Dementia rate decreasing, population increasing
While the rate of dementia is decreasing, the overall number of individuals with dementia is expected to triple globally by 2050 with population growth, according to research in The Lancet Public Health. Researchers used information on projected trends in three important dementia risk factors (high body mass index, high fasting plasma glucose, smoking) with education as an additional predictor, as well as projected trends in education, population growth, and population aging to estimate changes in dementia prevalence between 2019 and 2050. They estimated that the number of people with dementia would increase from 57.4 million cases globally in 2019 to 152.8 million cases in 2050. In 2019, the female-to-male ratio of dementia cases was 1.69, and the researchers predicted that will remain roughly the same in 2050. Projected increases varied across regions, with the smallest increases in high-income Asia Pacific (53%) and western Europe (74%) regions and the largest increases in North Africa and the Middle East (367%) and eastern sub-Saharan Africa (357%). DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00249-8opens in new window
Boredom and sadistic tendencies
According to research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, boredom may motivate people to harm others to experience pleasure. In the first of nine studies with participants from Canada, Germany, Denmark, and the United States, researchers surveying 1,780 participants found that people who experienced chronic boredom in their daily lives showed more sadistic tendencies than those who were less bored. Five additional studies with 1,740 participants indicated that the link between boredom and sadism held across different societal contexts, including online trolling, sadism in the military, and sadistic behavior among parents. Across three final studies with 4,097 participants, the researchers manipulated boredom experimentally and found that inducing boredom increased sadistic behavior. However, when behavioral alternatives were available, boredom only motivated sadistic behavior among participants highly predisposed to sadism. Conversely, when there was no alternative, boredom increased sadistic behavior even among those with low sadistic tendencies. DOI: 10.1037/pspi0000335opens in new window
Nostalgia, no thanks
Older people are more likely to experience nostalgia (and have it trigger negative feelings) than younger people, suggests research in Emotion. Researchers asked 108 participants in the United States ranging in age from 18 to 78 to take a daily survey related to nostalgia for two weeks. Participants indicated whether they experienced nostalgia during the day and how positive or negative it made them feel. Younger participants experienced nostalgia 60% less often than middle-age participants, while older participants reported nostalgia three times more often than middle-age participants. Gender did not influence the frequency of nostalgia. As to affect, 72% of participants reported better mood in response to nostalgia, while 51% reported negative feelings. Older participants were more likely to experience negative mood resulting from nostalgia than both younger and middle-age participants. DOI: 10.1037/emo0000980opens in new window
New moms with more social status thrive
According to research in Health Psychology, new mothers who feel low in social status have worse health outcomes one year after giving birth than new mothers who see themselves as higher in social status. Researchers surveyed 1,168 new mothers in the United States six months after the birth of their children about their subjective social status, household income, and years of education. About six months later, the researchers assessed general health using 10 biomarkers, such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels. They found that the biomarkers of participants with higher subjective social status reflected less “wear and tear” related to stress. Perceived social status was a stronger indicator of health outcomes than income. However, the association between social status and health varied depending on participants’ income and education; it was strongest for wealthier participants and those whose completed education level was high school or above. DOI: 10.1037/hea0001148opens in new window
Loneliness boom
Loneliness has steadily increased over the past four decades, suggests research in Psychological Bulletin. Researchers performed a meta-analysis of 437 independent assessments of loneliness in 345 studies involving 124,855 participants between the ages of 18 and 29 from around the world between 1976 and 2019. All studies used the same measure of loneliness: the UCLA Loneliness Scale. The researchers found a linear rise in loneliness over those 43 years. Changes in loneliness over time were similar among Asian, European, and American participants. In addition, the researchers found no differences in loneliness between student and nonstudent participants and no acceleration of loneliness related to the market saturation of smartphones circa 2012. However, they found that year-to-year increases in loneliness were notably greater after the year 2000, possibly due to widespread access to the internet. DOI: 10.1037/bul0000332opens in new window
Nagging nudges needed
