Reuters (1/30, Carroll) reports researchers found that aerobic exercise can improve cognition in younger adults. The findings of the 132-person study were published online in Neurology.
HealthDay (1/30, Salamon) also covers the story.
Related Links:
— “Aerobic exercise may improve thinking skills in adults of all ages, “Linda Carroll, Reuters, January 30, 2019
According to Healio (1/30, Demko), “Early-risers may have better mental health than night owls,” researchers concluded after asking “250,000 participants of 23andMe and 450,000 UK Biobank participants if they were a morning or evening person.” Next, investigators “analyzed participants’ genomes to see which genetic loci they had in common that may affect their sleep patterns,” and then “also examined data from 85,760 UK Biobank participants with activity-monitor–derived measures of sleep timing.” Research “indicated that being genetically programmed to rise early may lead to greater well-being and a lower risk for schizophrenia and depression.” The findings were published online Jan. 29 in the journal Nature Communications.
Related Links:
— “Early-risers may have better mental health than night owls, “Savannah Demko, Healio, January 30, 2019
According to CNN (1/30, Howard), “a mild traumatic brain injury…may come with a higher risk of mental health problems,” research “supported by the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Defense” indicates.
Healio (1/30, Demko) reports, “Some patients were more likely to develop” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD “and/or major depressive disorder [MDD] following mild traumatic brain injury, or TBI,” researchers concluded in a study of “1,155 adult patients with mild TBI and 230 patients with non-head orthopedic trauma injuries evaluated in the” emergency departments of 11 hospitals in the US. The findings were published online Jan. 30 in JAMA Psychiatry.
MedPage Today (1/30, George) reports that National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke supported the study, and NINDS program director Patrick Bellgowan, PhD, said, “Mental health disorders after concussion have been studied primarily in military populations, and not much is known about these outcomes in civilians.” He added, “These results may help guide follow-up care and suggest that doctors may need to pay particular attention to the mental state of patients many months after injury.”
Related Links:
— “Mild TBI linked to PTSD, depression in some patients, “Savannah Demko, Healio, January 30, 2019
According to USA Today (1/29, O’Donnell, Quarshie), “witnessing abuse carries the same risk of harm to children’s mental health and learning as being abused directly,” research indicated. Investigators “who followed 1,420 children in North Carolina from age nine to 30 found that exposure to domestic violence in the home had the same serious and life-changing effects as experiencing the abuse directly.” The findings were published online Nov. 9 in JAMA Network Open.
Related Links:
— “The startling toll on children who witness domestic violence is just now being understood, “Jayne O’Donnell and Mabinty Quarshie, USA Today, January 29, 2019
MedPage Today (1/29, Walker) reports researchers found that counties with “higher long-term unemployment rates and a” shortage of mental health clinicians had “higher rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).” The findings were published in JAMA. Katy B. Kozhimannil, PhD, of the University of Minnesota, and Lindsay K. Admon, MD, of the University of Michigan, wrote in an accompanying editorial that the link between shortages of mental health clinicians and NAS was a “key finding.”
HealthDay (1/29, Preidt) reports the researchers examined “6.3 million births between 2009 and 2015 in 580 counties in Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Tennessee and Washington,” and found that “in counties with high, long-term unemployment, 20 of every 1,000 newborns were exposed to opioids” in utero, compared to only “7.8 per 1,000 births in counties with the lowest unemployment.”
Related Links:
— “Opioid Danger to Newborns Varies By Region, “Robert Preidt, Healthday, January 29, 2019
The CBS Evening News (1/28, story 9, 1:50, Glor) reported, “A new study finds lowering blood pressure could rut the risk of developing a brain disorder that can lead the Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.”
The New York Times (1/28, Belluck) reports researchers “found that people with hypertension who received intensive treatment to lower their blood pressure were less likely than those receiving standard blood pressure treatment to develop minor memory and thinking problems that often progress to dementia.” The findings were published online in JAMA.
Medscape (1/28, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports that in the 9,361-patient, “Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial Memory and Cognition in Decreased Hypertension (SPRINT MIND)” study, investigators found that “targeting systolic blood pressure (SBP) to 120 mmHg lowered the risk for” mild cognitive impairment (MCI) “by 19% compared with targeting to 140 mmHg.”
Related Links:
— Medscape (requires login and subscription)
Reuters (1/28, Rapaport) reports, “Children and adolescents who suffer from depression or behavior problems may be more likely to play potentially fatal ‘choking games’ to achieve a euphoric high than young people who don’t have mental health issues,” research indicated.
HealthDay (1/28, Gordon) reports that the research focused on a particular choking game, where investigators “found that nearly 10 percent of the almost 1,800 middle schoolers surveyed had tried it,” and youngsters “who had participated were about twice as likely to be depressed or to have a conduct disorder.” The findings were published online Jan. 28 in Pediatrics.
Related Links:
— “Depressed kids more likely to play choking game, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, January 28, 2019
Healio (1/28, Demko) reports, “The risk for death by suicide in people with autism spectrum disorder [ASD] from Utah – especially females – increased over time and was greater than in those without ASD between 2013 and 2017,” researchers concluded. The findings of the “20-year, population-based study” were published online in the journal Autism Research.
Related Links:
— “Suicide risk among people with ASD increases over 20 years in Utah, “Savannah Demko, Healio, January 28, 2019
USA Today (1/26, Brown) reported in a story focused on weighted blankets that “according to the American Psychiatric Association’s annual poll, 40 percent of Americans said they felt more anxious in 2018 than they did in 2017 – which saw a 36 percent increase over 2016.”
Related Links:
— “Weighted blankets: Here’s how the trendy bedding got so popular, “Dalvin Brown, USA Today, January 26, 2019
The NPR (1/25, Chatterjee) “Shots” blog reported, “The percentage of outpatient medical visits that led to a benzodiazepine prescription doubled from 2003 to 2015,” research indicated, with “about half” of “those prescriptions” coming “from primary care physicians.”
Medscape (1/25, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reported the study also found that “benzodiazepines are often coprescribed with opioids and other sedating medications, frequently for conditions other than anxiety and insomnia,” researchers concluded after analyzing data on “more than 386,000 ambulatory care visits from 2003 through 2015.” The findings were published online Jan. 25 in JAMA Network Open.
MD Magazine (1/25, Kunzmann) reported, “As opioids lose favor among healthcare” professionals, the study authors advised clinicians to “remain aware of the potential danger that overuse or misuse of benzodiazepines can harbor.” The study authors also “called for efforts addressing the limited use of the sedatives – whether it be in guidelines or prescription-monitoring programs – to focus on primary care.”
Current Or Recent Benzodiazepine Use May Be Associated With An Increased Risk For Pneumonia, Review Suggests . According to Healio (1/25, Demko), “current or recent benzodiazepine use was linked to an increased risk for pneumonia,” researchers concluded. The findings of the 10-study review were published online Jan. 8 in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Related Links:
— “Steep Climb In Benzodiazepine Prescribing By Primary Care Doctors, “Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, January 25, 2019