility Treatment at Greater Risk of Psychiatric Disorders: Children born to women who received fertility treatments have a higher risk of psychiatric disorders than naturally conceived children, a new study finds. The increase in risk was described as "modest" by researchers from Denmark, but was found to persist throughout childhood and into young adulthood. For the study, researchers analyzed data taken from a register of Danish children born from 1969 to 2006. There were a total of 2,430,826 births. Five percent, or 124,384, were born to women who had fertility issues and the remaining 95 percent were born to women who had no problems getting pregnant. All of the children were followed for a median of 20 years until 2009. Overall, 170,240 children had been hospitalized due to some psychiatric disorder. Children who were born as a result of fertility treatments had a 33 percent greater risk of having any defined mental illness, such as schizophrenia and psychoses, affective disorder and anxiety. The researchers added that the risk of psychiatric disorders was modest. However, the risk was long-term, from childhood into adulthood. (The Guardian, 6/30/14)
MORE NEWS AND VIEWS
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Mental Health in the Headlines is produced weekly by Mental Health America. Staff: Steve Vetzner, senior director, Media Relations.
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