Health Highlights: Jan. 31, 2008

Mar. 23 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

U.S. Army Suicides Increased in 2007

In 2007, as many as 121 U.S. Army soldiers committed suicide, compared to 102 suicides in 2006 and 87 in 2005, according to the Associated Press, which cited internal briefing papers prepared by the Army's psychiatry consultant early this month.

The papers showed there were 89 confirmed suicides last year and 32 suspected suicides that are still under investigation, the AP reported.

Last year, more than a quarter of the confirmed and suspected suicides occurred during deployments in Iraq.

The number of attempted suicides and self injuries also increased from fewer than 1,500 in 2006 to about 2,100 in 2007. There were fewer than 500 such incidents in 2002.

The 2007 rate of suicides per 100,000 active duty soldiers has not yet been calculated, Army officials said. The 2006 suicide rate of 17.5 per 100,000 was the highest since the Army started counting in 1980, the AP reported.

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People Displaced by Hurricanes at Increased Risk for Psychological and Substance Problems

Adults displaced from their homes for two weeks or more by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita were much more likely to have mental health and substance abuse problems than people who didn't leave their homes, says a U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) report released Thursday.

An analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that use of illicit drugs in the past month was reported by 10.5 percent of adults displaced for two weeks or longer, compared to 4.9 percent among those who hadn't left their homes.

The report also found that 25.7 percent of people who had been displaced for long periods suffered from serious psychological distress, compared to 9.2 percent of adults who hadn't left home. People displaced for two weeks or longer by either storm had far higher levels of unmet mental health treatment needs than those who had not been displaced (9.0 percent vs. 3.5 percent).

Overall, however, most adults affected by the hurricanes did not have increased incidence of mental health problems or substance abuse, the report said.