NBC News (10/16) reports on its website that the death of transgender comedian Daphne Dorman by suicide “has underscored the disproportionately high suicidality rate among transgender people.” The article says that “the suicide rates for transgender and gender-nonconforming people are much higher than the national averages.” The article adds that “according to the National Center for Transgender Equality’s 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, 40 percent of adult respondents reported having attempted suicide in their lifetime – almost nine times the attempted suicide rate in the general U.S. population,” and “a 2018 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that the risks are equally as fraught for trans youth.”

Related Links:

— “Comedian’s death underscores high suicide rate among transgender people, “Gwen Aviles, NBC News, October 16, 2019

MedPage Today (10/16, Firth) reports two studies published in Health Affairs found that “exposure to violence was tied to higher rates of loneliness and hypervigilance among residents of violent Chicago neighborhoods.” The researchers conducted “in-person interviews with just over 500 adults from Chicago’s South and West side neighborhoods,” and found that “both direct and indirect exposure to violence was associated with higher levels of these traits, which are known to have negative impacts on both physical and psychosocial well-being.” The two studies can be found here and here.

Related Links:

— “Urban Violence Exacts Psychiatric Toll on Residents, “Shannon Firth, MedPage Today, October 16, 2019

Healio (10/16, Gramigna) reports researchers found in a 12-year study that bulimia nervosa is tied to an increased “risk for any cardiovascular disease, as well as death, among women.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Bulimia nervosa associated with increased risk for cardiovascular diseases among women, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 16, 2019

Healio (10/15, Webb) reports research indicates that “both short- and long-term use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs] was associated with increased risk for hip fracture among patients on hemodialysis.” Included in the study were “4,912 patients on hemodialysis who experienced hip fracture” who were each matched “to 10 controls with the same risk set.” The findings were published online Oct. 9 in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

Related Links:

— “Certain antidepressants linked to increased hip fracture risk for patients on hemodialysis, “Melissa J. Webb, Healio, October 15, 2019

The Chicago Tribune (10/14, Buckley) reported that self-reported suicide attempts “by black teens have spiked since 1991, even as their peers in other groups have experienced a downward trend or remained unchanged,” researchers concluded after examining “more than 20 years of data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on surveys from nearly 200,000 students in all 50 states from 1991 to 2017.” The findings were published in Pediatrics.

Also covering the study are CNN (10/14, Christensen), the ABC News (10/14, Schumaker) website, the CBS News (10/14, Runcie) website, U.S. News & World Report (10/14, Norton), and HealthDay (10/14, Norton).

Related Links:

— “Reported suicide attempts among black teens have spiked since 1991, study shows, raising concerns about availability of mental health care, “Madeline Buckley, The Chicago Tribune, October 14, 2019

Reuters (10/11, Carroll) reported, “Anxiety and depression are common among participants in cardiac rehab programs, and that poor mental health may cause them to drop out,” researchers concluded after studying “4,784 heart patients treated at two Sydney hospitals between 2006 and 2017.” The study found that 18% “had symptoms of moderate to extremely severe depression,” while “28% had symptoms of moderate to extremely severe anxiety.” The findings were published online in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Related Links:

— “Depression, anxiety may cause patients to leave cardiac rehab, “Linda Carroll, Reuters, October 11, 2019

Reuters (10/11, Chander) reported, “For older adults, hearing aids may delay some forms of mental and physical decline associated with hearing loss and aging,” research indicated. After studying some “114,862 people age 66 and older with hearing loss,” researchers found that “among people who’d been diagnosed with hearing loss, those who used hearing aids were up to 18% less likely to be diagnosed with dementia, depression or fall-related injuries over the next three years, compared to people not using the devices.” The findings were published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Related Links:

— “Hearing aids may help delay dementia, depression in elders, “Vishwadha Chander, Reuters, October 11, 2019

Kaiser Health News (10/11, Graham) reported, “as older adults become reliant on computers, cellphones and tablets,” cognitive impairment and dementia may make technology “difficult to use and, in some cases, problematic.” For example, patients may have difficulty remembering passwords or using smartphone applications. Moreover, “people with frontotemporal dementia, which affects a person’s judgment, self-awareness and ability to assess risk,” may be particularly vulnerable to digital threats. Meanwhile, families may have difficulty monitoring or controlling a loved one’s online activities because “appropriating someone’s passwords and using them to check email or online bank or brokerage accounts” without their consent is illegal.

Related Links:

— “With cognitive impairment, older adults struggle with — and face risks from — smartphones, computers., ” Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News, October 11, 2019

Reuters (10/14, Carroll) reports an analysis by Canadian researchers at Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute within Unity Health Toronto of over 163 studies involving nearly 25,000 patients suggests that “symptoms of aggression and agitation in dementia patients may respond better to non-drug therapies such as massage, touch therapy and outdoor activities.” Investigators “found that outdoor activities were more effective than antipsychotic medications for treating physically aggressive patients.” Also, in terms of “verbal aggression, massage and touch therapy were more effective than the patients’ usual care.” The findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “To ease dementia agitation, drugs may not be best option, “Linda Carroll, Reuters, October 14, 2019

On its “Morning Edition” program and in its “Shots” blog, NPR (10/10, Hamilton) reports scientists are “worried about vaping’s effect on teenage brains,” which could present “potential problems” that “include attention disorders…impulse control issues and susceptibility to substance abuse.” Current “research on young animals shows that nicotine can interfere with processes that are critical to memory, learning, focus, impulse control and brain development.” Frances Leslie, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California at Irvine, “says the problem is that nicotine mimics acetylcholine, an important chemical messenger in the brain,” fooling “brain cells that have something called a nicotinic receptor.” Leslie explained that “unfortunately…’those parts of the brain that are actively maturing during adolescence are being actively controlled by nicotinic receptors.’”

Related Links:

— “How Vaping Nicotine Can Affect A Teenage Brain, “Jon Hamilton, NPR, October 10, 2019