Could a shingles vaccine lower dementia risk? A natural experiment in Wales—where vaccine eligibility turned on a single birthdate—found a 20% relative reduction in new dementia diagnoses over seven years. It's not proof of causation, but it's the strongest quasi-experimental evidence yet, and one more reason to make the recommendation.

Standard depression screeners don't ask about irritability, but in older adults it's often the more visible symptom. More than half of depressed patients in this study endorsed it, and severity climbed when family noticed it too. One extra question, asked of the right person, may catch what the PHQ-9 misses.

Mediterranean diet adherence was linked to lower odds of depressive symptoms in older women (but not in men). Fish intake appeared to drive much of the effect, with fresh fish twice weekly showing the strongest signal. For patients already asking what they can do, this Italian cohort offers a specific, low-risk place to start.

Telling patients to "eat healthy" may not be specific enough. This large prospective cohort found that each 10% increase in ultra-processed food intake raised cognitive impairment risk by 16% and stroke risk by 8%—independent of Mediterranean, DASH, and MIND diet scores. How food is processed may matter as much as what's on the plate.