In March, Swedish research linked the vaccine to a higher risk of narcolepsy among under-30′s, not just children and teens as previously thought. … Read More
Ongoing military rape epidemic: 85k vets treated for sex abuse in 2012
The data shows the long-term financial and emotional costs of sexual assault in the military for both men and women. Of the 85,000 veterans suffering from what the Department of Veterans Affairs calls “military sexual trauma”, 60 percent were female and 40 percent were male. In comparison, only 4,000 American veterans sought disability benefits in 2012, which is 20 times less than those suffering from sex abuse trauma, the Associated Press reports.Ruth Moore, a veteran from Milbridge, Maine, first sought treatment from a counseling center 16 years after she was raped twice while serving the Navy. She has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder linked to the assaults, and has been unable to work.“We can’t cure me, but we can work on stability in my life and work on issues as they arrive,” she told AP.Earlier this month, the Pentagon acknowledged that “sexual assault is a persistent problem” among service members, and that about 26,000 military service members said they were sexually assaulted in 2012, ninety percent of which chose not to file a report.It is undeniable that victims of sexual assault often face emotional consequences. But Dr. Margret Bell, a member of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ military sexual trauma team, told AP that the US government should also be concerned about the costs of treating so many victims. Veterans who claim to have suffered sexual abuse in the military have access to free heath care.“It really is the case that a veteran can simply walk through the door, say they’ve had this experience, and we will get them hooked up with care,” Bell said. “There’s no documentation required. They don’t need to have reported it at the time.”Receiving treatment for sexual assault is easier than doing so for disabilities: veterans must be medically diagnosed with PTSD or a similar problem, submit proof of how they acquired their disability, and have an examiner confirm their condition before the disabled can receive health care.According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, one in five women and one in 100 men screen positive for military sexual trauma – but few seek treatment. This indicates that many more than 85,000 veterans have been victims of military sexual activity against their will. There are about 22 million veterans in the US.The numbers demonstrate the need for action to reduce the number of sexual assaults that occur in the military each year, both for victims’ health and the government’s cost. Moore estimates that her treatment will exceed $500,000 over the course of her lifetime — money that the government could potentially save by doing more to address sexual assault in the military. … Read More
Concussion epidemic linked to underreported US military suicide – study
Earlier this year the military released data showing that active duty service members are taking their own lives more frequently than ever before. There were 349 suicides among active duty military personnel in 2012, averaging just fewer than one per day. There are now more suicides than combat deaths.This was made more disheartening by a study from the US Department of Veterans Affairs reporting that, between 1999 and 2010, older veterans committed suicide at a rate of 22 each day, an increase from 18 per day in the years before. There is a concern, though, that the numbers don’t reveal the full scope of the military epidemic. Data was only collected from 21 out of 50 states because the remaining 29 states, according to Forbes, do not list military status on someone’s death certificate.While psychologists have linked the increasing suicide rates with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the problems could be viewed an unavoidable part of serving in a combat zone. The commonality of roadside bombs and IEDs throughout the Middle East has resulted in a drastic increase in concussions, or mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI), among American soldiers. A new study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry proposes that service men and women in Iraq who have suffered multiple TBIs were more likely to think suicidal thoughts than their fellow soldiers who had suffered one or zero concussions. Craig Bryan, the lead author of the study, questioned 157 military personnel and four civilian contractors who were recommended after exhibiting suspected concussion-related symptoms. The subjects were asked about their history of head trauma, depression, PTSD and suicidal thoughts. Twelve per cent of respondents with two or more concussions said they had considered suicide. “All of a sudden the likelihood of being suicidal increased dramatically once you had the second head injury,” Bryan told the Los Angeles Times, adding that it was likely some patients in the study lied about their history because of a stigma in the military about concussions as a weakness.“They very much wanted to be returned to duty,” he said. “They feel guilty letting everybody else down while they are in a clinic.” Studies have shown that, sometimes, the decision to kill one’s self is impulsive. Suicide prevention professionals often promote “means restriction” to separate someone in a depressive state from implements they could use to hurt themselves. Being around weapons is part of a soldier’s daily routine. “If we want to limit suicide, we should put means restriction at the front because it works,” said Dr. Bryan, who now works at the University of Utah.Other experts stressed that deployment could hasten and escalate someone’s suicidal thoughts, not necessarily be the starting point. Researchers said civilians generally decide to take their own lives because of a myriad of factors: mental illness, sexual or physical abuse, financial problems, addiction, and a failed relationship, just to name a few. “This is probably the keenest misconception the public has: that deployment is the factor most related to the increased rates of suicide,” Cynthia Thomsen, a research psychologist at the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, told the New York Times.Those problems intensify as deployment separates one from their friends and family and potentially adds PTSD, concussions, or other pressures. A 2011 Pentagon study, as noted by the Times, found that roughly 50 per cent of troops who committed suicide in 2011 experienced a failed romance and another quarter were diagnosed with substance abuse. “There is a difference between a military at war and a military at peace,” said Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. “There is no doubt that war changes you.” … Read More
Veteran with service dog turned away from Texas restaurant
An Army veteran who served in Iraq and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder was turned away from a Texas restaurant this week after the owner said he was not welcome inside with his service dog. John Quinones told Jacqueline Ortiz, a reporter for San Antonio-based NBC affiliate WOAI-TV, that…
How neglecting bees could endanger humans
If you are an almond farmer in the Central Valley of California, where 80 percent of the world’s production is grown, you had a problem earlier this spring. Chances are there weren’t enough bees to pollinate your trees. That’s because untold thousands of colonies — almost half of the 1.6 million commercial hives that almond growers depend on — failed to survive the winter, making this the worst season for bee keepers in anyone’s memory. And that is saying a lot, because bees have been faring increasingly poorly for years now.Much of this recent spike in bee mortality is attributed to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a mysterious condition where all the worker bees in a colony simply fly off as a group and never make it back to the hive. Scientists have been studying this odd phenomenon for years and they still aren’t sure why it is happening.Continue Reading… … Read More
Is ADHD actually undertreated?
A German children’s book from 1845 by Heinrich Hoffman featured “Fidgety Philip,” a boy who was so restless he would writhe and tilt wildly in his chair at the dinner table. Once, using the tablecloth as an anchor, he dragged all the dishes onto the floor. Yet it was not until 1902 that a British pediatrician, George Frederic Still, described what we now recognize as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Since Still’s day, the disorder has gone by a host of names, including organic drivenness, hyperkinetic syndrome, attention-deficit disorder and now ADHD.Continue Reading… … Read More
Europe outpaces U.S. in protecting bees
If you are an almond farmer in the Central Valley of California, where 80 percent of the world’s production is grown, you had a problem earlier this spring. Chances are there weren’t enough bees to pollinate your trees. That’s because untold thousands of colonies — almost half of the 1.6 million commercial hives that almond growers depend on — failed to survive the winter, making this the worst season for bee keepers in anyone’s memory. And that is saying a lot, because bees have been faring increasingly poorly for years now.Much of this recent spike in bee mortality is attributed to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a mysterious condition where all the worker bees in a colony simply fly off as a group and never make it back to the hive. Scientists have been studying this odd phenomenon for years and they still aren’t sure why it is happening.Continue Reading… … Read More
