HealthDay (3/11, Preidt) reports that research published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests that “depression may increase the risk of poor nutrition and obesity among Americans receiving food assistance.” Investigators followed “more than 600 people who were the main food shoppers in low-income families living in ‘food deserts’ in Pittsburgh.” The study found “a strong link between depression, poor nutrition and high body-mass index.”

Related Links:

— “Depression May Worsen Problem of Obesity Among the Poor,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, March 10, 2015.

TIME (3/11, Worland) reports that research published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes suggests that “intense stress and depression in people with coronary heart disease creates a ‘perfect storm’ that can increase the risk of death.”

Reuters (3/10, Doyle) reports that investigators looked at data on approximately 4,400 individuals with coronary heart disease who were at least 45 years old.

HealthDay (3/11, Reinberg) reports that “over an average six years of follow-up, 1,337 participants died or had a heart attack.” The investigators found that “the risk was 48 percent higher for those with stress and serious depression than those not feeling emotionally drained, but only for the first 2.5 years.”

Related Links:

— “Depression and Stress Could Be ‘Perfect Storm’ for Heart Disease Patients,” Justin Worland, Time, March 10, 2015.

The Huffington Post (3/7, Couch) reports that a study published March 3 in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that “providing homeless people with housing first and foremost is vital in getting them off the streets for good.” The two-year study involved “nearly 1,200 homeless individuals” with a mental illness who lived in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg, Canada. Researchers followed “two groups of homeless people with mental illness – one (the ‘intervention’ group) was given rent supplements to access stable housing, as well as provided with case management services, while the other (or ‘usual care’ group) only had access to existing housing and support services in their communities.)” People in the intervention group ended up staying in stable housing some 73.2 percent of the time, whereas those getting usual care stayed in stable housing only 23.6 percent of the time, the study found.

Related Links:

— “This Critical Step Could Keep Homeless People With Mental Illness Off The Streets,” Robbie Couch
, Huffington Post, March 6, 2015.

The NPR (3/6, Jaffe) “Morning Edition” program and “Shots” blog report that “antipsychotics are much less effective than non-drug treatments in controlling the symptoms of dementia, according to a” review (3/6) published March 4 in the British Medical Journal. Researchers arrived at that conclusion after examining “more than two decades of scientific studies.” The review’s authors “say the treatments that showed the best results were the ones that trained caregivers how to communicate calmly and clearly, and to introduce hobbies or other activities for the patient.” The piece also notes that the FDA has warned that “antipsychotics increase the risk of death for people with dementia.”

Related Links:

— “Behavioral Therapy Helps More Than Drugs For Dementia Patients,” Ina Jaffe, National Public Radio, March 5, 2015.

HealthDay (3/6, Preidt) reports that research to be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting suggests that “treating depression with antidepressants may have an added bonus: reducing heart risks.” Investigators looked at data on approximately 5,300 individuals “with moderate to severe depression.” The researchers found that those “who took antidepressants alone had a 53 percent lower risk of death, heart disease and stroke over three years than those who did not take antidepressants or statins.”

Related Links:

— “Easing Depression May Boost Heart Health, Study Finds,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, March 5, 2015.

The AP (3/6, Stobbe) relays that a report released March 5 by the CDC reveals that “the suicide rate for girls and young women in the US continues to rise, at a pace far faster than for young males.” The reason for the steady increase in female suicides remains unclear, but “one expert said it may be because more girls and young women are hanging themselves or using other forms of suffocation.”

The NBC News (3/6, Fox) website reports that CDC researchers, led by suicide expert Thomas Simon, PhD, found that “during 1994-2012, suicide rates by suffocation increased, on average, by 6.7 percent and 2.2 percent annually for females and males, respectively,” they wrote in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “REPORT: SUICIDES BY GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN CONTINUE TO CLIMB,” Mike Stobbe, Associated Press, March 5, 2015.

The Washington Post (3/6, Paquette) “Wonkblog” reports that during the years from 1999 to 2011, “death rates climbed substantially among only white women, ages 15 to 54.” A study released March 5 from the Urban Institute has now “attributed half the rise to ‘accidental poisoning,’ or drug overdoses” from prescription painkillers (opioids). In fact, “deaths from painkiller overdoses among women have increased more than 400 percent since 1999, the CDC reports, compared with 265 percent among men.”

Related Links:

— “Why death rates among white women are soaring,” Danielle Paquette, Washington Post, March 5, 2015.

Bloomberg News (3/12, Cao) reports that according to a survey conducted by the National Safety Council, “About one in seven believe it’s appropriate to share” prescription opioids “with friends and family.” Additionally, 28% believe sharing is “slightly risky,” with “little or no negative consequences,” while 26% believe “it’s a misdemeanor.” Just 32% realize it’s a felony, “punishable by at least a year in jail.”

Related Links:

— “Most Painkiller Users Don’t Know Opioid Sharing Is Felony,” Jing Cao, Bloomberg News, March 11, 2015.

HealthDay (3/12, Preidt) reports on a study (3/12) of people who hear “voices” published in the Lancet Psychiatry. The study covered “127 people who had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder and 26 others with no history of mental illness.” The study, led by Angela Woods of Durham’s Center for Medical Humanities, consisted of an online questionnaire. Eighty-one percent attested to hearing multiple voices, while two-thirds of those responding also recounted “physical effects from the voices, such as hot or tingling sensations in their hands and feet.”

The surveys also showed that while most had negative associations with the voices, “31 percent of the participants also felt positive emotions.” In addition, 45 percent of respondents said that the voices were not “purely auditory” but were “thought-like or ‘in-between’ voices with both thought-like and auditory features.”

Related Links:

— “Study Highlights Complexity of ‘Hearing Voices’,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, March 11, 2015.

The New York Times (3/9) “Well” blog reports that a new study, published in JAMA, suggests using benzodiazepine drugs “to relieve anxiety before surgery” have “little beneficial effect and may even delay recovery.” The researchers observed 1,062 “patients admitted to French hospitals for surgery requiring general anesthesia.” One-third “took 2.5 milligrams of lorazepam (Ativan), a third received a placebo, and a third were given no premedication.” They found lorazepam “was associated with more postsurgery amnesia” as well as a delay in recovery of cognitive abilities. Additionally, “quality of sleep was impaired in the lorazepam group, but not in the others” and “ventilation tubes were kept in significantly longer in the lorazepam group.”

Related Links:

— “A Time to Avoid Anxiety Drugs,” Nicholas Bakalar, New York Times, March 9, 2015.