Healio (8/16, Jenkins) reported, “Benzodiazepineswere associated with increased risk for CHD, HF and CV mortality among patients with insomnia, according to a study.” In order “to investigate the association between regular use of Z-drugs (eszopiclone, zolpidem and zaleplon) and benzodiazepines (lorazepam, alprazolam, diazepam and triazolam) and CV outcomes – including CHD, HF, stroke and CV mortality – among patients with insomnia,” investigators “used multivariable Cox proportional hazard models to analyze data from 124,445 U.K. Biobank participants aged 40 to 69 years with insomnia.” The findings were published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

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— “Benzodiazepine use may carry CV risks among patients with insomnia,”Cassandra Jenkins, Healio , August 16, 2024

MedPage Today (8/16, George ) reported, “Herpes zoster (shingles) was tied to an elevated risk of subjective cognitive decline, an analysis of 150,000 U.S. healthcare professionals showed.” Investigators also observed that “the risk of subjective cognitive decline was higher for APOE4 carriers versus non-carriers among men (P for interaction=0.02) but not women,” while “the association between herpes zoster and risk of subjective cognitive decline did not differ among people with or without potentially immunocompromising conditions.” The findings were published in Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (8/16, Mundell ) reported parents’ excessive smartphone use “could be harming the mental health of children, a new study suggests.” Investigators found that “kids ages 9 to 11 who said their parents spent way too much [time] on their smartphones were more prone to anxiety, attention issues and hyperactivity later on compared to the youngsters of parents who weren’t phone-obsessed.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Parents’ Excessive Smartphone Use Could Be Harming Children’s Mental Health, Study Finds,”Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, August 16, 2024

The Washington Post (8/19, Docter-Loeb) says, “Alcohol consumption played a role in 2.6 million deaths worldwide in 2019, according to a report from the World Health Organization.” After analyzing “alcohol and psychoactive drug usage in 2019 across 145 countries,” investigators observed that “young people ages 20 to 39 and individuals in Europe and Africa made up the largest proportion of alcohol-attributable deaths, and more men than women – 2 million vs. 0.6 million – died because of alcohol, according to the report.” Despite “400 million people globally” experiencing alcohol use disorders, “most of the countries assessed did not have a specific budget line or data on governmental expenditures for treatment.” The findings were published in a news release from WHO.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (8/19, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “Despite the growing mental heath crisis among kids, pediatric inpatient psychiatric bed capacity remained unchanged from 2017 to 2020, and the number of beds varied widely by state, a cross-sectional study showed.” Investigators also observed that “pediatric inpatient psychiatric beds were offered most frequently at nonprofit and general medical hospitals,” with 52.2% of 11,276 beds being “in free-standing psychiatric hospitals (34.9% at general psychiatric hospitals and 17.3% at children’s psychiatric hospitals), and 23% of beds…in hospitals specializing in pediatric care.” The findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)