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November 25, 2009
Rising medication prices seen as betrayal of cost savings promises.
In an editorial, the San Jose Mercury News (11/17) calls the pharmaceutical industry "cunning," as "only weeks ago, President Barack Obama was hailing a White House deal with" pharmaceutical "makers to 'save' the nation $8 billion a year in prescription drug costs.
Now it turns out that Big Pharma has been quietly hiking wholesale prices of prescription" medicines. The President "should renew his push to give the federal government the ability to negotiate bulk purchases of prescription drugs," according to the News. Pharmaceutical companies "deserve a fair profit for their lifesaving products. But they shouldn't get away with hoodwinking the President and the American public."
Related Links:
- Editorial: Obama must put drug makers in their place," San Jose Mercury News, November 16, 2009
Posted by admin at 08:46 PM
Report shows higher prices for brand-name medications.
CQ HealthBeat (11/17) reports, "A study released Monday by the senior advocacy group AARP found that brand-name drug prices have climbed by 9.3 percent since October 2008, despite the economic downturn."
According to the AARP Rx Watchdog Report (pdf), "average manufacturer price increases for brand name and specialty prescription drugs often used by Medicare beneficiaries shot ahead of price increases for other consumer goods in the past year." Meanwhile, "average prices for generic drugs decreased."
AFP (11/17) also notes that price increase "was considerably greater than the average increase over the past seven years -- 5.8 to 8.3 percent a year -- even though the US economy has been in a dive during much of the past year." The data also showed that medication "prices as a whole, including low cost generics, rose 5.4 percent in the past 12 months."
Posted by admin at 08:38 PM
Army reaching out to employers concerned about veterans with "invisible wounds."
The AP (11/18, Roberts) reports US Army officials "say many new veterans suffering" from post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries have difficulty finding and keeping a civilian job.
Advocates "say many employers don't know how to accommodate veterans with these 'invisible wounds' and worry that they cannot do the job and might even 'go postal' someday."
Now, the "Army's Wounded Warrior Program, which helps veterans adjust to civilian life, has been reaching out to employers to educate them and encourage them to hire former soldiers with invisible wounds." The program "conducts briefings to brace potential employers for soldiers who might not be able to work regular hours or might startle too easily, suffer outbursts, or require time off for counseling."
Related Links:
- Army helps vets with `invisible wounds' find jobs," Michelle Roberts, The Taunton Gazette, November 17, 2009.
Posted by admin at 08:27 PM
Physician protests "grueling" work-limits for medical students.
In an op-ed appearing in the Boston Globe (11/19), Dr. Charles A. Czeisler opines that it was "disappointing" to learn that "despite repeated assurances of compliance, the surgical training program at the Massachusetts General Hospital was put on probation for continuing to violate the 2003 work-hour limits."
Czeisler calls the current "grueling" work-hour limits "woefully inadequate," and says that despite a series of studies highlighting the dangers of overworking medical students, "most Massachusetts teaching hospitals continue the tradition of scheduling physicians to work eight 30-hour shifts per month, despite hazards to patient safety and mounting evidence that sleep plays an essential role in learning."
Related Links:
- Operating over the limit," Charles Czeisler, Boston Globe, November 19, 2009.
Posted by admin at 08:13 PM
Democratic lawmakers call for investigations of pharmaceutical industry pricing.
In a story on the front page of its Business Day section, the New York Times (11/19, B1, Wilson) reports, "Democrats in Congress asked for two separate investigations of" pharmaceutical "industry pricing Wednesday."
In a letter to the GAO, "four House leaders" sought "government reviews of pricing practices" in response to "news reports of unusually high wholesale price increases in brand-name prescription" medications. Meanwhile, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) asked the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general "for 'an immediate and thorough investigation into" pharmaceutical "industry pricing and recent increases, and the extent to which these increases may affect the Medicare and Medicaid programs.'"
The requests come amid "suspicion that the increases are an attempt to maximize profits ahead of potential price controls included in a healthcare overhaul," CQ Today (11/19, Wayne) reports. AARP recently released data indicating that pharmaceutical "companies raised prices for brand-name products 9.3 percent since October 2008." In their letter to the GAO, Henry Waxman (D-CA), chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and Charles Rangel (D-NY), chair of the Ways and Means Committee, wrote that "any price gouging is unacceptable, but anticipatory price gouging is especially offensive." Reuters (11/18, Heavey) andCongressDaily (11/19) also covered the story.
