MedPage Today (3/24, Grant) reports, “Older VA patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia were at higher risk for attempting suicide, a longitudinal study found.” Researchers found that “in a fully-adjusted model, the risk for attempting suicide was 23% higher among those diagnosed with dementia,” and was “34% higher in patients with MCI.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (3/24) reports, “Smoking cessation is associated with improvement in mental health symptoms, according to a review published online March 9 in the Cochrane Library.” The researchers discovered “that compared with continuing to smoke, smoking cessation correlated with an improvement in mental health symptoms: anxiety symptoms (standardized mean difference [SMD], −0.28), depression symptoms (SMD, −0.30), and mixed anxiety and depression symptoms (SMD, −0.31).” In addition, smoking cessation “correlated with an improvement in symptoms of stress (SMD, −0.19), positive affect (SMD, 0.22), and psychological quality of life (SMD, 0.11).”

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Symptoms Improve With Smoking Cessation “Physician’s Briefing Staff, HealthDay, March 24, 2021

Psychiatric News (3/24) says, “Family-centered psychosocial interventions may protect young Black adolescents who experience frequent racial discrimination from subsequent mental health problems, according to a report in JAMA Open Network.” The study researchers “analyzed data from two community-based randomized clinical trials – the Strong African American–Teen (SAAF–T) program, which included 502 Black adolescents (56% girls) aged 14 to 16, and the Adults in the Making (AIM) program, which included 367 Black adolescents (59% girls and women) aged 17 to 18.”

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— “Psychosocial Programs for Black Families May Mitigate Mental Health Effects of Racial Discrimination, Psychiatric News , March 24, 2021

Healio (3/23, Laday) reports, “Anxiety and depression symptoms reduce the likelihood of achieving sustained minimal disease activity in psoriatic arthritis [PsA],” researchers concluded after following “743 adult patients at the University of Toronto Psoriatic Arthritis Clinic from 2008 to 2017.” The findings were published online in a brief report in Arthritis Care & Research.

Related Links:

— “Anxiety, depression reduce odds of achieving minimal disease activity in PsA “Jason Laday, Healio, March 23, 2021

Healio (3/23, Weller) reports, “Patients self-reported varying opinions on cannabis use and its efficacy in alleviating the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease [PD],” investigators concluded after distributing “an anonymous survey to ‘constituents’ of the Parkinson’s Foundation with PD; they reported a 17.6% response rate.” Researchers then included “1,064 patients (mean age, 71.2 years; mean disease duration, 7.4 years) who provided complete responses…in the final analysis.” The study revealed that “most patients ‘recognize that cannabis is no substitute for PD medications,’” the study’s lead author said. The findings were published online in NPJ Parkinson’s Disease.

Related Links:

— “Opinions about cannabis, patterns of use vary among patients with Parkinson’s disease “Madison Weller, Healio, March 23, 2021