Mental Disorders


CBT Efficacy for Depression More Durable Than Pharmacotherapies

A comprehensive meta-analysis concluded that cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is effective for depression across different formats, ages, target groups, and settings, and as effective as pharmacotherapies at the short term, but more effective at the longer term. The analysis included 409 trials (518 comparisons) with 52,702 patients. CBT had moderate […]


Sedentary Behaviors Differentially Associated with Dementia

A prospective UK cohort study suggested that high levels of cognitively passive sedentary behaviors (SB) were associated with increased risk of dementia, while cognitively active SB were associated with reduced risk of dementia. The study included 146,651 participants who were 60 years or older (mean age 64.59 years) and did […]


Statins but Not PCSK9 Inhibition Linked to Adverse Neurocognitive Effects

A drug-target Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis indicated adverse neurocognitive effects related to statins but not proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibition. Data were from a combined sample of ∼740,000 participants in predominantly European ancestry-based genome-wide association cohort studies. There was a neutral cognitive profile related to genetic PCSK9 inhibition, […]


Updated NICE Guideline for Depression

The UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has updated the guideline on management of depression with new recommendations. In the new guideline, depression is classified as “less severe” and “more severe”. More severe includes moderate and severe, and less severe includes mild and sub-threshold depression. Sub-threshold has […]


Comparative Effects of Sleeping Pills

A systematic review and network meta-analysis provided the most comprehensive data synthesis on pharmacological treatments for adults with insomnia. The study included 170 trials (36 interventions and 47 950 participants) in the systematic review and 154 double-blind, randomized controlled trials (30 interventions and 44 089 participants) for the network meta-analysis. Benzodiazepines, doxylamine, […]


Moderate Alcohol Intake Linked to Higher Brain Iron and Malfunction

A UK cohort study and Mendelian randomization (MR) suggested that moderate alcohol consumption [>7 units (56 g) alcohol weekly] was associated with markers of higher brain iron and worse cognitive function. The study included 20,729 UK Biobank participants (mean age 54.8 years, 48.6% female). Multiorgan susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (~9.60 […]


The Higher Life’s Simple 7 Scores, The Lower Dementia Risk Across Genetic Profiles

A study of incident dementia, midlife Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) scores and generated genetic risk scores (GRS) using genome-wide summary statistics of Alzheimer’s Disease showed that across strata of GRS, higher midlife LS7 scores were associated with lower risk of dementia in a US cohort. The study included 8,823 European […]


Antidepressants’ Effect on Health-Related Quality of Life Over Time Questioned

An observational comparative cohort study with secondary database analysis suggested that the real-world effect of using antidepressants did not continue to improve patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL) over time. The study was using data from a US nationally representative database. HRQoL was measured using the SF-12 health survey and […]


Healthy Lifestyle Linked to Longer Life without Dementia

A US prospective cohort study showed that a healthy lifestyle was associated with a longer life expectancy, and a larger proportion of their remaining years without Alzheimer’s dementia (AD). The study included 2449 participants aged 65 years and older (mean 76 years, 63% women, African American>50%) from 1993 to 2009, […]


Daytime Napping and Dementia May Drive Each Other

A US prospective, observational cohort study suggested that excessive daytime napping and dementia may possess a bidirectional relationship or share common pathophysiological mechanisms. The study examined the longitudinal change of daytime napping inferred objectively by actigraphy, and the association with incident Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) in 1401 participants (mean age 81.4 […]