Publications on Mental Health Topics

The Challenge of Being Transgender in a Nursing Home, by Mo Perry, The Atlantic , Aug 12 2015.

“Currently, there are more than 1.5 million LGBT people over 65 in the U.S., a number expected to double over the next 15 years as the population ages. But precise statistics on older transgender adults-or, for that matter, transgender people of any age-are hard to come by. One 2011 study using health-survey data estimated that the country’s transgender population was around 700,000; this past May, the Census Bureau published a study that analyzed the number of “likely transgender individuals” based on the people who had changed their name (around 90,000) or sex (around 22,000) with the Social Security Administration. These estimates vary so wildly in part because there’s no reliable means of tracking when people change their gender: The Census Bureau still offers only male and female, and many trans people haven’t completely transitioned into living full-time as their expressed gender. Others have so successfully suppressed their history that there’s little evidence they ever lived as anyone else. One thing, though, is clear: For transgender people, aging into the later years of life can present a unique set of challenges. ”

The Right Dose of Exercise for the Aging Brain, by Gretchen Reynolds, The New York Times , Aug 12 2015.

“A small amount of exercise may improve our ability to think as we age, but more may not be better, according to a new study of exercise and cognition. ”

Music boosts recovery from surgery, reduces pain, by Kate Kelland, Reuters , Aug 12 2015.

“Listening to music before, during and after surgery reduces patients' pain, eases anxiety and lessens the need for painkillers, British scientists said on Thursday. After reviewing evidence from around 7,000 patients, the scientists said people going for surgery should be allowed to choose the music they'd like to hear to maximize the benefit. But they also warned that the music should not interfere with the medical team's communication during an operation. ”

When You're a Parent...Again, by Amanda Long, Granparents.com, Aug 7 2015.

“Taking over as primary caretaker is not easy. But know this: You are not alone. ”

Doctors Devise A Better Way To Diagnose Shaken Baby Syndrome, by Tara Haelle, National Public Radio (NPR)- Public Health, Jul 29 2015.

“Researchers have developed and validated a tool doctors can use to distinguish between head injuries resulting from abuse and those from accidents or medical conditions. The method, described in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, asks doctors to check for six other injuries, each of which increases the likelihood that a head injury resulted from severe shaking, blunt force or both. ”

Getting Through Divorce: Healthy Ways to Handle it and Move On, by Hart, Rachel, Jul 28 2015.

Campus Suicide and the Pressure of Perfection, by Julie Scelfo, New York Times , Jul 27 2015.

“Nationally, the suicide rate among 15- to 24-year-olds has increased modestly but steadily since 2007: from 9.6 deaths per 100,000 to 11.1, in 2013 (the latest year available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). But a survey of college counseling centers has found that more than half their clients have severe psychological problems, an increase of 13 percent in just two years. Anxiety and depression, in that order, are now the most common mental health diagnoses among college students. ”

New Study Finds Many Veterans Live With War Trauma Throughout Their Lives, by Lucy Perkins, NPR , Jul 24 2015.

“A new study of veterans from the Vietnam War has troubling implications for troops who fought much more recently - in Afghanistan and Iraq. The study suggests that 40 years since the Vietnam War ended, hundreds of thousands of those vets still struggle every day with mental health problems linked to the traumas they experienced. It was published in the latest issue of JAMA Psychiatry. ”

Basis for eating disorders found in children as young as eight, by Sarah Boseley, The Guardian , Jul 23 2015.

“Children as young as eight can experience dissatisfaction with the size and shape of their body that puts them at risk of eating disorders in their teens, according to a major study which for the first time reveals how early anxieties about body image set in. The largest UK study ever on eating disorders in children followed 6,000 kids to the age of 14. It finds that self-esteem in eight-year-olds is one of the critical predictive factors for problems in the teens. ”

Women with impaired memory deteriorate twice as fast as men, study finds, by The Associated Press, Aljazeera America, Jul 21 2015.

“Older women with mild memory impairment worsened about twice as fast as men, researchers reported Tuesday, part of an effort to unravel why women are especially hard-hit by Alzheimer's. Nearly two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer's are women. At age 65, seemingly healthy women have about a 1 in 6 chance of developing Alzheimer's during the rest of their lives, compared with a 1 in 11 chance for men. Scientists once thought the disparity was just because women tend to live longer - but there's increasing agreement that something else makes women more vulnerable. ”

Why Aging Can Be Tougher On Gays, by Ann Brenoff, The Huffington Post, Jul 15 2015.

“The once-a-decade temperature check on aging in America — the White House Conference on Aging — starts Monday and the spotlight is bound to shine on some of the special concerns facing the nation’s elderly LGBT community. ”

Birth-Defect Risk From Antidepressants Is Seen as Small, by Betsy McKay, Wall St. Journal , Jul 8 2015.

“The risk of some birth defects increases just slightly when pregnant women take certain antidepressants, according to a large study published Wednesday that sheds new light on a much-debated topic. The study, published in BMJ, a medical journal, found associations between certain birth defects and two antidepressants-Prozac, or fluoxetine, and Paxil, or paroxetine-taken in the month before pregnancy and through the first trimester. But it found no such links with three other antidepressants: Zoloft, or sertraline, the drug taken by most participants in the study’s control group, who were in treatment for depression, as well as Celexa, or citalopram, and Lexapro, or escitalopram. ”

Heroin Use Surges, Especially Among Women And Whites, by Richard Harris, NPR , Jul 7 2015.

“Health officials, confronted with a shocking increase in heroin abuse, are developing a clearer picture of who is becoming addicted to this drug and why. The results may surprise you. The biggest surge is among groups that have historically lower rates of heroin abuse: women and white (non-Hispanic) Americans. They tend to be 18-25 years old, with household incomes below $20,000. "In addition, persons using heroin are abusing multiple other substances, especially cocaine and opioid pain relievers," says a report published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ”

Sniffing could provide autism test, by James Gallagher, BBC , Jul 3 2015.

“The way children sniff different aromas could form the basis of a test for autism, suggest researchers in Israel. People spend longer inhaling the delightful aroma of a bouquet of roses than the foul stench of rotting fish. The results of tests on 36 children, in the journal Current Biology, showed that there appeared to be no such difference in children with autism. ”

That's Not Fair! Crime And Punishment In A Preschooler's Mind, by Nadia Whitehead, NPR , Jun 24 2015.

“Toddlers can throw their fair share of tantrums, especially when you don't yield to their will. But by age 3, it turns out, the little rug rats actually have a burgeoning sense of fairness and are inclined to right a wrong. When they see someone being mistreated, children as young as 3 years old will intervene on behalf of others nearly as often as for themselves, a study published this month in Current Biology suggests. Just don't ask them to punish the perpetrator. ”