Related Links:
- Rising Prices of Drugs Lead to Call for Inquiry," Duff Wilson, The New York Times, November 18, 2009.
Posted by admin at 07:57 PM
Military attempting to understand PTSD triggers.
The AP (11/20, Chang) reports that a "military experiment," funded in part by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is trying "to predict who's most at risk" for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is "thought to affect as many as one in five" Iraq and Afghanistan vets.
The experiment involves select units "undergoing a battery of physical and mental tests before deployment," including "genetic testing, brain imaging, and stress exams. They are followed in war zones and upon return." According to the AP, understanding "underlying triggers might help reduce the burden of those who return psychologically wounded -- if they can get early help."
Related Links:
- Military experiment seeks to predict PTSD," Alicia Chang, Record Online, November 20, 2009.
Posted by admin at 07:46 PM
FDA warns website operators over illegal sales of medications.
The AP (11/20) reports, "The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it issued 22 warning letters to website operators over alleged illegal sales of unapproved or misbranded" medicines.
The move was part of "a weeklong international effort aimed at curbing illegal actions regarding medical products, including sales." The agency "and its partners in the program targeted" a total of "136 websites that appeared to be illegally selling medical products."
The Washington Post (11/19, Krebs) "Security Fix" blog reported that "the agency said none of the sites represent pharmacies located in the United States or Canada, as most claim." The letters said "the online stores hawked everything from powerful controlled substances...to lifestyle drugs." Meanwhile, "some sites even offered prescription" medications that "have not yet been approved of distribution or sale in the United States."
Related Links:
- FDA issues warning letters to 22 Web sites, alleges illegal sales of medical products
," Associated Press, Star Tribune, November 19, 2009.
Posted by admin at 07:30 PM
Majority in poll supports curbs on medical malpractice suits.
The AP (11/19, Alonso-Zaldivar, Tompson) reports a new AP poll finds "most Americans support curbs on medical malpractice lawsuits."
The survey "found that 54 percent favor making it harder to sue doctors and hospitals for mistakes taking care of patients, while 32 percent are opposed."
Related Links:
- AP Poll: Support for curbs on malpractice lawsuits," Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Trevor Thompson, Mail Tribune, November 19, 2009.
Posted by admin at 06:45 PM
Moderate drinking during pregnancy may increase risk of child becoming depressed later in life.
The UK's Telegraph (11/23) reports that "moderate drinking while pregnant could double the risk of a baby suffering depression later in life, according to a" study published in the journal Addiction.
Investigators "found that drinking up to a bottle of wine a week in the first trimester appeared to double the chance of a child becoming anxious or depressed." Meanwhile, "drinking in late pregnancy was more likely to make the child aggressive, and alcohol also appeared to increase the risk of the child developing general aches and pains.
Related Links:
- Moderate drinking while pregnant doubles risk of child becoming depressed," The UK Telegraph, November 23, 2009.
Posted by admin at 06:34 PM
Data indicate rate of suicides increased in last two years.
The Wall Street Journal (11/23, A6, Murray, McKay) reports that a survey of 19 states, which together account for about two-fifths of the US population, indicates that suicides rose during 2008, as do preliminary estimates from 2007 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meanwhile, results from a recent survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration suggest that more than eight million adults seriously contemplated suicide last year and that 1.1 million of them actually tried to kill themselves. While the exact reasons for this rise in suicides in 2007 and 2008 are not clear, suicide experts point out that when unemployment is high and economic times are tough, suicide rates historically have gone up.
Related Links:
- .Early Data Suggest Suicides Are Rising," Sara Murray and Betsy McKay, The Wall Street Journal, November 23, 2009.
Posted by admin at 06:17 PM
Police, crisis intervention teams struggling to deal with the mentally ill.
The AP (11/22, Rathke) reported that across the US, "police and emergency responders...have long struggled to deal with people who have mental illness, and some say the situation is only getting worse" as "a poor economy and cuts to institutional programs threaten to overwhelm personnel trained to deal with crime and vehicle accidents, not mental crises."
Nationally, "as many as 1,300 departments have set up crisis intervention teams" that "get specialized mental health training and work with the community on the responses." The article detailed efforts by the Burlington, VT, Des Moines, IA, and Memphis, TN, police departments to deal with "people with serious mental illness who are in crisis."
Related Links:
- Mental health cases tax police, emergency workers ," Lisa Rathke, The Associated Press, November 21, 2009.
