In a greater than 4,000-word article, Washington Post Magazine (6/1, Golden) reports “older African Americans develop Alzheimer’s at a higher rate than any other group of older Americans,” and “are about twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to develop the disease or other forms of dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.” The Post explores the burden of dementia on African-Americans and also discusses the need for more research on the topic, especially because currently African-Americans are underrepresented in clinical trials concerning Alzheimer’s disease. The article mentions that President Trump has proposed reducing funding for the National Institutes of Health, and that the NIH is funding research on Alzheimer’s disease including trials that have African-American participants.

Related Links:

— “African Americans are more likely than whites to develop Alzheimer’s. Why?,”Marita Golden, The Washington Post, June 01, 2017.

Reuters (6/1, Seaman) reports, “Damage to the microvascular system – often caused by high blood pressure or diabetes, and made worse by smoking – is tied to an increased risk of depression among people age 40 years and older,” investigators found after examining “data on 43,600 individuals, including 9,203 with depression.” The findings were published online May 31 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Tiny blood vessel damage tied to depression among older adults,” Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters, June 01, 2017.

Modern Healthcare (5/31, Dickson, Subscription Publication) reports some members of Congress and some states are trying to “end some limits on Medicaid reimbursements for behavioral health and substance abuse treatment in the face of the nationwide opioid addiction crisis.” The article points out that a bipartisan group of Senators introduced a bill in May that would ease restrictions on such reimbursements, and some states have also been authorized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “to lift these restrictions for their Medicaid programs.”

Related Links:

— “Feds, states seek to end Medicaid’s limits on substance abuse care,”Virgil Dickson, Modern Healthcare, May 31, 2017.

The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer (5/30, Korte) reports a study on suicide-related hospitalizations of teenagers and children found the number of patients between the ages of five and 17 admitted “for such thoughts or actions more than doubled from 2008 to 2015.” In arriving at the study’s findings, researchers examined “data from 32 hospitals contained in the Pediatric Health Information System.” The findings were presented recently at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting.

Related Links:

— “Youth suicide rates are rising. School and the Internet may be to blame.,”Lara Korte, , , May 30, 2017.