HealthDay (6/29, Dallas) reports that “depression is known to be linked to worsening physical health, and” research published online June 29 in the journal Cancer suggests “this may be especially true for cancer caregivers.” Investigators looked at the survey responses of 664 caregivers. The investigators found that “two years after the diagnoses, the caregivers’ health was slightly better than the national average,” but “their health declined a small but notable amount over the next six years.” The study indicated that depression seemed to be the sole “predictor of worsening physical health.”

Related Links:

— “Depression May Worsen Health for Cancer Caregivers,” Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, June 29, 2017.

Healio (6/28, Oldt) reports, “Individuals with comorbid insomnia and depression who slept seven hours or more and received” cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) “for insomnia were significantly more likely to achieve remission,” researchers found after evaluating “104 study participants from the Treatment of Insomnia and Depression Study (TRIAD).” The findings were presented at the recent American Academy of Sleep Medicine Annual Meeting.

Related Links:

— “Sleep duration predicts treatment success in comorbid insomnia, depression,” Jack D. Edinger, PhD, Healio, June 28, 2017.

HealthDay (6/28, Reinberg) reports that in a 245-patient study that “pitted transcranial, direct-current stimulation (tDCS) against the antidepressant escitalopram (Lexapro), researchers found that lessening of depression was about the same for either treatment.” The findings were published June 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine. In an accompanying editorial, Sarah Lisanby, MD, “director of the Division of Translational Research at the US National Institute of Mental Health,” wrote, “People are trying to find ways to treat depression, but it’s important for them to know that tDCS is experimental and not proven to be as effective or more effective than antidepressant medications.”

Related Links:

— “Electric Brain Stimulation No Better Than Meds For Depression: Study,” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, June 28, 2017.

Medscape (6/28, Brooks) reports that “broader availability of” electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) “may result in fewer readmissions among psychiatric inpatients with severe affective disorders,” researchers found in a study that “included 162,691 inpatients with severe affective disorders in nine states.” Investigators found that “the adjusted predicted proportion of patients who were readmitted within 30 days was 6.6% among those who received ECT compared with 12.3% among those who did not – a statistically significant difference.” The findings were published online June 28 in JAMA Psychiatry.

According to Healio (6/28, Oldt), the author of an accompanying editorial observed that “there are likely a variety of factors that contribute to the low and uneven rate of ECT use,” including “the stigma associated with receiving the treatment on the part of patients and in recommending or administering the treatment on the part of professionals.” The editorial added, “Were we able to overcome these barriers, it is likely that untold numbers of patients would experience better outcomes by receiving an intervention that is often life altering and, for some, lifesaving.”

Related Links:

— “ECT may reduce psychiatric readmission risk,” Eric P. Slade, PhD, Healio, June 28, 2017.

Reuters (6/28, Rapaport) reports that research suggests individuals “with heart disease are at risk of dying sooner when they suffer from chronic depression and anxiety.” Investigators looked at “data on 950 people in Australia and New Zealand with stable coronary artery disease.” Approximately “four percent of participants reported regularly suffering from moderate or severe psychological distress over the first four years of the study, and they were” about “four times more likely to die of heart disease and almost three times more likely to die from any cause during the next 12 years compared to people with no distress.” The findings were published online June 26 in the journal Heart.

Related Links:

— “Mental distress tied to higher odds of early death for heart patients,” Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, June 28, 2017.