Obesity, alcohol use and other factors are driving up rates of fatty liver disease among American adults, new research warns. By 2018, federal data showed that 42% of adults had some form of fatty liver disease — higher than prior estimates, according to a team led by Dr. Juan Pablo Arab, a liver specialist with at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health, in Richmond. Hispanic adults were at especially high risk, the team noted, with nearly half (47%) affected. The findings were published recently in the journal Nature Communications Medicine. As Arab’s team explained, fatty liver disease comes in many forms, but involves the slow buildup of fat deposits within the blood-cleansing organ. There are three main kinds of fatty liver disease: metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD, caused by metabolic factors such as obesity and diabetes), alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) and a combination of both syndromes, called MetALD. According to the American Liver Foundation, advanced liver disease can cause jaundice, fluid retention, eye trouble and brain dysfunction. Over time, liver failure and fatal kidney complications can also occur. The new study was based on 2017-2018 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, looking at the health of 5,523 adults. MASLD is by far the most common form of liver disease, affecting 42% of adults. ALD and MetALD affect…  read on >  read on >

Therapy provided via telehealth can reduce a person’s risk of suicide, a new study reports. Cognitive behavior therapy reduces suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts even if delivered for a short time via telehealth, according to results published Nov. 12 in the jouirnal JAMA Network Open. That’s good news, given that therapy these days is more often delivered virtually, said researcher Justin Baker, a clinical psychologist at Ohio State University. “The impetus for this research question was the nearly overnight shift from mostly in-person to mostly virtual therapy appointments following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Baker said in an Ohio State news release. “Historically, high-risk patients were considered inappropriate candidates for virtual healthcare, due to risk and liability concerns.” For the study, researchers randomly assigned 96 U.S. adults to randomly receive via telehealth either: Suicide-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, which taught them how to manage and change distressing emotions and negative thinking Present-centered therapy, which helps participants respond to stresses in their life Present-centered therapy has been proven an effective way to reduce depression and suicidal thoughts, researchers noted. But in this study, cognitive behavioral therapy outperformed present-centered therapy in reducing suicide attempts among telehealth patients, researchers found. Still, both therapies reduced suicidal thoughts in patients, results showed. “For those suffering with suicidal thoughts and behaviors, we have good, tested treatments that will lead to significant…  read on >  read on >

Grandchildren are a true blessing for seniors, helping them avoid loneliness and keeping them on their toes, a new poll reports. Overall, 72% of people with grandkids say they hardly ever feel isolated, compared with 62% of those without grandchildren, according to results from the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging. People without grandchildren also are more likely to say their mental health is only fair or poor — 13% compared to 9% with those who have grandkids. “For many older people, becoming a grandparent is a major milestone in their lives. Our findings show there are many dimensions to grandparenting, and possible positive effects of grandparenting, some of which may not be widely recognized,” researcher Kate Bauer, an associate professor of nutritional sciences in the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said in a news release. About 60% of adults 50 and older have at least one grandchild, including 27% who say they have five or more. Seniors older than 65 were more likely than those in their 50s and early 60s to say they have at least one grandchild, 76% versus 46% The survey also found that: About half (49%) of grandparents provide care at least once every few months for grandchildren under 18. About 18% of grandparents see a grandchild once a day or nearly every day, versus 23%…  read on >  read on >

Beta blockers are go-to meds for many people who’ve survived a heart attack. However, new Swedish research has found that they might not be needed for heart attack survivors whose hearts have retained a normal pumping ability.  Using them in this group might even raise patients’ odds for depression, the data showed. “We found that beta blockers led to slightly higher levels of depression symptoms in patients who had had a heart attack but were not suffering from heart failure,” said study lead author Philip Leissner, a doctoral student in cardiac psychology at Uppsala University.   “At the same time, beta blockers have no life-sustaining function for this group of patients,” he said in a university news release. His team published its findings recently in the European Heart Journal. Heart doctors have for decades relied on beta blocker medications to help heart patients — the drugs work by lowering the effects of adrenaline on the heart.  But recent advances mean there are now more pharmaceutical options for cardiologists to pick from for people who’ve survived a heart attack, putting the use of beta-blockers into question. According to Leissner’s team, that’s especially true for folks who have survived a heart attack but whose cardiac pumping action has retained its efficacy. In a study published in April, the Swedish researchers found beta-blockers to be unnecessary for this…  read on >  read on >

Asthma is associated with memory problems in children, a new study has found. Further, the early onset of asthma might worsen potential memory deficits in kids, researchers found. This is the first study to make such a connection, researchers said. “This study underscores the importance of looking at asthma as a potential source of cognitive difficulty in children,” said senior researcher Simona Ghetti, a professor of psychology in the University of California-Davis Center for Mind and Brain. “We are becoming increasingly aware that chronic diseases, not only asthma but also diabetes, heart disease and others may place children at increased risk of cognitive difficulties,” Ghetti added in a news release. “We need to understand the factors that might exacerbate or protect against the risks.” For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 2,000 9- and 10-year-olds with asthma. In the U.S., roughly 4.6 million children have asthma. “Childhood is a period of rapid improvement in memory and, more generally, cognition. In children with asthma that improvement may be slower,” lead researcher Nicholas Christopher-Hayes, a doctoral candidate in psychology at UC Davis, said in a news release. His team found that children with asthma had lower scores in tests of episodic memory, the specific type of memory related to experiences and emotions. In a smaller sample of nearly 500 kids followed for two years, researchers…  read on >  read on >

Americans’ well-being varies widely between different regions of the nation, a new study reports. People in the southern U.S., Appalachia and the Rust Belt states score lowest on the Human Development Index (HDI), a composite measure that includes a population’s life expectancy, education and income, researchers report in The Lancet. The highest levels of well-being occur among people living in parts of Colorado, Maryland, New York, California, Virginia and Washington, D.C., researchers said. “As a new federal administration prepares to take actions aimed at solving the most pressing economic, social, and health issues the US population faces, this study underscores the urgent need for action by policymakers, educators, and public health experts,” senior researcher Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle, said in a news release. “IHME’s findings further emphasize the critical need to develop highly targeted social programs to dismantle deep-rooted structural inequalities in the US,” Murray added.   The United Nations Development Program created the HDI as a measure to help track well-being between nations, researchers said in background notes. For this study, U.S. researchers adapted the HDI to gauge well-being based on years of education, household income and life expectancy estimates. Overall, the average U.S. HDI increased gradually from 2008 to 2019, then declined in 2020 due to decreases in lifespan linked…  read on >  read on >