Renal & Urology News (5/12, Schieszer) reports, “Declining kidney function appears to be strongly associated with the development of dementia among patients aged 65 years or older,” investigators concluded after analyzing “the association of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with the risk of dementia among 329,822 residents in Stockholm accessing health care between 2006 and 2011.” Study participants “were aged 65 years or older, had no history of dementia, and had not received renal replacement therapy.” The findings were published online in the journal Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Renal Function Decline Associated With Increased Dementia Risk “John Schieszer, Renal & Urology News, May 12, 2021

Cardiovascular Business (5/12, Walter) reports, “Antidepressants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and oral steroids are just some of the medications that could inadvertently raise a person’s blood pressure,” investigators concluded after tracking “data from more than 27,000 participants who responded to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2009 to 2018.” The findings are slated for presentation at ACC.21, the American College of Cardiology’s 70th annual scientific session.

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants, other common medications linked to high blood pressure “Michael Walter, Cardiovascular Business, May 12, 2021

HealthDay (5/11, Reinberg) reports researchers found “sleep problems cost America’s health care system nearly $95 billion a year and raise the cost of health care by 60%.” The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Sleep Disorders Cost U.S. Health Care System Nearly $95 Billion Per Year ” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, May 11, 2021

NBC News (5/11, Carroll) reports research published in BMJ Open indicates that “prescription sleep medications can help women struggling with occasional insomnia but probably won’t help with chronic sleep problems.” The study, using “two years of data from nearly 700 middle-age women,” found “that long-term use of medications such as Ambien [zolpidem], Lunestra [eszopiclone] or some anti-anxiety prescriptions didn’t help women sleep better in the long run compared to women who didn’t use prescription pills.”

Related Links:

— “Prescription sleep pills not likely to help women in the long run, study finds “Linda Carroll, NBC News, May 11, 2021

Healio (5/11, Downey) reports researchers found “there was a significant decline in hospitalizations for abusive head trauma among children aged younger than 5 years during the COVID-19 pandemic.” The findings were published in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Pediatric hospitalizations for abusive head trauma decline during pandemic “Ken Downey Jr., Healio11, May , 2021

Healio (5/10, Gramigna) reports researchers found in “a longitudinal cohort study” that “childhood adversities played a role in understanding the risk for suicide attempt among youths of certain ethnic groups who were from disadvantaged contexts.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.
“The findings of this cohort study suggest that, among Puerto Rican young adults from 2 different sociocultural contexts, adverse childhood experiences were relevant to understanding suicide attempt and suicide ideation, the latter specifically among young women. The prevention of cumulative adverse childhood experiences could reduce later risk of suicide attempts and, among young women, for suicide ideation.”

Related Links:

— “Childhood adversities increase suicidality risk among youths from disadvantaged contexts “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 10, 2021

According to Psychiatric News (5/10), in a study focused on “on 1,580 participants (73% female) who had reported engaging in self-harm at age 14,” investigators “used computer modeling to identify any social or behavioral similarities in this group compared with peers who did not self-harm.” By doing so, the researchers “identified two distinct pathways by which adolescents develop self-harming behaviors: the first is associated with years of emotional difficulties and bullying: the second is associated with more willingness to take risks and experiencing less security with peers and family during adolescence.” The findings were published online May 7 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Researchers Identify Childhood Behaviors That May Signal Future Self-Harm, Psychiatric News, May 10, 2021

STAT (5/7, Joseph) reported while “the end of the emergency phase of the pandemic is in sight in the United States,” experts have warned the events of this past year will have “a long-term impact on people’s mental health.” While some people will see their “feelings of anxiety and depression that emerged during the pandemic…resolve as routines resume,” other people “will face new or worse mental health issues that persist or even appear down the road, a number that could be quite large given the magnitude of despair and disruption.”

Related Links:

— “As the Covid-19 crisis ebbs in the U.S., experts brace for some to experience psychological fallout ” Andrew Joseph, STAT, May 7, 2021

HealthDay (5/7, Preidt) reported Canadian researchers found ICU survivors “have a higher risk of self-harm and suicide after discharge than other hospital patients.” The findings were published in BMJ.

Related Links:

— “Time Spent in ICU Linked to Higher Odds for Suicide Later “Robert Preidt, HealthDay , May 7, 2021

The AP (5/8, Landers) reported that according to the CDC, “at least 87,000 people died of a drug overdose in America” in the 12-month period ending last September, “an increase of 27% from the previous 12 months and a record for the most such deaths in a single year.” In that same period, “deaths attributed to synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, increased 53% nationwide.”

Related Links:

— “Tragedies pile up with drug overdoses surging amid pandemic “Jamie Landers, AP, May 8, 2021