Posted by admin at 06:07 PM
Psychiatrist claims he was fired after protesting about poor care for Marines with PTSD.
The AP (11/21) reported, "Marines treated at Camp Lejeune for post-traumatic stress had to undergo therapy for" almost two years "in temporary trailers where they could hear bomb blasts, machine-gun fire, and war cries through the thin walls, according to servicemen and their former psychiatrist."
Kernan Manion, MD. Manion, "a civilian psychiatrist," claims that "he was fired for writing memos to his military superiors complaining of shoddy care of Marines returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD." The AP pointed out that "Manion was fired in September after working for eight months for a" military contractor providing "mental healthcare on the North Carolina base. He said that when he asked the contractor why he was being fired, he was told it was ordered by the Navy."
Related Links:
- Fired therapist: Stressed Marines get shoddy care," Kevin Maurer, Beaumont Enterprise, November 20, 2009.
Posted by admin at 05:53 PM
Military attempting to prevent suicide by changing ethos.
The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger (11/22) reported that "the military's strategy" for preventing suicides "is to reshape the warrior ethos, instilling in service members the idea that mental health is as vital as physical fitness or the ability to aim a rifle."
An "important aim is" removing the stigma from admitting that one is suffering or suicidal. Still, "major challenges remain," including "a drastic shortage of mental-health professionals in the military's ranks" that "sometimes leads to long waits for appointments, a potentially deadly situation when a soldier is suicidal." In response, "the Department of Defense is experimenting with Internet-based counseling."
Related Links:
- Escalating military suicide crisis prompts U.S. task force," The Newark Star Ledger, November 22, 2009.
Posted by admin at 05:40 PM
Mental-health professionals discuss PTSD, anxiety.
USA Today (11/23, Jayson) reports, "Mental health experts who work with troops back from deployment talked this weekend about the latest efforts to treat disorders such as post-traumatic stress, efforts that are particularly relevant in light of the traumatic shootings at Fort Hood."
At the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies annual meeting, approximately "4,400 psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and students...also heard a lot about emotions that affect Americans, including presentations on fear, worry, and anxiety from a host of experts."
Related Links:
- Mental health experts mobilize against troops' trauma," Sharon Jayson, USA Today, November 23, 2009.
Posted by admin at 05:25 PM
Military suicides increasing.
The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger (11/22, Mueller) reported that there is "an accelerating trend" of military suicides "that has sent tremors throughout the US military, alarming the most senior officers and highlighting the strain on America's fighting men and women after eight years of uninterrupted war."
In response, "the military has launched what is perhaps the most far-reaching effort in history to understand the psychological effects of war" through a five-year study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health. "The uniformed services also have rolled out dozens of new initiatives" that are "a fundamental departure from the suck-it-up approach that has dominated military training for generations."
In a separate article, the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger (11/22, Mueller) reported that studies suggest that "at the least, many hundreds of thousands" of veterans from Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from PTSD. "John A. Renner Jr., a military psychiatrist during Vietnam and now associate chief of psychiatry at the VA's Boston Healthcare System, contends repeated tours are a major factor in the higher rate of mental trauma" compared to previous wars. Judith Broder, founder and director of the Soldiers Project, a nonprofit group that provides free counseling to service members and veterans, said that "even those serving a single tour have come back with PTSD symptoms."
Related Links:
- Military suicides increase as U.S. soldiers struggle with torment of war," Newark Star Ledger, November 22, 2009.
- Military suicides: Cases of post-traumatic stress mount at alarming rate," Newark Star Ledger, November 22, 2009.
Posted by admin at 05:06 PM
Column explores reasons behind "aggressive" marketing campaign for aripiprazole.
The "Consumer Reports Insights" column, published by the Washington Post (11/24), reports that Bristol-Myers Squibb is conducting "an aggressive advertising campaign for its blockbuster antipsychotic...Abilify [aripiprazole]," a medication "originally approved for treating schizophrenia and...bipolar disorder," and now approved "as an add-on treatment for people with major depression."
Abilify, however, is "a member of a class of" medications "known as atypical...antipsychotics," medicines with "different -- and, in some cases, considerably more serious -- side effects than the most common class of drugs used to treat depression." Consumer Reports attributes promotion of "Abilify for depression because only a limited number of people have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder," whereas "depression...is a veritable cash cow among mental-health conditions."
Related Links:
- Nothing depressing in sales figures," Washington Post, November 24, 2009.
