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Want to do something to protect your thinking skills as you age? Swing that golf club or go for a walk. A new study found that walking about 3.7 miles or playing 18 holes of golf improved cognitive function. Nordic walking, a type of full-body walking using poles, showed the same benefit. “These findings underscore the value of age-appropriate aerobic exercise, such as golf, Nordic walking and regular walking, in maintaining and enhancing cognitive function among older adults,” said first author Julia Kettinen, a doctoral researcher at the University of Eastern Finland. “Previous research has shown that exercise also holds promise as a potential strategy for those experiencing cognitive decline,” she said in a university news release. For the study, 25 healthy golfers age 65 and older participated in three bouts of intense aerobic exercise — golf, walking and Nordic walking — in a real-life environment, maintaining their typical brisk pace. The researchers then assessed cognitive function using a pair of tests that measure functions such as attention, processing speed and demanding skills such as task-switching ability. They also collected blood samples to measure two chemicals — neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cathepsin B (CTSB) — believed to reflect the benefits of exercise in the brain. Participants wore fitness monitoring devices to monitor their distance, duration, pace, energy expenditure and steps. An ECG sensor with a… read on > read on >

Fluctuating blood pressure can be a harbinger for both dementia and heart disease, a new study finds. Ups and downs within 24 hours or even over several days or weeks were linked with impaired thinking, researchers from Australia reported. Higher variations in systolic blood pressure, the top number, were linked with stiffening of the arteries, which is associated with heart disease. “Clinical treatments focus on hypertension, while ignoring the variability of blood pressure,” said lead author Daria Gutteridge, a PhD candidate at the University of South Australia’s Cognitive Aging and Impairment Neuroscience Laboratory. “Blood pressure can fluctuate across different time frames — short and long — and this appears to heighten the risk of dementia and blood vessel health,” Gutteridge said in a university news release. Researchers studied this in 70 healthy older adults aged 60 to 80 who had no signs of dementia or thinking impairment. The team monitored participants’ blood pressure, gave them a cognitive test and measured arterial stiffness in their brains and arteries. “We found that higher blood pressure variability within a day, as well as across days, was linked with reduced cognitive performance. We also found that higher blood pressure variations within the systolic BP [blood pressure] were linked with higher blood vessel stiffness in the arteries,” Gutteridge said. “These results indicate that the different types of BP variability likely… read on > read on >

E-bikes, e-scooters and hoverboards are everywhere — and injuries related to their use are soaring. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a new report on Tuesday showing that injuries associated with these so-called micro-mobility devices increased nearly 21% in 2022 alone, compared to 2021. Injury estimates were based on data collected between 2017 and 2022 from a nationally representative sample of U.S. hospitals. About 46% of all estimated e-bike injuries from 2017 to 2022 occurred in 2022 alone. Hoverboard injuries were the only type to go against trend, decreasing 26% from 2021 to 2022. Between 2017 and 2022, 233 deaths were associated with these devices, according to the CPSC, although reporting is not yet complete. Kids were a big portion of those injured, with children 14 and younger accounting for 36% of e-bike, e-scooter and hoverboard injuries during those years. That’s double the 18% proportion of the U.S. population that kids comprise. Black consumers represented 29% of injuries on these electric devices, a significantly higher proportion than their 13% of the U.S. population. Additionally, more than 360,000 emergency department visits were related to these devices from 2017 through 2022. Fractures and bruises/scrapes were the two most common injuries. The upper and lower limbs and the head and neck were most frequently injured. Another significant hazard associated with these devices was fires. The CPSC… read on > read on >

