Millions of Americans have sought help for gambling addiction in the wake of a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed states to legalize sports betting. That’s among the key findings in a new study published Feb. 17 in JAMA Internal Medicine.  “Sportsbooks have expanded from a single state to 38 states, with hundreds of billions of wagers, mostly online, coinciding with record-breaking demand for help with gambling addiction as millions seek help,” study senior author John Ayers said in a news release. He’s deputy director of informatics at the University of California San Diego Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute and a scientist at UCSD’s Qualcomm Institute.  His team reported that sports wagers rose from $4.9 billion in 2017 to $121.1 billion in 2023. Almost all of these bets — 94% — are now placed online. “Sports betting has become deeply embedded in our culture,” said study co-author Matthew Allen, a third-year medical student.  “From relentless advertising to social media feeds and in-game commentary, sportsbooks are now everywhere,” he added in a news release. “What was once a taboo activity, confined to the fringes of society, has been completely normalized.” The researchers noted that major industry shifts, including the rebranding of Caesars Entertainment as Caesars Sportsbook and Casino, signal that sports betting (sportsbooks) is being positioned as the future of gambling. For the study, they…  read on >  read on >

Most people who are working after age 50 say staying on the job boosts their health and well-being, and those over 65 report the most benefit, a new University of Michigan poll finds. The poll of 3,486 U.S. adults aged 50-94 found that 67% of those who continue to work report that their jobs have a positive impact on their physical health, and 71% said work positively impacts their mental health. In addition, 78% said work positively affects their overall well-being. Workers aged 65 and older were especially likely to say work very positively benefits their physical health, mental health and well-being (32%, 41%, and 39%, respectively) versus those aged 50-64 (14%, 20%, and 21%, respectively). Among the respondents, 42% of people age 50 and older said they work now, including 63% of those age 50-64 and 18% of those aged 65 and up. However, nearly a third of those who are still working said disability, chronic illness or poor health disrupt their ability to stay on the job. “Taken together, these poll findings suggest that employers have an important role in recognizing the contributions and supporting the needs of older workers,” a team led by Dr. Jeffrey Kullgren of the University of Michigan School of Public Health write.  “For example, employers can help older adults feel engaged and valued in the workplace by fully…  read on >  read on >

Zoo workers and volunteers often grieve when animals die, and zoo managers can do a better job of supporting them, a new study finds. “Zoo professionals and volunteers frequently face significant emotional strain due to animal losses, yet structured organizational support for processing grief remains limited,” lead author Nichole Nageotte, adjunct instructor at Unity Environmental University in Maine, said in a news release.  For the study, researchers from Colorado State University and Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance surveyed 182 zoo workers and volunteers, including 135 animal care professionals, 12 volunteers and 35 other staffers.  Their findings were published Feb. 12 in the journal Human-Animal Interactions. Study participants who worked at zoos that do less to support grieving workers and volunteers reported hurt, shame, guilt and anxiety in connection with the deaths of animals.  These participants reported feeling as though they couldn’t openly grieve despite having created close bonds with the animals. Researchers highlighted several possible ways to support the grief process such as allowing workers and volunteers to “say goodbye” to dying animals and allow them to gather fur, feathers or pawprints and footprints as mementos. They also said an initial option could be the creation of a zoo animal grief or advisory group that meets regularly to discuss industry grief culture, share resources and show compassion around loss. More information The Humane Society of the…  read on >  read on >

Depression hits the whole body, speeding the onset of long-term physical ills as people age, new research contends. “People who’ve experienced depression are more likely to develop long-term physical health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes,” noted a team led by Kelly Fleetwood, a statistician at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.  Their study of more than 172,500 Britons over the age of 39 found that those with a history of depression began to develop long-term physical conditions about 30% earlier than people without such histories. The findings were published Feb. 13 in the journal PLOS Medicine. The new study looked at data from the ongoing UK Biobank. It included adults ages 40 to 71 who completed baseline assessments between 2006 and 2010.  Participants’ health was followed for an average of just under seven years, and Fleetwood’s team tracked the onset of 69 selected physical conditions. Over the study period, people without any history of depression developed an average of 0.16 of these conditions per year, the study found. However, that number jumped to 2.0 per year for people who had a history of depression.  Among the most common illnesses: osteoarthritis (15.7% of those with depression versus 12.5% without); high blood pressure (12.9% versus 12.0%); and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (13.8% versus 9.6%). All of this means that depression should be looked upon holistically,…  read on >  read on >

This Valentine’s Day, are you ready for something real or still playing the field? New research suggests your friends probably share similar notions about your readiness for lasting love. Researchers at Michigan State University in East Lansing tracked data on nearly 800 young adults embedded in friend groups.   Participants answered questions about their own readiness for a relationship, how ready they thought their various friends were, and each friend’s “attachment style.” Attachment styles can be secure or insecure, the researchers explained. Someone with an insecure attachment style typically has higher levels of anxiety and/or avoidance. According to the study, friends tended to agree as to whether a particular member of the group was ready for a solid relationship or not.   If a friend wasn’t thought to be ready, they were often perceived to have an insecure attachment style. “Friendships affect so many parts of our life — not just our health and happiness, but also our romantic prospects. Friends can constrain or facilitate who we date. They can also help our romantic relationships flourish or subtly and not-so-subtly undermine them,” study co-author William Chopik, associate professor of psychology at the university, said. He believes that friends’ “judgments of readiness likely explain all sorts of reasons why friends help and hurt our chances of finding love.” Chopik and co-author Hyewon Yang hope the study…  read on >  read on >