Healio (9/27, Michael) reported, “The amount of alcohol older adults consume affects their risk for dementia differently depending on whether they have mild cognitive impairment,” research indicated. Included in the study were a “total of 3,021 adults with a median age of 78 years.” The study found that participants “who drank 7.1 to 14 alcoholic drinks per week had a lower risk for dementia compared with those who drank less than one drink per week,” a phenomenon that “occurred in both patients with (HR = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.47-1.84) and without (HR = 0.63; 95% CI, 0.38-1.06) mild cognitive impairment.” But, “in patients with mild cognitive impairment, the risk for dementia increased when they consumed more than 14 drinks each week (HR = 1.72; 95% CI, 0.87-3.4) compared with less than one drink per week.” The findings were published online Sept. 27 in JAMA Network Open.

Psychiatric News (9/27) reported, “The association between alcohol intake and cognitive decline was affected by the presence of mild cognitive impairment at the start of the study.” The study authors concluded, “These results suggest that while caring for older adults, physicians should carefully assess the full dimensions of drinking behavior and cognition when providing guidance to patients about alcohol consumption.”

Related Links:

— “Amount of alcohol consumed tied to dementia risk in older adults, “Erin Michael, Healio, September 27, 2019

HealthDay (9/26) reports, “More U.S. children today have developmental disabilities like autism and” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “than a decade ago, though improved recognition may be a major reason,” research indicated. Investigators “found that between 2009 and 2017, the percentage of U.S. children and teens with a developmental disability rose from just over 16% to nearly 18%,” with “increases in” AD/HD and “and autism spectrum disorders [ASD]” accounting “for most of the change.” The findings were published online in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “More U.S. Kids Being Diagnosed With Autism, ADHD, “Amy Norton, HealthDay, September 26, 2019

HealthDay (9/26, Heubeck) reports, “It is possible to recover from an opioid addiction,” researchers concluded after “using data from the 2017 National Recovery Survey” to analyze “treatment and recovery services used by U.S. adults who had resolved opioid problems compared to those who had overcome an alcohol problem.” The findings were published online Aug. 2 in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Beating Opioid Addiction Can Be Tough, Here’s What Helps, “Elizabeth Heubeck, HealthDay , September 26, 2019

USA Today (9/26, Vanden Brook) reports, “The rate of suicide among troops increased to its highest level in five years,” a “comprehensive report [pdf] released” Sept. 26 by the Pentagon found. Specifically, “the rate of suicide among active duty military troops was 24.8 per 100,000 people in 2018,” compared to a rate of “18.5 per 100,000” just five years ago. The “overall spike in the rate” was attributed by the Pentagon to “small increases in suicides across all the services.” Newsweek (9/26, LaPorta) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Suicide among troops spikes in 2018 to highest rate in five years, Pentagon says, “Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, September 26, 2019

Reuters (9/25, Rapaport) reports, “When young people with asthma have anxiety, depression or both, they’re more likely to visit the emergency” department (ED) “than if they didn’t have these mood disorders,” researchers concluded after examining “health insurance claims data from 2014 to 2015 for 65,342 children and young adults ages 6 to 21 with asthma.” The findings were published online Sept. 25 in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Anxiety, depression tied to more ER visits with childhood asthma, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, September 25, 2019