Medscape (5/13, MacReady) reports that research published online in Pediatrics suggests that kids “who suffer a concussion may experience symptoms for several weeks after the injury, and those symptoms may differ from the ones seen at presentation.”

HealthDay (5/13, Reinberg) reports that in the “study from the emergency medicine division at Boston Children’s Hospital,” physicians “found that, while headache, dizziness and blurry vision can appear right after a concussion, emotional and mental symptoms, such as irritability and frustration, show up much later and stay longer.” Although the majority of “children recovered within two weeks after the injury, 25 percent still had headache a month after their injury.” Meanwhile, “more than 20 percent suffered from fatigue, and nearly 20 percent reported taking longer to think for a month after their concussion.”

Related Links:

— “Kids’ Concussion Symptoms Can Linger Long After Injury: Study,” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, May 12, 2014.

Scientific American (5/13, Upsori) reports that China is facing a public health crisis as the number of elderly people with dementia increases. The country already “has more than nine million people with some form of dementia and more cases of Alzheimer’s disease than any other country, according to a 2013 paper in The Lancet,” the authors of which “dubbed dementia ‘the single largest challenge to health and social care systems’ in China.”

The article goes on to interview psychiatrist Michael Phillips, MD, MA, MPH, who “has dual appointments at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the Collaborative Center for Global Mental Health at Emory University.” At the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting, Dr. Phillips described the challenges China faces as it deals with a growing population of aging people.

Related Links:

— “Health Care Crisis Looms as China Faces Elderly Dementia Upsurge,” Sandra Upson, Scientific American, May 12, 2014.

The Military Times (5/9, Kime) reported that an understanding of what veterans “have experienced during their time in service is vital to good patient care, military officials said recently in a seminar at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting.” Now, even though “online short courses are available that cover the obvious — rank, military occupational specialties, histories and traditions — the Pentagon is gearing up to promote a new eight-hour course for health care [professionals] to gain a deeper understanding of military culture.” For example, the course called “‘Military Culture: Core Competencies for Health Care Providers’ covers four subjects: health care provider beliefs and biases; military definitions, language and culture; military functions; and the role of military ethos in health behavior.”

Related Links:

— “Building cultural bridges between doctors, troops,” Patricia Kime , Military Times, May 9, 2014.

HealthDay (5/10, Preidt) reported that according to a study published May 7 in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, “premature menopause may increase a woman’s risk of mental decline later in life.” The study of some 4,800 women revealed that, “compared to those who began menopause after age 50, women with premature menopause were 40 percent more likely to do poorly on verbal and visual memory tests.”

In addition, they “had a 35 percent higher risk of decline in psychomotor speed (coordination between the brain and the muscles that brings about movement) and overall mental function.” The study authors defined premature menopause as occurring around age 40.

Related Links:

— “Premature Menopause May Affect Women’s Brains,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, May 9, 2014.

NBC Nightly News (5/8, story 10, 0:40, Williams) reported that research suggests that “being angry, having frequent arguments with spouses or partners or relatives or neighbors may boost the risk of death from any cause and especially for those in middle age.”

USA Today (5/9, Painter) reports that for the study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, investigators “asked nearly 10,000 men and women ages 36 to 52 how often they ‘experience conflict’ with partners, children, other family members, friends and neighbors.” The researchers “also asked about worries and demands in those relationships.” The investigators “checked death records 11 years later and found that frequent fighters were two to three times more likely than their more peaceable peers to be dead already – even if their fights were mostly with neighbors, not friends or family.”

Related Links:

— “Study: Frequent fighters more likely to die in mid-life,” Kim Painter, USA Today, May 8, 2014.