HealthDay (1/15, Preidt) reports that, according to a study published in the January issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry, “daughters exposed to their mother’s stress hormones in the womb may be more likely to become nicotine-dependent later in life.” After analyzing “data from 649 women and 437 men who were followed for 40 years after being born to mothers whose hormone levels and smoking status were recorded during pregnancy,” researchers found that “exposure to elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the womb and having a mother who smoked during pregnancy was linked to an increased likelihood that daughters, but not sons, would be at raised risk for nicotine dependence as adults.”

Related Links:

— “Smoking in Pregnancy Tied to Later Nicotine Addiction in Daughters, HealthDay , January 14, 2014.

HealthDay (1/15, Preidt) reports that according to studies published online in the journal Psychology of Men & Masculinity, adolescent “boys who think they’re too skinny are at increased risk for depression, and they’re more likely to be bullied and use steroids.” In the first “study, researchers analyzed data gathered from more than 2,100 boys who were about 16 years old in 1996 and followed for 13 years,” while in the second, investigators “analyzed data from a 2009 survey of more than 8,000 boys in grades nine through 12 across the United States.”

Related Links:

— “Teen Boys Who Think They’re Skinny May Be at Higher Risk for Depression, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, January 14, 2014.

The Boston Globe (1/13, Lazar) reports on a “first-of-its kind study” scheduled for release today that finds positive effects to “brain training drills” lasting up to ten years. The study analyzed data from “roughly 2,800 participants” who were given sessions of brain training, 74% of whom showed continuing improvement at the decade mark.

Reuters (1/13, Steenhuysen) reports that the results are slated for publication in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Related Links:

— “Study finds long-lasting results from brain exercises, “Kay Lazar, The Boston Globe, January 13, 2014.

Several publications, both large circulation newspapers and niche sources, reported over the weekend on Federal approval of Maryland’s initiative to control hospital costs.

In an article entitled “Maryland Experiments With Capping Hospital Spending,” the Wall Street Journal (1/10, Dooren, Schatz, Subscription Publication) reported that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a waiver to Maryland to set its own Medicare rates for hospitals. Maryland agreed to save $330 million in Medicare cost savings over five years. The plan waiver was supported by the state’s major hospitals and insurance companies.

The Washington Post (1/10, Kliff) “Wonkblog” noted that, unlike other states, “in Maryland, all customers — whether a private insurance plan, public program or uninsured patient — pay the same price.” A form of the program started in the 1970s and has generated substantial savings for the state.

Related Links:

— “Maryland Experiments With Capping Hospital Spending, “Jennifer Corbett, The Wall Street Journal, January 10, 2014.

The AP (1/11, Alonso-Zaldivar) reports that that Obama Administration proposed removing from Medicare “special protections that guarantee seniors access to a wide selection of three types of drugs.” The medications, “antidepressants, antipsychotics and drugs that suppress the immune system to prevent the rejection of a transplanted organs,” have enjoyed “protected” status, but removing that status could save millions of dollars per year and help prevent the overprescribing of antipsychotics in senior care facilities. Critics are concerned that the rule, published in Friday’s Federal Register, could negatively affect patient care. Medscape (1/13) also reports.