Patients face an increased risk of long-term neurologic conditions after suffering from COVID-19, including stroke, cognition and memory disorders, nervous system disorders, mental health disorders and more, according to a study examining the long-term effects of COVID-19.
Model Helps Predict Mortality Prognosis for AD, Dementia Patients
Dementia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and is associated with increased mortality risk.
Glitazones Decrease Risk of Alzheimer’s, Other Dementia in Veterans’ Study
The risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, appeared to be reduced in veterans prescribed an older class of type 2 diabetes drugs, glitazones.
DoD and VA Update Guideline for Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Expansion of interventional psychiatry and updated algorithms to help guide physicians in making choices about therapies for depression are among important updates included in the newly revised 2022 VA-DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Major Depressive Disorder.
Grants Could Help Lower Suicides Among Native American Veterans
VA recently announced that it has awarded $52 million in grants to 80 community-based organizations to deliver or coordinate suicide prevention programs and services for veterans and their family members.
VA Announces Decrease in Veteran Suicide Rate for Second Year
For the second year in a row, veteran suicides decreased in 2020, and fewer veterans died by their own hand in 2020 than in any year since 2006, according to the VA.
Healthcare Providers Urged to Increase Firearm Safety Counseling With Veterans
Most, 70%, of suicides among U.S. veterans are due to firearm injury. Yet, according to a new study, not enough veterans are taking advantage of the opportunity to discuss firearm safety with their healthcare providers.
Nonprofit Group: VA Undercounted Thousands of Veteran Suicides
The same week that VA announced a decrease in the national veteran suicide rate, early results from an independent study suggested that the department has been drastically undercounting the total number of veteran suicides for years.
Kearney Tries to Get Troubled Veterans to Talk About Suicide Concerns
Most of the career of Lisa Kearney, PhD, at the VA has revolved around reducing the stigma associated with mental healthcare and increasing access for veterans who need it.
How Do Service Dogs Help PTSD Symptoms in Veterans?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) impacts 11-20% of Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans and can have a significant effect on quality of life.
Problematic Anger Impedes Transition to Civilian Life
How does problematic anger in long-term adjustment of service members transitioning out of the military?
Collaborative Care Works Well for Bipolar Patients Seeing PCPs
For patients with bipolar disorder, medication management appears to work as well with primary care clinicians supported by psychiatrists as direct psychiatrist care.
Veterans With Schizophrenia Face High Rates of Adverse Societal Outcomes
In addition to their substantial healthcare burdens, veterans with schizophrenia face a much higher risk of adverse societal outcomes, according to a new report.
Adverse Health Outcomes Vary by Soldiers’ Specialized Combat Experiences
Experiencing combat during deployment has been associated with adverse health outcomes including mental health problems, sleep problems and alcohol misuse.
New VA Therapy Reduces Pain, Disability, PTSD Symptoms Following TBI
Military servicemembers and veterans are at high risk for head injury compared with civilians. More than 369,000 U.S. veterans have at least one mild traumatic brain injury, and many report the onset or worsening of headache within three months of their injury.
Pain Associated With Gray-Matter Volume Differences in Gulf War Veterans
Gulf War veterans with chronic pain display changes in the volume of key areas of the brain, a finding that could explain why these veterans experience prolonged pain, according to a new study.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Is Uncommon in Brains of Military Personnel
Military personnel exposed to attacks with high explosives frequently experience neuropsychiatric symptoms, including cognitive dysfunction, behavioral changes, mood disturbances and suicidality.
VA Tries to Address Societal Factors Leading to Veteran Suicides
For decades, VA’s response to preventing veteran suicide has been focused almost exclusively on healthcare, specifically mental healthcare.
Economic Burden of PTSD Is ‘Staggering,’ New Treatments Needed
PTSD can have a profound effect on quality of life and emotional well-being. Symptoms such as nightmares, difficulty sleeping or concentrating, as well as thoughts of self-harm can continue or reemerge throughout life.
Prescribing of Antipsychotic Medications for Dementia Dropped Overall at
VHA nursing homes are prescribing fewer antipsychotic and anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) medications for dementia patients, but the overall prescribing of other psychotropic and opioid medications increased, according to a new study.
VA Researcher Focuses on How to Prevent Staff Burnout at VA
For the past five years, Kara Zivin, PhD, MS, MA, has been “chasing burnout,” working to understand what causes it, how to measure it and what are the truly impactful measures that a healthcare system can take to combat it.
Speech Therapist Finds Way to Make Dining More Dignified at CLCs
For residents of VA’s Community Living Centers, dignity is a precious resource. Patients who are there for short rehab stays may be struggling with new, frustrating limitations.
Veterans Suffered Myriad Mental Health Outcomes After COVID-19 Infection
More than two years into the pandemic, studies are showing the long-term effects COVID-19 can have on the heart, lungs, kidneys and other organ systems.
Chronic Inflammation in mTBI Affects Sleep Quality
Occurring immediately after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), elevations of inflammatory cytokine levels can persist for years and are associated with neuropsychological outcomes, including depression and PTSD symptoms.
Daily Physical Activity Helps Less Serious Insomnia
An often recommended lifestyle intervention for insomnia is physical activity (PA). It is not clear, however, that more activity benefits patients across the range of insomnia severity.
Older Black, Hispanic Veterans Much More Likely to Get Dementia Diagnosis
The incidence of dementia varies significantly by race and ethnicity among older adults receiving care at VHA medical centers, according to a new study. Why that occurs was not immediately clear, however.
Study Finds Alarmingly High Suicide Rates Among AI/AN VHA Patients
American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) in the general population have the highest rates of suicide of all race groups in the United States, as well as the most rapidly growing suicide rates, according to a new study.
Deployment Increases Alcohol Misuse Risk Among National Guard, Reservists
Active-duty servicemembers face well known and quantified risk for alcohol misuse. Consequently, many return from combat to military bases, where they receive screening and have ready access to behavioral health.
Are DoD’s Suicide Prevention Efforts Failing? Some Legislators Think So
When it comes to suicide prevention, is the DoD putting its time and money in the right place? That was the question asked at a recent House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee hearing.
VHA Offers Inconsistent Benzodiazepine Dosing for AWS
Hospitalized patients with alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) —which is not uncommon—often have increased intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital lengths of stay, more hospital-acquired infections or sepsis and higher in-hospital mortality.