Mental Health Issues Differ for U.S. Male, Female Vets

Mental health issues confronted by U.S. veterans returning from the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan differ by gender, new research suggests. Female veterans are more likely to have a diagnosis of depression than are their male counterparts, according to a study of nearly 330,000 veterans who received health care from the Veterans Administration from 2002 to 2008. They are also generally younger than their male counterparts and more likely to be black. In contrast, male veterans were found to be more prone than their female peers to post-traumatic stress disorder and/or alcohol abuse.

The analysis was led by study author Shira Maguen of the San Francisco VA Medical Center. She and her colleagues reviewed data on more than 329,000 veterans of "Operation Enduring Freedom" and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" obtained from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. "In an era in which a greater proportion of women have served in the U.S. military in a much wider variety of military occupational specialties than ever before, our results contribute to a better understanding of the characteristics of women seeking VA health care," the study team noted in a news release.

The authors also said it was important to understand how differences between men and women might affect mental health outcomes. "Gender differences are important to consider as the Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense continue to expand and strengthen programs to evaluate and provide care for a new generation of returning veterans," they added. Maguen and her colleagues report their observations in the Oct. 21 online issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Kids Under 6 Account for Two-Thirds of Drug-Related ER Visits

Children aged 5 years or younger accounted for 68.9 percent of the estimated 100,340 U.S. emergency department visits in 2008 that involved accidental ingestion of prescription medicines and other drugs, says a U.S. government report. About two-fifths of these children were 2 years old and 29.5 percent were 1 year old. Males accounted for 55.7 of the cases, according to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Pharmaceuticals were involved in 99 percent of cases involving young children, while illicit drugs or alcohol were involved in only 1 percent. "While caretakers may be alert to securing obviously dangerous substances such as cleaning products and chemicals, they may be less aware of the danger of leaving pharmaceutical products belonging to parents or other family members in accessible places," noted the agency in a press release. "This can pose a serious threat of accidental ingestion by infants and toddlers."

Drugs that act on the central nervous system such as acetaminophen products, ibuprofen products, and benzodiazepines were involved in 40.8 percent of the cases. Of these cases, most involved pain relievers and anxiety and insomnia drugs. Other types of drugs accidentally ingested by young children included cardiovascular medications, respiratory system medications, antidepressants and antipsychotics , topical medications and drugs for metabolic disorders. The report said that most of the youngsters were treated and released, while 8.7 percent were admitted to the hospital. Of those, about 20 percent were admitted to the intensive or critical care unit.