The New York Daily News (1/15, Engel) reports that a study published online Jan. 14 in the journal Neurology suggests that individuals with Alzheimer’s “may experience depression and other behavioral changes before their memory starts to fade.” The study’s lead author explained, “While earlier studies have shown that an estimated 90% of people with Alzheimer’s experience behavioral or psychological symptoms such as depression, anxiety and agitation, this study suggests that these changes begin before people even have diagnosable dementia.” For the study, researchers tracked “2,416 people who had visited an Alzheimer’s center.” All of the people were at least 50 years old and did not display any difficulties with cognition at the start of the study.

TIME (1/15, Sifferlin) reports that the participants were followed for seven years, during which time 1,218 people were diagnosed with dementia. The researchers found that participants “with dementia had twice the risk of developing depression earlier – far before their dementia symptoms started – than people without the disease,” and had a 12 times higher likelihood of delusions. What’s more, “the symptoms appeared in consistent phases: first, irritability, depression, and nighttime behavior changes; followed by anxiety, appetite changes, agitation and apathy.” In the final phase, patients displayed “elation, motor disturbances, hallucinations, delusions and disinhibition.”

Related Links:

— “Alzheimer’s first may show itself as depression, mood changes: study,” Meredith Engel, New York Daily News, January 14, 2015.

In continuing coverage, Medscape (1/14, Melville) reports that a report from Mental Health America called “Parity or Disparity, the State of Mental Health in America 2015” reveals a “significant shortage of psychiatrists” in the US, particularly for youngsters, a need that will only increase under the Affordable Care Act. Renee Binder, MD, president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association, said, “The country will need an additional 30,000 child psychiatrists to meet the needs generated by the expanded coverage under the ACA, and we currently only have 8000, so we need to triple the number of child psychiatrists.”

Meanwhile, “the APA has been promoting new systems of collaborative care, with psychiatrists working together with other specialties, including primary care [clinicians] and pediatricians,” she added.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The Los Angeles Times (1/14, Kaplan) “Science Now” blog reports that research published in BMJ indicated that people who “worked at least 49 hours a week were up to 13% more likely to engage in ‘risky alcohol use’ compared with those who were on the job for only 35 to 40 hours a week.” Investigators came to this conclusion after analyzing “data on more than 430,000 people.”

Bloomberg News (1/14, Cortez) reports on the BMJ study, and also points out that “in a 2012 survey by the” CDC, “71 percent of Americans said they’d had a drink in the past year, while about 56 percent had done so in the past month.” Bloomberg News adds that “there are a small and growing number of people who drink excessively at one sitting, and it’s not clear why, said George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.” Koob said, “We’re seeing a higher number of drinks per individual.” He added, “What’s growing is the intensity of drinking in a single bout. We are concerned about that. We haven’t figured out how to address it.”

Related Links:

— “Workaholics are more likely to drink too much alcohol, study says,” Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, January 13, 2015.

USA Today (1/14, Zoroya) reports that the number of suicides by active-duty US military personnel “last year was virtually unchanged from 2013, remaining at historically high numbers for a fifth year,” according to Pentagon statistics. Meanwhile, the Army “reported a decline” for the second consecutive year.

Related Links:

— “2014 military suicides stay high for 5th year straight,” Gregg Zoroya, USA Today, January 13, 2015.

On the front of its Personal Journal section, the Wall Street Journal (1/13, D1, Beck, Subscription Publication) reports in “Health Journal” that a growing number of pediatrician practices are incorporating mental health clinicians as part of integrated care. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that some 21 percent of US youngsters and teens may have a diagnosable substance use or mental health issue.

Related Links:

— “http://www.wsj.com/articles/tot-therapy-psychiatrists-join-up-with-pediatricians-1421105535,” Melinda Beck, Wall Street Journal, January 12, 2015.