Experiencing daytime sleepiness is something that is usually perceived as a minor inconvenience, but for older adults, it could be an early warning sign of Dementia. This neurodegenerative disease leads to the progressive decline of brain cells. This eventually

affects memory, cognition, and personality, making everyday tasks more difficult. As one of the fastest-growing neurological disorders across the world, dementia poses a significant health threat to ageing populations.

Is Dementia Linked To Poor Sleep?

For this study, researchers followed 445 older adults (average age 76) over three years, aiming to determine whether poor sleep could increase the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which often leads to dementia. At the start, none of the participants had MCI, but by the end of the study, 36 individuals had developed the condition.

The researchers discovered that participants with poor sleep were more likely to develop MCI compared to those who slept well. However, when depression symptoms were taken into account, the link between poor sleep and MCI became less pronounced, suggesting that while sleep issues are a concern, mental health also plays a key role in dementia risk.

To assess sleep quality, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used, evaluating factors such as sleep duration, disturbances, and daytime alertness. Among these, "daytime dysfunction"—defined as excessive sleepiness and low energy during the day—was most strongly associated with an increased risk of MCI. Those experiencing daytime dysfunction were more than three times as likely to develop MCI as those who didn’t report such symptoms.

There are many types of dementia:

Dementia is not a specific disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is an overall term that describes a decline in mental ability that interferes with daily life. People with dementia often have symptoms like trouble remembering, thinking, or making everyday decisions. These symptoms tend to get worse over time.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, and it mostly affects the elderly. Each form of dementia has a different cause. Though dementia mostly affects older adults, it is not a part of normal ageing. An estimated 6.7 million older adults have Alzheimer's disease in the United States. That number is expected to double by 2060, as per data from the CDC.

In 2022, 3.8% of men and 4.2% women in US were diagnosed with dementia. The percentage of people increase with age from 1.7% for those aged 65-74 to 13.1% for those aged 85 and older. Alzheimer's accounts for 60 to 80% of all dementia cases and it is most prevalent in California, Florida, and Texas, as these states have the highest number of people.

At least six major hospitals in the US have made deals with the Department of Justice to refuse gender-affirming hormones and surgery for young transgender individuals. The move has marked quite an escalation in the federal government's effort to restrict gender-affirming care across the country.

The latest agreements, announced on September 18, involve New York University Langone Health and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). They follow Mount Sinai Health System, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Texas Children's Hospital.

Under the agreements, the hospitals will not provide puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones or gender-affirming surgeries to patients under 18.

The DOJ uses the term "sex-rejecting procedures" for these treatments, while medical organisations and healthcare providers generally use the term gender-affirming care.

Why Is The DOJ Targeting These Hospitals?

Also read: CDC Youth Report: US Teen Mental Health, Suicide Risk Improve; Sleep, Low Exercise Remain Concerns

The agreements stem from a nationwide investigation by the Justice Department that was launched after President Donald Trump directed the DOJ in 2025 to prioritise investigations involving gender-affirming care for minors.

The DOJ says it is examining potential violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, False Claims Act and other federal healthcare laws, including allegations that providers used false diagnosis codes to obtain insurance or government payments for treatments.

The DOJ has also subpoenaed hospitals for information about patients who received gender-affirming care, including sensitive medical records.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ is "fighting to protect our nation's children" and working to reach agreements with hospitals to end what the administration calls gender-affirming care for minors.

However, the legal status of the allegations cannot be neglected. The DOJ itself says the claims resolved through these agreements are just allegations and that there has been no determination of any kind of liability. NYU and UPMC have denied the allegations.

NYU And UPMC Deals

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NYU Langone agreed to pay the federal government $8.5 million, while UPMC has agreed to pay $950,000. Both have agreed to stop providing gender-affirming medical treatments to minors.

The settlements also resolve the DOJ investigations and protect confidential information involving patients, families and healthcare providers that had been sought through earlier subpoenas.

