CNN (2/26, LaMotte) reports researchers found that over a period of three years that “cognitive abilities declined three times faster in widowed adults with high levels of beta-amyloid – a key marker for Alzheimer’s – than in married people with equally high levels,” suggesting that losing a spouse may accelerate cognitive decline. The researchers also found that “even for those without beta-amyloid accumulation and no signs of cognitive decline, the risk for dementia was greater for men and women who were widowed.” The findingswere published in JAMA Network Open.Related Links:

— “Widowhood increases risk of Alzheimer’s, study says, “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, February 26, 2020

MD Magazine (2/25, Walter) reports research indicates that nearly two out of every three “young mothers reported at least one mental health problem, with almost 40% of the study population having more than one mental health disorder.” Included in the study were “450 mothers younger than 21 and 100 comparison mothers older than 30 years old at their first delivery living in urban and rural central-west Ontario.” Researchers then “compared I the age-matched young mothers with 15-17 year old women without children (n = 630) from the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study.” The study revealed that “young mothers were” two to four “times as likely to have an anxiety disorder, such as generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, and specific phobia, as well as” AD/HD, “oppositional defiant disorder, or conduct disorder.” In addition, they were two to four “times more likely to have more than one psychiatric problem when compared to the older control group of mothers or the women between 15-17 years old.” The findings were published online Feb. 10 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Related Links:

— “Young Mothers Face More Mental Health Hurdles, “Kenny Walter, MD Magazine, February 25, 2020

Psychiatric News (2/25) reports that US deaths attributable to “alcohol consumption appear to be rising,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from the death certificates of U.S. residents (older than 15 years) who died between 2000 and 2016.” The study revealed that “the rate of death due to alcohol-induced causes increased overall from 2000 to 2016 at an average annual percentage change of 1.4% among men and 3.1% among women,” with the “largest increases in alcohol-induced deaths…observed among American Indian and Alaska Native men (average annual percentage change, 3.3%), American Indian and Alaska Native women (average annual percentage change, 4.2%), and white women (average annual percentage change, 4.1%).” The findings were published online Feb. 21 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Report Finds Rates of U.S. Deaths From Alcohol Use ‘Accelerating’, Psychiatric News, February 25, 2020

Healio (2/24, Gramigna) reports, “The number of patients with dementia will likely double in Europe by 2050…a recent report by Alzheimer Europe” concludes. For that report, investigators “based their findings on a collaborative analysis of prevalence studies published after the conclusion of Alzheimer Europe’s previous project conducted between 2006 and 2008 and called the European Collaboration on Dementia.” In their report, “researchers noted the number of people within the European Union with dementia will double from the current estimate of 7,853,705 to 14,298,671 by 2050.”

Related Links:

— “Dementia rates set to double in Europe by 2050, echoing US estimates, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, February 24, 2020

MedPage Today (2/24, Hlavinka) reports that research indicated “spending 25 minutes a day with a video game-like intervention improved symptoms among adolescents with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD).” Researchers found that “among 348 adolescents, those assigned to the intervention – which involved a gaming therapy designed to improve attention and multitasking – had small but significant improvements in Test of Variables of Attention-Attention Performance Index (TOVA-API) scores at 4 weeks compared with a control group that played a similar game targeting other, non-AD/HD-related cognitive domains.” But, “patients in the intervention arm did not show significantly improved scores on parent and clinician ratings of AD/HD symptoms and functional impairment versus the control group.” The findings were published in the Lancet Digital Health.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (2/24) reports, “Less than half of individuals who were seen in an emergency department (ED) in Ontario for a mental health–related issue had a follow-up visit with a physician within two weeks after discharge,” research indicated. What’s more, people “who had a substance use disorder were even less likely to have a follow-up visit with a physician during this period compared with those who did not have a substance use disorder, the study found.” Of the 143,662 adults included in the study, just “40.2% had a follow-up mental health visit within 14 days of ED discharge.” The findings were published online Feb. 24 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Most Emergency Department Patients With Mental Health Problems Don’t Receive Timely Follow-up Care, Psychiatric News , February 24, 2020

CNN (2/23, Holcombe) reports, “For decades, nearly every state has required law students to answer questions about their mental health treatment as part of the requirements before they can practice law,” and consequently, “according to one study, 45% of law students said they would be discouraged from seeking mental health treatment for fear that it would negatively affect bar admission.” Currently, New York, along with “38 other states,” has “questions regarding mental health on their character and fitness evaluations, according to the latest data from the American Bar Association Commission on Disability Rights.” Now, however, “a New York court is weighing whether to drop the question from the state’s bar application after a working group within the New York State Bar Association issued a report (PDF) in August calling for the removal of any questions about ‘mental history, diagnoses, or treatment.’” That report deemed “such questions…’unnecessary and ineffective in identifying applicants who are unfit and are likely to deter individuals from seeking mental health counseling and treatment.’”

Related Links:

— “Law students say they don’t get mental health treatment for fear it will keep them from becoming lawyers. Some states are trying to change that, ” Madeline Holcombe, CNN, February 23, 2020

The San Francisco Chronicle (2/21, Egelko) reported “the Trump administration dropped its appeal of” US District Judge John Kronstadt’s “order Friday and agreed to provide mental health care to thousands of immigrant parents and children who were separated at the Mexican border by the administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy.” Kronstadt “of Los Angeles issued the injunction in November requiring the government to promptly provide mental health screenings for the parents and their families, and treatment for those who needed it,” and “said there was evidence that the family separations caused ‘severe mental trauma to parents and their children’ and that administration officials had been ‘deliberately indifferent to the mental health risks’ of their policy.”

Related Links:

— “Trump lawyers drop appeal — separated immigrant families to get mental health care, “Bob Egelko, The San Francisco Chronicle, February 21, 2020

Reuters (2/21, Emery) reported, “Alcohol-related deaths in the United States rose sharply from roughly 2012 through 2016, with the biggest increases among white and Latino women, according to a new study by researchers who called the trend ‘an urgent public health crisis.’” The findings were published on Friday in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Study shows sharp increases in U.S. alcohol deaths, especially among women, “Gene Emery, Reuters , February 21, 2020

MD Magazine (2/21, Rosenfeld) reported, “Varenicline, an effective medication for smoking cessation, was not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular or neuropsychiatric hospitalizations compared with nicotine replacement therapy,” research indicated. In comparison, “bupropion, a smoking cessation aid and antidepressant, was linked with lower risks of cardiovascular hospitalizations and higher risks of neuropsychiatric hospitalizations compared with nicotine replacement therapy.” Included in the 618,500-patient study were 454,698 who “used varenicline,” 131,562 who “used bupropion, and 32,237” who “used nicotine replacement therapy.” The findings were published online Feb. 19 in the journal Addiction.

Related Links:

— “Varenicline Safe for Smoking Cessation, Reduces Hospitalization Risk, “Samara Rosenfeld, MD Magazine, February 21, 2020