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Imagine being subjected to domestic violence in your home, wanting to escape — but there’s no place you can go that will accept a beloved pet. That’s the gut-wrenching situation facing too many victims of domestic abuse, according to a new data review spanning 27 years. “In a lot of cases of domestic violence, there is evidence to suggest that people will delay leaving their relationship to protect their pet,” said study lead author Jasmine Montgomery, a PhD student at James Cook University in Townsland, Australia. “This is often because there’s a lack of shelters or housing places which can accommodate pets, or a lack of trust… that they won’t be separated from their pet,” she said in a university news release. “In those cases where threats to pets are made, victims can be lured back by the perpetrator, which places significant risk to their safety as well,” Montgomery noted. “Sadly, the review also confirmed that a common outcome for pets in cases of domestic violence was maltreatment and/or death.” The Australian authors noted that similar scenarios exist for people fleeing natural disasters or those who become homeless. The new data review looked at information from 42 studies on the human-animal bond in the context of personal crises. “Our results reveal the strong emotional attachment between people and animals may result in vulnerability for both… read on > read on >

It’s not easy to lose weight, especially when facing a world filled with the temptation of tasty treats and rich, delicious meals. But being kind to yourself can make the difference when it comes to sticking to a diet, a new study reports. Dieters who practice self-compassion — showing themselves the same care and kindness they’d show loved ones — are better able to get past an overeating setback and stick to their weight-loss goals, researchers reported recently in the journal Appetite. Study participants reported more self-control over their eating and exercise if they gave themselves a break regarding a recent diet lapse, researchers found. The findings suggest that self-compassion can prevent people from becoming demoralized by a setback, said Charlotte Hagerman, an assistant research professor with Drexel University’s Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science (WELL) Center. “Many people worry that self-compassion will cause complacency and lead them to settle for inadequacy, but this study is a great example of how self-compassion can help people be more successful in meeting their goals,” Hagerman said in a Drexel news release. “The road to achieving difficult goals — especially weight loss — is paved with setbacks,” Hagerman added. “Practicing self-compassion helps people cope with self-defeating thoughts and feelings in response to setbacks, so that they are less debilitated by them. In turn, they can more quickly resume pursuing… read on > read on >

Stuart Douglas, 78, has played the accordion all his long life. “I learned to play the accordion as a boy living in a mining village in Fife and carried on throughout my career in the police force and beyond,” said Douglas, of Cornwall, England. “These days I still play regularly, and playing in the band also keeps my calendar full, as we often perform in public.” Douglas’ playing has done more than keep him busy. A new study suggests it also kept his mind sharp as he aged. Playing a musical instrument, particularly the piano, is linked to improved memory and the ability to solve complex tasks, according to a new report published Jan. 28 in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Researchers also found that continuing to play into later life provides even greater benefit. “Overall, we think that being musical could be a way of harnessing the brain’s agility and resilience, known as cognitive reserve,” said study co-author Anne Corbett, a professor of dementia research at the University of Exeter in the UK. For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than a thousand adults over the age of 40 participating in an ongoing study of brain health. Singing was also linked to better brain health, although researchers said this might be due to the social factors of being part of a choir… read on > read on >

‘Young folk don’t write in cursive anymore’ is a common complaint of older folks in this keyboard-obsessed age. Now, new research suggests that kids who ignore handwriting are, in fact, missing out: By the time they reach college, their brain “connectivity” may be weaker than folks who write regularly. In a study of 36 university students, “we show that when writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns are far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard,” said study co-author Audrey van der Meer, a brain researcher and professor of psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Better neural connectivity has myriad brain benefits, she added. “Such widespread brain connectivity is known to be crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and, therefore, is beneficial for learning,” van der Meer explained in a university news release. Her team published its findings Jan. 26 in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. In the study, the Norwegian team tracked electroencephalogram (EEG) data from the group of students who were repeatedly asked to write or type a word they saw on a screen. EEG records electrical activity in the brain. The study had the students use a digital pen to write the word in cursive on a touchscreen and a single finger to type out the word on a keyboard. EEGs recorded brain activity every five… read on > read on >

Marijuana has a reputation for being harmless, but frequent tokers are more likely to suffer from asthma, a new study shows. Asthma is more common among U.S. adults who’ve used weed within the past 30 days, researchers reported recently in the journal Preventive Medicine. Further, the odds of asthma are significantly greater among people who reported using the drug 20 to 30 days per month, researchers found. The more frequent the cannabis use, the higher the likelihood of asthma, even after adjusting for the potential effects of concurrent cigarette smoking, they concluded. “With the growing use of cannabis across the U.S., understanding potential links between cannabis use and asthma is increasingly relevant to population health,” said co-researcher Renee Goodwin, a psychiatric epidemiologist with Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. For the study, researchers analyzed data from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual study of nearly 33,000 people ages 12 and older in the United States. They looked at the relationship of cannabis or marijuana use within the past month among people with asthma. About 10% of people with recent weed use had asthma, versus about 7% of those who don’t use, researchers found. The odds rose if people used weed many times a week, results showed. The study adds to prior research by “being the… read on > read on >

