The New York Times (8/8, Glover-Smith ) says “a report published last week by an international commission focused on dementia prevention” found that “adults over age 65 who experience vision loss have a nearly 50 percent increased risk of developing dementia.” However, if the “vision problems are corrected, that risk drops dramatically.” The commission also “found that people with hearing loss have a 37 percent increased risk for developing dementia,” with more severe hearing loss leading to a higher risk. The findings led the commission to add “vision impairment to its list of 14 total modifiable risk factors for dementia,” which also includes “smoking, diabetes, social isolation and hypertension.” The report was published in The Lancet.

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— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

HCP Live (8/8, Derman) reports, “Nearly 1 in 10 patients with chronic pain treated with opioid analgesics experience dependence and opioid use disorder, a recent study found.” Investigators also observed “significant differences in the prevalence of dependence and opioid use disorder when examining the study setting,” with the greatest prevalence rates being seen in pain clinics and mixed settings. The findings were published in Addiction.

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— “Opioid Pain Treatment Raises Dependence and Use Disorder Rates,”Chelsie Derman, HCP Live , August 8, 2024

MedPage Today (8/7, George ) says, “Dementia in Parkinson’s disease occurred less frequently or later in the disease course than previously reported, data from two ongoing prospective cohorts showed.” The study “assessed longitudinal information from the international Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) cohort and a long-standing Parkinson’s research cohort at Penn,” which combined to reveal “the estimated risk of dementia by duration of Parkinson’s disease was” 3-12% at year five, rising to 74% at year 20. The findings were published in Neurology.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

NBC News (8/7, Rosenblatt ) reports, “Women who spend time on TikTok are at a greater risk of disliking their own bodies and feeling worse about their appearance — especially if they’ve been exposed to pro-anorexia content, a study published Wednesday suggests.” After surveying “273 women ages 18 to 28 from July 2021 to October 2021 about their TikTok use” and showing them “what was referred to as ‘pro-anorexia,’ also known as ‘pro-ana,’ images,” researchers observed “a negative body reaction after as little as 10 minutes viewing content on TikTok.” The findings were published in PLOS One.

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— “Women who spend time on TikTok feel less satisfied with their bodies, study suggests,”Kalhan Rosenblatt , NBC News , August 7, 2024

Healio (8/7, Rhoades) reports, “Approximately one-third of imprisoned individuals with a mental health condition received no treatment, according to a study.” Researchers also observed that “61.7% of prisoners reported one or more chronic physical conditions,” 13.8% of which “had received no medical visit since their incarceration.” Further, “co-payments charged by many prisons decreased odds of receiving treatment among the incarcerated.” The findings were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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— “Care for mental, physical health severely lacking among incarcerated,”Andrew (Drew) Rhoades, Healio, August 7, 2024