The Wall Street Journal (8/28, D2, Wang, Subscription Publication) reports that elderly people, in general, suffer less from stress and anxiety than their younger counterparts, according to research. Unlike those who are young, many seniors appear to learn to distance themselves from negative feelings, focusing instead on pleasurable situations in the present. In comparison, happiness, enjoyment, and other positive emotions may hardly vary at all throughout the course of a person’s lifetime.

Related Links:

— “Tricks From the Elderly to Stop Worrying, “Shirley S. Wang, The Wall Street Journal, August 27, 2012.

MedWire (8/28, Cowen) reports, “More than four-fifths of patients with schizophrenia spectrum or affective disorders have a history of childhood trauma (CT),” according to a study published online Aug. 15 in the journal Comprehensive Psychiatry. In “305 psychiatric patients from three major hospitals in Oslo, the team found that 250 (82%) had experienced at least one type of CT, 49 (16%) had experienced two types, 58 (19%) three types, 52 (17%) four types, and 27 (9%) had experienced five types of trauma.” The study authors concluded, “Clinicians should be alert of childhood abuse in [the] severely mentally ill, as the consequences may contribute to the clinical picture and may require special attention and measures to be taken into treatment.”

Related Links:

— “Childhood trauma common in schizophrenia, affective disorders, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, August 28, 2012.

The New York Times (8/28) “Well” blog reports, “People in a study who began smoking marijuana as teenagers and continued to use it heavily for decades lost a few IQ points along the way, while those who started in adulthood did not,” according to research published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. “The findings, from a study tracking people’s habits from childhood through middle age, suggest that the developing teenage brain is especially vulnerable to drug use, the authors concluded.”

The USA Today (8/28, Winter) “On Deadline” blog reports, “The study, which tracked more than 1,000 New Zealanders from birth to 38, found an average eight-point decline in IQ among “persistent, dependent” users of marijuana younger than 18. About 5% of the study group were considered “marijuana-dependent” — using more than once a week before they were 18 years old, according to the news release (8/28).” What’s more, “quitting did not appear to reverse the effects, and the IQ decline could not be explained by alcohol, other drug use or by having less education, said lead researcher Madeline Meier at Duke University.”

Interestingly, “the researchers didn’t find the same IQ dip for people who became frequent users of pot after 18,” the AP (8/28, Ritter, Perry) reports. “Although experts said the new findings are not definitive, they do fit in with earlier signs that the drug is especially harmful to the developing brain.”

Bloomberg News (8/28, Lopatto) reports, “Because marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in the US, looking into how it changes the brain is important, said” Meier. “Daily use among high school seniors is at a 30-year peak, according to a 2011 survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.”

HealthDay (8/28, Goodwin) reports, “Though pot has a reputation among many teens for being benign, Meier urged adolescents and their parents to take the findings seriously.”

MedPage Today (8/28, Gever) points out, “The current analysis was supported by the UK Medical Research Council, the US National Institutes of Health, and the Jacobs Foundation.” Also covering the story are WebMD (8/28, Boyles), Medscape (8/28, Harrison), Reuters (8/28, Kelland), and BBC News (8/28, Hughes).

Related Links:

— “Early Marijuana Use Linked to I.Q. Loss, “Benedict Carey, The New York Times, August 27, 2012.

HealthDay (8/24) reports, “Spirituality can be uplifting for…mental health,” according to a study recently published in the Journal of Religion and Health. After examining “the results of three surveys that asked Buddhists, Catholics, Jews, Muslims and Protestants about their personalities, levels of spirituality and physical and mental health,” researchers found that “among people in all five faiths, a greater degree of spirituality was associated with better mental health — specifically lower levels of neuroticism and greater extroversion.” However, “after considering personality variables, the researchers concluded that forgiveness was the only spiritual trait predictive of mental health.”

Related Links:

— “Spirituality May Boost Mental Health: Study, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, August 23, 2012.

