The Washington Post (2/17, Schmidt) reports that a “report the CDC released this month found that gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the United States have higher rates of self-reported underlying conditions associated with severe covid-19 outcomes, including asthma, cancer, heart disease, obesity, kidney disease and stroke, than heterosexual people.” Within this community, “Black and Hispanic people are particularly vulnerable, according to the report, which relied on 2017-2019 data from a collection of population health surveys called the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.” But “as the report’s authors point out, no one knows the true toll of the virus on that community – because the United States is not collecting the data necessary to study it.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (2/17) reports researchers found “older adults who get little sleep each night may be at heightened risk of dementia or earlier death.” The findings were published in Aging.

Related Links:

— “Too Little Sleep Could Raise Your Dementia Risk “Amy Norton, HealthDay, February 17, 2021

CNN International (2/17, Rogers, Rogers) reports researchers found that people with mental illness early in life may have “poorer physical health and accelerated aging in adulthood.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry. Dr. Brent Forester, a member of APA’s Council on Geriatric Psychiatry, said, “We think about depression as a disease that originates in the brain with chemical disturbances and things like that. But depression probably is a systemic illness that affects the entire body. The longer I’ve done this work, and the longer that I’ve worked with older adults in particular, the more I think of psychiatric illness as not a brain disorder, but as a whole-body disorder.”

Psychiatric News (2/17) reports the association remained “even after controlling for a host of other factors that might explain early aging, such as poor health in childhood; being overweight; smoking; or a history of cancer, diabetes, or heart attack.”

Healio (2/17, Gramigna) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “People with multiple mental disorders may age several years faster, study finds “Kristen Rogers, CNN, February 17, 2021

HealthDay (2/16) reports recent research suggests recreational “substance use is associated with an increased likelihood of premature and extremely premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).” In the study, researchers “found that patients with premature ASCVD had significantly higher use of tobacco, alcohol, cocaine, amphetamine, and cannabis compared with patients with nonpremature ASCVD.” The findings and an accompanying editorial were published in the journal Heart.

MedPage Today (2/16, Lou) also reports on the study.

Related Links:

— “Recreational Substance Use Linked to Premature Atherosclerotic CVD, HealthDay, February 16, 2021

HealthDay (2/16, Mozes) reports researchers found in a long-term study that young teenage girls who spend more time on social media than their peers are more likely to die by suicide. The findings were published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Related Links:

— “As Social Media Time Rises, So Does Teen Girls’ Suicide Risk ” Alan Mozes, HealthDay, February 16, 2021