Medscape (1/20, McNamara, Subscription Publication) reports a study suggests “despite long-standing efforts to ban lead-based paint, some children in the United States remain at risk for the neurotoxic effects of lead exposure, particularly those living in low-income areas.” The researchers “found children living in areas with the highest risk of lead exposure scored significantly lower on cognitive tests and had lower brain volume than their counterparts who lived in areas with the lowest risk of lead exposure.” The findings were published in Nature Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Lead Exposure Risk in US Children Far From Gone, “Damian McNamara, Medscape, January 20, 2020

Medscape (1/20, Yasgur, Subscription Publication) reports researchers found that “women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) could be at higher risk of developing bipolar disorder, although the risk may be mitigated by use of metformin.” The findings were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Hikes Bipolar Disorder Risk, “Batya Swift Yasgur, Medscape, January 20, 2020

MD Magazine (1/20, Kunzmann) reports, “Poor pulmonary function may be an indication of greater dementia risk, according to an assessment of 24 previous studies observing the 2 ailments.” A team of investigators based in the UK found in systematic review data that “respiratory illness and symptoms including poor forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) were associated with notable increases to dementia risk across 11 different study results.” The study was published online in the CHEST Journal.

Related Links:

— “Poor Lung Function Linked to Dementia Risk, “Kevin Kunzmann, MD Magazine, January 20, 2020

Healio (1/16, Laday) reports, “Frequent mental distress is commonly reported among adults with arthritis across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., with the highest prevalence reported in the Appalachian region and southern states,” investigators concluded after evaluating data “provided by 147,288 respondents.” The findings were published online Jan. 3 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “Mental distress highly prevalent among adults with arthritis in Appalachia, southern US, “Jason Laday, Healio, January 16, 2020

Healio (1/15, Gramigna) reports, “College students’ alcohol use behaviors may be closely related to their perceptions of the alcohol-related behaviors and attitudes of other students within their close-knit peer group,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from a sample of 1,054 college students (61% female) across 35 intact same-sex club sport teams.” The study revealed that “perceptions of peers being more approving of drinking prospectively predicted greater alcohol use frequency at later timepoints, which is indicative or conformity processes.” The findings were published online Jan. 13 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Related Links:

— “College students’ peer groups significantly influence alcohol use, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, January 15, 2020

MD Magazine (1/15, Rosenfeld) reports, “More openness from physicians about overcoming mental health issues could increase the likelihood that medical students will access care if they need it,” researchers concluded after surveying “second-year medical students and” conducting “a physician panel and small-group discussion to learn the benefit of exposure to physicians with self-disclosed histories of having overcome mental illness.” The 43-student study revealed that “91% of students agreed knowing veteran physicians who struggled with mental health issues, got treatment, and were doing well could make them more likely to seek care if they ever needed it.” The findings were published online Jan. 8 in the Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development.

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Openness Improves Med Students’ Attitudes, “Samara Rosenfeld, MD Magazine, January 15, 2020

The Wall Street Journal (1/15, Abbott, Subscription Publication) reports a Medscape survey indicates almost half of physicians age 40 to 54, members of Generation X, reported burnout, as did nearly 40 percent of Millennials and Boomers. About half of the 15,000 respondents reported willingness to trade salary for improved work-life balance.

Related Links:

— “Physician Burnout Is Widespread, Especially Among Those in Midcareer, “Brianna Abbott, The Wall Street Journal, January 15, 2020

Medscape (1/15, Brauser, Subscription Publication) reports that even though “diet can influence mental health and cognitive function, evidence of benefit for many specific diets is actually quite weak,” investigators concluded “in the ‘most up-to-date overview of the new field of nutritional psychiatry.’” The overview “found strong evidence that following a ketogenic diet of high fat and low carbohydrates may reduce seizures in children with epilepsy” and “also confirmed that the Mediterranean diet guards against depression and anxiety.” Additionally, the review revealed “a strong link between vitamin B12 deficiency and an increased risk of fatigue, depression, and memory problems,” but found only “inconclusive” evidence “of any efficacy of vitamin D supplements or any nutrient in mitigating symptoms of autism or” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The findings were published in the December issue of the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology.

Related Links:

— “Diet and Mental Health: The Evidence to Date, “Deborah Brauser, Medscape, January 15, 2020

HealthDay (1/15, Reinberg) reports, “After a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy,” one in six women may have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) “nearly a year later,” researchers concluded after studying some “650 women who experienced a miscarriage – defined as loss of pregnancy before 12 weeks – or an ectopic pregnancy.” The findings were published online Dec. 13 in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Related Links:

— “Trauma of Miscarriage May Trigger PTSD, ” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, January 15, 2020

The Washington Post (1/14, Rich, Higham, Horwitz) reports that data from the Drug Enforcement Administration “shows that more than 100 billion doses of oxycodone and hydrocodone were shipped nationwide from 2006 through 2014 – 24 billion more doses of the highly addictive pain pills than previously known to the public.” In July, The Post “reported that the data revealed that the nation’s drug companies had manufactured and distributed more than 76 billion pain pills.” The “two additional years of information – 2013 and 2014 – was recently posted by a data analytics company managed by lawyers for the plaintiffs in a massive lawsuit against the opioid industry.”

Related Links:

— “More than 100 billion pain pills saturated the nation over nine years, “Steven Rich, Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz, The Washington Post, January 14, 2020