MedWire (8/24, Cowen) reports, “Contrary to expectations, engagement in vigorous exercise is positively associated with the incidence and prevalence of psychiatric disorders, particularly bipolar II disorder and alcohol dependence,” according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. After examining “data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC)” on some 23,505 adults, researchers “found that individuals who engaged in vigorous physical exercise were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, less likely to achieve remission, and more likely to relapse than nonexercisers.” (Editors note: This does not mean that vigorous exercise causes mental illness.)

Related Links:

— “Vigorous exercise associated with mental illness vulnerability, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, August 24, 2012.

MedWire (8/23, Cowen) reports, “Adults with mood and anxiety disorders are significantly more likely to be smokers than the general population,” according to astudy of data derived from the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) published online Aug. 10 in the American Journal on Addictions. After assessing “associations between mood and anxiety disorders and smoking in a nationally representative sample of 43,093 individuals, aged at least 18 years, from the NESARC,” then adjusting for confounding factors, researchers found that compared with the general population, “the risk for nicotine dependence was increased among respondents with panic disorder (OR=1.82), bipolar disorder (OR=1.71), specific phobia (OR=1.69), and major depression.”

Related Links:

— “Nicotine dependence risk increased in bipolar disorder, “Mark Cowen, MedWire News, August 23, 2012.

HealthDay (8/21, Dallas) reports, “Mothers who work full time report better mental and physical health than stay-at-home moms or women who work part time,” according to a new study scheduled to be presented Sunday at the American Sociological Association annual meeting in Denver but yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. “Researchers from University of Akron and Penn State University found that women who go back to work soon after having children have more energy and mobility, and less depression at age 40.” HealthDay notes, “The study included data on 2,540 women who became mothers between 1978 and 1995,” and the authors “added that additional childcare and transportation resources for single mothers could improve their employment options.”

Related Links:

— “Working Moms Report Better Health Than Those Who Stay Home, “Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, August 20, 2012.

Medscape (8/21, Melville) reports, “Patients with multiple chronic conditions are significantly less likely to receive treatment for depression at primary care practices that use electronic medical records (EMRs) compared with practices that do not use EMRs,” according to a study published in the August issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. “Researchers at the University of Florida hypothesized that practices using EMRs would be particularly beneficial for complex patients with chronic conditions who are in need of depression treatment, offering greater efficiency in information sharing and delivery of care than those not using EMRs.” However, “the study of 3,467 primary care practice visits by patients aged 18 years and older who were identified as having depression, which used data from the 2006 to 2008 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys, showed an opposite effect.”

On its “Talk of the Nation” segment, NPR (8/21) reported, “Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s recent diagnosis of bipolar disorder has focused attention on the shame that sometimes accompanies mental health diagnoses in the African-American community.” NPR’s John Donvan interviewed psychiatrist William Lawson, MD, PhD, professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Howard University College of Medicine, who discussed the reasons why such stigma may exist, including the fact that many African-Americans “may believe that to be mentally ill is a sign of weakness or a sign of a character fault.” Dr. Lawson also pointed out that fewer than two percent of US psychiatrists are African-American.

Related Links:

— “Behind Mental Health Stigmas In Black Communities,NPR, August 20, 2012.

The Wall Street Journal (8/21, D2, Petersen, Subscription Publication) reports that middle-aged people who suffer from obesity and hypertension, along with other metabolic issues, may have an increased risk for faster decline in their cognitive faculties as they age, compared with their counterparts of normal weight, according to a study published in the Aug. 21 issue of the journal Neurology.

HealthDay (8/21, Reinberg) reports that after following some 6,400 adults ranging in age from 39 to 63 for an entire decade, researchers also found that “even obese people without these physical conditions experienced a faster decline in functions, such as memory.” Richard Lipton, MD, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, who was not involved in the study, said that “this study suggests that taking the steps recommended to prevent heart attack and stroke in midlife, including controlling body weight, high blood pressure, diabetes and lipid profiles, may also have a beneficial effect on cognitive function late in life.” BBC News (8/21) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Obesity in Middle Age Tied to More Rapid Mental Decline: Study, “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, August 20, 2012.