HealthDay (2/1, Reinberg) reports, “Declining weight from middle-age years to late life may be a sign of impending dementia,” a study published online Feb. 1 in JAMA Neurology suggests. After analyzing “data on almost 1,900 men and women 70 and older who took part in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging,” researchers found that “people who lose weight over decades appear to have an increased risk for losing memory and thinking skills – called mild cognitive impairment [MCI] – which can lead to dementia.”

Investigators concluded that “a loss of 11 pounds every 10 years may indicate as much as a 24 percent higher risk for loss of mental ability.”

According to Medical Daily (2/1, Cara), several theories may explain the link between weight loss and the risk for dementia. Perhaps weight loss is “an early warning symptom of MCI/dementia, since it’s already known that a loss of appetite is often seen in the elderly, particularly the more frail they are.”

Another theory is that “psychological conditions like depression may also increase the risk of weight loss and MCI simultaneously.” It could also be that “the same protein deposits that accumulate in the brain and can lead to dementia can also interfere with a person’s sense of smell, which in turn reduces calorie intake.”

Related Links:

— “Weight Loss Starting at Midlife Tied to Later Dementia Risk in Study,” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, February 1, 2016.

According to Reuters (2/1, Rapaport), a study published online Feb. 1 in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that many adolescents who receive a diagnosis of depression may not be getting proper follow-up assessment, therapy or medication.

HealthDay (2/1, Preidt) reports that after tracking “the care of more than 4,600 teens with depression symptoms,” researchers found that “36 percent of the teens received no treatment at all within three months of their diagnosis, and more than two-thirds (68 percent) did not have any follow-up assessment.” In addition, “40 percent of those teens who were prescribed antidepressants did not undergo documented follow-up care, the researchers reported.”

Related Links:

— “Many depressed teens don’t get needed treatment,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, February 1, 2016.

The New York Times (2/1, A12, Carey, Subscription Publication) reported, “A new approach to treating early schizophrenia, which includes family counseling, results in improvements in quality of life [QoL] that make it worth the added expense,” a study published online Jan. 31 in Schizophrenia Bulletin suggests. The study “included 183 people who received typical care and 223 who got…more comprehensive services.” The study, a cost analysis based on the National Institute of Mental Health’s RAISE (Recovery After Initial Schizophrenia Episode) trial data, “was an important test of the new care program’s value.”

The study concluded that “coordinated specialty care for young people with first-episode psychosis may be more cost-effective than typical community care,” Psychiatric News (2/2) reports. In fact, “when converted to monetized Quality Adjusted Life Years…benefits exceeded costs, especially at future generic drug prices.”

Related Links:

— “New Plan to Treat Schizophrenia Is Worth Added Cost, Study Says,” Benedict Carey, New York Times, February 1, 2016.

The Washington Post (1/31, Nutt) “Health & Science” blog reported that loneliness “is increasingly seen today as a serious public health hazard.” Researchers are finding that “social isolation changes the human genome in profound, long-lasting ways,” resulting in damage “comparable to the injuries to health from smoking and, even worse, from diabetes and obesity.”

Related Links:

— “Loneliness grows from individual ache to public health hazard,” Amy Ellis Nutt, Washington Post, January 31, 2016.

The Military Times (1/29, Kime) reported that in a notice to be published today in the Federal Register, “the Defense Department will propose several changes to mental health services to better align the military health program with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” The Pentagon is proposing to eliminate “limits on inpatient services” and to allow “Tricare to cover hormone therapy for transgender individuals.”

Related Links:

— “Gender dysphoria treatment included in proposed mental health services overhaul,” Patricia Kime, Military Times, February 1, 2016.

In its “Shots” blog, NPR (1/27, Rancano) reports that a study published online Jan. 27 in the journal Pediatrics found, among three-year-olds, 50 percent fewer children showed signs of hyperactivity after receiving pediatric care in which a professional “filmed each mother and child reading or playing together for a few minutes” and then “talked to the mother about the positive things she did with her child.” NPR adds that “improving a child’s ability to focus, regulate behavior and cooperate with other kids can help a child learn.” The study also touted the benefits of “using pediatric checkups as a way to engage parents.”

Related Links:

— “Teaching Parenting Skills At Doctor Visits Helps Children’s Behavior,” Vanessa Racaño, National Public Radio, January 27, 2016.

US News & World Report (1/28, Miller) reports that an article published this month in ​ the journal Military Medicine examines pregnancy rates among US servicewomen. Even though oral contraceptives and “some other forms of contraception are covered by the military (women are allowed a 180-day supply prior to deployment), access can be spotty, according to a 2013 study in the journal Contraception that found one-third of the 281 active duty servicewomen surveyed couldn’t get the type of birth control they wanted before deploying, and 41 percent had trouble refilling prescriptions on duty.

It is estimated that “rates of unintended pregnancies among active duty servicewomen range between 50 percent and 62 percent – the same as the civilian population, the Military Medicine article reports.” Retired colonel and forensic psychiatrist Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, MD, MPH, “urges the military to take birth control ‘much more seriously’ by better educating service members during basic training and counseling women on long-term birth control options like IUDs.” ​

Related Links:

— “Military Fertility: It’s Complicated,” Anna Medaris Miller, US News & World Report, January 28, 2016.

HealthDay (1/28, Preidt) reports that even though “fewer Americans are smoking, the rates of psychiatric disorders among those who do – particularly more recent smokers – are on the rise,” the findings of a study published online Jan. 26 in Molecular Psychiatry suggest. After analyzing “data from 25,000 people born in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s,” researchers found that “nicotine-dependent smokers who began smoking in the 1980s were more likely than older smokers to have psychiatric conditions such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder or antisocial personality disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Disorders Increasing for Younger Smokers,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, January 28, 2016.

According to Reuters (1/29, Rapaport), a study published online Jan. 29 in Pediatrics reveals that women who are obese while pregnant may have nearly double the likelihood of giving birth to a child with autism. When expectant mothers are both obese and diabetic, the risk for autism in their offspring may be quadrupled. Researchers arrived at these conclusions after examining data on some 2,734 pairs of mothers and babies tracked between 1998 and 2014.

Related Links:

— “Maternal obesity, diabetes tied to increased autism risk in kids,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, January 29, 2016.

CNN (1/25, Grinberg) reports that the American Psychiatric Association “has called for the development and testing of better methods to identify high-risk individuals who should be denied gun access, implying that current criteria under federal law related to mental illness are inadequate to serve as a basis for gun disqualification.”

In a position statement, the APA points out that “while research shows most people diagnosed with serious mental health conditions are never violent toward others, and most violent individuals do not suffer from these major mental disorders, merely having a diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder should not be the only basis for disqualification from firearms.”

Some “common mental health conditions – including personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder – tend to be associated with the risky mix of pathological anger with gun access,” the APA has found.

Related Links:

— “Gun violence not a mental health issue, experts say, pointing to ‘anger,’ suicides,” Emanuella Grinberg, CNN, January 25, 2016.