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.

Related Links:

— “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.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

ABC News (8/14, Shaik) reports, “Deaths from dementia have tripled in just 21 years, according to a new study.” The research found that “in 1999, about 150,000 Americans died from dementia,” but “by 2020, that number had tripled to over 450,000.” The study indicated that “the chances of dying from dementia increased among every demographic group studied.” The findings were published in The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders.

Related Links:

— “More people are dying from dementia, according to new study,”Dr. Noor Shaik, More people are dying from dementia, according to new study, August 14, 2024

Psychiatric News (8/14) reports research found that “more than 90% of individuals experiencing a first-episode psychosis (FEP) achieved remission within two years.” Among those “who relapsed, the researchers found that they experienced delusions that were similar to those they had experienced during their initial psychotic episode.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “High Rate of Remission, Persistence of Delusions Among Those Who Relapse in FEP Clinic Found,”, Psychiatric News , August 14, 2024

CNN (8/13, LaMotte ) reports, “Eating an anti-inflammatory diet of whole grains, fruits and vegetables instead of an inflammatory diet focused on red and processed meats and ultraprocessed foods, such as sugary cereals, sodas, fries and ice cream, lowered the risk of dementia by 31%, a new study found.” Researchers found “that benefit held true even for people with existing diagnoses of cardiometabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease or stroke.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Eating these foods lowers dementia risk, even with type 2 diabetes and heart disease, study says,”Sandee LaMotte, CNN, August 13, 2024