Posted by admin at 04:56 PM
Depression may take as many years off life as smoking.
HealthDay (11/23, Dotinga) reported that, according to a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, "being depressed might take as many years off your life as smoking does."
After "analyzing death records and a survey of more than 60,000 people," researchers at King's College London found that "during the four years after the survey, the death rate was higher among those who'd appeared to be depressed, based on the survey findings, than among the others," with the "increase...about as high as that among smokers." Notably, the investigators also found that "a combination of depression and anxiety appears to be better for longevity than just depression."
Related Links:
- Depression May Up Death Risk to That of Smoking," Randy Dotinga, HealthDay, November 23, 2009.
Posted by admin at 04:51 PM
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy may suffer from insomnia, sleep disorders.
HealthDay (11/23, Preidt) reported, "Insomnia and sleep disorders affect more than three-quarters of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy," according to research appearing online Nov. 23 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
In a study of "sleep problems in 823 cancer patients," researchers found that the rate of such disorders was "nearly three times higher than that of the general population." Notably, "the problem is more common in younger patients and in those with lung and breast cancers." The researchers noted, however, that because "insomnia is a very treatable problem that can be addressed quickly...it doesn't compound other symptoms."
Related Links:
- Sleep Disorders Plague Cancer Patients," Robert Preidt, HealthDay, November 23, 2009.
Posted by admin at 04:42 PM
November 17, 2009
Film Series for 2010 Announced
The Baltimore Washington Center for Psychoanalysis has announced the films and admission for the 2010 "Psychoanalysts Look at Film" event. Films to be shown on Fridays during March and April are chosen "because they are psychologically perceptive and stir the emotions and curiosity of the viewers."
You can download the brochure, including an order form and information for tickets, as a PDF file here (2.6 MB).
Films this year are:
Brothers
Trailer/Info
(2004) Rated R - Denmark
Director: Susanne Bier
English subtitles
Discussant: George Gallahorn, M.D.
Friday, March 26, 2010
This powerful film shows the consequences of unconsciously assigned "good" and "bad" roles of brothers within a family. The "good" brother volunteers for the Danish military in Afghanistan as a moral duty and is presumed killed. He is actually captured and traumatized as a prisoner. We see the evident impact of the post-traumatic stress and the defenses associated with it for the traumatized individual and the affected family members. This film won the audience award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
Happy Go Lucky
Trailer/Info
(2008) Rated R - U.K.
Director: Mike Leigh
Discussant: Joseph Bierman, M.D.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Happy-Go-Lucky features an attractive, single, primary school teacher who regularly smiles and jokes. Even the grimace from the sudden pain caused by a physical therapist's manipulation of her aching back is perfused with a smile. Driving lessons with an emotionally precarious, single, male instructor reveal how driven and, at times, self-defeating her seemingly carefree jocularity can be. She insists on wearing her favorite boots with high heels for each lesson, even though he says it is too hard to drive with them. The happy-go-lucky attitude can also keep her unaware of her need to get hurt by others. But her realistic side emerges when the instructor, jealously angry, drives dangerously and needs to be controlled by her. As a teacher, she realistically controls an angry bully, appropriately referring him to a handsome social worker, with whom she then quickly starts a smiling affair.
Revolutionary Road
Trailer/Info
2008) Rated R - USA
Director: Sam Mendes
Discussant: Silvia Bell, Ph.D.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Outwardly living a comfortable middle class existence, a bright, attractive couple aspires to great- ness, but gradually appears to succumb to the mediocrity that surrounds them. Critics have commented on the "stultifying experience" of white-collar life, the "opulent desolation of the American suburbs," the "quiet desperation" of thwarted dreams in post-war America. Suburbia is, however, like a pastel colored stage that highlights in stark contrast the psychological and interpersonal factors that lock the characters in a downward spiral. The protagonists turn disappointments into crushing attacks against one another and, eventually, against themselves.
Ladies in Lavender
Trailer/Info
(2004) Rated PG - U.K.
Director: Charles Dance
Discussant: Jill Berkowitz, M.D.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Two elderly sisters, both spinsters, have tenderly and carefully tucked their delicate feelings and precious memories away in lavender. To their great surprise, these need to be unwrapped and reconsidered when a beautiful and mysterious boy is delivered out of the waters onto their Cornwall beach. The sisters are played with great subtlety by Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, who gradually transform a surface placidity into a moving psychological drama.
