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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 >

(HealthDay news) — More than 1 billion adults and children around the world are now obese, a new global analysis estimates. Nearly 880 million adults now are living with obesity, as well as 159 million children, according to the report published Feb. 29 in The Lancet journal. Obesity rates for kids and teenagers quadrupled worldwide between 1990 and 2022, rising from 1.7% to 6.9% for girls and 2.1% to 9.3% for boys. Meanwhile, adult obesity rates more than doubled during the same period, researchers found. Obesity increased more than twofold in women (8.8% to 18.5%) and nearly tripled in men (4.8% to 14%). “It is very concerning that the epidemic of obesity that was evident among adults in much of the world in 1990 is now mirrored in school-aged children and adolescents,” said senior study author Majid Ezzatti, chair of global environmental health at Imperial College London. These figures outstrip predictions made by the World Obesity Federation, which had predicted that 1 billion people globally would be living with obesity by 2030 in its World Obesity Atlas 2022. Essentially, the globe had already surpassed that mark by the time of the atlas’ publication, according to the new study. Obesity is now the most common form of malnutrition in most countries, researchers said. That’s because the proportion of adults who are underweight declined by more than… read on > read on >

Vaping and skipped meals appear to be the main causes of frequent headaches among teens, a new study says. Teens who ate breakfast and dinner with their family had a lower risk of frequent headaches than those who regularly missed meals, researchers report Feb. 28 in the journal Neurology. Meanwhile, vaping also was associated with frequent headaches for those 12 to 17, researchers said. Frequent headaches are defined as those occurring more than once a week. “It is not uncommon for children and teens to have headaches, and while medications are used to stop and sometimes prevent headaches, lifestyle changes may also offer an effective route to relief by preventing headaches from happening and improving quality of life,” said researcher Dr. Serena Orr, an assistant professor of pediatrics with the University of Calgary in Canada. For the study, researchers analyzed data on nearly 5 million children and teens enrolled in a large Canadian health survey. About 6% of participants had headaches more than once a week, researchers found. The children were asked about lifestyle factors that could affect their risk of headache, including screen time, sleep hours, meals and substance use. For meals, the kids were asked how often they ate breakfast and dinner with their family, for a total of 14 possible meals. Kids who experienced frequent headaches averaged nine such meals a week… read on > read on >

A bicycle built for two could be a positive prescription for Parkinson’s patients and their caregivers, a small, preliminary study says. Parkinson’s patients had better overall quality of life, improved mobility, and faster walking speed after sharing regular rides on a stationary tandem bike with a care partner, researchers plan to report at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in April. Care partners also got something out of the rides, reporting improvements in their perceived ability to bounce back or recover from stress, results show. “A unique cycling program that pairs people with Parkinson’s disease with their care partners can improve the physical, emotional and mental well-being of both cyclists to improve their quality of life,” said researcher Jennifer Trilk, a professor of biomedical sciences with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Greenville. Parkinson’s is a progressive degenerative disease of the nervous system. Patients become less and less able to control their body, suffering from tremors, leg stiffness, and gait and balance problems. For the study, patients and caregivers shared a virtual reality ride on a tandem stationary bicycle twice a week for eight weeks. The study included nine Parkinson’s patients and their care partners. “It is just as important that care partners also receive care, so that is why we included them as the cycling partner,” Trilk said… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

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

Over 1 Billion People Are Now Obese Worldwide

Vaping, Skipping Breakfast Ups Headache Risk for Teens

Stationary Bike Workouts Could Help Parkinson’s Patients