MedPage Today (5/2, Fiore) reports the American Psychiatric Association has issued a new guideline recommending that “physicians…be judicious about their use of antipsychotics to treat agitation or psychosis in patients with dementia,” giving “a level 1B recommendation that these drugs should only be used if a dementia patient’s symptoms are severe, dangerous, or cause them significant distress.” In a statement, APA president Renee Binder, MD, said, “A decision should be made only after thorough assessment and review of potential benefits and harms of antipsychotic treatment as well as other possible treatment options.” The new guideline was published online in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “APA Urges Cautious Use of Antipsychotics in Dementia,” Kristina Fiore , MedPage Today, May 2, 2016.

In a 20,000-word article on its front page, the New York Times (5/1, A1, Kleinfield, Subscription Publication) chronicled the experience of Geri Taylor, 72, since her 2012 diagnosis of “mild cognitive impairment, a common precursor to Alzheimer’s disease.” The Times added that “as she crossed the pitted terrain of Alzheimer’s,” Taylor “would find surprises” both “disturbing” and “uplifting.”

Related Links:

— “,” N. R. Kleinfield, New York Times, May 1, 2016.

HealthDay (4/30, Preidt) reported, “A combination of face-to-face taunting and cyberbullying may greatly increase the risk that victims will become bullies themselves,” research presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting suggests.

After analyzing “data from US students aged 10 to 17,” researchers found that “kids who experienced either in-person or online bullying were more likely to display aggressive behaviors, such as physical fighting, verbal hostility, property damage and peer coercion.”

The risk, however, of such “behaviors was more than twice as high among victims of both types of bullying, the study authors said.”

Related Links:

— “Bullying Can Turn Victims Into Bullies,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 30, 2016.

HealthDay (4/30, Preidt) reported that according to the findings of a 1,400-child study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting, about “one-third of children on the autism spectrum engage in wandering behaviors.”

Medical Daily (4/30, Dovey) pointed out that the study looked at children ranging in age from six to 18. “The study authors believe,” however, “that eliminating parents of children younger than age five from questioning may have underestimated the true extent of elopement within the” population of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Nevertheless, “the study does highlight the urgency of the problem and the need to develop more effective solutions to preventing it.”

Related Links:

— “‘Wandering’ a Hazard for More Than a Third of Kids With Autism,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 30, 2016.

TIME (4/30, Sifferlin) reports that research presented the Pediatric Academic Societies 2016 meeting “finds a correlation between the aerial spraying of pesticides to kill mosquitoes and an increased risk of developmental delays and autism among kids.”

Newsweek (4/30, Schlanger) reported that after examining “rates of autism diagnoses in eight ZIP codes where aerial spraying of pyrethroids, a common class of insecticides, happens in the summer months, and” then comparing “them with those in 16 surrounding ZIP codes where mosquito control is done primarily through pellets distributed on the ground,” investigators “found a 25 percent higher rate of autism among the plane-sprayed group.”

Related Links:

— “The Link Between Mosquito Spraying and Autism,” Alexandra Sifferlin, Time, April 30, 2016.

HealthDay (4/28, Preidt) reports that research published in JAMA Oncology “details the psychological damage” a cancer diagnosis “often leaves in its wake for patients.” Investigators “found much higher rates of anxiety, depression and even drug and alcohol abuse for those who’ve been told ‘you have cancer,’ compared to healthier people.”

Related Links:

— “‘You’ve Got Cancer’ Can Take Devastating Mental Toll,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 28, 2016.

HealthDay (4/27, Preidt) reports that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) “may help reduce the risk of repeated bouts of depression,” the findings of a 1,300-patient meta-analysis published online April 27 in JAMA Psychiatry indicate. After examining the data from 10 studies, researchers found that “after 60 weeks of follow-up, those who received mindfulness therapy were less likely to have undergone a relapse of depression than those who received usual care, and had about the same risk of those who received other active treatments.”

LiveScience (4/27, Miller) reports that MBCT) “combines…the practice of mindfulness, or being aware of your emotions, and cognitive therapy, which involves identifying unhealthy thought patterns and developing constructive ways to approach them.”’

Related Links:

— “Mindfulness Therapy May Help Ease Recurrent Depression,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 27, 2016.

The CBS News (4/26, Marcus) website reports, “Spanking a child leads to bad behaviors, not the better manners some parents may think a smack on the bottom will elicit,” research suggests. Investigators “from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan analyzed 75 studies involving more than 150,000 children that spanned 50 years.”

US News & World Report (4/26, Dicker) reports that the review, which was published in the April issue of the Journal of Family Psychology, “found that children punished using spanking were more likely to experience negative consequences such as aggression and antisocial behavior.” What’s more, “the more frequently children were spanked, the more likely they were to exhibit these undesirable behaviors.”

Related Links:

— “5-decade study reveals fallout from spanking kids,” Mary Trophy Marcus, CBS News, April 26, 2016.

On the front page of the Business Section, the New York Times (4/26, B1, Thomas, Subscription Publication) reports that in 2015, list prices for prescription drugs rose by over 12%, “in line with the trend over the five previous years,” according to a report by research firm IMS Health. However, net price growth, “what insurers and employers actually pay for drugs,” only went up 2.8% last year, “one of the lowest increases in years.” According to the Times, large list price increases compared to net price growth mean that the “burden falls most heavily on those least able to pay it,” as “uninsured patients often must pay the list price of a drug, and an increasingly large share of insured customers are being asked to pay a percentage of the list price.”

Related Links:

— “Drug Prices Keep Rising Despite Intense Criticism,” Katie Thomas, New York Times, April 26, 2016.

HealthDay (4/26, Preidt) reports, “Young gay and bisexual men may be much more likely to attempt suicide or harm themselves than their older counterparts, and blacks are at greater risk than whites,” the findings of a study published online April 26 in the Journal of Public Health reveal. After examining “survey responses from nearly 5,800 gay and bisexual men from the United Kingdom 16 and older,” researchers found that “those younger than 26 were two times more likely to be depressed or anxious, and six times more likely to attempt suicide or harm themselves than those older than 45.”

Medical Daily (4/26, Scutti) reports, “Black gay and bisexual men were twice as likely to be depressed and five times more likely to have attempted suicide than the white majority,” researchers found. In addition, “lower income men were…more likely to be depressed and anxious, and attempt suicide or self-harm,” the study found. Interestingly, “researchers discovered cohabiting men were 50 percent less likely to suffer from depression compared to men living in solitude.”

Related Links:

— “Young Gay, Bisexual Men May Be at Higher Risk for Suicide, Study Finds,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 26, 2016.