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When it comes to giving at-risk Americans access to the mental health services they need, prevention is far better than detention, new research confirms. However, a majority of the 950 U.S. counties surveyed in the report do not offer access to the types of mental health and substance use disorder services that can save communities money and prevent incarceration. “Most counties offer only a tiny fraction of the community services that are necessary to keep people out of jail,” said study author Jennifer Johnson, a professor of public health at Michigan State University. “We’re hoping that by publishing this article, county administrators will look at the list of services that they don’t yet offer and try to make them happen,” Johnson added in a university news release. Her team surveyed the availability of 59 mental health practices that are known to help at-risk folks stay healthy. The survey asked people representing the counties studied if such programs might be accessible “to people interacting with police, 911, courts, jails, probation or parole.” The results were disappointing. For example, only about 29% of counties offered permanent supportive housing to people with mental health conditions, while even fewer (about 27%) offered what’s know as assertive community treatment. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, assertive community treatment is “treatment, rehabilitation and support services using a person-centered,… read on > read on >

Folks who’ve suffered a concussion and then develop headaches show iron accumulation in their brains, new research discovers. Excess brain iron stores are a hallmark of damage, noted a team led by Simona Nikolova, of the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. The team is slated to present the results in April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). “Previous studies have shown that iron accumulation can affect how areas of the brain interact with each other,” Nikolova said in an AAN news release. “This research may help us better understand how the brain responds and recovers from concussion.” The new research involved 60 people who all developed headaches after a concussion. The concussions were caused by falling (45%), car accidents (30%) or fighting (12%). For just under half of the people, this was their first concussion. Brain scans from the 60 concussion patients were compared to those taken from 60 people with no history of concussions or post-traumatic headache. The scans showed that, compared to folks who’d never been concussed, those with a history of concussion had higher levels of iron in various brain areas. Iron levels seemed to mount as time after the concussion went on. “These results suggest that iron accumulation in the brain can be used as a biomarker for concussion and post-traumatic headache, which could potentially help us… read on > read on >

Air pollution harms the health of everyone exposed to it, but a new study says communities of color are disproportionately harmed by dirty air. Smog causes nearly 8 times higher childhood asthma rates and 1.3 times higher risk of premature death among minority communities compared to white communities, researchers found. These elevated risks are a matter of geography, said study co-author Gaige Kerr, a senior research scientist with the George Washington University School of Public Health. “Redlining and systemic racism have resulted in the least white areas of the U.S. being located near factories, congested roadways or shipping routes with heavily polluted air,” Kerr said in a university news release. For this study, the researchers tracked health problems linked to two forms of air pollution –- the nitrogen dioxide typically spewed by traffic and the fine particulate soot produced by vehicles and industry. To do this, they combined U.S. Census Bureau data with NASA satellite scans to estimate pollution concentrations and their affect on human health. Nitrogen dioxide can irritate the lungs and trigger asthma attacks, researchers said in background notes. Fine particulate matter can lodge deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, raising the risk of a number of different diseases that include heart disease, lung cancer and stroke. Overall, an estimated 49,400 premature deaths and nearly 115,000 new cases of childhood asthma… read on > read on >

Menopause is thought to trigger mood changes among women, with changes in female hormone levels contributing to anxiety, depression and stress. However, a new study says some women are at more risk than others for menopause-linked mental health issues, and many escape them altogether. There’s no evidence that menopause causes a universal rise in risk for mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or psychosis, researchers concluded March 5 in The Lancet journal. Instead, certain groups of women are more likely to have mental health problems during menopause — those with previous depression or depressive symptoms, those whose sleep is disturbed by nighttime hot flashes, and those who had a stressful life event around the time of menopause. “We have a negative media image about menopause, but without looking at someone’s mental health prior to menopause, it’s very challenging to understand what might be biologically related to menopause as opposed to life stage or life trajectory,” said co-senior study author Dr. Hadine Joffe, interim chair of psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “Clinicians need to think about what happened before, because depression might be coincident with menopause but unrelated,” Joffee added in a hospital news release. Menopause can last four to ten years, and tends to begins around age 47, researchers said in background notes. Menopause is thought of as emotionally taxing… read on > read on >

Statins have become the miracle medicine of modern heart care, lowering cholesterol levels and and guarding against heart attacks in millions of Americans. In fact, a running joke among doctors holds that statins are so helpful they should be put in the water supply. However, they aren’t right for all patients, and some rare side effects can crop up with the meds, said Dr. Melissa Tracy, a cardiologist with Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Here is a primer on what statins are, who should use them and what dangers they can pose to some patients. What are statins? Statins are medications that reduce blood levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol that can accumulate into plaques that clog arteries. Statins can also reduce inflammation in patients, and might help lower blood pressure. People need a prescription to take statins, and most will take them for life once they start — even if their LDL cholesterol levels go down. “I have had some patients that I can get off of a statin, but it tends to be one of those agents that we use lifelong,” Tracy said in a Rush news release. Still, folks on statins may need to stop taking them if they experience changes in liver function, become pregnant, start menopause or have other health changes, Tracy added. There are many different types of statins,… read on > read on >

