Neurology Advisor (11/14, Khaja) reports that research indicates that “proton pump inhibitors…usage is associated with an elevated risk for dementia before age 90, regardless of when treatment started based on diagnosis,” and the “risk is escalated with prolonged use of PPIs.” The findings were published in Alzheimer’s Dementia.
Related Links:
— “Proton Pump Inhibitor Use Tied to Elevated Dementia Risk Before Age 90,”Hibah Khaja, Neurology Advisor , November 14, 2023
Healio (11/14, Kellner) reports, “Patients with atopic dermatitis have an increased likelihood of developing anxiety and depression, according to a poster presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting.” In a study, among “respondents seeing an allergist as their primary eczema [clinician], 90.3%…reported experiencing at least 1 day of poor mental health per month. More specifically, 72.6% reported poor mental health symptoms for 1 to 10 days per month, whereas 17.7% reported poor mental health symptoms 11 days or more.”
Related Links:
— “Poor mental health found to be common comorbidity with atopic dermatitis,”Sara Kellner, Healio, November 14, 2023
CNN (11/15, McPhillips) reports, “The suicide rate in the United States spiked in 2021, reversing two years of decline, and rates among older men were especially high, a new report says.” The report from the CDC indicates that there were approximately “30 suicide deaths for every 100,000 men ages 55 and older in 2021…more than double the overall age-adjusted rate of about 14 suicide deaths for every 100,000 people that year.” The data indicated that “men 85 and older were the most at risk, with nearly 56 suicide deaths for every 100,000 people in that group, higher than any other age group.”
Related Links:
— “Suicide rates in the US are highest among elderly men, and most involve guns, CDC report says,”Deidre McPhillips, CNN, November 15, 2023
MedPage Today (11/13, George) reports, “People with Parkinson’s disease had twice the average risk of a suicide attempt or death by suicide, a meta-analysis showed.” Investigators found that “across 10 studies, the odds of suicidal behavior were 2.15-fold higher” among patients with Parkinson’s “compared with general population controls.” The findings were published in JAMA Neurology.
Related Links:
— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)
The New York Times (11/13, Paris) reports, “There are more Americans who say they have serious cognitive problems – with remembering, concentrating or making decisions – than at any time in the last 15 years, data from the Census Bureau shows.” Since the pandemic, “the number of working-age adults reporting ‘serious difficulty’ thinking has climbed by an estimated one million people.” This “sharp increase captures the effects of long Covid for a small but significant portion of younger adults, researchers say, most likely in addition to other effects of the pandemic, including psychological distress.” But experts “also say it’s not yet possible to fully dissect all the reasons behind the increase.”
Related Links:
— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)
Psychiatric News (11/13) says, “Children who do not develop mental health problems early in life despite exposure to multiple adversities may experience such challenges in early adulthood, suggests a report in The American Journal of Psychiatry,” a publication of the American Psychiatric Association. In the study, “researchers found that compared with children with limited exposure to adversity and no childhood disorders (low-risk/no disorders group), resilient children had nearly 3 times the risk of developing anxiety and 4.5 times the risk of developing depression in adulthood.” Additionally, “the resilient group had worse physical and financial health compared with individuals in the low-risk/no disorders group,” but “had better functioning compared with the group of participants with childhood psychiatric problems in the domains of health and social functioning.”
Related Links:
— “Impacts of Childhood Adversity on Mental Health May Be Delayed for Some Youth, Study Suggests, Psychiatric News, November 13, 2023
CNN (11/13, McPhillips) reports, “Nearly 49 million people in the US ages 12 and older – more than 1 in 6 – had a substance use disorder in 2022, according to survey data released Monday by the US Department of Health and Human Services.” Broken down, “about 30 million people had an alcohol use disorder, and 27 million had a drug use disorder, including about 6 million with [an] opioid use disorder.” Around “8 million people had both alcohol and drug use disorders, the survey found. Substance use disorders were considered severe for more than 1 in 5 people.”
Related Links:
— “More than 1 in 6 US adults and adolescents had a substance use disorder in 2022, federal survey finds,”Deidre McPhillips, CNN, November 13, 2023
The Hill (11/10, Dress) reported the White House on Friday “announced the expansion of health care coverage for the nation’s veterans, creating a no-cost system for World War II veterans seeking care and accelerating enrollment for all veterans applying for benefits after exposure to toxins.” Beginning this month, “all living World War II veterans can access health care services from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at no cost, including nursing home care, the White House said in a press release.” Additionally, “the VA will also accelerate eligibility under the PACT Act, a major law that passed last year and expanded benefits for veterans exposed to toxins and chemicals.”
Related Links:
— “Biden expands veterans’ health care coverage,”Brad Dress , The Hill, November 10, 2023
MedPage Today (11/12, Phend) reports, “Intensive blood pressure control reduced dementia risk among individuals with hypertension, a randomized trial from rural China showed.” The research, presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2023, showed that “a village doctor-led intervention with a simple stepped-care protocol targeting a blood pressure under 130/80 mm Hg reduced occurrence of any dementia by a relative 15% compared with usual care over 4 years.”
Related Links:
— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)
TCTMD (11/10, Maxwell) reported, “Atrial fibrillation (AF) is not only linked to an increased likelihood of developing dementia, but this risk increases in people who see their AF symptoms start at a younger age, according to…prospective data.” An “analysis of patients with AF showed that younger age of onset was directly related to a higher risk of developing all-cause dementia,” Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia. The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.
Related Links:
— “Younger Age at AF Onset Linked to Greater Dementia Risk,”Yael L. Maxwell, TCTMD , November 10, 2023