Mental Health in the Headlines: Week of November 24, 2008
Mental Health in the Headlines: Week of November 24, 2008
Mental Health in the Headlines offers summaries of the latest news and views 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.
*DID YOU KNOW?
People who have both depression and diabetes may have a more difficult time controlling their blood-sugar levels than other people who have diabetes...more
*TODAY´S NEWS
Daschle To Head HHS
President-elect Barack Obama will nominate former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to be the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, according to sources close to the transition. If confirmed by the Senate, Daschle is expected to be the Obama administration’s point person on efforts to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system. (The New York Times, 11/19/08)
Summers: Healthcare Programs Need To Be More Efficient
In speaking at a Wall Street Journal forum last week, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said that because the government’s role in providing healthcare probably won’t diminish, greater efficiencies should be found in delivering care. The alternatives to finding efficiencies would be to find new funding sources or cut the programs out from the federal budget altogether, he said. (Reuters, 11/17/08) President-elect Obama announced today that Summers will become director of the White House National Economic Council. (Reuters, 11/23-24/08)
Only Fraction Of Tobacco Settlement Money Going For Original Purpose
In the 10 years since U.S. states settled with tobacco companies over healthcare costs associated with cigarette smoking, states have spent only about 3 percent of the revenue received from the companies on smoking prevention and cessation programs, the original purpose of the settlement, nonprofit groups charged last week. Only nine states are funding such programs at even one-half of the levels recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the groups said in a report. States have received nearly $80 billion from the settlement to date. (Reuters, 11/18/08)
FDA Panel Seeks Stronger Drug Warnings
A Federal Drug Administration (FDA) panel last week rejected the agency’s proposal that the committee endorse the FDA’s routine monitoring of the use of antipsychotic medicines in children and support the agency’s efforts to highlight the drugs’ risks. Instead, panel members said that far more needs to be done to discourage the use of the drugs in children, especially for uses for which the drugs have not been approved. Thomas Laughren, the FDA’s director of its division of psychiatry products, said that he’s a “little puzzled” about the panel’s statement that the drugs’ labels are inadequate in conveying the risks associated with the drugs. “I’m anxious to hear what more we can do in the labeling,” he said. A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson, which manufacturers an antipsychotic drug, said that adverse reactions associated with the drug “are accurately reflected in the label.” (The New York Times, 11/19/08)
Latest Research
Depression Makes It More Difficult To Control Diabetes: People who have both depression and diabetes may have a more difficult time controlling their blood-sugar levels than other people who have diabetes, researchers report in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry. An estimated 30 percent of people with diabetes also have depression. The researchers speculate that depression makes it more difficult for people with diabetes to live healthy lifestyles. (Reuters, 11/19/08)
Suicide Rate Among Some Older Adults Falls, Remains Stable Among Others: Although the suicide rate among older adults who live in communities declined significantly between 1990 and 2005, the rate among older adults who live in long-term care facilities remained stable during this period, researchers report in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. People who live in such facilities may be more prone than others to social isolation, depression, functional limitations and cognitive impairment, the researchers note. (Reuters, 11/20/08)
Smoking, Drinking Increases Risk of Stomach, Throat Cancers: People who smoke have a significantly higher risk of developing throat and stomach cancers, researchers reported at an American Association of Cancer Research meeting last week. The same is true for people who drink at least four glasses of any alcoholic beverage each day. (Reuters, 11/17/08)
Prenatal Tobacco Exposure Damages Blood Vessels: Children born to women who smoked while pregnant are more likely to have permanent blood vessel damage than are children born to women who didn’t smoke while pregnant, even if they smoked before and after, a study in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology indicates. A similar result was found even if they mother didn’t smoke while pregnant, but was exposed to cigarette smoke from the father, the study’s researchers said. Such blood vessel damage increases the risk for heart attacks and strokes. (Reuters, 11/19/08)
*Mental Health America MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
"Before you leave for the family gathering, a week or two before, start calling up a few relatives to chat about how their lives are going, make good connections with them before you arrive. Email can work as well as text messaging," says Kate Gaston, vice president for Affiliates Services at Mental Health America. "What you are doing is building your 'gathering' of friends and family before you get to the event." Kate Gaston offered several other tips for dealing with family stress during the Holiday season. Philadelphia Inquirer, “Family Feud: Holiday Edition,” November 21, 2008
Mental Health America ranks Utah as the most depressed state in the union. After interviewing sources in and around Carbon County, it is apparent that the local area is not immune to the black curtain that has fallen over a goodly portion of the state.
Sun Advocate, “Fighting Monsters in the Closet,” November 20, 2008
Stay Up to Date With More News, Views and Tools
- View highlights of Mental Health America’s 2008 Annual Conference featuring the Inaugural Promotion and Prevention Summit
- Save the Date: Mental Health America's Centennial Conference - June 10-13, 2009, Washington, D.C.
- Mental Health America’s 2008 Media Awards honor excellence in reporting of mental health issues
- Survey reveals obstacles to health care for people who have schizophrenia
- New report reveals link between states’ depression status and access to treatment
- Donate to our Resource Center and help save lives
- Share your story on realLIVES
- Join Mental Health America’s Advocacy Network
- Check out previous issues of Mental Health in the Headlines
Mental Health in the Headlines is produced weekly by Mental Health America. Mental Health America's Mental Health in the Headlines staff: Steve Vetzner, senior director, Media Relations; Sarah Jones, communications coordinator; and Hazel Moran, senior director, Healthcare Reform.
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