Among various “nudges” encouraging people to receive a flu vaccine, the most effective was a set of texts sent on multiple days reminding patients that a flu shot was waiting for them, according to research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers randomly delivered one of 22 different types of text messages (or no message) to 689,693 Walmart pharmacy patients in the United States. The top-performing intervention, yielding a 9.9% increase in vaccinations over the control, included two texts sent three days apart stating that a vaccine was waiting for the patient. The worst-performing nudges asked participants to think about catching the flu at a specific location. Overall, the researchers found that all text reminders boosted vaccination rates compared with the control, and repeated reminders outperformed one-time nudges. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115126119opens in new window
Cataract surgery associated with lower dementia risk
A study in JAMA Internal Medicine indicates that undergoing cataract surgery may be associated with a lower risk of developing dementia among people age 65 and older. Researchers tracked 3,038 participants in the United States who had been diagnosed with cataract or glaucoma but who did not have dementia nor a previous cataract surgery when the study began. They also evaluated participants’ cognitive abilities every two years over an average of 7.8 years. About 45% of participants underwent cataract surgery during the study. These participants were about 30% less likely to develop any form of dementia for at least 10 years postsurgery. No association was found between dementia and glaucoma surgery, which, unlike cataract surgery, does not improve vision. DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.6990opens in new window
Eco-anxiety
A study in The Lancet Planetary Health indicates that climate change is causing distress, anger, and other negative emotions in young people worldwide. Researchers surveyed 10,000 people ages 16 to 25 across 10 countries (Australia, Brazil, France, Finland, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States) about their feelings regarding climate change and their government’s response to it. They found that more than 50% reported each of the following emotions: sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and guilty. In addition, 75% reported that they find the future frightening, 45% had concerns about the climate negatively impacting their daily lives, and 40% said climate concerns make them hesitant to have children. More than half said governments have betrayed current and future generations, while 64% said their government was failing to avert a climate disaster. Climate distress was evident in countries that are already experiencing direct physical impacts of climate change as well as in countries that are less directly impacted. DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00278-3opens in new window
Creative sweet spot in sleep/wake zone
The brain activity common to the twilight zone between sleep and wakefulness sparks creativity, according to research in Science Advances. Researchers outfitted 103 participants in France with polysomnography devices to assess the participants’ state of wakefulness. They then exposed the participants to math problems without revealing that a “hidden” rule allowed a near-instant solution. Participants completed two blocks of trials, rested for 20 minutes, then completed nine more blocks. During the break period, 24 participants spent at least 15 seconds in hypnagogia (or non-REM sleep stage 1, a sleep stage characterized by vivid dreams). Of these 24, 83% discovered the hidden rule after the break. Only 30% of participants who remained awake discovered the rule. The effect disappeared if subjects reached deeper sleep during the rest period. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj5866opens in new window
Depression stigma plummets
According to research in JAMA Network Open, stigma toward people with depression has dropped significantly, though stigma toward people with other mental illnesses has remained stagnant or, in some cases, increased. Researchers analyzed data on attitudes toward mental illness from a total of 4,129 adults living in noninstitutionalized settings in the United States taken at three points: 1996, 2006, and 2018. They found that from 1996 to 2006, there was an increase in the belief that genetics or disrupted brain function, rather than moral failings, cause mental health problems. During that time, those beliefs were not accompanied by a decreased stigma toward those with mental illness. However, the 2018 survey data revealed a significant drop in social rejection of those with major depression. Other disorders did not see a similar decrease in stigma in the 2018 survey. In fact, the percentage of people who believed people with schizophrenia are dangerous and that alcohol dependence results from a lack of morality increased over time. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.40202opens in new window
Overprescribed adolescents and young adults
A study in JAMA Pediatrics indicates that while clinicians are prescribing fewer benzodiazepines to adolescents and young adults, 66% to 75% of patients in this age group who received a prescription did not have a diagnosis corresponding with approved indications for the medications. Researchers analyzed health care claims in the United States between 2008 and 2019 for 4 million adolescents, ages 13 to 18, and 6 million young adults, ages 19 to 25. They found that benzodiazepines were prescribed at least once to 1.8% of adolescents and 4% of young adults, with diazepam being the most common choice for adolescents and alprazolam for young adults. Clinicians simultaneously prescribed opioids and benzodiazepines to 26% of adolescents and 24% of young adults. Benzodiazepine prescriptions peaked in 2015 for adolescents and in 2013 for young adults and have since decreased steadily. Only 25% and 34% of claims for adolescents and young adults, respectively, involved an approved indication for benzodiazepine use. DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.5122opens in new window
