CNN (7/15, Howard) reports, “For every additional hour young people spend on social media or watching television, the severity of depressive symptoms they experience goes up,” research indicated. The study revealed that “high levels of social media use over four years was associated with increased depression – and each one-hour increase in the average time students said they spent on social media was associated with an increase in the severity of depression symptoms within that same year.” CNN adds, “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents place consistent limits on how many hours per day their preteens or teens spend using screens.” Child and adolescent psychiatrist Gary Maslow, MD, “said in January that he often points his patients’ families to the American Academy of Pediatrics for tips on how to establish healthy social media habits at home.”

MedPage Today (7/15, Hlavinka) reports, “In a group of 3,826 adolescents, those with high levels of social media use had a 0.64-unit increase in depression symptoms (95% CI 0.32-0.51) on a scale of 0 to 28, and on the individual level, each hour of increased social media use within a year was associated with a 0.41-unit increase in depressive symptoms,” the study revealed. The findings were published online July 15 in JAMA Pediatrics. Also covering the study are MD Magazine (7/15, Campbell) and HealthDay (7/15, Preidt).

Related Links:

— “Increasing social media use tied to rise in teens’ depressive symptoms, study says, “Jacqueline Howard, CNN, July 15, 2019

HealthDay (7/12, Preidt) reported, “Teens who take prescription opioid” analgesics “to get high could be taking a step toward heroin use,” researchers concluded after studying some “3,300 students at 10 Los Angeles-area high schools who were followed from freshman year to senior year.” The findings were published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Teens’ Opioid Abuse May Be Gateway to Heroin, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 12, 2019

MedPage Today (7/12) reported, “In the first national investigation of nurse suicide in more than” two decades, investigators “found significantly higher rates of suicide among both women and men working in nursing when compared with non-nurses.” The study revealed that “suicide incidence was 11.97 per 100,000 person-years among female nurses and 39.8 per 100,000 among male nurses, both of which were significantly higher compared to women and men in the general population (7.58 and 28.2 per 100,000 person-years, respectively, P<0.001).” The findings of the 14,774-suicide study were published online June 8 in the Annals of Psychiatric Nursing. Related Links:

— “Suicide Risk in Nurses Higher Than General Population, “Shannon Firth, MedPage Today, July 12, 2019

The Washington Post (7/14, Natanson) reports researchers “found that combining five lifestyle habits…can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by 60 percent.” The researchers “assessed study participants’ lifestyles on five metrics,” including eating, exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, “and their ‘engagement in cognitive stimulation activities.’” The research found that those who “pursued four or five healthy behaviors over the period studied – were 60 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s” than those who pursued one or none of the behaviors. The findings were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

The AP (7/14, Marchione) reports the findings were also published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers also found that “a healthy lifestyle can cut your risk of developing Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia even if you have genes that raise your risk for these mind-destroying diseases.”

Additional coverage is provided by: CNN (7/14, Christensen), NBC News (7/14, Carroll), Reuters (7/14, Kelland), TIME (7/14, Park), and MD Magazine (7/14, Campbell). Mentally Stimulating Activities May Be Associated With Lower Risk Of MCI In Older People, Researchers Say Psychiatric News (7/12) reported, “Mentally stimulating activities like using a computer, playing games, crafting, and participating in social activities were associated with a lower risk of mild cognitive impairment [MCI] in older people,” researchers concluded after analyzing “five-year data from 2,000 participants in the population-based Mayo Clinic Study of Aging.” The findings were published online July 10 in Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Doing these five things could decrease your risk of Alzheimer’s by 60 percent, new study says, ” Hannah Natanson, The Washington Post, July 14, 2019

Healio (7/11) reports researchers found that many adults with migraine use opioids, “despite practices discouraging patients from using them.” The findings were presented at the American Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting. The researchers “analyzed data from 21,143 patients with migraine who indicated their level of opioid use as part of an online survey,” and “found that among the 12,299 patients who reported 0 to 3 migraine headache days each month, 15% were current opioid users, 26% were former users and 59% never used opioids. Among the remaining patients – all who indicated 4 or more migraine headache days each month – 23.9% were current opioid users, 31.2% were former users and 44.9% never used opioids.”

Related Links:

— “Opioid use among patients with migraine ‘alarmingly high’, “Janel Miller, Healio, July 11, 2019

HealthDay (7/10) reports researchers found that “a vast majority of battered women have suffered head injuries that are hard to recover from.” Eighty-one percent of women “who’ve suffered domestic abuse and sought help have suffered a head injury and 83% have been strangled, researchers discovered.” The study was published recently in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma.

Related Links:

— “Brain Injury Often a Devastating Side Effect of Domestic Violence, ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 10, 2019

According to MD Magazine (7/10, Campbell), “unusual eating behaviors, appearing in children as early as one year of age, could be a potential diagnostic indicator for autism and other disorders,” research indicated. In the 2,102-child study, investigators “found that atypical eating behaviors were present in 70% of children with autism, which is 15 times more common than in neurotypical children.” In addition, researchers “found increased rates of atypical eating behaviors in children with” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The findings were published online and in the August issue of the journal Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Unusual Eating Habits as an Early Indicator of Autism, “Patrick Campbell, MD Magazine, July 10, 2019

CNBC (7/9, Saiidi) reports CDC data indicate for the last three years, the average life expectancy in the US has declined. Data also indicate “the last three years represent the longest consecutive decline in the American lifespan at birth since the period between 1915 and 1918, which included World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic, events that killed many millions worldwide.” Some factors influencing the decline in life expectancy include increased rates of drug overdose, suicide, and liver disease.

Related Links:

— “US life expectancy has been declining. Here’s why, “Uptin Saiidi, CNBC, July 9, 2019

Medscape (7/9, Tucker, Subscription Publication) reports, “Most antidepressant classes are associated with reduced mortality risk among people with both diabetes and major depression,” research indicated. The study, which included some 50,000 people, revealed “an approximate 35% reduction in deaths over the study period for all antidepressant classes except for reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase A.” The findingswere published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Related Links:

— “Antidepressant Use Cuts Deaths by a Third in Those With Diabetes, “Miriam E. Tucker, Medscape, July 9, 2019

Reuters (7/9, Rapaport) reports that patients with dementia “may go to the emergency” department (ED) “more often when their caregivers are depressed,” researchers concluded after observing “663 dementia patients and their family caregivers.” The study revealed that “caregiver depression was associated with a 73% increase in” ED “use among dementia patients.” The findings were published online July 8 in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Caregiver depression tied to more ER visits for dementia patients, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, July 9, 2019