A breast cancer diagnosis often causes anxiety and depression, but an empathetic doctor can help. Supportive communication is key to reducing patient uncertainty and promoting mental well-being, Rutgers University researchers have found. “Our findings suggest that provider communication is a key component to reducing uncertainty, and thus providers play a key role in helping to facilitate psychological well-being,” said lead researcher Liesl Broadbridge. She’s a doctoral candidate at Rutgers School of Communication and Information in New Jersey. Discussing uncertainties and responding with empathy to patients’ concerns is critical to their healing and recovery, according to the study authors. “Our findings are directly applicable as targets for communication training modules for health care providers, because by continuing to advance skills in empathic communication, clinicians can enhance the health care experiences of their patients,” Broadbridge said in a Rutgers news release. The researchers also investigated how managing psychological well-being differs during and after cancer treatment. Current and former patients have different types of appointments, such as treatment decision-making for current patients and watchful waiting for former patients. They have had different amounts of time to adjust to diagnoses and, potentially, have different relationships with their providers. “Although our findings were true for both current and former patients, the strength of the relationship between uncertainty and psychological adjustment was stronger for former patients than for current patients,” Broadbridge… read on > read on >

Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are nearly three times more likely to develop dementia than other adults, a new study suggests. The results also indicate that treatment with ADHD medication may help reduce their dementia risk. No clear uptick in dementia risk was found among ADHD patients who received psychostimulant medication. “More than 3% of the adult U.S. population has ADHD, and most go undiagnosed,” said senior researcher Abraham Reichenberg, a professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. “There is limited research on this group, and it is important to determine if this group is at higher risk for dementia and if medications and/or lifestyle changes can affect risk, in order to inform caregivers and clinicians and increase awareness of this condition,” he said. Reichenberg emphasized that the study doesn’t prove that ADHD causes dementia, only that there appears to be a link. “If you have ADHD as an adult, you have a higher chance of dementia than someone who does not have ADHD,” he said. Exactly why adult ADHD and dementia seem to be connected is unknown, Reichenberg noted. “It is possible that some of the genetic causes of ADHD and the genetic causes of dementia are the same, and therefore there are similar genetic pathways to both disorders,” he suggested. Many factors can increase… read on > read on >

“Trigger warnings” are now widely accepted as away to help people avoid harm from disturbing content. Trouble is, they just don’t work, according to new research. Trigger warnings seem like an obvious good: They alert people that a book, video or other media will depict a fraught topic such as sexual assault, abuse or suicide. Forewarned, consumers can skip the content or at least be emotionally prepared for it. The problem is, trigger warnings appear to be ineffective at best — and maybe even be harmful in some cases, according to the recent analysis of a dozen studies. The researchers found that while there was evidence that trigger warnings sometimes caused “anticipatory” anxiety, they did nothing to relieve the distress of viewing sensitive material. Nor did the warnings deter people from viewing potentially disturbing content; in fact, they sometimes drew folks in. In sum, the studies “almost unanimously” suggest that trigger warnings do not work as intended, according to senior researcher Victoria Bridgland of Flinders University in Australia. Why then are trigger warnings so prevalent, from college classrooms to theaters and art galleries to news articles and social media posts? Once they caught on, they simply kept growing — likely driven by a sense that they seemed like the “right thing to do,” Bridgland said. “This is probably because we have a culturally ingrained notion… read on > read on >

Arthritis is becoming a disease of the masses, striking 21% of U.S. adults, or over 53 million people, a new report shows. “It’s important first to point out that arthritis is a general term that includes over a hundred different chronic diseases that affect the joints and the tissues around those joints,” said researcher Elizabeth Fallon, an epidemiologist for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The finding was culled from an analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey from 2019 to 2021. How did the numbers break out? About 88% of all arthritis cases were adults aged 45 and up, while about 50% were working-age people ranging in age from 18 to 64. Additional risk factors included being a woman, being a veteran or having another chronic disease or disability, Fallon said. Although this analysis didn’t look for trends over time, “it’s already a large public health problem,” Fallon noted. “If it’s growing, we need to know that so we can appropriately address it from a public health perspective.” Arthritis is a leading cause of activity limitations and disability, as well as chronic pain. A common thread in the findings was that more than half of folks who had arthritis also had other health conditions. About 58% of people who have COPD have arthritis, as do 56% of those with dementia,… read on > read on >