Posted by admin at 03:34 PM
November 14, 2009
Army experiencing psychiatrist shortage.
Following a New York Times story, the CBS Evening News (11/9, story 3, 2:00, Couric) reported that Army psychiatry Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan "was about to be deployed to Afghanistan to help counsel soldiers," and "nine of the Ft. Hood victims were also therapists -- part of a unit that the military fears is already stretched entirely too thin."
CBS correspondent Don Teague explained, "Eight years of war has taken its toll across the military. Some 300,000 service members, nearly one out of five returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, report symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder," while to date, "the Army has just over 400 psychiatrists to treat nearly 550,000 active duty soldiers."
Posted by admin at 07:03 PM
Family members describe how hoarding affects them.
The Wall Street Journal (11/10) reports that some children and siblings of compulsive hoarders are coming forward to describe how hoarding, an OCD-related disorder which may affect about one in 50 Americans, has impacted their lives, often causing them emotional distress.
Some children of hoarders liken the effects of living in a home with a hoarder as a kind of child abuse. Others must deal with parents and siblings who not only will not change their behavior, but refuse to see the problems hoarding causes in their lives. In fact, many children and siblings of hoarders resent psychologists' advice not to force clean-ups and to deal patiently with hoarders.
Related Links:
- When Hoarders Make Life Miserable for Others," Melinda Beck, The Wallstreet Journal, November 9,2009.
Posted by admin at 06:55 PM
Report says US lags behind other wealthy nations in healthcare access, efficiency.
Modern Healthcare (11/5, Robeznieks) reported, "The US health system lags behind other wealthy nations in key measures related to access, efficiency and outcomes, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report " published online in Health Affairs. The report states, however, that "these gaps can be decreased by changing to financial incentives that reward value over volume, supporting primary-care practices serving as a medical home and accelerating the use of health information technology."
BusinessWeek (11/6, Arnst) reports that investigators took responses from "10,000 doctors in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Britain and the US between February and July of this year" regarding their patients' accessibility to medical care and medications. The article focuses on the finding that "58 percent of US doctors said their patients often have difficulty paying for medications and other medical care, compared with five to 37 percent in the other countries surveyed." American physicians are also "less likely than those in the other countries surveyed to offer care outside of regular office hours, and are far, far behind several other nations in the use of electronic health records that could reduce errors."
Healthcare IT News (11/5, Monegain) reported that "many of the areas in which the United States lags would be addressed by health reform legislation currently under consideration in Congress." The report concludes that "national policies have been instrumental in achieving round-the-clock access, information systems and advance primary care teams in leading countries." AFP (11/5) also covered the story.
Related Links:
- U.S. lags in EHR use: Commonwealth Fund," Andis Robeznieks, Modern Healthcare, November 5, 2009.
- Doctor Survey: US Health System Lags on Access, Quality," Cathy Arnst, BusinessWeek, November 5, 2009.
Posted by admin at 06:33 PM
HMOs said to be planning significant 2010 premium increases despite strong 3Q earnings.
Forbes (11/4, Whelan) notes that although "most of the major managed-care companies" have announced strong 3Q results, the message "during this earnings season is that HMOs are focused on rebuilding margins, even if it makes insurance even less affordable."
Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Borsch "calls it 'the highest pricing trend in years.' The premium increases he's seeing are in the neighborhood of 13 to 15 percent for next year." Analysts say HMOs are concentrating on making up for operating profit margins, which "reached zero last year for the industry as whole."
Moreover, the companies not only want recompense for the "higher costs" they incurred this year from COBRA, they must "cover rising ordinary medical costs that show no signs of slowing down." Barclays analyst Joshua Raskin predicts overall health spending in 2010 will "climb 9 percent."
Related Links:
- Why Health Insurance Charges Are Going Up," David Whelan, Forbes, November 3, 2009.
Posted by admin at 06:21 PM
Report finds big insurers spent less on medical care than previous estimates.
Dow Jones Newswire (11/4, Yoest) reports that a US Senate Commerce Committee investigation found that the six largest US health insurers spent less on medical care than what industry officials estimated.
Of the total amount received in premiums by the companies in the individual insurance market, 74 cents of every dollar were spent on medical care, according to a review of publicly available of data on industry earnings. Meanwhile, America's Health Insurance Plans estimated that the industry spent an average of 87 cents of every premium dollar on medical care.
