Newsweek (10/10, Gander) reports that researchers “have found a link between” atrial fibrillation “and the risk of developing dementia.” The findings were published in Neurology.

Reuters (10/10, Carroll) reports that the investigators “found that atrial fibrillation raises the overall risk of developing dementia by 40 percent and the risk of vascular and mixed dementias by nearly 90 percent.” However, people with atrial fibrillation “who got anti-clotting drugs were 60 percent less likely than those who didn’t get the drugs to develop dementia.”

Related Links:

— “Irregular heart beat tied to increased risk for dementia, “Linda Carroll, Reuter, October 10, 2018.

USA Today (10/5, O’Donnell) reported, “Medical professionals and researchers have long” examined how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect “lifelong mental health and addiction.” Currently, “awareness is growing of the link between childhood trauma on long-term physical health.” In fact, “the more ACEs a person suffers as a child – divorce, domestic violence, family members with addiction – the higher the risk of problems later in learning, mental and physical health, even early death.” Individuals “with ACEs are more likely to experience ‘toxic stress’ – repeated, extreme activation of their stress response.”

Related Links:

— “‘Toxic stress’ on children can harm their lifelong learning, mental and physical health, “Jayne O’Donnell, USA Today, October 5, 2018.

MD Magazine (10/8, Bahrenburg) reports, “In the treatment of schizophrenia, second generation antipsychotic medications are significantly less likely to cause tardive dyskinesia…than first generation antipsychotics,” researchers concluded in a meta-analysis, the findings of which were published online Sept. 7 in the journal World Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Reduced Risk of Tardive Dyskinesia with 2nd-Generation Antipsychotics Re-Established, “Caitlyn Bahrenburg, MD Magazine, October 8, 2018.

Modern Healthcare (10/5, Johnson, Subscription Publication) reported that a decade after the “landmark” Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act was passed, some “advocates contend access to care for millions remains elusive.” Modern Healthcare said the problems stem from “a lack of consistency in the oversight and enforcement on the part of federal and state regulators to get insurers to comply with existing parity laws.” A report this week from ParityTrack found that 43 states had low marks in mental health parity.

Related Links:

— “Mental health parity remains a challenge 10 years after landmark law, “Steven Ross Johnson, Modern Healthcare, October 5, 2018.

Healio (10/8) reports, “First-time mothers in their third trimester of pregnancy during the seasons with shorter daylight hours were at greater risk for postpartum depression,” researchers concluded. The findings of the 279-woman study were published online Sept. 27 in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Fewer daylight hours in late pregnancy linked to depression, Healio, October 8, 2018.