The new findings, tallied by the federal government’s Substance [...]]]> Some 2 million adolescents experienced a bout of major depression last year, but only about a third of them got any help in dealing with the sadness, irritability,  anxiety, guilt and loss of interest and energy that are the hallmarks of such episodes, a report says.

The new findings, tallied by the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, were issued Thursday to kick off a month of national activity aimed at raising awareness of childrens’ mental health. With about 15% of high school students in the United States reporting they have seriously contemplated suicide in the past year, many of those efforts are geared toward identifying those at risk and intervening early to prevent self-harm.

Each year, 4,400 Americans between the ages of 10 and 24 commit suicide, and 149,000 seek emergency care for self-inflicted injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While shocking, these acts rarely come without some early warning: Researchers have found that 9 of 10 young suicide victims suffered from diagnosable mental illness at the time of their death, and that 63% showed overt symptoms of mental illness in the year before their suicide.

The latest study found that roughly 8.1% of the population between 12 and 17 years old reported experiencing a period of depressed mood lasting two or more weeks in the preceding 12 months. As he or she ages from 12 to 17, the report found, a child grows more likely to have a depressive episode. Almost 15% of girls 15 to 17 years old described to survey-takers a major depressive episode in the preceding year, compared to an average of 6.4% of boys 15 to 17 years old who did so. Teenage boys were consistently less likely to report depression — or to get help for it — than were girls, a pattern that continues into adulthood.

Young teens who experienced such depression were far more likely to have abused prescription drugs in the past month than those who were not depressed (19.2% vs. 6.6%), to smoke cigarettes daily (3.6% vs. 1.9%), and to report heavy alcohol use in the preceding month (4.2% vs. 1.9%). The report is based on a national survey of drug use and health conducted in 2009.

Pamela S. Hyde, administrator of the agency releasing Thursday’s findings, said they underscore the importance of catching and treating mental health problems early in kids. Doing so, she said, “can turn a life around and reduce the impact of mental illness and substance abuse on America’s communities.”

Currently, relatively few get help, the survey found. Some 34.7% of those reporting depression in the past year said they have received treatment of any kind. In that group, 58.5% said they had seen or talked to a physician or other professional about depression, but did not take any medication in treatment of it. Another 34.7% saw or talked to a physician or professional and took prescription medication for depression. The remaining 6.7% took prescription medication, but did not consult a professional about their mood disturbance.

The report comes against the backdrop of building momentum for efforts to identify youngsters who are at higher risk of mental illness and steer them toward early help. In Massachusetts, a statewide program requiring all primary care physicians to screen children insured under Medicaid for mental illness risk has helped boost such screening to 74% of all teens, up from 20%. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Society for Adolescent Medicine all recommend routine screening of adolescents for early signs of depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses.

Teen Screen, a standardized mental health screening test designed by physicians at Columbia University, is now offered to adolescents with parents’ permission at more than 550 school and community sites across the country, and is widely used by physicians to identify kids who may be at higher risk of depression or other mental illness.

“We know the earlier we identify these conditions, the prognosis for an adolescent is so much better,” said Leslie McGuire, deputy executive director of Teen Screen. With earlier warning of a child’s psychological suffering, psychotherapy may be all that’s needed, and more intensive therapies, including prescription medication, can be avoided, she said. “But we have
to find them first.”

Melissa Healy, LA Times

That might seem obvious, but the results of a new study published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research provide some interesting insights into why. Cecile Marczinski, a psychologist at Northern Kentucky University, found that [...]]]> Mixing alcohol with other substances is never really a good idea, and pairing it with energy drinks may be especially hazardous.

That might seem obvious, but the results of a new study published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research provide some interesting insights into why. Cecile Marczinski, a psychologist at Northern Kentucky University, found that combining energy drinks such as Red Bull with vodka or other liquors effectively removes any built-in checks your body has for 0verindulging.

When you drink alcohol by itself, it initially induces a feeling of happiness — a comfortable buzz. But when you overindulge, your body knows it, and it starts to shut down; you start feeling tired, sleepy and more sedated than stimulated. “That’s your cue to go home to bed,” says Marczinski.

But in her drinking study, for which she (easily) recruited participants, she found that people downing the combination of alcohol and energy drinks lost this natural control. Marczinski had volunteers show up at her lab and drink either plain alcoholic drinks; mixed beverages containing alcohol and energy drinks; energy drinks alone; or a non-alcoholic beverage.

When the drinkers were asked to rate how stimulated and energetic they felt — whether they were alert or awake — those consuming the combination energy-alcohol drinks reported twice as much stimulation as those drinking alcohol alone. They tended to report less sedation and fewer symptoms like tiredness or sleepiness. “The disconnect between what you feel and how you act is what is the problem here,” she says, noting that these participants continued to feel stimulated and never came down off their alcohol buzz. “Stimulation may not be a good thing when you’re drinking because you may drink longer, decide to
stay at a party where you’re drinking longer, and drink far more than you originally intended.”

Interestingly, Marczinski says, by combining these results with other work she has done on energy drinks, she found that it’s not energy drinks’ primary ingredient, caffeine, that’s problematic. Rather, it’s the mix of other awakening ingredients in the beverages that may be contributing to the enhanced alcohol high. When she compared the stimulation ratings between those who drank beverages made only from caffeine powder and those who drank alcoholic energy drinks, she found that the combination resulted in far greater alertness than the caffeine alone. “I always thought that it was a marketing thing when they mention the other things they put in like taurine, glucose and ginseng,” she says. “But I think they do facilitate that stimulation; it’s not just the caffeine.”

