CNN (10/3, LaMotte) reports, “A diagnosis of dementia more than doubles the risk of suicide in the first three months after a patient is told the news,” investigators concluded in a study that “followed nearly 600,000 English people for 18 years.”

MedPage Today (10/3, George) reports, “Suicide risk was higher in people recently diagnosed with dementia, especially younger patients,” investigators concluded in a study revealing that “compared with people who didn’t have dementia, suicides rose in people who received a dementia diagnosis in the past three months.” Also, “for people under age 65, suicide risk within three months of diagnosis was 6.69 times…higher than in patients without dementia.” The findings were published online Oct. 3 in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Dementia diagnosis increases suicide risk for those under age 65, study finds “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, October 3, 2022

Healio (9/30, Herpen) reported, “Data gained from existing academic research shows that hearing loss is associated with depression but a causal relationship between the two has yet to be established,” according to findings presented at BRAINWeek 2022 by Justin S. Golub, MD, MS, associate professor of otolaryngology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. In the presentation, Dr. “Golub cited his own study from 2018, which focused on age-related hearing loss with depressive symptoms in more than 5,300 Hispanic individuals,” finding that “compared to those with normal hearing, those with mild hearing loss had a 1.8 times greater chance to develop depression, those with moderate hearing loss were 2.4 times more likely to experience depression, and those with severe hearing loss 4.3 times more likely for the same.”

Related Links:

— “Hearing loss associated with depression, causal relationship less clear “Robert Herpen, Healio, September 30, 2022

According to the Washington Post (10/2, Atkins), in response to rising “child mental health problems…in the past few years, a growing number of states have adopted laws that let students take an excused absence if they feel anxious, depressed or need a day to ‘recharge.’” Already, “a dozen states…have measures in place that allow kids to take off for mental health and not just physical health reasons,” while “a handful of others are considering making similar changes to school absentee rules.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Healio (9/29, Downey) reports, “Two-thirds of an estimated 108,174 overdose deaths in the United States in the 12 months ending in April 2022 can be attributed to synthetic opioids, specifically illicitly manufactured fentanyl,” investigators concluded after assessing “overdose death data from the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System to examine monthly frequencies of overdose deaths involving para-fluorofentanyl.” The findings were published online Sept. 30 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “Two-thirds of US overdose deaths attributable to fentanyl “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, September 29, 2022

Healio (9/29, Bascom) reports, “Replacing 30 minutes of social media use with physical activity led to better mental health,” investigators concluded in a study involving 642 volunteers. The findings were published online Sept. 2 in the Journal of Public.

Related Links:

— “Replacing 30 minutes of social media use with physical activity boosts mental health “Emma Bascom, Healio, September 29, 2022

MedPage Today (9/28, Monaco) reports, “Individuals undergoing gender-affirming surgery…with a pre-existing mental health condition seemed to face higher rates of postoperative complications,” investigators concluded in a study that included “more than 4,000 patients.” The findings were published online Sept. 28 in a research letter in JAMA Surgery.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (9/28) reports, “Older veterans who say they have a strong sense of purpose in life may be less likely to experience a range of mental disorders compared with those with those lacking such a sense of purpose,” investigators concluded after examining data from the “National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study…a survey of 4,069 U.S. veterans, the majority of whom were 60 years and older, white, and male.” The findings were published online Sept. 23 ahead of print in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Feeling Strong Sense of Purpose May Protect Older Veterans From Mental Illness, Psychiatric News, September 28, 2022

Healio (9/28, Downey) reports, “Alcohol misuse during adolescence was associated with midlife alcohol misuse and poorer physical health, as well as less satisfaction with life, researchers” concluded in a study that “included 2,733 twin pairs from the FinnTwin16 study, a population-based longitudinal study of Finnish-born twins from 1975 to 1979.” The findings were published in the September issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Related Links:

— “Adolescent alcohol misuse linked to poor physical health, lower satisfaction later in life “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, September 28, 2022

CBS News (9/28, Maddox) reports, “Data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on September 9 showed that 45% more people contacted the new national suicide lifeline in August 2022 than in the same month” in 2021. Yet, even “though the new lifeline number has led to an increased call volume, concerns about the lifeline have circulated on social media,” with some people “even discouraging people from calling, citing concerns about the possibility of police involvement or forced hospitalization in the most critical of situations.” For their part, “many advocates and mental health experts have said that instead of law enforcement, mobile crisis teams should be sent in emergency situations” to “deescalate crises and connect people with crisis stabilization programs and other longer-term resources.”

Related Links:

— “New 988 Lifeline is seeing a major uptick in calls — but concerns remain about police intervention, advocates say “Sarah Maddox, CBS News, September 28, 2022

The Washington Post (9/27, Gibson) reports research indicates that “children who were exposed to Sandy, a superstorm, while in utero had substantially increased risks for depression, anxiety and attention-deficit and disruptive behavior disorders,” symptoms of which “presented when the children were preschool-age.” The study revealed that “girls who were exposed to Sandy in utero experienced a 20-fold increase of generalized anxiety disorder and a 30-fold increase of depressive disorder, compared with girls who were not exposed to the storm,” while boys exposed to Sandy in utero were found to be “at an over 60-fold increased risk to develop” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), “a 20-fold increased risk to develop conduct disorder and a 15-fold increased risk to develop oppositional defiant disorder.” The findings of the 163-child and 151-parent study were published online Sept. 21 in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)