The AP (10/3, Tanner) reports that people who survived this week’s shootings in Las Vegas may be at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Also at risk for “psychological fallout” are first responders, medical staff, eyewitnesses, and bystanders. Studies indicate “PTSD is particularly common among people exposed to mass shootings versus other types of trauma, with rates as high as 90 percent reported” by some researchers.

Related Links:

— “Concert shooting puts many at risk for post-traumatic stress,” Associated Press, October 4, 2017.

Medscape (10/4, Harrison) reports that research indicates “the financial costs associated with frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), the most common dementia in patients under age 60 years, are nearly twice as high as those associated with Alzheimer’s disease.” Data “from the web-based survey show the total annual per-patient cost of caring for a patient with FTD was $119,654 in 2016 US dollars,” approximately “two times higher than reported costs of taking care of a patient with AD.” The survey indicated “the median annual household income” one year “before an FTD diagnosis was in the range of $75,000 to $99,000. But 12 months after diagnosis it fell to the $50,000 to $59,000 range – a drop of up to 50%.” The findings were published online Oct. 4 in Neurology.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Healio (10/4, Oldt) reports, “Analysis of a population-based cohort of” 11,108 “twins revealed a causal association between exposure to bullying and concurrent anxiety, depression, hyperactivity and impulsivity, and other mental health symptoms,” researchers reported. The findings were published online Oct. 4 in JAMA Psychiatry. The authors of an accompanying editorial “applauded the contribution of these findings to the mental health field.”

Related Links:

— “Bullying in childhood linked to poorer mental health,” Silberg J, et al., Healio, October 4, 2017.

HealthDay (10/4, Thompson) reports that research published online Oct. 4 in Neurology suggests “women who develop high blood pressure in their 40s could be much more vulnerable to dementia later in life.”

MedPage Today (10/4, Kneisel) reports that investigators “analyzed records for 5,646 members of the Kaiser Permanente system (3,095 women, 2,551 men) during 1964-1973 (average age 33 years) and 1978-1985 (average age 44 years).” The researchers found that “women who developed hypertension in their 40s were at significantly increased risk of dementia (HR 1.73, 95% CI 1.24–2.40) compared to normotensive women.” However, no association “was seen between midlife blood pressure and subsequent dementia risk in men.”

Related Links:

— “High Blood Pressure in 40s a Dementia Risk for Women?,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, October 4, 2017.

Reuters (10/4, Rapaport) reports that “23 percent of suicide victims age 50 or older shared suicidal thoughts with another person in the month before their death,” researchers found after examining “data on 46,857 suicide deaths among adults 50 or older in US states.”

HealthDay (10/4, Preidt) reports that “the older” the adults “were, the more likely they were to disclose” their intentions, the study revealed.

Healio (10/4) reports researchers also concluded via “logistic regression analyses” that “depressive mood…and health problems” were tied to “increased likelihood of suicide intent disclosure.” The findings were published online Oct. 3 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Older adults more likely to disclose suicidal thoughts as they age,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, October 4, 2017.