Healio Cardiology Today (8/13, Dobkowski) reports, “Patients who had sustained hypertension in midlife to late life and those with midlife hypertension and late-life hypotension had an increased risk for dementia later in life compared with patients with normal BP in midlife and late life,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from 4,761 patients (59% women; mean age at fifth visit, 75 years) aged 45 to 65 years.” The findings were published in JAMA.

Related Links:

— “Hypertension in midlife, late life increases risk for dementia, “Darlene Dobkowski, Healio Cardiology Today, August 13, 2019

According to HealthDay (8/13, Preidt), “researchers report they have identified 16 new genes linked to” autism spectrum disorder. After conducting “genetic analyses of 2,300 people from nearly 500 families with at least two children with autism,” investigators “pinpointed 69 genes that were associated with an increased risk of autism, 16 of which had not previously been linked to the disorder.” In addition, the scientists “found several hundred genes they suspect may increase the risk of autism based on their proximity to genes previously identified with an increased risk, and also identified several new biological pathways not previously identified in autism research.” The findings were published online Aug. 8 in the journal Cell.

Related Links:

— “Scientists Uncover More Autism Genes, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, August 13, 2019

CNN (8/12, Azad) reports research examining over 20 studies on people between the ages of 10 and 24 “found that the odds of marijuana use were 3.5 times higher in people who vaped compared to those who didn’t.” Lead study author Dr. Nicholas Chadi said the findings indicate that “e-cigarettes really need to be considered in the broad category of addictive and harmful substances.” The findings were published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

HealthDay (8/12, Mundell) reports the investigators wrote, “Odds of using marijuana in youth with e-cigarette use were higher in adolescents age 12 to 17 [more than four times the risk] than young adults age 18 to 24 years [a 40% higher risk].” Moreover, the researchers “found that use of e-cigarettes typically comes before the use of marijuana in the young – suggesting that the vaping habit is a ‘gateway’ to the drug.”

Related Links:

— “Vaping linked to marijuana use in young people, research says, “Arman Azad, CNN, August 12, 2019

Healio (8/12, Demko) reports, “Veterans with a history of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, were twice as likely to die by suicide compared with veterans without history of TBI,” researchers concluded after looking at “the connections between TBI, suicide and suicide method among 215,610 veterans with a previous/current TBI diagnosis compared with 1,187,683 veterans without TBI receiving VHA care between 2006 and 2015.” The findings were published online July 30 in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation.

Related Links:

— “TBI may increase suicide risk among veterans, “Savannah Demko, Healio, August 12, 2019

Healio (8/12, Demko) reports research indicates that “more frequent social contact with friends at age 60 years was linked to lower risk of developing dementia over a 28-year follow-up and higher subsequent cognitive performance over a 15-year follow-up.” Investigators arrived at these conclusions after examining “the link between social contact frequency and dementia over a long period in a retrospective analysis of the Whitehall study, a prospective cohort study of English participants aged 35 to 55 years at baseline assessment in 1985 to 1988 and followed to 2017.” The findings were published online Aug. 2 in PLOS Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Social contact during midlife appears to lower dementia risk, “Savannah Demko, Healio, August 12, 2019

HealthDay (8/12, Preidt) reports researchers found “a significant link between worsening depression symptoms and mental decline over two to seven years, and both of these trends seemed to be linked to a buildup of amyloid protein in brain tissue.” The study’s lead author, Dr. Jennifer Gatchel of Massachusetts General Hospital, said the study’s results suggest that “depression symptoms themselves may be among the early changes in the preclinical stages of dementia syndromes.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Health IT Analytics (8/12, Kent) reports the researchers “found that mild or moderate depression together with brain amyloid, a biological marker of Alzheimer’s disease, could result in changes in thinking and memory over time.”

Related Links:

— “Depression, Alzheimer’s Might Be Part of Same Process in Some Aging Brains: Study, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, August 12, 2019

Healio Cardiology Today (8/9, Buzby) reported, “Among adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease, mental illness is a significantly more prevalent comorbidity in those who experienced at least two cardiac procedures during a three-year period or had greater lesion complexity than in others,” researchers found after analyzing “the data of 2,192 adolescents aged 11 to 17 years (42% girls), and 6,924 adults aged 18 to 64 years (53% women), with congenital heart disease between 2011 and 2013.” The findings were published in the Aug. 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.

Related Links:

— “Mental illness odds elevated in congenital heart disease, “Scott Buzby, Healio Cardiology Today, August 09, 2019

Healio (8/9, Demko) reported, “Diagnosing young children soon after symptom emergence expedites the start of interventions for autism spectrum disorder [ASD], and can help prepare children and their parents,” researchers concluded in a JAMA Network Insight published online Aug. 7 in JAMA Psychiatry. The piece added, “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screening young children at ages 18 months and 24 months for ASD, according to the paper.”

Related Links:

— “How clinicians can talk to worried parents about autism, “Savannah Demko, Healio, August 09, 2019

Medscape (8/9, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reported, “Eating dark chocolate may positively affect mood and relieve depressive symptoms, new research suggests.” Investigators “at University College London in the United Kngdom found that individuals who reported eating any dark chocolate in two 24-hour periods had 70% lower odds of reporting clinically relevant depressive symptoms compared to their counterparts who reported no chocolate consumption.” Still, “at least one expert said that at this point, the findings, although intriguing, are no more than food for thought and should not change dietary habits.” The study was published in Depression and Anxiety.

Related Links:

— “Sweet News: Dark Chocolate Tied to Lower Depression Risk, “Megan Brooks, Medscape (Subscription Publication), August 09, 2019

U.S. News & World Report (8/8, Hansen) reports a new survey reveals “one in seven Americans use products containing cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis.” The Gallup survey found that “14 percent of U.S. adults use CBD products, with younger people and West Coast residents more likely to use the cannabis-based goods.”

Related Links:

— “1 in 7 Adults Use CBD Products, Gallup Survey Finds, ” Claire Hansen, U.S. News & World Report, August 08, 2019