The New York Times (5/14, A19, Tavernise, Subscription Publication) reports that a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine Wednesday found that “offering incentives was far more effective in getting people to stop smoking than the traditional approach” of smoking cessation counseling or nicotine replacement therapy. Specifically, researchers found that while more people agreed to a financial reward program over a penalty program, those who agreed to risk a penalty, such as losing a $150 deposit, “were twice as likely to quit” as those in the reward program. The study involved 2,500 people and was “the largest to date to test whether offering financial incentives could lead to better health.”

According to the Los Angeles Times (5/14, Kaplan), the researchers explain that while the penalty approach offers better results, only 14% of participants opted to go that route, while 90% enrolled in the pure reward program. The study’s authors believe future research will be needed to find “an ideal amount that’s not too steep to scare people off but still high enough to motivate smokers to earn it back.”

Related Links:

— “Study Asks if Carrot or Stick Can Better Help Smokers Quit,” Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times, May 13, 2015.

Noting the death in custody of Natasha McKenna, a woman with mental illness, an editorial in the Washington Post (5/14) cites a new report by Human Rights Watch which “documents the routine brutality exercised by guards who are untrained and ill-equipped to deal with mentally ill people, who make up enormous proportions of jail and prison populations.” The Post ties the report’s findings to McKenna’s case, pointing that according to the report, force is “used when there is an immediate security need to control the inmate, but the amount of force used is excessive to the need, or continues after the inmate has been brought under control.”

Related Links:

— “The abuse of the mentally ill in America’s prisons,” Editorial Board, Washington Post, May 13, 2015.

Reuters (5/14, Rapaport) reports that long-term depression may increase stroke risk in older adults, even if the depression is treated, according to a study published online May 13 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

TIME (5/14, Oaklander) reports that after analyzing “data from more than 16,000 middle-aged adults” who were followed for about 12 years, researchers found that those “who reported high symptoms of depression – three or more symptoms from an eight-item depression scale – for four consecutive years had about 114% higher risk of stroke compared to those who did not have symptoms of depression.” Those whose symptoms of depression had subsided “still had a 66% higher risk of stroke.”

Related Links:

— “Depression may double stroke risk in older adults,” Lisa Rapport, Reuters, May 13, 2015.

HealthDay (5/13, Reinberg) reports that research published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests that patients “undergoing hormone therapy to treat prostate cancer may experience impaired mental function within the first six months that persists for at least a year.” Investigators also found that “the risk of memory, learning and concentration problems associated with hormone therapy was greatest for men with a particular gene mutation.”

Related Links:

— “Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer May Impair Thinking,” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, May 12, 2015.

HealthDay (5/13, Preidt) reports that research published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention suggests that individuals “who have suffered a traumatic brain injury are at increased risk for road rage.” Investigators “surveyed nearly 4,000 Canadian adult drivers, aged 18 to 97.” The researchers “found that those who had suffered at least one traumatic brain injury in their lifetime had many more incidents of serious road rage than those without a brain injury.”

Related Links:

— “Brain Injury Linked to Raised Risk of Road Rage,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, May , 2015.12