NYU had already stopped its transgender youth programme in February, citing the "current regulatory environment." However, its agreement with DOJ does not affect its pediatric mental-health programmes transgender children. Similarly, UPMC's agreement applies to patients under 18.

Other Hospitals That Have Agreed

The six hospital systems that have agreed to the DOJ deals are:

1. Texas Children's Hospital, in May 2026, ended specified treatments worth more than $10 million in payments/damages and penalties
2. In June this year, Cleveland Clinic, agreed to end specified pediatric treatments
3. In August, Connecticut Children's stopped treatments and incurred monetary penalty and $500,000 for medical care
4. Mount Sinai Health System, in September 2026, too ended care and paid monetary penalty and $2 million for medical care
5. NYU Langone, stopped treatments and care in September and bore $8.5 million payment
6. UPMC, too, ended treatments and paid $950,000 in the deals

These agreements apply to the individual hospital systems that signed them. They do not by themselves create a nationwide federal ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Some states have enacted restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, while other states have laws protecting access to such care.

The agreements generally concern future provision of gender-affirming treatment to minors. They do not eliminate the hospitals' overall pediatric mental-health care services.

The settlements demonstrate how the DOJ investigation has created a difficult choice for hospitals. They can either fight the government's allegations in court and reveal sensitive patient information or reach an agreement that ends the investigation while restricting the treatments in question.

NYU said its agreement was intended to protect patient from prolonged litigation and to preserve their confidentiality. The six settlements therefore represent more than individual hospital policy changes. They show how the Trump administration is using federal investigations, healthcare-fraud laws and settlement agreements to influence access to gender-affirming care for minors.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a new study to check drinking water for traces of more than 1,400 chemicals, including the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol, as well as hormones, contraceptive drugs, pesticides and PFAS chemicals.

It drawn attention as abortion pills have become a political and legal critical subject in the US following the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision.

Anti-abortion groups and lawmakers have been urging federal agencies to probe into whether abortion pills could enter wastewater and, eventually, sources of water.

So, the EPA is now testing whether these chemicals can be detected in water supplies. It is important to note that it has not said that drinking water in the US is contaminated with abortion pills or that the drugs pose a health risk to people drinking the water.

About EPA Testing

Also read: CDC Youth Report: US Teen Mental Health, Suicide Risk Improve; Sleep, Low Exercise Remain Concerns

According to the reports, EPA officials will gather water samples from several locations in different areas and use a general testing method to screen for thousands of chemicals and contaminants.

The study includes mifepristone and misoprostol, which are commonly used together for medication abortion. It also includes testosterone, progesterone and levonorgestrel, a hormone used in several contraceptives including some birth-control pills and emergency contraception.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency wants to investigate potential pollutants in drinking water to provide Americans with true information about what may be present in their water.

He said, “We have heard loud and clear that Americans are concerned about potential unknown pollutants lurking in their drinking water. The Trump EPA is committed to getting to the bottom of this, so that Americans can feel confident about the safety of their drinking water.”

Nathan Donley, the environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told Politico that mifepristone is not one of the known contaminants on the EPA's list to regulate.

“There are major water contaminants that need to be regulated, and testing for those things can be good as long as regulation happens. And then on the other hand, if we’re wasting time on a witch hunt for... those things like mifepristone, then that’s time and resources we take away from regulating and studying things that that are actually a problem,” Donley said.

Why Are Abortion Pills Part Of The Study?

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The move comes after years of pressure from anti-abortion groups, lawmakers and state attorneys general.

Students for Life of America has argued that abortion pills could result in pharmaceutical residues entering wastewater after drugs are taken and pregnancy tissue is flushed.

The group has also done its own testing and has called federal agencies to conduct research about presence of mifepristone in water.

In 2025, Republican lawmakers also sent a letter asking the administration whether there are ways to detect mifepristone in water supplies. EPA officials subsequently began exploring testing methods.