Posted by admin at 06:09 PM
Smokers who switch to "low tar" or "light" cigarettes may be less inclined to quit, survey indicates.
HealthDay (11/3, Dotinga) reported that University of Pittsburgh researchers say that smokers who switch to "low-tar" or "light" cigarettes are "less likely to quit."
After examining "the results of a 2003 survey of 30,800 people in the United States who had smoked within the past year," investigators discovered that those "who had switched were 46 percent less likely to have quit smoking."
There is evidence which "suggests that switching may resolve smokers' cognitive dissonance about smoking -- something along the lines of, 'Well, since I'm smoking a [supposedly] healthier cigarette, I really don't have to worry about lung cancer, heart disease, impotence, wrinkles, early death, [fill in the blank], because my health is not at risk,'" Dr. Hilary Tindle wrote in Tobacco Control.
Related Links:
- Switch to 'Light' Cigarettes Makes Quitting Tougher
," Randy Dotinga, HealthDay, November 3, 2009.
Posted by admin at 06:01 PM
Adult survivors of childhood cancer may face long-lasting emotional scars
The Time (11/3, Guthrie) "Wellness" blog reported that, according to two new studies, adult survivors of childhood cancer have "long-lasting emotional scars."
Research published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, shows that "an estimated 46 percent of adult survivors of childhood cancer never married." Researchers compared "the frequency of marriage and divorce rates" in "nearly 9,000" survivors as well as their siblings, finding that "42 percent of survivors were married and 7.3 percent were separated or divorced."
Meanwhile, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology showed that "nearly eight percent of childhood cancer survivors say they've had suicidal thoughts." Notably, those who had survived "brain and central nervous system cancers were most likely to have had suicidal inklings."
Related Links:
- Emotional scars linger for childhood cancer survivors
," Catherine Guthrie, Time Magazine Wellness Blog, November 3, 2009.
Posted by admin at 05:47 PM
November 04, 2009
Television and aggression linked in young children.
HealthDay (11/2, Gordon) reported that, according to a study published in the Nov. issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, "television viewing is linked to aggression in young children."
In fact, in a study of "3,128 children born between 1998 and 2000," researchers from the University of Albany School of Public Health found that "for every hour that a child watched TV directly, aggression went up 0.16 on a scale of zero to 30," while "for a TV being on in the house, it was 0.09."
WebMD (11/2, Wilbert) reported that "most mothers in the study -- about 65% -- reported that their children were watching more than two hours per day." In addition to "direct TV viewing time, children were indirectly exposed to the TV for five hours on average on a typical day." The study authors theorized that "children who see violence on television become desensitized to it; parents who don't have limits on television may be less likely to have other rules, such as regular bedtimes; and when children are watching television, they are not participating in other activities that may benefit their social development, such as playing."
Related Links:
- TV May Increase Aggression in Toddlers
," Serena Gordon, HealthDay, November 2, 2009.
- TV Linked to More Child Aggression," Caroline Wilbert, WebMD Health News, November 2, 2009.
Posted by admin at 08:56 PM
First-time moms may become most anxious when babies are about five months old, research suggests.
The UK's Daily Mail (11/3) reports that "anxiety experienced by first-time mothers peaks around five months and one week after they give birth, according to new research.
The study for the Department of Health found this period was when new mothers had the most questions about their developing baby." In addition, the study "found that mothers risked feeling more isolated because the initial flurry of visits from family and friends had subsided" at the same time "their partner was less able to get home to help out."
The UK's Telegraph (11/2) reported that 32% of new mothers said that "after five months they had no time for themselves, and a fifth (20%) admitted they felt baby care was 'repetitive and mundane.'" The Telegraph noted that "the study was undertaken to help with the development of NHS Baby LifeCheck, a free online questionnaire to help new mums and dads." Researchers associate aggression in young children with TV viewing.
Related Links:
- New mothers most anxious after five months," UK Telegraph, November 02, 2009.
Posted by admin at 08:43 PM
Caregiver psychoeducation may improve outcomes in early stage BD, research suggests.
MedWire (11/3, Grasmo) reports that, according to a study published online Oct. 23 in the Journal of Affective Disorders, "providing psychoeducation to the caregivers of bipolar disorder (BD) patients improves long-term outcome in terms of time to recurrence in patients with early stage...illness."
