HealthDay (4/10, Preidt) reports, “Having a mental health disorder doesn’t mean a person will develop Alzheimer’s disease later” in life, researchers found after examining “long-term data from nearly 60,000 people in Finland with and without Alzheimer’s disease.” The findings were published online April 4 in European Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Past Psychiatric Ills Don’t Raise Alzheimer’s Risk: Study
,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 10, 2017.

Kevin Breel didn’t look like a depressed kid: team captain, at every party, funny and confident. But he tells the story of the night he realized that — to save his own life — he needed to say four simple words. This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxKids@Ambleside, an independent event. (See “Continue reading…” to view video.)
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The Boston Globe (4/10, Weisman) reports critics warn that the Food and Drug Administration “may sacrifice patient safety” in an effort to accelerate drug approvals. Public Citizen’s health research director Michael Carome says the process is “already too fast,” and believes that the agency can’t “make it any faster without compromising public health.” Others say there is “no evidence the FDA is a bottleneck,” and call the efforts “wrongheaded.”

Related Links:

— “Critics worry faster FDA drug reviews could compromise safety,” Robert Weisman, Boston Globe, April 10, 2017.

Healio (4/7, Bortz) reported, “Rural children from small communities exhibited a higher prevalence of mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders than children living in cities and suburbs,” researchers found after analyzing “data collected from the National Survey of Children’s Health.” The findings were published March 17 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “Developmental, behavioral issues more common among rural children,” Lara R. Robinson, PhD, Healio, April 7, 2017.

HealthDay (4/7, Mozes) reported, “Opioid treatment programs for low-income Americans are in short supply in areas where they’re needed the most,” researchers concluded, with a “lack of affordable access…particularly apparent across the Southeast.” Investigators arrived at the study’s findings are examining “data on approximately 1,150 opioid treatment programs” that “were located in 465 counties in 48 states and Washington, DC.” The findings were published online March 27 in Health Services Research.

Related Links:

— “Rehab Services Lacking in States Hit Hard by Opioids,” Alan Mozes, HealthDay, April 7, 2017.