The CBS Evening News (1/28, story 9, 1:50, Glor) reported, “A new study finds lowering blood pressure could rut the risk of developing a brain disorder that can lead the Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.”

The New York Times (1/28, Belluck) reports researchers “found that people with hypertension who received intensive treatment to lower their blood pressure were less likely than those receiving standard blood pressure treatment to develop minor memory and thinking problems that often progress to dementia.” The findings were published online in JAMA.

Medscape (1/28, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports that in the 9,361-patient, “Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial Memory and Cognition in Decreased Hypertension (SPRINT MIND)” study, investigators found that “targeting systolic blood pressure (SBP) to 120 mmHg lowered the risk for” mild cognitive impairment (MCI) “by 19% compared with targeting to 140 mmHg.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Reuters (1/28, Rapaport) reports, “Children and adolescents who suffer from depression or behavior problems may be more likely to play potentially fatal ‘choking games’ to achieve a euphoric high than young people who don’t have mental health issues,” research indicated.

HealthDay (1/28, Gordon) reports that the research focused on a particular choking game, where investigators “found that nearly 10 percent of the almost 1,800 middle schoolers surveyed had tried it,” and youngsters “who had participated were about twice as likely to be depressed or to have a conduct disorder.” The findings were published online Jan. 28 in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Depressed kids more likely to play choking game, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, January 28, 2019

Healio (1/28, Demko) reports, “The risk for death by suicide in people with autism spectrum disorder [ASD] from Utah – especially females – increased over time and was greater than in those without ASD between 2013 and 2017,” researchers concluded. The findings of the “20-year, population-based study” were published online in the journal Autism Research.

Related Links:

— “Suicide risk among people with ASD increases over 20 years in Utah, “Savannah Demko, Healio, January 28, 2019

USA Today (1/26, Brown) reported in a story focused on weighted blankets that “according to the American Psychiatric Association’s annual poll, 40 percent of Americans said they felt more anxious in 2018 than they did in 2017 – which saw a 36 percent increase over 2016.”

Related Links:

— “Weighted blankets: Here’s how the trendy bedding got so popular, “Dalvin Brown, USA Today, January 26, 2019

The NPR (1/25, Chatterjee) “Shots” blog reported, “The percentage of outpatient medical visits that led to a benzodiazepine prescription doubled from 2003 to 2015,” research indicated, with “about half” of “those prescriptions” coming “from primary care physicians.”

Medscape (1/25, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reported the study also found that “benzodiazepines are often coprescribed with opioids and other sedating medications, frequently for conditions other than anxiety and insomnia,” researchers concluded after analyzing data on “more than 386,000 ambulatory care visits from 2003 through 2015.” The findings were published online Jan. 25 in JAMA Network Open.

MD Magazine (1/25, Kunzmann) reported, “As opioids lose favor among healthcare” professionals, the study authors advised clinicians to “remain aware of the potential danger that overuse or misuse of benzodiazepines can harbor.” The study authors also “called for efforts addressing the limited use of the sedatives – whether it be in guidelines or prescription-monitoring programs – to focus on primary care.”

Current Or Recent Benzodiazepine Use May Be Associated With An Increased Risk For Pneumonia, Review Suggests . According to Healio (1/25, Demko), “current or recent benzodiazepine use was linked to an increased risk for pneumonia,” researchers concluded. The findings of the 10-study review were published online Jan. 8 in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Steep Climb In Benzodiazepine Prescribing By Primary Care Doctors, “Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, January 25, 2019