Medscape (3/25, Lowry, Subscription Publication) reports, “People who suffer abuse as children continue to have higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers as adults, likely placing them at increased risk for chronic health problems,” researchers concluded. In an 85-participant study “assessing trajectories of inflammation over a three-year period in healthy adults, those who reported higher rates of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse had higher levels of bio-inflammatory blood markers vs those who reported lower rates of abuse,” the study revealed. In addition, “these individuals…had significantly higher rates of loneliness and depression.” The findings were presented at the virtual Anxiety and Depression Association of America Conference 2021.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Healio (3/25, Gramigna) reports, “Telehealth treatment in an intensive acute care psychiatric setting was associated with equivalent patient satisfaction as in-person treatment,” researchers concluded in a study that “analyzed data of 207 individuals treated virtually between May 2020 and September 2020, as well as of a comparison group of 207 individuals treated in the in-person partial program the year prior.” The findings were published online March 16 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Patient satisfaction high for psychiatric telehealth platforms in partial hospital program “Joe Gramigna, Healio, March 25, 2021

HealthDay (3/25, Preidt) reports, “Exercise, mental stimulation and massage are among the drug-free therapies that are as good or better than medication in treating depression in” patients with dementia, investigators concluded after systematically reviewing “256 studies that ncluded a total of more than 28,000 people with dementia with or without major depression.” The findings of the systematic review were published online March 24 in the BMJ.

Related Links:

— “‘Non-Drug’ Approaches Can Fight Depression in People With Dementia “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, March 25, 2021

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.

Related Links:

— 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