TUESDAY, Oct. 17, 2023 (HealthDay News) – A proposed rule from federal regulators that would ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars has been sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration first announced the proposed rule in April. The agency said then that the rule had “the potential to significantly reduce disease and death,” reduce “youth experimentation and addiction” and increase the numbers of smokers who quit. “Once finalized, rules to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars rule will be the most significant actions that the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products has taken in its 14-year history. The American Lung Association [ALA] is eager for these lifesaving rules to be implemented and urges the White House to finalize these rules before the end of the year,” ALA President and CEO Harold Wimmer said in a statement. “The science and data are clear. Ending the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars will save lives. It will also help reduce the unjust disparities in tobacco use caused by the tobacco companies targeting certain communities with menthol cigarettes,” Wimmer added. While numbers of smokers have dropped, those who smoke menthols has increased, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The menthol flavor is appealing to new smokers, making cigarettes more… read on > read on >

Women are more likely to develop depression after suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI), a new study shows. The analysis of nine published studies included nearly 700,000 people and found that the risk for depression among women after a TBI was nearly 50% higher than it is for men. “Depression is a known risk factor for poor recovery after TBI,” said lead researcher Dr. Isaac Freedman, an anesthesiology resident at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “In 2019, suicide was the leading cause of TBI-related deaths. In fact, the average suicide rate was more than six times higher in those who suffered a TBI.” It’s well-established that there is an association between TBI and depression, but the mechanisms behind this relationship remain unclear, he said. “One leading theory relates to the critical role of the neurotransmitter glutamate. In the brain, glutamate is one of the most important and wide-ranging neurotransmitters. Glutamate has also been implicated in neuroplasticity — the process by which the brain rearranges its connections and can change over time,” Freedman said. TBI may cause excess glutamate, which can be toxic to cells and cause cell injury or death. An imbalance in glutamate may be responsible for an increased risk of depression, he suggested. It is also unclear why depression disproportionately affects women with or without TBI, Freedman said. “Fluctuations in ovarian hormones are… read on > read on >

Whether or not you have loved ones in the Middle East, the horrors of the violence and suffering in Israel and Gaza are heart-wrenching and difficult to bear. “It’s important to be informed, but don’t stress yourself out,” said Dr. Gary Small, chair of psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. Ration your exposure to what you see, given the impact graphic news reports can have on mental health, Small advises in a hospital news release. “We live every day in a denial of the horrors out there in the world,” Small said, adding that catastrophic events, such as the massacres and kidnappings in Israel and the Sept. 11 terror attacks, put the very worst of human behavior in front of people’s eyes. He recommends finding a balance between being up to date with news and doing calming activities. These might include watching a light television show, spending time with loved ones or reading an engaging book. Brutal events like the attacks in Gaza and Israel can also lead to “social contagion,” where information and images are amplified and a collective stress emerges, Small said. To protect yourself, take breaks from social media, especially if you find yourself watching horrific images repeatedly, he advised. Reports of the violence in the Middle East can also trigger anxiety and depression, both in children and adults,… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Seniors, 18 Holes of Golf Might Make You Smarter

Blood Pressure’s Ups & Downs Could Harm Heart, Brain

U.S. Injuries From E-Bikes, E-Scooters Jumped 21% in One Year

A Doctor’s Empathy Can Be Key to Breast Cancer Care

Adults With ADHD May Face Higher Dementia Risk

Are Trigger Warnings Useless? New Study Says Yes

1 in 5 U.S. Adults Now Has Arthritis

FDA Moves Closer to Banning Menthol Cigarettes, Flavored Cigars

Women Face Higher Odds of Depression After Head Injury Than Men

As Atrocities in Gaza and Israel Unfold, Psychiatrists Give Advice on Coping