HealthDay (8/9, Preidt) reports, “As a tool to reduce the public health toll of drinking, higher taxes on alcohol get the most bang for the buck,” researchers concluded. After examining “data from 16 countries to find out which of five alcohol-control strategies would be most cost-effective in reducing alcohol-related harm and deaths,” investigators found that “a 50 percent increase in alcohol excise taxes…would cost less than $100 for each healthy year of life gained in the overall population.” In addition, “it would add 500 healthy years of life for every one million people, the” study found. What’s more, “such a tax increase would be pennies per drink, according to” findings published online Aug. 9 in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Related Links:

— “For Pennies a Drink, Higher Taxes Would Help Counter Alcohol’s Toll: Study, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, August 09, 2018.

Reuters (8/9, Rapaport) reports, “Pregnant women who have both severe obesity and diabetes may be more likely to have children with autism,” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), and “other psychiatric disorders than mothers who don’t have either condition during pregnancy,” research indicated.

Healio (8/9, Thiel) reports, “Pregestational diabetes mellitus combined with severe maternal obesity was associated with risk for children’s psychiatric and mild neurodevelopmental disorders, compared with diabetes or obesity separately,” researchers concluded after using “nationwide registry data of all live births in Finland from 2004 and 2014 (n = 649,043).” The findings were published online Aug. 9 in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Obesity, diabetes in pregnancy may raise kids’ risk of psychiatric disorders, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, August 09, 2018.

HealthDay (8/8, Preidt) reports, “The agony of severe diarrhea can make some people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) wish they were dead,” survey findings reveal.

Healio Gastroenterology (8/8, Young) reports that a survey indicates that “more than 10% of patients with diarrhea predominant irritable bowel syndrome admitted to feeling suicidal thoughts.” The findings of the 513-patient survey were published online in the UEG Journal.

Related Links:

— “Severe Diarrhea Can Send IBS Patients Over the Edge, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, August 08, 2018.

Reuters (8/8, Kelland) reports research reveals that “people who exercise several times a week report having better mental health than those who take no exercise, with team sports and those involving social groups having the most positive effect.” What’s more, “exercising for around 45 minutes three to five times a week was associated with the biggest benefits,” researchers concluded after using “data from 1.2 million adults across all 50 U.S. states who had been asked to estimate how often in the past 30 days they would rate their mental health as ‘not good’ based on stress, depression and emotional problems.”

MedPage Today (8/8, Monaco) reports, “This positive association between exercise and improved mental health was even more pronounced in those who had a previous diagnosis of depression, marked by an average of 3.75 fewer days of poor mental health per month,” the study revealed. The findings were published online Aug. 8 in The Lancet Psychiatry. The author of an accompanying editorial “highlighted that one major drawback to this analysis was the placement of ‘mental health’ into one category.” TIME (8/8, Ducharme) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Exercise linked to better mental health – but too much may do harm, “Kate Kelland, Reuters, August 08, 2018.

MedPage Today (8/7) reports, “Methylphenidate (Ritalin) may be a first-choice attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder” (AD/HD) “medication for kids, while amphetamines may be preferred for adults,” researchers concluded. The findings of the 133-trial meta-analysis were published online Aug. 7 in The Lancet Psychiatry. The authors of an accompanying comment observed, “The results support a moderating effect of age on first-line medication choice, consistent with current use patterns in the USA, with greatest support for methylphenidate in children and adolescents and amphetamine formulations in adults.”

Related Links:

— “The Best ADHD Medication? Meta-Analysis Offers Some Answers, “Kristen Monaco, MedPage Today, August 07, 2018.

Healio (8/6, Demko) reported, “Combined results of a meta-analysis and Swedish population-based study supported a significant link between” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “and asthma, which remained after controlling for possible confounders,” research indicated. The findings were published online July 24 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “The Best ADHD Medication? Meta-Analysis Offers Some Answers, “Savannah Demko, Healio, August 06, 2018.

Medscape (8/2, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports researchers found that “antihypertensive therapy to lower elevated blood pressure (BP) decreases the risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in older adults, and the benefits may be gained by several different drug classes.” The findings were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

APA is supporting an initiative by Research! America and the National Science Policy Network to offer grants to scientists to increase engagement between scientists and candidates in the upcoming midterm elections. The Bipartisan Candidate Engagement Initiative supports science graduate students and trainees in working to elevate the importance of scientific research, innovation, and public health—including mental health—in the national conversation among candidates. Science policy groups managed by graduate students and postdocs are eligible to apply; awards range from $1,000 to $3,000, with the potential for up to $5,000 for high-impact proposals. Proposals are due by August 10. Learn more and apply.

TIME (8/1, Park) reports on a study including data on “more than 9,000 middle-aged people ages 35 to 55, who were followed for about 23 years,” which found that “those with drinking habits at the two extremes – people who abstained from drinking, as well as those who drank more than around 14 glasses of wine a week – showed higher risk of dementia than those who drank one to eight glasses of wine a week.” Specifically, people “who drank more than 14 units of alcohol a week on average from midlife to older age had a 40% increased risk of developing dementia compared to people who drank less.”

Related Links:

— “Drinking Too Much Alcohol (And Too Little) Is Linked to Dementia, “Alicia Park, TIME Health, August 01, 2018.

Reuters (8/1, Rapaport) reports, “When parents are depressed, kids are 41 percent more likely to visit the emergency” department, “47 percent more likely to be admitted to the hospital and 67 percent more likely to have outpatient clinic visits than when parents aren’t depressed,” researchers concluded after reviewing “one year of electronic health records for more than 25,000 patients registered with a multisite medical practice in London.” The findings were published online July 30 in BMJ Pediatrics Open.

Related Links:

— “, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, August 01, 2018.