Medscape (7/24, Melville) reported that a new meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry suggests that “smoking itself may play a causative role in the development of psychotic illness.” The analysis, which “included 61 studies with data through 2014 involving 14,555 tobacco smokers and 273,162 nonsmokers,” including international populations, found that “57% of people with a first episode of schizophrenia were already smokers, for an overall odds ratio of 3.22 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.63 – 6.33), with some evidence of publication bias.” In addition, “daily smokers were still approximately twice as likely to develop new psychotic disorders as nonsmokers (relative risk, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.23 – 3.85)” and developed such disorders about one year earlier than nonsmokers.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The AP (7/24, Merchant) reported, “Suicide is the leading cause of death in jails after natural illness.” People who are incarcerated “take their own lives three times more often than the average population, according to a 2010 study cited in the National Study of Jail Suicide.” A 2013 article on suicide in Texas jails that appeared in the LBJ Journal of Public Affairs said that jail environment stressors include “isolation, loss of control, conflict with other inmates or staff, frustration with legal proceedings, or distress and shame over incarceration.”

Related Links:

— “TEXAS JAIL DEATH FOCUSES NEW ATTENTION ON INMATE SUICIDES,” Nomaan Merchant, Associated Press, July 24, 2015.

The Guardian (UK) (7/23) reports that research published in BMJ Open suggests that individuals “over 50 who are healthy, active, sociable and highly educated are at more risk of harmful drinking than their less well-off peers.”

The Telegraph (UK) (7/24) reports that “the findings are based on responses from 9,000 over 50s who took part in the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing.” While the investigators “found that heavy drinking was no linked to feeling lonely or depressed, men who lived on their own were more likely to consume harmful amounts of alcohol.”

Related Links:

— “Harmful drinking among middle-class over-50s is a ‘hidden phenomenon’,” Haroon Siddique, The Guardian, July 23, 2015.

The Los Angeles Times (7/24, Healy) reports in “Science Now” on studies presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference suggesting that exercise may benefit people with mild cognitive impairment and “mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.” In each of these studies, “subjects were asked to participate in three-to-four sessions of aerobic conditioning – ranging from 45 minutes to an hour – a week.” The goal “was to get participants working at between 70% and 80% of their aerobic capacity.”

The AP (7/24, Neergaard) reports that researchers found that “vigorous workouts by people with mild memory impairment decreased levels of a warped protein” called tau that is “linked to risk of later Alzheimer’s – and improved quality of life for people who already were in early stages of the disease.” One study involving magnetic resonance imaging scans demonstrated that “exercisers experienced increased blood flow in brain regions important for memory and thought processing – while cognitive tests showed a corresponding improvement in their attention, planning and organizing abilities.” Dr. Laurie Ryan, of the National Institute on Aging, cautioned, however, that “it’s too soon to say that [exercise] lowers risk’ of worsening memory…saying longer studies must test if sticking with exercise makes a lasting difference.”

Related Links:

— “To fend off dementia, run — or dance, bike, power-walk or step,” Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, July 23, 2015.

HealthDay (7/23, Preidt) reports that a new study published July 20 in the Journal of Adolescent Health suggests that “although more American teens are using marijuana, their use of alcohol and cigarettes has decreased.” Researchers at Penn State “reviewed information from nearly 600,000 high school seniors surveyed about their substance use between 1976 and 2013,” and found “an increase in marijuana use, particularly among black teens.” They “also found a significant decline in cigarette use, particularly among white teens.”

Related Links:

— “Teen Drinking, Smoking on the Decline, U.S. Study Finds,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 22, 2015.

The Washington Post (7/23, Morse) reports that yesterday, in response “to an increase in the number of arrestees with acute mental illness, law enforcement leaders in Montgomery County,” MD, announced that “they are looking to set up a special court geared toward treatment rather than punishment.” Were Montgomery County to establish a mental health court, it would join three other Maryland jurisdictions with such courts: “Prince George’s County, Harford County and Baltimore City.”

Related Links:

— “Montgomery County weighs setting up a mental health court,” Dan Morse, Washington Post, July 22, 2015.

On the CBS Evening News (7/22, story 5, 2:00, Rose), Charlie Rose reported that according to a new study, “more than a quarter million veterans still suffer from” post-traumatic stress disorder 40 years after the Vietnam War.

Reuters (7/22, Rapaport) reports that the study was published online July 22 in JAMA Psychiatry. An accompanying editorial emphasized the life-long impact PTSD can have.

Related Links:

— “Many Vietnam veterans have PTSD 40 years after war’s end,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, July 22, 2015.

In a letter to the editor of the New York Times (7/22, A26, Subscription Publication), John M. Oldham, MD, MS, a past president of the American Psychiatric Association, writes in response to Psychiatry’s Identity Crisis that if psychotherapy is “done right and done long enough, it can help change the brain in ways that can stick. We just have to help each other do it.”

Related Links:

— “Drugs, Talk Therapy and the Brain,” John M. Oldham, MD, New York Times, July , 2015.

HealthDay (7/22, Preidt) reports, “Hospitalization for mental health problems is far more common among kids behind bars than among children and teens in the general population,” according to a study published online July 21 in the Journal of Adolescent Health. After analyzing “nearly two million hospitalizations of children and teens in California over the age of 15,” researchers “found that mental health disorders accounted for 63 percent of hospitalizations among juvenile inmates, compared to 19 percent for those not in jail.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Illness Afflicts Many Juveniles in Jail,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 21, 2015.

MedPage Today (7/22, Fiore) reports that Agent Orange exposure coupled with having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appears to be tied to “a significantly increased risk of dementia (hazard ratio 1.67, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.18),” according to research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. Researchers arrived at this conclusion after evaluating “VA electronic medical record data on 46,737 Vietnam veterans over age 55 who had at least one baseline visit and one follow-up visit, and who did not have dementia at baseline.”

Related Links:

— “Agent Orange Plus PTSD Equals Extra Dementia Risk,” Kristina Fiore , Medpage Today, July 21, 2015.