Task force notes inadequacies in military's mental health system.   USA Today (6/15, 10A, Zoroya) reports that the military's mental health system has "'fallen significantly short' of meeting the needs of troops and their families," according to a year-long task force study released Thursday. More than "one-million troops have served in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001, many of them more than once, and mental health problems are on the rise, the task force says." Health screenings show that "31 percent of Marines, 38 percent of soldiers and nearly half of National Guard troops have psychological symptoms. Of nearly 230,000 new veterans who have applied for help from the Veterans Affairs Department, more than a third suffer mental disorders." The study also "found a widespread lack of mental health resources for children in military families" and "outpatient and partial-hospitalization treatment for substance abuse are virtually non-existent in many geographical regions."
      Senate votes to expand brain screenings, counseling.   Meanwhile, the AP (6/15, Yen) reports that a "Senate panel on Thursday voted to expand brain screenings and counseling for wounded veterans of the Iraq war and to reduce red tape for service members moving from Pentagon to Veterans Affairs care. The bill, approved unanimously by the Senate Armed Services Committee, also would boost disability pay and provide more counseling for family members of tens of thousands of U.S. service members wounded in combat." In all, "some 30 senators are sponsoring the measure, including three presidential candidates and two Senate committees -- Veterans Affairs and Armed Services." Specifically, the "Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act" would "seek to end inconsistencies in disability pay by providing for a special review of cases in which service members received low ratings of their level of disability, to see if they were shortchanged; boost military severance pay'; and, provide $50 million for improved diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of veterans with traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder." Moreover, the act would "require the VA secretary and defense secretary to develop a joint comprehensive plan for care by January 1, 2008, so injured troops don't slip through the cracks. The two departments would also have to create an interagency office to develop a joint system for electronic health records."
      Army plans to hire more mental health professionals.   The AP (6/15) reports, "Overwhelmed by the number of soldiers returning from war with mental problems, the Army is planning to hire at least 25-percent more psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. A contract finalized this week...calls for spending $33 million to add about 200 mental health professionals to help soldiers with PTSD and other mental health needs." Additionally, "200 new medical health workers will be added to more than 600 uniformed and civilian mental health professionals now working at three dozen Army medical centers and hospitals."

 

Depressed patients tend to lose less weight following obesity surgery, study finds.   The Seattle Post-Intelligencer /AP (6/15, Chang) reports that "extremely obese people suffering from depression or anxiety tend to lose less weight after obesity surgery than mentally healthy people," according to findings presented at the annual meeting of American Society for Bariatric Surgery in San Diego. The researchers "interviewed 207 surgery candidates and found two-thirds had a history of depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress syndrome or panic attacks. The vast majority were women with an average body-mass index of 51. A person with a BMI of over 40 is considered morbidly obese." After adjusting for age, gender and race, "researchers compared weight loss six months after surgery. Patients with a history of depression on average weighed 322 pounds before surgery and 241 afterward. Those with no mental health problems weighed 303 pounds before the operation and 217 pounds afterward."
      Rate of alcohol absorption may increase following gastric-bypass.   HealthDay (6/15, Gardner) reports that "gastric bypass causes people to get drunk faster. The reason, scientists say, is that bypass surgery cuts the amount of alcohol metabolized by the stomach." According to the research presented at the American Society for Bariatric Surgery meeting, "the weight-loss procedure also seems to extend the time people need to sober up." In a study involving 19 people who had had gastric bypass surgery at least one year prior and 17 control subjects without such histories, "each participant was asked to consume five ounces of red wine." All participants then "underwent an alcohol breath analysis every five minutes until the levels reached zero. The gastric bypass patients had a peak alcohol level of 0.08 percent vs. 0.05 percent for the controls." The gastric patients "also needed an average of 108 minutes to get back to zero, while the controls needed an average of 72 minutes." WebMD (6/15, Doheny) also reports the study.