Psych bed to prison
In an affirmation of the Penrose hypothesis, a study in The British Journal of Psychiatry indicates that prison populations spiked as psychiatric services shuttered in England over a 60-year period. Researchers used a time lag method to analyze associations between the number of psychiatric beds allotted for mentally ill and intellectually disabled individuals in England and the country’s prison population. They found that from 1960 to 2019, the number of psychiatric beds decreased by 93%, from 201,275 to 19,389. Over that time, the prison population increased by 208%, from 26,048 to 80,203. Cuts in psychiatric beds were associated with increased prison population at a roughly 10-year lag: Across the study period, for every 100 psychiatric beds that were closed, there were 36 more prisoners (3 female and 33 male) 10 years later. DOI: 10.1192/bjp.2021.138opens in new window
Depression’s causal role in Alzheimer’s
Depression may have a causal role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but the reverse may not be true, suggests research in Biological Psychiatry. Researchers performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS), a technique that scans the entire genome for areas of commonality associated with specific conditions. They looked at a 2019 analysis of depression among 807,553 individuals and a 2019 study of AD among 455,258 individuals, all of European ancestry. The GWAS identified 28 brain proteins and 75 transcripts—the genetic messages that encode proteins—associated with depression. Among those, seven proteins and 46 transcripts were also associated with AD. The data suggest the two diseases share a genetic origin, which could spur an increased risk for AD associated with depression. Assessing the effect of 115 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the depression GWAS uncovered evidence that the SNPs cause depression, which in turn causes AD. The researchers conducted the same analysis on 61 SNPs from the AD GWAS but found no evidence that AD causes depression. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.11.025opens in new window
Lose sleep, crave sweets
Sleep-deprived adolescents crave more sweets and other carbohydrates, especially late at night, suggests research in Sleep. Researchers assigned 93 adolescents in the United States to five nights of good sleep (9.5 hours) and five nights of poor sleep (6.5 hours). They also asked the participants to record what, when, and how much food they ate during each 5-day stretch. When sleep-deprived, the adolescents consumed more carbohydrates, added sugars, and sweet drinks, and they ate fewer fruits and vegetables. Differences in consumption of calories, fats, and carbohydrates peaked after 9 p.m. DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsab269opens in new window
More disgusted during Covid
Disgust sensitivity—the intensity with which people are repulsed by ideas or situations considered gross or unpleasant—has increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially among those most afraid of contracting the coronavirus, suggests research in Personality and Individual Differences. In nine data-collection waves between December 2018 and June 2020, researchers assessed the disgust sensitivity of 3,300 adults in the United States. During the final two waves in spring 2020, participants also indicated their pandemic-related opinions and behaviors. The average prepandemic disgust sensitivity, which included responses to disease-related scenarios and nondisease scenarios, was 2.82 out of 4, a figure that increased to 3.26 during the pandemic. Similar within-subject increases in disgust sensitivity were observed in one set of respondents surveyed in November 2019 and May 2020. Finally, participants in the final two waves who were most concerned about contracting Covid-19 exhibited the greatest increases in disgust sensitivity. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111348opens in new window
Birth order and homosexuality
The first population-level study of birth order and homosexuality, published in The Journal of Sex Research, indicates that having a greater number of older brothers increases the probability of both men and women entering a same-sex marriage. Researchers analyzed a sample of 9,073,496 people in the Netherlands born between 1940 and 1990. They compared the sibling relationship characteristics of 26,542 men and 33,534 women who registered for a same-sex marriage with those who did not. They found evidence of a fraternal birth-order effect on homosexuality: Both men and women with one older brother were about 12% more likely to enter a same-sex union than men and women with one older sister and 21% more likely than men and women with just one younger sibling. Birth order and total sibling number mattered, too. The youngest male siblings were more likely to enter a same-sex marriage than the oldest male siblings, and the differences grew as the total number of siblings increased. Women were also more likely to enter a same-sex marriage if they had older brothers. DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2021.1974330opens in new window
