Healio (11/8, Schaffer ) reported, “Women who traveled out of state for abortion care were more likely to incur catastrophic health expenditures, which were associated with increased symptoms of anxiety and depression, survey data show.” In a “study conducted before the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, researchers found that 42% of women who sought abortion care incurred such catastrophic expenditures, suggesting a need for expanded insurance coverage for abortion care.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

HealthDay (11/8, Mundell ) reported the study “finds that, even before the fall of Roe v. Wade, 65% of women who traveled to another state to undergo abortion incurred ‘catastrophic’ bills causing them to cut back on other necessities of life.”

Related Links:

— “Abortion-related catastrophic health expenditures tied to adverse mental health symptoms,” Richard Smith, Healio, November 8, 2024

HealthDay (11/7, Thompson ) reports, “Seniors who are drowsy during the day and find it hard to muster enthusiasm for activities could be at higher risk of a brain condition that precedes dementia, a new study warns.” These sleep-related issues “are associated with ‘motoric cognitive risk syndrome,’ a pre-dementia condition that causes slow walking speed and some memory problems, researchers explained.” Investigators found that “people with excessive daytime sleepiness and a lack of enthusiasm are more than three times more likely to develop this syndrome, compared to people without those sleep-related problems.” The findings were published in Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Daytime Drowsiness Linked to a ‘Pre-Dementia’ Syndrome,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, November 7, 2024

Psychiatric News (11/7) reports, “Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) weighed less at birth but were significantly more likely to have obesity after age five compared with those without ADHD, according to a study.” But, “elevated ADHD symptoms were not predictive of increased obesity risk until age 7 in females and age 11 in males.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “ADHD Associated With Lower Weight at Birth, but Obesity in Childhood,” Psychiatric News, November 7, 2024

Healio (11/6, Kellner ) reports, “Most adolescents and young adults said they would hesitate to share sensitive information” with their health care physicians “if they thought their parents could access it through online patient portals, according to a survey.” Researchers found that “55% of participants said they would change how much sensitive information they would share … and 50% would hesitate to create a portal account if their parents could see it.” The findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Study: Young patients hesitant to tell providers information their parents might see,” Carol L. DiBerardino, MLA, ELS, Healio, November 6, 2024

Healio (11/6, Friedman) reports, “Suicide rates for individuals diagnosed with cancer increased over the past 2 decades, according to results of a retrospective study.” The data indicated that “the largest increase occurred among adolescent and young adult…men,” with “the gap between that population and other subgroups” widening over time. The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Suicide rates rise among adolescents, young adults with cancer, often years after diagnosis,” Josh Friedman, Healio, November 6, 2024