MedPage Today (8/10, Lopilato) reports, “Children who started using tobacco by age 10 had significantly inferior cognitive performance and smaller brain structures after a 2-year follow-up period, a cohort studyreported.” Children “reporting ever using tobacco products had significantly lower scores in the Picture Vocabulary Test of the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery both at baseline and at 2-year follow-up compared with never-users,” and “structural MRI revealed that whole-brain measures in cortical areas were significantly lower among ever-users at baseline, whereas cortical volumes were reduced in ever-users at baseline and at 2 years…reported” researchers in JAMA Network Open.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (8/9) reports, “Nontherapeutic nicotine gums, tablets, or gummies are popular among adolescents,” investigators concluded in a survey study involving 3,516 high school students in Southern California. The study revealed that “use of such oral nicotine products was second only to e-cigarettes among 9th and 10th graders.” The findings were published online Aug. 8 in the journal Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Addressing Adolescent Use of Nontobacco Oral Nicotine Products Said to be Public Health Priority, Psychiatric News, August 9, 2022

The Hill (8/8, Melillo) reports a survey study “found more teenagers of certain racial or ethnic, sexual or gender minority groups are using flavored nontobacco oral nicotine products like lozenges and gummies.” The “survey, conducted among 3,516 ninth and 10th graders in California, found e-cigarette use is still the most prevalent form of nicotine consumption among this age group.” But, “among the entire sample, 3.4% reported ever using non-tobacco nicotine oral products, and 1.7% had used these products within the past six months,” according to the results published in Pediatrics.

Healio (8/8, Weldon) reports the researchers “found that students who were Hispanic, identified as female or a gender-minority identity or a sexual minority identity were more likely to report using nontobacco nicotine products.”

Related Links:

— “Flavored nicotine products grow in popularity among teens “Gianna Melillo, The Hill, August 8, 2022

Healio (8/8, Herpen) reports, “Associations between cognitive ability in childhood and cognitive state in older age are moderated by how active and enriching one’s lifestyle remains through the middle years, according to a study” of “a cohort of U.K. residents aged 69 years.” The findings were published online in Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Midlife engagement moderates cognitive difference between childhood, older adulthood “Robert Herpen, Healio, August 8, 2022

The Hill (8/8, Barnes) reports that “around 1.5 million U.S. children experienced depression or anxiety during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, according to” the “2022 KIDS COUNT Data Book.” The report“found a 26 percent jump in the number of children aged 3 to 17 struggling with the two conditions between 2016 and 2020.” Furthermore, the results “also noted an uptick in attempted suicide, especially among children of color and the LGBTQ+ community.”

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— “1.5M more kids experienced anxiety, depression during the pandemic: survey ” Adam Barnes, The Hill, August 8, 2022

Healio (8/8, Herpen) reports, “Decline in dementia risk for Latino populations compared with white counterparts is associated with level of education across generations, a presenter said.” The research on “the association of intergenerational education on dementia and cognitive impairment without dementia…risk for Latino men and women compared with white counterparts” was presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

Related Links:

— “Level of education for Latino population linked to decreased dementia risk “Robert Herpen, MA, Healio, August 8, 2022

Healio (8/5, Salvaryn) reported, “Atrial fibrillation conferred elevated risk for dementia in adults younger than 70 years, according to study.” But, “the risk was not evident before age 65 years.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Related Links:

— “AF a risk factor for dementia in adults younger than 70 years “Georgia I Salvaryn, Healio, August 5, 2022

The Hill (8/5, Barnes) reported, “Americans suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s are less likely to receive specialized care if they live in rural parts of the country, a…study found.” Researchers found that patients with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease “were typically seen exclusively by a primary care physician and were less likely to undergo testing that would help [physicians] manage the condition.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Rural Americans with early-onset Alzheimer’s less likely to see a specialist “Adam Barnes, The Hill, August 5, 2022

The Washington Post (8/6, Kritz) reported, “The move from high school to college can be a trying one, particularly for students with mental health concerns,” but now “there are ways to make it easier.” The Post outlined 10 tips for the transition. For those students “continuing therapy and/or medications at college and ‘who may need to change doctors and pharmacies, it is essential that these transitions take place ahead of the term … so students can avoid interruptions in their care just when their new, exciting college experience is beginning,’ says” American Psychiatric Association Committee on Telepsychiatry Chair Dr. Shabana Khan. Dr. Khan also “says changing telehealth rules make it especially crucial for students who will be attending college in a different state to find out whether they will be able to continue care with their current treating clinicians.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (8/4, George) reports, “Blood biomarkers may change how Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed but aren’t ready for widespread use in primary care yet,” investigators concluded while presenting “the Alzheimer’s Association’s appropriate use recommendations for blood biomarkers at the 2022 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.” For that reason, “the Alzheimer’s Association working group of clinicians and researchers did not recommend blood-based biomarkers for population risk screening or as direct-to-consumer tests at this time.” A review article published online in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia discusses blood-based biomarkers.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)