MedPage Today (11/20, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “Diagnoses of postpartum depression (PPD) increased significantly across all racial and ethnic groups and prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) categories over the past decade, according to a California-based cross-sectional study.” An analysis of over “400,000 pregnancies found that prevalence of PPD doubled from 2010 to 2021 (9.4% vs 19%).” Although “rates increased across all groups, the largest increases were seen in those who identified as Asian and Pacific Islander (280% increase) and non-Hispanic Black (140% increase).”

The findings were published in JAMA Network Open. Ludmila De Faria, MD, the chair for APA’s Council on Women’s Mental Health, “said these findings are a huge positive and also a call to action.” She said, “It confirms what we know, that all of the emphasis on early detection and screening has paid off, and now more people are definitely being identified that struggle with postpartum depression. … The issue is, do they all have access to care?”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (11/19, George ) reports, “Genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia appeared to be partly offset by high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, U.K. Biobank data suggested.” Investigators found that “overall, high cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with better global and domain-specific cognitive functions and lower risk of dementia in both middle-age and older adults.”

The data indicated that “the incidence rate ratio of all-cause dementia was 0.60…for high versus low cardiorespiratory fitness. Dementia onset was delayed by 1.48 years…in the high fitness group.”

Meanwhile, “among people with moderate or high genetic dementia risk scores, high cardiorespiratory fitness attenuated dementia risk by 35%…compared with low fitness.” The findings were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (11/19, Rhoades) reports “internet use could help improve mental health and well-being in adults aged 50 years or older, study results” suggest. The data “showed that internet usage ‘could be an effective strategy to improve overall mental health in middle-aged and older populations,’ but policymakers ‘need to recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach for older people with different sociodemographic characteristics,health behaviors, physical health and genetic risk,’ the researchers concluded.” The findings were publishedin Nature Human Behaviour.

Related Links:

— “Internet use may improve mental health in middle-aged, older adults,” Gina Brockenbrough, MA, Healio, November 19, 2024

The Hill (11/19, Timotija ) reports, “Awareness of the 988 national suicide prevention hotline is growing since the number was updated, but it is still low, according to a new survey.” The Annenberg Public Policy Center/SSRS poll “found that only 15 percent of survey respondents named the correct number for the hotline, officially named the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, as of September this year.” That number rose “by 4 percent since August 2023, when just 11 percent of surveytakers shared the accurate numbers.” In January of last year, “just 8 percent knew the correct digits, according to the survey’s analysis.”

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— “Public awareness of 988 national suicide prevention hotline low, but growing: Poll,” Filip Timotija, The Hill, November 19, 2024

HealthDay (11/18, Thompson ) reports “a new survey shows that many parents struggle to manage their kids’ anger, and some even suspect they’re not providing a good example themselves.” About “seven in 10 parents think they sometimes don’t handle anger well and their kids may model that behavior, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.” The poll found that “one in seven parents think their kids get angrier than peers the same age, and four in 10 say their child has experienced negative consequences when angry.”

Related Links:

— “Poll Finds Many Parents Struggling to Manage Kids’ Anger,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, November 18, 2024