HealthDay (7/29, Preidt) reports research indicates that “lonely seniors are much more likely to take opioid” analgesics, “sedatives, anti-anxiety drugs and other medications,” thereby putting them “at increased risk for drug dependency, attention problems, falls, accidents and mental decline,” investigators concluded after surveying some “6,000 U.S. seniors (average age: 73).” The findings were published online July 26 in a research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Loneliness Raises Opioid Dangers in Seniors: Study “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 29, 2021

Healio (7/28, Gramigna) reports, “Physical activity may reduce age-associated risk for all-cause dementia among older adults,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data of 8,270 participants (55.6% women; mean age, 63.9 years) of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging who had available follow-up data between 2002 and 2019.” The findings of the “population-based cohort study” were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

Related Links:

— “Physical activity may reduce older adults’ all-cause dementia risk “Joe Gramigna, Healio, July 28, 2021

HealthDay (7/28) reports, “Depression and suicide concerns increased among adolescents during the pandemic, especially among females, according to a study recently published online in Pediatrics.” Study researchers “compared the percent of primary care visits among adolescents aged 12 to 21 years with screening for depression, screening positive for depression, and screening positive for suicide risk between June and December 2019 and June and December 2020”; they found “that during the pandemic period, there was a decrease in depression screening at primary care visits from 77.6 to 75.8 percent (prevalence ratio, 0.98; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.90 to 1.06).”

Related Links:

— “Depression, Suicide Concerns Up Among Teens During Pandemic “Physician’s Briefing Staff, HealthDay, July 28, 2021

Healio (7/28, Gramigna) reports, “Adults in the U.S. who identify as transgender or gender nonbinary more often reported worsening memory and thinking, functional limitations and depression than cisgender adults,” investigators concluded in two large “studies that assessed cognition among transgender and gender nonbinary adults at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.”

Related Links:

— “Depression, subjective cognitive decline common among transgender, nonbinary adults “Joe Gramigna, Healio, July 28, 2021

The Washington Post (7/28, Hassan) reports, “Rallying calls of praise for star gymnast Simone Biles poured in from around the world as USA Gymnastics confirmed” on July 28 “that the 24-year-old would be withdrawing from the following day’s gymnastics all-around final in Tokyo to prioritize her mental health.”

Reuters (7/28, Tetrault-Farber, Lies) reports that “Biles said she felt she had been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders,” a burden that “seems to have been exacerbated by a year a grief, loss and restrictions tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.” According to Reuters, “even prior to arriving in Tokyo, athletes were facing new and unfamiliar pressures,” being forced “to find ways to train during lockdowns and qualify for the world’s biggest sporting event without compromising their health or that of their families and communities.”

The AP (7/28, Fryer) reports that Biles is not the only Olympic athlete who has struggled with mental health. For example, “Michael Phelps, winner of a record 23 gold medals and now retired, has long been open about his own mental health struggles.” The swimmer “has said he contemplated suicide after the 2012 Olympics while wracked with depression.” Phelps said, “We’re human beings. Nobody is perfect. So yes, it is OK not to be OK.”

Related Links:

— “Pandemic takes toll on athlete mental health at Tokyo Games “Gabrielle Tétrault-farberElaine Lies, Reuters, July 28, 2021