Sipping sodas – sugary or diet – seems to slightly increase a person’s risk of developing a potentially dangerous irregular heart rhythm, a new study shows. Folks had a 20% greater risk of atrial fibrillation if they drank two liters or more of artificially sweetened beverages each week, researchers reported March 5 in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology. Two liters of sugar-sweetened beverages came with a 10% higher risk of a-fib. Meanwhile, consuming one liter of unsweetened fruit or vegetable juice every week conferred an 8% lowered risk. “Our study’s findings cannot definitively conclude that one beverage poses more health risk than another due to the complexity of our diets and because some people may drink more than one type of beverage,” said lead author Dr. Ningjian Wang, a researcher at the Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai. “However, based on these findings, we recommend that people reduce or even avoid artificially sweetened and sugar-sweetened beverages whenever possible,” Wang added in a journal news release. “Do not take it for granted that drinking low-sugar and low-calorie artificially sweetened beverages is healthy. It may pose potential health risks.” For the study, researchers reviewed dietary and genetic data for more than 200,000 adults who enrolled in the UK Biobank long-term health study between 2006 and… read on > read on >

Sleep apnea could have detrimental effects on the brain, causing memory or thinking problems, a new study suggests. People suffering from sleep apnea are about 50% more likely to also report having memory or thinking problems, compared to those without sleep apnea, researchers say. “These findings highlight the importance of early screening for sleep apnea,” said researcher Dr. Dominique Low, a clinical fellow with the Boston Medical Center. Sleep apnea occurs when people stop and restart breathing repeatedly as they sleep. Symptoms include snoring, gasping and breathing pauses. People with sleep apnea often suffer from unexplained fatigue and mood swings, because their breathing interruptions continually wake them as their blood oxygen levels dip. They are unable to settle into a deep and nourishing sleep. For this study, researchers surveyed nearly 4,300 people about their sleep quality, memory and brain function. About a quarter of the participants reported symptoms of sleep apnea. Of those with sleep apnea, a third (33%) reported memory or thinking problems, compared to just 20% of people without sleep apnea. Low plans to present her study at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting, which takes place in April in Denver. Research presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. Low said the findings point to the importance of taking sleep apnea seriously. “Effective treatments like… read on > read on >

The vast majority (84%) of Americans with pets say their animal companion brings a positive mental health impact to their lives, a new poll shows. The poll of more than 2,200 adults conducted early last month also found about two-thirds of respondents calling their pet “a true friend,” a “companion” and someone who “provide[s] unconditional love and support.” That’s according to a news release from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), which jointly funded the poll. Pets can provide a kind of mental health therapy for humans, according to APA president Dr. Petros Levounis. “It’s easy to overlook the role of pets when we’re talking about mental health,” he said. “But for people who do enjoy the company of animals, they can be a source of companionship, comfort, love and friendship. I routinely encourage adoption of a pet to my patients who struggle with addiction to alcohol, drugs or technology. We’re also starting to see more and more research around the role that animals can play in recovery from depression and other psychiatric disorders.” In the poll, about one in five (18%) of people with pets said one or more of their animals was a certified emotional support animal. Other findings from the poll: Nearly two-thirds of respondents said their pet provides a calming presence The same amount said their… read on > read on >

Children exposed to anesthesia in the womb when their pregnant mom has surgery are more likely to suffer from behavioral issues later, a new study finds. Exposure to general anesthesia before birth was associated with a 31% increased risk of diagnosis with a behavioral disorder as a child, researchers reported Feb. 29 in the British Journal of Anesthesia. The risk was even higher when exposure occurred in the second or third trimester, the researchers said. “This study provides compelling evidence that prenatal exposure to surgery and general anesthesia may have adverse effects on children’s neurobehavioral development,” said senior study author Dr. Guohua Li, a professor of epidemiology with the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. For the study, researchers analyzed data for nearly 17 million deliveries between 1999 and 2013. Of those, more than 34,000 children were exposed to general anesthesia due to their expecting mom undergoing an appendectomy or gall bladder removal — the two most common non-obstetric procedures performed during surgery. Children exposed to anesthesia in the womb were more likely to develop attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavioral disorders, developmental disorders involving speech or language, and autism, researchers discovered. These behavioral problems tended to occur after the first three years, when differences between kids exposed to anesthesia and those who weren’t became apparent, results show. General anesthesia drugs… read on > read on >

There’s a host of studies supporting the numerous ways breastfeeding helps baby’s development — and the health of mothers, too. However, too many women are hesitant to start breastfeeding or stick with it if they do, according to Nadine Rosenblum, a perinatal lactation program coordinator at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. “There are still so many misconceptions about breastfeeding and a general lack of support that many women discontinue breastfeeding or add formula when they don’t necessarily need to,” she added. First off, why breastfeed? There’s an easy answer: “Babies who are fed only breast milk for their first six months of life are the healthiest,” Rosenbaum said. In fact, newborns are primed by nature and their own immune systems to receive breast milk, she noted. “It’s what a baby’s body expects to eat, consume and utilize most effectively,” according to Rosenblum. Evolution has helped breast milk develop into the perfect nutrient source, and it contains hundreds of known nutrient types (with more yet to be discovered). There’s something in breast milk to fit an infant’s needs at every stage of development, and it’s crucial to helping build up the immune system. Studies have shown that breastfed babies are more resistant than formula-fed babies to developing asthma, allergies, eczema, respiratory illnesses, diarrhea, Crohn’s disease, colitis, diabetes (both types), obesity and even childhood leukemias. It also… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Many Can’t Access Mental Health Services that Save Money, Keep People Out of Jail

Iron Gathers in Brain After Concussions

Dirty Air Increasingly Affects Minority Communities

Some Women Escape the Mental Health Effects of Menopause: Study

Statin Meds & Cholesterol: What You Need to Know

Sugary or Diet Sodas Could Raise Your Odds for A-fib

More Evidence Sleep Apnea Harms Thinking, Memory

Pets Bring People Big Mental Health Boost: Poll

Could General Anesthesia in Pregnancy Raise Behavioral Issues in Kids?

Breastfeeding 101: Tips for New Moms