HealthDay (4/25, Murez) reports 67% of Americans over 50 said in a poll that they were interested in cutting back on prescription medications. The findings are in line with a growing movement toward “deprescribing.” However, researchers “emphasized that it’s important for patients and providers to communicate about deprescribing.”

Related Links:

— “Lots of Older Americans Would Like to Take Fewer Meds, Poll Finds “Cara Murez, HealthDay, April 25, 2023

Psych News Alert (4/25) reports, “People with early psychosis (those who have had only a single episode of psychosis) who experience persistent sleep problems are nearly 14 times as likely to report suicidal ideation as those with early psychosis who do not experience sleep problems, according to” research. Investigators found, after analyzing data on 403 people, that “sleep problems were associated with significantly increased odds of suicidal ideation at baseline and 18 months.” Additionally, “sleep problems at any time point were associated with an over a threefold increased odds of suicidal ideation.” The findings were published online April 22 in Schizophrenia Bulletin.

Related Links:

— “Suicidal Thoughts Linked to Sleep Problems in Patients With Early Psychosis, Psych News Alert, April 25, 2023

The Washington Post (4/25, Amenabar) reports that research shows that “the chewy melatonin gummies that many people take before bedtime to promote sleep may contain far more of the hormone than what’s printed on the label.”

The New York Times (4/25, Blum) reports that investigators “analyzed 25 melatonin gummy products from different brands and found that 22 contained different amounts of melatonin than what was listed on their labels; one contained only 74 percent of the advertised amount of melatonin, while another had 347 percent more.” Meanwhile, “another product contained no detectable melatonin at all.” The findings were published online April 25 in a research letter in JAMA.

Also covering the story are MedPage Today (4/25, George) and HealthDay (4/25, Norton).

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Healio (4/22, Young) reported, “People who experienced lifetime and everyday discrimination had elevated risk for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality compared with those who did not,” investigators concluded in findings published online ahead of print in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. For the study, “researchers followed participants from the MESA cohort aged 45 to 84 years without a history of CVD (1,633 Black, 1,403 Hispanic/Latino and 2,473 white) across five exams from 2002 to 2018.”

Related Links:

— “Experience with discrimination may increase cardiovascular, all-cause mortality “Kate Young, Healio , April 22, 2023

According to HCPlive (4/21, Walter), research indicates that “patients with cystic fibrosis or primary ciliary dyskinesia, as well as their caregivers, were at an increased risk of developing mental illnesses like depression or anxiety during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.” Included in the 110-patient study were “110 patients, 10 with cystic fibrosis, 31 with primary ciliary dyskinesia, 52 cystic fibrosis caregivers, and 17 primary ciliary dyskinesia caregivers.” The findings were published online April 21 in the journal Pediatric Pulmonology.

Related Links:

— “Caregivers, Patients With Cystic Fibrosis, Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia at Elevated Risk of Mental Illness “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, April 21, 2023