Reuters (10/11, Carroll) reported, “Anxiety and depression are common among participants in cardiac rehab programs, and that poor mental health may cause them to drop out,” researchers concluded after studying “4,784 heart patients treated at two Sydney hospitals between 2006 and 2017.” The study found that 18% “had symptoms of moderate to extremely severe depression,” while “28% had symptoms of moderate to extremely severe anxiety.” The findings were published online in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Related Links:

— “Depression, anxiety may cause patients to leave cardiac rehab, “Linda Carroll, Reuters, October 11, 2019

Reuters (10/11, Chander) reported, “For older adults, hearing aids may delay some forms of mental and physical decline associated with hearing loss and aging,” research indicated. After studying some “114,862 people age 66 and older with hearing loss,” researchers found that “among people who’d been diagnosed with hearing loss, those who used hearing aids were up to 18% less likely to be diagnosed with dementia, depression or fall-related injuries over the next three years, compared to people not using the devices.” The findings were published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Related Links:

— “Hearing aids may help delay dementia, depression in elders, “Vishwadha Chander, Reuters, October 11, 2019

Kaiser Health News (10/11, Graham) reported, “as older adults become reliant on computers, cellphones and tablets,” cognitive impairment and dementia may make technology “difficult to use and, in some cases, problematic.” For example, patients may have difficulty remembering passwords or using smartphone applications. Moreover, “people with frontotemporal dementia, which affects a person’s judgment, self-awareness and ability to assess risk,” may be particularly vulnerable to digital threats. Meanwhile, families may have difficulty monitoring or controlling a loved one’s online activities because “appropriating someone’s passwords and using them to check email or online bank or brokerage accounts” without their consent is illegal.

Related Links:

— “With cognitive impairment, older adults struggle with — and face risks from — smartphones, computers., ” Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News, October 11, 2019

Reuters (10/14, Carroll) reports an analysis by Canadian researchers at Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute within Unity Health Toronto of over 163 studies involving nearly 25,000 patients suggests that “symptoms of aggression and agitation in dementia patients may respond better to non-drug therapies such as massage, touch therapy and outdoor activities.” Investigators “found that outdoor activities were more effective than antipsychotic medications for treating physically aggressive patients.” Also, in terms of “verbal aggression, massage and touch therapy were more effective than the patients’ usual care.” The findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “To ease dementia agitation, drugs may not be best option, “Linda Carroll, Reuters, October 14, 2019

On its “Morning Edition” program and in its “Shots” blog, NPR (10/10, Hamilton) reports scientists are “worried about vaping’s effect on teenage brains,” which could present “potential problems” that “include attention disorders…impulse control issues and susceptibility to substance abuse.” Current “research on young animals shows that nicotine can interfere with processes that are critical to memory, learning, focus, impulse control and brain development.” Frances Leslie, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California at Irvine, “says the problem is that nicotine mimics acetylcholine, an important chemical messenger in the brain,” fooling “brain cells that have something called a nicotinic receptor.” Leslie explained that “unfortunately…’those parts of the brain that are actively maturing during adolescence are being actively controlled by nicotinic receptors.’”

Related Links:

— “How Vaping Nicotine Can Affect A Teenage Brain, “Jon Hamilton, NPR, October 10, 2019