Spanish researchers "performed a post-hoc analysis from a 15-month randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of caregiver psychoeducation for" BD "in preventing recurrences," dividing a total of "113 medicated euthymic BD outpatients who lived with their caregivers...according to whether they had early (stage I) or advanced (stages II, III, or IV) illness." The team found that "stage I patients benefited from caregiver psychoeducation compared with patients whose caregivers did not receive any specific intervention," while "patients with advanced-stage BD did not show any benefit."
Related Links:
- Caregiver psychoeducation improves BD outcome in early stages," Ingrid Grasmo, MedWire News, November 3, 2009.
Posted by admin at 08:27 PM
Palo Alto, CA, seen as taking action to prevent further teen suicides.
Following a CBS Evening News story, the AP (11/2, Leff) reports that the city of Palo Alto, CA, is reeling from four suicides "in less than six months."
Now Palo Alto officials "say they're deploying a wide array of approaches to stop" further suicides, including taking the view that "suicide can be contagious and should be treated as a public health crisis," and asking the media not to publicize locations where suicides occurred. Meanwhile, Stanford University experts "are advising administrators, teachers, and parents on how to recognize depression," while "schools are looking into making psychological screening of students routine."
Related Links:
- Anguish over California teen suicides spurs action," Lisa Leff, AP News, November 1, 2009.
Posted by admin at 04:43 PM
Number of female veterans diagnosed with mental disorders increasing.
On its front page, the New York Times (11/1, A1, Cave) reported that "never before has" the US "seen so many women paralyzed by the psychological scars of combat. As of June 2008, 19,084 female veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan had received diagnoses of mental disorders from the Department of Veterans Affairs...and this number does not include troops still enlisted, or those who have never used the VA system."
According to "experts and veterans...the circumstances of military life and the way women are received when they return home have created differences in how they cope," with women being "more likely to suffer alone." Still, psychiatrists say, however, that "women do better in therapy, because they are more comfortable talking through their emotions" once they "seek help."
Related Links:
- .Women at Arms: A Combat Role, and Anguish, Too," Damien Cave, New York Times, November 1, 2009.
Posted by admin at 04:28 PM
Casual substance use may reduce efficacy of antidepressants in adolescents with MDD, researchers say.
Medscape (10/30, Cassels) reported that, according to research presented at a pediatric psychiatry meeting, "casual substance" use may "significantly reduce the efficacy of antidepressant therapy in adolescents with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD)."
University of Pittsburgh researchers studied "334 adolescents with MDD who were assessed for substance use with the Drug Use and Severity Index in relation to treatment and depressive symptoms." After finding that "28.1% of the participants reported repeated substance use experimentation with alcohol or cannabis at baseline," the investigators associated "substance-related impairment...with baseline depression severity, older age, physical/sexual abuse, family conflict, hopelessness, and comorbid oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder."
Related Links:
- Casual Cannabis, Alcohol Use Reduces Treatment Efficacy in Adolescents With Major Depression," Caroline Cassels, MedScape, October 30, 2009.
Posted by admin at 04:12 PM
Some consumers said to be fooled by fraudulent health insurance.
McClatchy (10/30, Lerner) reports on a number of companies which "are taking advantage of the recession and the growing number of uninsured people...to sell 'health coverage' that evaporates when customers try to use it, or provides far less than promised."
McClatchy recounts instances of consumers being duped by misleading insurance companies, adding that "just last month, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson sued two out-of-state companies over allegations they misled customers with phony claims about their health plans. Ten more investigations are under way, she said."
Related Links:
- Health coverage 'plan' was no insurance at all," Maura Lerner, Star Tribune, October 25, 2009.
Posted by admin at 03:58 PM
Collaborative care may increase improvement in older cancer patients with depression.
Medscape (10/29, Chustecka) reported, "Older cancer patients with depression showed significantly more improvement when they were treatment with a collaborative program than when they were treated with usual care for their depression," according to findings "reported in a supplement to the Journal of General Internal Medicine."
The study involved 1,801 patients, of which "half were randomized to usual care" of "routinely available depression treatment, including antidepressants and referrals to specialty mental-health services as deemed necessary." Meanwhile, the other half received collaborative care, which "involved a depression care manager who worked collaboratively with the patient and the primary-care physician." The study showed that "patients in the collaborative-care group were twice as likely to have responded to the depression treatment as those in the usual-care group" and "also reported significantly more days free from depression."
Related Links:
- Depression in Older Cancer Patients Responds Better to Collaborative Program," Zosia Chustecka, MedScape, October 29, 2009.
Posted by admin at 03:39 PM