MedPage Today (3/9, Walsh) reports, “The presence of depression or anxiety among patients with psoriatic arthritis [PsA] was associated with a diminished likelihood of achieving a state of minimal disease activity, regardless of the method used to diagnose depression/anxiety,” investigators concluded. The findings of the 743-patient study were published online in Arthritis Care & Research.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (3/9, Marabito) reports, “Gait variability – or the stride-to-stride fluctuations in distance and time when moving – served as a marker of cognitive-cortical dysfunction,” investigators concluded after examining “gait and cognitive performance in 500 older adults with different neurodegenerative and cognitive conditions, including subjective cognitive impairment, Parkinson’s disease,” mild cognitive impairment, Parkinson’s with mild cognitive impairment, Parkinson’s with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, “Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia, in addition to a control group of adults with normal cognitive function.” The findingswere published online in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

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— “Gait variability serves as indicator of cognitive dysfunction in AD, other diseases “Maria Marabito, Healio, March 9, 2021

MedPage Today (3/9, George) reports, “Of nearly 1.2 million Medicare beneficiaries with dementia, 13.9% were prescribed CNS-active polypharmacy, defined as more than 30 days of overlap for at least three drugs that were antidepressants, antipsychotics, anti-epileptics, benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine receptor agonist hypnotics, or opioids,” investigators concluded. What’s more, “gabapentin (Neurontin) – a drug approved for seizures, nerve pain, and restless legs syndrome that’s frequently used for off-label indications – was the most common medication and was associated with 33% of polypharmacy-days,” the study revealed. Nearly “all (92%) polypharmacy-days included an antidepressant. About half (47.1%) included an antipsychotic, 40.7% included a benzodiazepine, and 32.3% included an opioid,” with “the most common medication class combination…an antidepressant, an anti-epileptic, and an antipsychotic, which represented 12.9% of polypharmacy-days.” The findings The findings were published in the March 9 issue of JAMA.

Psychiatric News (3/9) reports investigators arrived at these conclusions after analyzing “data on Medicare beneficiaries with dementia who had Part D prescription drug coverage on January 1, 2018.” Not included in the study were people “living in long-stay nursing homes.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Health Exec (3/8) reports “telehealth claim lines rose 2,817% from December 2019 to December 2020,” according to a study by Fair Health. The analysis “excluded Medicare and Medicaid” and aligns “with other studies and surveys showing a huge demand for telehealth during the pandemic, as patients and [health care] professionals alike aim to reduce exposure and spread of the virus.” The study also “measured the five most common diagnoses made via telehealth” and found mental health topped the list at 47%, followed by communicable disease exposure at 3.6%, respiratory infections at 3.4%, joint/soft tissue diseases at 3.4%, and COVID-19 at 3%. The findings were published in AJMC.

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— “Telehealth claims surged in 2020 “Amy Baxter, Health Exec, March 8, 2021

Healio (3/8, Gramigna) reports, “Compassion cultivation training effectively decreased psychological distress among caregivers of individuals with mental illness,” researchers concluded in a study that included 161 participants. The findings of the “randomized clinical trial” were published online March 8 in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Compassion cultivation training may decrease caregivers’ psychological distress “Joe Gramigna, Healio, March 8, 2021