Renal & Urology News (5/12, Schieszer) reports, “Declining kidney function appears to be strongly associated with the development of dementia among patients aged 65 years or older,” investigators concluded after analyzing “the association of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with the risk of dementia among 329,822 residents in Stockholm accessing health care between 2006 and 2011.” Study participants “were aged 65 years or older, had no history of dementia, and had not received renal replacement therapy.” The findings were published online in the journal Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Renal Function Decline Associated With Increased Dementia Risk “John Schieszer, Renal & Urology News, May 12, 2021

Cardiovascular Business (5/12, Walter) reports, “Antidepressants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and oral steroids are just some of the medications that could inadvertently raise a person’s blood pressure,” investigators concluded after tracking “data from more than 27,000 participants who responded to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2009 to 2018.” The findings are slated for presentation at ACC.21, the American College of Cardiology’s 70th annual scientific session.

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants, other common medications linked to high blood pressure “Michael Walter, Cardiovascular Business, May 12, 2021

HealthDay (5/11, Reinberg) reports researchers found “sleep problems cost America’s health care system nearly $95 billion a year and raise the cost of health care by 60%.” The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Sleep Disorders Cost U.S. Health Care System Nearly $95 Billion Per Year ” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, May 11, 2021

NBC News (5/11, Carroll) reports research published in BMJ Open indicates that “prescription sleep medications can help women struggling with occasional insomnia but probably won’t help with chronic sleep problems.” The study, using “two years of data from nearly 700 middle-age women,” found “that long-term use of medications such as Ambien [zolpidem], Lunestra [eszopiclone] or some anti-anxiety prescriptions didn’t help women sleep better in the long run compared to women who didn’t use prescription pills.”

Related Links:

— “Prescription sleep pills not likely to help women in the long run, study finds “Linda Carroll, NBC News, May 11, 2021

Healio (5/11, Downey) reports researchers found “there was a significant decline in hospitalizations for abusive head trauma among children aged younger than 5 years during the COVID-19 pandemic.” The findings were published in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Pediatric hospitalizations for abusive head trauma decline during pandemic “Ken Downey Jr., Healio11, May , 2021