Marczinski was able to assess changes in behavior only 45 minutes after the participants enjoyed their drinks, so she didn’t record any increase in impaired judgment or behavior, but, she says, that may be because the subjects weren’t monitored long enough.

Even so, the increased stimulation and impulsivity makes the combination of alcohol and energy drinks a dangerous one, especially for underage drinkers who may think they are capable of drinking more than their limit, or even driving after a party. “Even with just alcohol alone, young, underage drinkers are bad at deciding how safe a driver they are, but I think this would make that situation far worse,” Marczinski says. And it’s just another reminder not to drink and drive — no matter what combination of spirits you’re consuming.

Alice Park, Healthland

The news may be shocking to fans who associate the actress and wife of Michael Douglas with her image of polished glamour. But bipolar disorder – which used to be called manic [...]]]> Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones suffers from bipolar disorder, and checked herself into a mental health facility earlier this month, her publicist has confirmed.

The news may be shocking to fans who associate the actress and wife of Michael Douglas with her image of polished glamour. But bipolar disorder – which used to be called manic depression – can take many different forms, psychiatrist Gail Saltz told TODAY. “It can look like a very high-functioning person who is just super ‘up,’ ” Saltz said.

Zeta-Jones is diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, which is less severe than bipolar I. People with her condition swing between major depression and what’s called hypomania, which can include intense irritability, sleeplessness, relentless optimism or grandiose elation.

Zeta-Jones’s publicist, CeCe Yorke, blamed stress for the actress’s recent hospital stay. In the past year, her husband was diagnosed with advanced throat cancer; he’s also been battling a lawsuit from his ex-wife seeking half of his recent movie earnings. Zeta-Jones and Douglas have two children, ages 7 and 10.

Stress can indeed be a trigger for bipolar episodes, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC’s chief medical editor, told TODAY. And a brief stay in a hospital would not be uncommon, either to bring a manic episode under control, or to tune-up medications for more effective treatment, Snyderman and Saltz noted. Bipolar disorder can usually be controlled with a combination of medication and therapy. Lithium is one of the most common treatments.

Researchers aren’t quite sure what causes bipolar disorder — a combination of genetic and environmental factors seem to come into play. They do know the disorder is associated with an imbalance in the brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.

Bipolar disorder affects about 2.5 percent of the U.S. population, around 6 million people. Mental-health advocates hope Zeta-Jones’s public struggle will help dispel some of the myths and fears about mental illness. “There is a ridiculous stigma in this country about this,” Snyderman said. “We have to get over it. People get sick, our job as doctors is to get them well.”

Saltz applauded Zeta-Jones for announcing that she has bipolar disorder after the National Enquirer reported that she had checked in to a psychiatric hospital.

“I think it’s tremendously brave of her to come forward and I’m delighted that she’s doing that,” Saltz said. “There are many people getting a new diagnosis, and we want them to know they have every hope, if they get treatment, of having wonderfully productive lives.”

Yorke, Zeta-Jones’s publicist, said the 41-year-old actress is “feeling great and looking forward to starting work this week on her two upcoming films.”

Rebecca Dube, Today Health

In the study, epilepsy was a stronger risk factor for psychiatric problems than poverty, [...]]]> Children with epilepsy are at increased risk of having psychiatric problems, with girls more likely to exhibit symptoms linked to depression and anxiety and boys more likely to have symptoms of ADHD and difficulty getting along with peers, new research suggests.

In the study, epilepsy was a stronger risk factor for psychiatric problems than poverty, living with a single parent, or having another chronic disease. The study examined children with and without epilepsy living in Norway.

Slightly more than one in three epileptic children in the study exhibited psychiatric symptoms, compared to about one in five children without epilepsy.

The prevalence of depression, anxiety, symptoms of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and other psychiatric symptoms among children with epilepsy was similar to that reported by other researchers, but the study is among the first to explore the impact of gender on symptoms.

“Boys and girls with epilepsy had more of these issues, but girls seemed to be more negatively affected by epilepsy than boys,” neurologist Kristin A. Alfstad, MD, of Oslo University’s National Center for Epilepsy, tells WebMD.

Alfstad and colleagues analyzed data from a 2002 health study in which parents provided detailed information on their school-aged children’s health through questionnaires. A total of 110 of the 14,700 children included in the survey between the ages of 8 and 13 had a diagnosis of epilepsy; 38% of these children exhibited symptoms of depression, anxiety, symptoms of ADHD, and other psychiatric issues, compared to 17% of children without epilepsy.

Parents of girls with epilepsy were more likely to report that their daughters showed symptoms of depression and anxiety. Parents of boys reported more problems with attention and hyperactivity and difficulty making or getting along with friends. Boys with and without epilepsy had more psychiatric symptoms than did girls, but having epilepsy was a much stronger risk factor for such symptoms among girls than boys. The study appears online today in the journal Epilepsia.

Selim R. Benbadis, MD, says neurologists and pediatricians should screen their young patients with epilepsy for depression, but he adds that this is not standard practice. Benbadis directs the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at the University of South Florida School of Medicine in Tampa.

“When we see depression in kids who have seizures, it is very often the depression that most negatively affects quality of life,” he tells WebMD. Benbadis says psychiatric symptoms are most common among children who do not respond to epilepsy drugs. He adds that some of the older epilepsy medications can cause psychiatric symptoms or exacerbate them. “When there is co-morbid depression it is a good idea to revisit the treatments patients are on,” he says.

Salynn Boyles, Web MD