A Study Has Fueled The Debate

One study cited by Answers in Genesis reported finding significant amounts of mifepristone in eight of nine water sources tested in Austin, Texas; Blacksburg, Virginia; and Carbondale, Illinois.

The study also stated that conventional water treatment methods did not completely remove the compound and detected significant mean concentrations in tap water in two cities. However, that study’s interpretation has become a major dispute.

In the last few months, several reports have emerged rubbishing the claims and saying that there is no established evidence that abortion pills are contaminating US drinking water. These reports have also included environmental experts who have questioned the study's credibility and validity.

Water Safety Or Abortion Policing?

According to the EPA, the study is about understanding various potential contaminants in drinking water. But reproductive-health and environmental advocates have raised concerns about how the findings could subsequently be used.

Anna Bernstein of the Guttmacher Institute told The Cut, “The anti-abortion movement has become increasingly frustrated with that fact, so they are really throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. They are really ramping up disinformation campaigns about the safety of medication abortion. This is the latest tactic of trying to weaponize laws that are meant to protect our environment and protect our wastewater.”

Various reports similarly reported that the EPA's decision came after sustained pressure from anti-abortion advocates.

Teen mental health in the US is improving, with fewer high school students reporting persistent sadness or hopelessness, poor mental health and suicidal thoughts, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), conducted among high school students nationwide in 2025, provides data on youth mental health, physical activity, sleep, diet and digital behaviors. The latest report includes national data from 2023 to 2025 and 10-year trends from 2015 to 2025.

Teen Mental Health Shows Improvement

Several mental health and suicide risk indicators improved between 2023 and 2025:

• Persistent sadness or hopelessness fell from 40% to 33%.
• Poor mental health declined from 29% to 23%.
• Seriously considering suicide fell from 20% to 14%.

Also read: More COVID Infections, More Health Problems? Back, Respiratory, Mental Problems Among New Risks

"These are meaningful improvements, and they show that progress is possible when schools, families, and communities work together to support young people," said Dr. Jennifer Shuford, CDC's deputy director and chief medical officer.

At the same time, the data showed that many teenagers, especially girls and teenagers who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual, are still struggling.

Thirty-three percent of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the last 12 months, down from a peak of 42 percent in 2021.

Fourteen percent of teenagers reported that they had seriously considered attempting suicide, down from 22 percent in 2021.

“Those declines in depression and suicidal thoughts are very striking, particularly that they’re lower than 2019,” said Jean Twenge, a psychologist at San Diego State University who has studied the mental health impacts of smartphones and social media use on teenagers, NYT reported.

“This isn’t just post-pandemic anymore; this is a more longstanding trend in improvement,” Twenge added.

Diet And Sports Participation Improve

Some healthy behaviors also improved between 2023 and 2025:

• Daily fruit consumption rose from 33% to 39%.
• Daily vegetable consumption increased from 58% to 63%.
• The percentage of students drinking plain water at least three times a day rose from 54% to 58%.
• Sports team participation increased from 52% to 58%.

However, daily physical activity, muscle-strengthening activity and meeting recommended activity guidelines remained unchanged.

Read More: From Remdesivir To Ventilators: COVID Patients Died Due To Hospital Protocols, Claims Whistleblower Nurse

Most Teens Still Don't Get Enough Sleep

Only 24% of students reported getting at least eight hours of sleep on an average school night in 2025, similar to 23% in 2023.

Insufficient sleep is linked to poor mental health, difficulty concentrating and risky behaviors.

Social Media Use Remains High

About 36% of students reported using social media every hour or more in 2025, similar to 37% in 2023.

Among students who drove in the previous month, 46% reported texting or emailing while driving, up from 42% in 2023.

The CDC noted that digital behaviors can affect sleep, physical activity, nutrition, safety and mental well-being.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey has been conducted every two years since 1991 and provides nationally representative data to help identify emerging health challenges and track long-term trends.