In the New York Times (12/30) “Personal Health” column, Jane E. Brody writes that hearing loss “is the largest modifiable risk factor for developing dementia, exceeding that of smoking, high blood pressure, lack of exercise and social isolation.” Brody writes that “new findings on cognitive losses linked to subclinical hearing loss, gleaned from among 6,451 people age 50 or older, suggest that any degree of hearing loss can take a toll.”

Related Links:

— “For Better Brain Health, Preserve Your Hearing, “Jane E. Brody, The New York Times, December 30, 2019

Healio (12/27, Gramigna) reported, “Grandparents who are active in the lives of their grandchildren may have a decreased risk for loneliness and social isolation,” researchers concluded after obtaining and analyzing “cross-sectional survey data from a population-based sample of 3,849 community-dwelling adults in Germany aged 40 years or older.” The findings were published online in BMJ Open.

Related Links:

— “Grandparents who care for grandchildren less likely to feel isolated, lonely, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, December 27, 2019

The San Francisco Chronicle (12/28, Fagone, Cassidey) reported, “The suicide rate among California prisoners has climbed five years in a row and rose in 2019 to the highest level in at least three decades…according to experts, advocates for prisoners and the state’s top corrections official.” As of Tuesday, 36 people this year had died by suicide inside the state’s prisons, amounting to “a rate of 28.7 suicides per 100,000 prisoners – an increase over last year’s rate of 26.3.” Public officials, judges, and experts “say California’s deaths are the result of a system that for decades has failed to provide proper help to the state’s mentally ill prisoners, a population estimated at more than 30,000.”

Related Links:

— “Exclusive: Suicides rise again in California prisons — 36 this year, despite scrutiny, “Jason Fagone and Megan Cassidy, The San Francisco Chronicle, December 30, 2019

Psychiatric News (12/27) reported, “Though the total number of child psychiatrists in the United States increased between 2007 and 2016, a shortage remains in large swaths of the country, particularly in lower-income areas,” researchers concluded after examining “data from the Area Health Resource Files of the Department of Health and Human Services to compare the numbers of child psychiatrists by county between 2007 and 2016.” The findings were published online in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Many U.S. Counties Have No Child Psychiatrists, Study Finds, “Joe Gramigna, Psychiatric News , December 27, 2019

Cancer Network (12/26, Slater) reports a study “indicated that about a third of patients newly diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have moderate to severe symptoms of depression.” The studypublished in Lung Cancer showed among 186 patients, “8.1% with newly diagnosed NSCLC scored at the severe depressive symptom level. Of those patients, 100% reported depressed mood and 80% reported anhedonia more days than not.” Meanwhile, “more than 70% of patients with newly diagnosed NSCLC and severe depressive symptoms also had moderate to severe/severe generalized anxiety disorder (GAD),” while only 11.5 percent of patients with moderate depression had GAD.

Related Links:

— “Moderate to Severe Depression Affects One-Third of Patients with NSCLC, “Hannah Slater, Cancer Network, December 26, 2019

HealthDay (12/26, Reinberg) reports that a study has found that “people who regularly drink to excess are also likely to use benzodiazepines.” The “researchers collected data on more than 2 million patients listed in the Kaiser Permanente database,” for the study. The study “found that people who abused alcohol were 15% more likely to take benzodiazepines than moderate drinkers or teetotalers.” Meanwhile, “when problem drinkers were prescribed benzodiazepines, the average dose was 40% lower and 16% shorter than that for moderate drinkers or teetotalers,” which may be “due to the prescribing doctors or the patients limiting themselves.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Managed Care.

Related Links:

— “Heavy Drinking Plus Xanax, Valium: A Dangerous Mix, “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, December 26, 2019

CNN (12/26, Howard) reports a study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that “people using illicit opioids are not only at an increased risk of a drug-related death, but…they [also] have an elevated risk of dying from noncommunicable diseases, infectious diseases, suicide and unintentional injuries.” The researchers found that “among people who used opioids outside of a prescription, suicide deaths occurred at almost eight times the expected rate and unintentional injuries at seven times the expected rate.” In addition, the researchers found that “death from interpersonal violence was relatively infrequent but occurred at more than nine times the expected rate.”

USA Today Examines The Impact Of Drug Use At Work. USA Today (12/26, Jones, O’Donnell) reports on the problem of people using drugs, or being under the influence of drugs, while working. According to a survey from DrugAbuse.com, 23% of workers in the US “say they have used drugs or alcohol on the job.” In addition, “even if they don’t use themselves, 62 percent say they know at least one person who has had an unsanctioned drink or used narcotics at work.” The article also examines the economic cost of people’s drug usage including missed days, impaired workers, and accidents in the workplace.

Related Links:

— “People using illicit opioids face higher risk of death from these causes, study finds, “Jacqueline Howard, CNN, December 26, 2019

Endocrinology Advisor (12/23, Akirov) reports, “In a survey of youth and young adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D), nearly 9% reported suicidal/death ideation,” researchers concluded. The findings from the 550-participant survey were published online in Diabetes Care.

Related Links:

— “Suicide and Type 1 Diabetes: Importance of Risk Assessment in Young Patients, “Amit Akirov, Endocrinology Advisor, December 23, 2019

Psychiatric News (12/23) reports, “People with depression may be more likely to seek treatment if they know of others with emotional problems or others who have sought treatment for emotional problems,” researchers concluded in a study that involved 239 participants “who screened positive for major depression.” The findings were published online Dec. 11 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Knowing Others in Treatment May Encourage People With Depression to Seek Care, Psychiatric News, December 23, 2019

MedPage Today (12/23, Hlavinka) reports, “Presence of anxiety disorders in teenage girls was predictive of later restrictive eating habits,” investigators concluded. In the “longitudinal study,” among “2,406 teenage girls, such disorders – including social or specific phobias, panic disorders, and generalized anxiety disorders – were associated with increased likelihood of fasting for weight loss or to avoid weight gain two years later, after adjusting for fasting, binge-eating, and weight status at baseline.” But “when stratified by age, this association was only significant among older girls, such that adolescents with anxiety disorders at ages 13 and 14 were not significantly more likely to engage in fasting at ages 15 and 16.” The findings of the 2,406-participant study were published online Dec. 17 in the European Eating Disorders Review.

Related Links:

— “Anxiety Symptoms Predict Later Fasting Among Teen Girls, ” Elizabeth Hlavinka, MedPage Today, December 23, 2019