Psychiatric News (11/4) reported, “Declining mood affects 38% of Americans in the winter, APA’s November Healthy Minds Monthly Poll” reveals. The poll, which was “conducted online by Morning Consult from October 19 to October 21, asked 2,211 adults about the state of their mental health during the winter.” Additionally, the poll “examined awareness of seasonal affective disorder.” In a statement, APA President Rebecca W. Brendel, MD, JD, said, “Cold, dark weather can have a real impact on our mood,” so “it’s important to keep tabs on our mood and to seek help if sadness or other symptoms become overwhelming.” APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, stated, “Seasonal affective disorder is more than just the winter blues, and people need to be aware that if they’re having depression symptoms specifically during these months, it’s a medical disorder for which they can get help.”

Related Links:

— “Nearly 4 in 10 Americans Experience Declining Mood in Winter, APA Poll Finds, Psychiatric News, November 4, 2022

The New York Times (11/3, Abelson, Sanger-Katz) reports companies selling Medicare Advantage “plans to older adults have posed as the Internal Revenue Service and other government agencies, misled customers about the size of their networks and preyed on vulnerable people with dementia and cognitive impairment, according to a new investigation of deceptive marketing practices in the industry released Thursday by the Senate Finance Committee.” The investigation “catalogs complaints from 14 states, and a multitude of marketing materials generated by the insurers and the companies they hire to help sell the private plans.” The Senate committee “says people both in traditional Medicare and those already in a private plan have been inappropriately switched.”

Related Links:

— “Private Medicare Plans Misled Customers Into Signing Up, Senate Report Says, The New York Times, November 3, 2022

HealthDay (11/3, Thompson) reports, “Autism is a more comprehensive disorder than previously thought, and appears to arise from brain changes located throughout the cerebral cortex, not just in specific areas,” researchers concluded after examining “the genetics in 11 cortical regions by sequencing RNA from brain tissue samples gathered from 112 people after death,” then comparing “what they found to the genetics of healthy brain tissue.” The findings were published online Nov. 2 in the journal Nature.

Related Links:

— “Autism Alters Brain in Major Ways, Study Finds “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, November 3, 2022

Healio (11/3, Downey) reports, “Mania was associated with reduced dopamine transporter density levels among those with bipolar disorder,” investigators concluded in a scan study that included 47 participants, 26 of whom had bipolar disorder and “21 matched healthy controls.” The findings were published online Nov. 2 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Mania associated with lower dopamine transporter density in bipolar patients “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, November 3, 2022

MedPage Today (11/2, George) reports, “People in their 20s and 30s who were moderate-to-heavy drinkers were more likely to have a stroke in early adulthood compared with those who consumed low amounts of alcohol each week,” researchers concluded in study findings published online in the journal Neurology. The study of 1,536,668 young people revealed that those “who consumed 105 g of alcohol per week, or 15 g per day, for two or more years were more likely to have a stroke over 5.6 years of follow-up versus light drinkers,” and “stroke risk rose as the number of years of moderate-to-heavy drinking in young adulthood increased.”

HealthDay (11/2) reports the study also found that “high alcohol burden scores were associated with significantly higher risks for hemorrhagic stroke.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)