Op-Ed: Ending Military Suicides Will Require Radical Changes In Departments Of Defense, Veterans Affairs.

In an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times (4/23), author John Bateson, who for 16 years was the executive director of a San Francisco Bay Area suicide prevention center, calls the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act “commendable,” but says “it won’t come close to ending military suicides.” According to Bateson, “That would require radical changes in the policies, procedures, attitudes and culture in two of our biggest.

Related Links:

— “Op-Ed Support our troops? Dealing with PTSD requires commitment,”John Bateson, Los Angeles Times, April 22, 2015.

Depression May Increase Risk Of Hospitalization, Death In Black Heart Failure Patients.

HealthDay (4/23, Preidt) reports that research published April 21 in Circulation: Heart Failure suggests that “depression seems to increase the risk of hospitalization and death in black heart failure patients.” In the large study, investigators found that “even moderate depressive symptoms appeared to boost the risk of hospitalization or death for black patients.”

Related Links:

— “Depression Tied to Worse Outcomes for Black Patients With Heart Failure,”Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 22, 2015.

Asian Immigrant Families May Not Seek Help For Depression Until There Is A Crisis.

In a 2,050-word piece, Kaiser Health News (4/23, Gorman) reports, “Because they may not see depression as a brain disease or fear stigma, many Asian immigrant families don’t reach out for help until there is a crisis, experts say.” Even when families seek help, “they often find both medication and psychotherapy a poor fit.” When it comes to the treatment of depression in teenagers, “parents sometimes stand in the way…intentionally or not, because of the high standards they set.” Ranna Parekh, MD, director of the American Psychiatric Association’s division of diversity and health equity, said, “It takes a few generations before they can finally be free.”

Related Links:

— “When Depression And Cultural Expectations Collide,”Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News , April 22, 2015.

Study Finds No Association Between MMR Vaccine And ASD In Children.

Major domestic and British newspapers, wire sources, and Internet medical outlets cover a study demonstrating no association between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, not even in children at high risk for autism.

The Wall Street Journal (4/22, Whalen, Subscription Publication) reports that a study published April 21 in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals no association between the MMR vaccine and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children.

The Los Angeles Times (4/22, Healy) “Science Now” blog reports that the “study of nearly 100,000 children found that toddlers known to have an elevated risk of autism were no more likely to be diagnosed with the disorder if they” received the MMR vaccine than if they did not. In addition, “the diagnosis rate for high-risk children who were vaccinated was the same as for immunized children with no family history of the disorder.” By failing to find any association “between the MMR vaccine and autism spectrum disorders…in children with an older sibling who had the disease, the study leaves no doubt that the two are not connected, experts said.”

Related Links:

— “Another Study Shows No Link Between MMR Vaccine and Autism,”Jaenne Whalen, The Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2015.

Social Security Numbers To Be Removed From Medicare Cards.

The New York Times (4/21, A14, Pear, Subscription Publication) reports that the Medicare bill signed last week by President Obama will end the imprinting of Social Security numbers on Medicare cards. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX), who pushed for the change, said, “The Social Security number is the key to identity theft, and thieves are having a field day with seniors’ Medicare cards.” Congress provided $320 million over four years to pay for the change. The Times adds that the inspector general of Social Security in 2008 called for immediate action to remove Social Security from Medicare cards, but HHS has “lagged behind other federal agencies” in removing the numbers from identification cards, the Government Accountability Office said.

Related Links:

— “New Cards for Medicare Recipients Will Omit Social Security Numbers,”Robert Pear, The New York Times, April 20, 2015.

Medicaid Mental Health Parity Rule Doesn’t Cover Psychiatric Hospital Stays.

The Washington Examiner (4/20, Cunningham) reported that Medicaid plans got an “initial roadmap from the federal government earlier this month, with a rule proposing directions for how they should conform to a 2008 law known as mental health parity.” The law requires insurers to cover mental health services on the same level as physical health services. Notably, the rule does not lift “a longstanding federal ban on using federal Medicaid dollars for stays in private psychiatric hospitals and state mental hospitals.” According to the article, this “has some mental health advocates worried, amid recent concerns that the seriously mentally ill are getting marginalized.” Harsh Trivedi, MD, chairman of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Healthcare Systems and Financing, “said the APA wants the final rule to be clearer on exactly how insurers must ensure parity for long-term care for” people with mental illnesses.

Related Links:

— “Psych wards not covered by Medicaid mental health rule,”Paige Cunningham, The Washington Examiner, April 20, 2015.

Federal Data: E-Cigarette Use Triples Among Teenagers

Based on Federal data released on Thursday and published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, use of e-cigarettes “tripled from 2013 to 2014” among US middle and high school students, reaching 13 percent and exceeding the percentage of those that smoke traditional cigarettes. According to the data, the number of young people using tobacco products in “some form” in 2014 rose for the first time in “years” to 4.6 million. David Muir of ABC World News (4/16, story 11, 0:15, Muir) referred to the rate increase as a “stunning number.”

Study Examines Physical, Mental Health Problems Experienced By 9/11 EMS Workers.

TIME (4/17, Worland) reports that a study published online April 15 in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine suggests that almost “17% of emergency medical service (EMS) workers who responded to the 9/11 terrorist attacks display symptoms of depression and 7% show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).” The study, which was “conducted by researchers for the New York Fire Department, evaluated the health of nearly 2,300 New York City Fire Department EMS workers over a 12-year period.” Besides PTSD and depression, “EMS workers experienced a number of conditions that affected their physical health, including 12% who experienced acid reflux disease and 3% who experienced cancer.”

HealthDay (4/17, Reinberg) reports that an increased risk for sinus infections as well as for obstructive airway disease was also increased in EMS workers. What’s more, “those who arrived at the scene right after the attack were most at risk of these physical and psychological conditions, researchers said.” Unfortunately, “EMS workers and other individuals who were exposed to the World Trade Center disaster remain at high risk of developing additional health problems…said” Mayris Webber, DrPH, of the New York City Fire Department’s Bureau of Health Services.

Related Links:

— “Health Problems Linger for 9/11 First Responders,” Justin Worland, Time, April 16, 2015.

Study Examines Substance Abuse Among US Full-Time Workers

HealthDay (4/17, Preidt) reports that a new study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) suggests that “nearly one in 10 full-time workers in the United States has had a recent substance abuse problem.” Specifically, an “analysis of data gathered between 2008 and 2012 from more than 111,500 adults with full-time jobs revealed that 9.5 percent of them had an alcohol or illicit-drug disorder in the previous year.” Commenting on the study, SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde said, “Every segment of the community needs to help tackle this problem, including employers.” Hyde added, “By developing and actively promoting workplace programs such as Employee Assistance Programs for helping employees deal with substance use problems, employers can significantly improve the health, well-being, and productivity of their employees.”

Related Links:

— “Substance Abuse Reported by About 1 in 10 American Workers,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 6, 2015.

Study Identifies Risk Factors For Hashish Use Among Teens

HealthDay (4/16, Preidt) reports that a study recently published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse “identifies factors that increase teens’ risk of using hashish,” and the investigators, affiliated with NYU’s Center for Drug Use and HIV Research, “found that the risk factors for regular marijuana use were often much stronger risk factors for using hashish.” They found that other “robust risk factor[s]” were the use of other illicit drugs or alcohol and cigarette smoking. HealthDay adds that the study was based on “data gathered from more than 10,500 high school seniors across the United States between 2007 and 2011.”

Related Links:

— “1 in 10 U.S. Teens Has Tried Hashish,” Robert Preidt, Health Day, April 15, 2015.