HealthDay (3/9, Norton) reports a study, “of medical records from more than 415,000 new mothers, found that those living in urban areas with more tree coverage had a lower risk of being diagnosed with postpartum depression, versus women from less-green neighborhoods.” The study found that “for every 10% increase in ‘street-level’ green space, the risk of postpartum depression declined by about 4%.” Furthermore, increased physical activity accounted “for a small portion of the link between green space and lower depression risk,” according to the findings published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas.

Related Links:

— “Could Walks in the Park Ward Off Postpartum Depression? “Amy Norton, HealthDay, March 9, 2023

HealthDay (3/9, Murez) reports a 137-study systematic review and meta-analysis “has found that…the psychological fallout from the pandemic has been less intense than thought.” Nearly “75% of study participants in the studies reviewed were adults and 25% were children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19.” According to the researchers, “the mental health changes were minimal…whether the studies covered the mental health of the population as a whole or that of specific groups.” However, the results, published online March 8 in the BMJ, did find that the pandemic has “had a disproportionate effect on women.”

Related Links:

— “COVID’s Toll on Mental Health May Have Been Exaggerated: Study “Cara Murez, HealthDay, March 9, 2023

The New York Times (3/8, Chung) reports that “opioids were the leading cause of fatal poisonings among children age 5 years old and younger in recent years, a study has found.” The study “analyzed 731 poisoning-related deaths that occurred from 2005 to 2018 across 40 states” and “found that opioids…contributed to nearly half, or 47%, of those deaths.” According to the findings published in Pediatrics, “about 41% of these poisoning deaths resulted from accidental overdoses,” while 18% were described as “‘deliberate’ poisonings.”

CNN (3/8, Christensen) reports the trend worsened over time. The findings also showed that “more than 65% of the deaths happened at home.”

Related Links:

— “Opioids Are Leading Cause of Child Poisoning Deaths, Study Finds “Christine Chung, The New York Times, March 8, 2023

CNN (3/8, LaMotte) reports, “People who consumed foods from the plant-based Mediterranean and brain-focused MIND diets had fewer of the hallmark signs of Alzheimer’s…when autopsied, a…study found.” Those “who most closely followed either of the diets had ‘almost 40% lower odds’ of having enough plaques and tangles in brain tissue to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, according to the study.” The findings, published in the journal Neurology, also showed that “adding just one food category from either diet…reduced amyloid buildup in the brain to a level similar to being about four years younger.”

MedPage Today (3/8, George) reports the diets “were linked with less postmortem Alzheimer’s disease pathology, primarily beta-amyloid load, in older adults.”
“ The MIND diet is a brain-healthy diet that stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. It’s a hybrid of the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) and the Mediterranean diet, and it focuses on food groups in each diet that can boost your brainpower and protect it from age-related problems like Alzheimer’s disease.”

Related Links:

— “Mediterranean and MIND diets reduced signs of Alzheimer’s in brain tissue, study finds “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, March 8, 2023

Psychiatric News (3/8) says, “Young people who began treatment within 14 days of being diagnosed with first-episode psychosis (FEP) were less likely to deliberately harm themselves than those who did not initiate treatment, according to a report” that was “based on data collected from Ohio Medicaid claims for more than 6,300 youth with FEP.” According to the results, “of the 4,419 youth who initiated treatment, 134 (3.0%) deliberately harmed themselves at least once; among the 1,930 youth who did not initiate treatment, 95 (4.9%) deliberately harmed themselves.” These results were published online Feb. 28 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Entering Treatment After First Episode of Psychosis May Reduce Risk of Self-Harm, Psychiatric News, March 8, 2023