Geriatrics News

The American Geriatrics Society, or AGS, recently issued a policy brief to urge the federal government to take action to protect some of the most vulnerable Americans against COVID-19 — patients in nursing homes.

Suicidal acts have increased among women, adolescents and older adults, according to findings of a cross-sectional study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Most community-dwelling older adults with newly identified dementia died or were admitted to a long-term care home within 5 years, according to results of a population-based, retrospective cohort study conducted in Ontario and published in Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Risk factors for first nonfatal suicide attempt likely differ by age, according to results of a nationally representative study published in Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Use of benzodiazepines and nonbenzodiazepines, or Z-drugs, did not appear associated with subsequent dementia, according to results of a nationwide cohort and nested case-control study published in American Journal of Psychiatry.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many quarantine and social isolation measures designed to keep individuals physically distanced from others for the foreseeable future. Although these initiatives are necessary to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, they may be causing widespread mental health effects, including depression and loneliness, among younger and older individuals alike, according to experts.

The American Psychiatric Association sent a letter to CMS on Thursday requesting that it relax the video requirement for delivery of telepsychiatry services.

Telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy, or T-CBT, reduced depressive symptoms among patients with Parkinson’s disease, according to results of a randomized controlled trial published in Neurology.

Researchers observed significant racial and ethnic differences in late-life depression severity, item-level symptom burden and depression care among older adults after adjusting for numerous confounders, according to results of a cross-sectional study published in JAMA Network Open.

Effect sizes of psychotherapies differed by patient age, according to results of a systematic review and meta-analysis published in JAMA Psychiatry.