MedPage Today (10/14, George) reports, “Severe apathy in cognitively normal older people was tied to an increased risk of future dementia,” investigators concluded after following “2,018 white and Black community-dwelling older adults in the NIH’s Health, Aging, and Body Composition” cohort. The study revealed that “compared with older adults who had low levels of apathy, those with severe apathy were nearly twice as likely to develop probable dementia.” The study authors posited their research provides “novel evidence for apathy as a prodrome of dementia.” The findings were published online Oct. 14 in the journal Neurology.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (10/14, Gramigna) reports, “Cigarette smoking appeared linked to increased amounts of Alzheimer’s disease risk biomarkers,” investigators concluded in a study that “sought to investigate the link between cigarette smoking and” cerebrospinal fluid “biomarkers of neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, neuroprotection and oxidation.” Researchers then “analyzed these biomarkers among 191 adult men in China both with and without significant cigarette exposure.” The findings of the “case-control study” were published online in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Cigarette smoking may increase risk for Alzheimer’s disease “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 14, 2020

Healio (10/13, Downey) reports, “Approximately 21% of children aged nine to 12 years experience cyberbullying in some form…a survey conducted by the Cartoon Network and the Cyberbullying Research Center” revealed. The “responses from the national survey of 1,034 preteens showed that 15% of respondents witnessed cyberbullying, 15% experienced cyberbullying themselves, and 3% reported cyberbullying others.” Click here to see the findings.

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— “Preteens experience ‘concerning’ level of cyberbullying, survey finds “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, October 13, 2020

HealthDay (10/13, Reinberg) reports research indicates that “fewer young people are drinking alcohol now than 20 years ago.” After collecting “data on more than 180,000 young U.S. adults who took part in a survey,” investigators found that “the number of men and women in the United States between the ages of 18 to 22 who abstained from drinking increased from 20% to 28% for college students and from 24% to 30% for those not in school.” In addition, “alcohol abuse dropped by about half.” The findings were published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

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— “More Young Adults in the U.S. Are Saying No to Alcohol “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, October 13, 2020

Psychiatric News (10/13) reports, “People with major depressive disorder (MDD) who often experience sudden bouts of anger – also known as anger attacks – may have elevated levels of suicidal ideation compared with those who do not experience anger attacks,” researchers concluded after analyzing data on 293 patients who took part in “the Establishing Moderators and Biosignatures of Antidepressant Response in Clinical Care” study. The findings were published online Oct. 10 in the journal Depression & Anxiety.

Related Links:

— “Suicidal Thoughts Elevated Among Depressed Patients Reporting Anger Attacks, Psychiatric News, October 13, 2020