SATURDAY, Jan. 27, 2024 9HealthDay News) — When should you worry about a rash? Rashes may look alike, but while over-the-counter medications can treat some rashes, others can signal a more serious condition, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) says. “It is important to watch your symptoms closely at the onset of a new rash,” said Dr. Mallory Abate, a board-certified dermatologist in Baton Rouge, La. “Making note of any changes or new developments are instrumental to determining the severity of the medical condition and if immediate assistance is needed.” One key sign of bigger trouble is if you have a rash that is infected. Evidence of infection might include pus, yellow or golden crusts, pain, swelling, warmth or an unpleasant smell. The skin around an infection might look red, purple or brown, you might feel very hot or cold, have swollen lymph nodes, or a fever. “If you have a rash and your symptoms are not improving, make an appointment to see a board-certified dermatologist,” Abate said in an AAD news release. Abate and the AAD recommend people with rashes uses these clues to know when to seek medical attention: A rash over most of your body. A rash that blisters or turns into open sores or raw skin Fever or illness with a rash A rash that spreads rapidly A painful rash A… read on > read on >

If your preteen or teen skips school activities and social events, it may be more than the typically moody behavior of adolescence, new research warns. Being socially withdrawn and having physical discomforts such as headaches, nausea or stomachaches as a preteen may boost the risk of having suicidal thoughts by age 16, researchers report. Dr. John Duffy, a Chicago-based psychologist who wasn’t involved in the study, told CNN that the findings mirror what he has seen in his practice. “That is, teenagers that I’ve worked with who are socially withdrawn and experienced somatic symptoms — anxiety, in particular — early in adolescence have a far greater risk for suicidal ideation in mid and late adolescence,” added Duffy. “This is undeniably true and a really strong argument for early intervention.” Duffy noted he has found the findings to be especially prevalent among boys and young men. “I think that’s due in large part to the fact that girls are imbued early with a rich, emotional language that boys continue to lack even today,” he said. In the United States, suicide attempts and deaths by suicide among children and young adults have been increasing in recent years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the new study, Japanese researchers studied over 2,700 adolescents involved in the Tokyo Teen Cohort study, which has examined mental and physical development… read on > read on >

It’s long been thought that it takes more time for a woman to recover from a concussion than a man. But a new national study of U.S. college athletes refutes that notion, finding that women and men recover from sports-related head injuries at about the same pace. Recovery patterns for both genders were similar on tests of brain function, concussion symptoms, mental health, and balance and reaction time, according to a report published recently in the journal Sports Medicine. There also was no significant difference in the time it took men and women to return to unrestricted participation in sports, researchers found. “I think a lot of people will be surprised in such a large sample that women and men recover along the same trajectory,” said senior researcher Jaclyn Caccese, an assistant professor with the Ohio State University School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. “For many years, we’ve thought women took longer to recover, but evidence suggests that if women get the same access to care, they do recover similarly.” For the study, researchers analyzed medical data from more than 900 athletes competing in sports at NCAA colleges. About three in five athletes in the study were female. The analysis focused on 15 sex-comparable sports that included basketball, diving, ice hockey, soccer and volleyball. The research team specifically excluded all-male sports like football and wrestling,… read on > read on >

The old saying “feed a cold, starve a fever” is baloney, doctors say. People fighting off a seasonal respiratory virus need adequate nutrition, regardless of their symptoms, according to advice from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Fever is just one of the many defense mechanisms the human body uses to stave off any infection, said Dr. Pedro Piedra, a professor of molecular virology, microbiology and pediatrics at Baylor. All the body’s immune responses require energy gained by eating a well-balanced diet, Piedra said. That’s why sick-friendly foods like chicken noodle soup are commonly recommended. Feeling awful from an infection might put a dent in a person’s appetite, but Piedra said folks should resist that malaise and pick up a spoon or fork. Cold weather tends to increase people’s risk of catching the flu, the common cold and COVID-19, Piedra said. That’s because people tend to huddle together indoors when it’s cold outside. “Colder temperatures also allow for viruses to survive on surfaces longer, and the humidity we experience here in Houston also contributes to these viruses being able to survive outside of a host,” Piedra added in a Baylor news release. “There is also a saying that if your hair is wet and you are in a cold environment, you will get sick. That is partly true,” Piedra added. “You won’t contract a… read on > read on >

If you ever find yourself losing weight, even though you’re not dieting or upping your exercise, go see a doctor. It can be a sign of cancer, researchers report. “Unexpected weight loss can come from cancer or many other conditions,” said study senior author Dr. Brian Wolpin. He directs the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. “Sometimes weight loss is due to more exercise or a healthier diet, and this can be beneficial to people’s health,” he said in a Dana-Farber news release. “However, when a patient experiences unintentional weight loss not due to healthier behaviors, seeing your primary care doctor is appropriate, so they can determine whether additional evaluation is necessary for other causes of weight loss, including cancer.” In the new study, Wolpin’s team tracked the health and health habits of over 157,000 participants in the ongoing Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. These studies began in the 1970s and 1980s and followed adult participants until 2016. Participants were asked a variety of questions, including their current weight and any intentional weight-loss behaviors such as dieting and exercise. “We wanted to differentiate healthy weight loss from unhealthy weight loss,” explained study first author Dr. Qiaoli Wang, a research fellow at Dana-Farber. “Healthy weight loss can come from dietary changes or increased exercise. But unhealthy weight loss… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Leaving Pets Behind Adds to Trauma, Danger for People in Crisis

Practice ‘Self-Compassion’ to Help Reach Your Weight Loss Goals

Playing Music Hits a High Note for Brain Health

Your Brain Prefers Writing by Hand Than by Keyboard

Marijuana Use Could Raise Asthma Risks

Do You Need to See a Doctor for That Rash?

Social Withdrawal in Kids, Teens May Signal Higher Suicide Risk Later: Study

Sports Concussion Recovery Time Similar for Men, Women

Feed a Cold and a Fever, Experts Say

Losing Weight for No Reason? See Your Doctor