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Latest News Around the Web

Genetic Risk For Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia Seemed To Be Partly Offset By High Levels Of Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Research Suggests

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.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Internet Use Helps Improve Mental Health, Well-Being In Adults Aged 50 Years Or Older, Study Suggests

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

Awareness Of 988 National Suicide Prevention Hotline Is Growing But Remains Low, Poll Finds

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.”

Related Links:

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

Many Parents Struggle To Manage Their Children’s Anger, Survey Suggests

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

Nature-Based Programs May Offer Benefits To Schoolchildren With Mental Health Issues, Research Finds

HealthDay (11/18, Mundell ) reports, “A dose of green may be just what school kids with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues need, new research shows.” Researchers “found that a school program that let 10- to 12-year-olds spend a little time each week in nature paid dividends in improving kids’ mental well-being.” One investigator said, “Nature-based programs may offer targeted benefits for children with higher levels of mental health vulnerabilities and potentially act as an equalizer of mental health among school-age children.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “When Schools Give Kids Time in Nature, Anxiety and Behavior Issues Ease,” Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, November 18, 2024

Foundation News

New PSA Examines Anxiety as Pandemic Improves

As the pandemic improves and restrictions and shutdowns are lifted, many people may be experiencing anxiety at returning to the world and being amongst people. This new PSA from the Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc. examines fears people may have as they try to navigate uncertainty about going outside as well as deal with conflicting messages about how to stay safe and healthy.

Post-Pandemic AnxietyPost Pandemic Anxiety, MP3, 1.3MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Jamie and Sarah Raskin Recognized with Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

Congressman Jamie Raskin and Sarah Bloom Raskin were awarded the Foundation’s 2021 Anti-Stigma Advocacy Prize for the tribute about their son, Tommy, posted on January 4, 2021. The MFP board of directors felt that it was very effective in conveying what a wonderful and gifted person their son was, that depression did not detract from this, and how painful and sad his loss and the loss of others suffering from depression can be. The board also greatly admired their courage in writing about him in such a forthright manner. The Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award was formally presented at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting on April 22.

The Foundation established this annual prize for a worthy media piece, preferably local or regional, that accomplishes one or more of the following:

  • Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or simply in the community.
  • Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
  • Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

Click here for information about past winners.

Psychiatrist Weighs Taking The COVID Vaccine in New Radio Ad

Psychiatrists aren’t necessarily on the front lines treating COVID patients in a hospital, so should they take or not take a COVID vaccine? In this new ad from The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc., one psychiatrist goes trough his thoughts as he decided whether to take it. He examines the science, the risks, possible complications, and what his decision means to his patients as well as to mental health in general.

COVID Vaccination — Why You Should Take ItCOVID Vaccination — Why You Should Take It , MP3, 1.3MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Political Anxiety PSA is Timely Again

As this election cycle nears election day, there is no guarantee we will know the results very soon. A combination of many factors, including a pandemic that brings its own anxiety and has seen record numbers use absentee voting and early voting to avoid crowds on election day, could cause delays in vote counts and that can add to the stress and anxiety of many people. We are featuring our PSA from 2017 which examines the wide variety of feelings people experience after a particularly divisive political campaign and things that can be done to help, ranging from breaks from Facebook and Twitter and similar sites to seeking actual help from professionals.

Listen to the PSA on our home page or on our PSA collection here, where you can listen to or download other advice given in past PSAs, also.

Schuster to Receive Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

Janice Lynch Schuster will be awarded the 2020 Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (MFP) Anti-Stigma Advocacy Prize for her op-ed, “People are not defined by their diseases” in the October 14, 2019 Baltimore Sun. The MFP Board unanimously felt that her article very effectively portrayed not only how hurtful stigma can be, but that health care providers themselves may be the culprits thoughtlessly participating in stigmatizing people – particularly when people are abusing drugs. Her statement inspires others to seek and give help, and to reframe substance abuse as a disease that must be treated scientifically and empathically.

The Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award, which carries a $500 prize, will be formally presented at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting on October 8.

The Foundation established this annual prize for a worthy piece published in a major newspaper (preferably local or regional) that accomplishes one or more of the following:
Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family
member, or simply in the community.
Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental
illness.
Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

Click here for information about past winners.