For the first time ever, the nation’s top panel of preventive health experts has recommended that doctors routinely screen all adult patients under 65 for anxiety disorder. Evidence now shows that anxiety screening can help those patients find peace of mind, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) said in recommendations that were published online June 20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “The task force found that for the patients who are 19 to 64, what we call the general adult population, the evidence was robust on reducing their symptoms of anxiety. There was also benefit around general quality of life as well,” USPSTF vice chair Dr. Michael Silverstein said. The task force also reiterated its longstanding recommendation that adults receive regular depression screening. “We were able to identify effective practices to screen the adult population for common and serious mental health disorders,” Silverstein said. “The good news is that screening for depression and anxiety can identify these conditions early. When this screening is linked to quality mental health care, patients benefit.” However, the task force did not recommend anxiety screening for seniors. “In the population 65 and older, we didn’t see the same quality of evidence that spoke to those outcomes,” said Silverstein, a professor of health services, policy and practice at the Brown University School of Public Health in Rhode…  read on >  read on >

In the face of an ongoing and widespread legal assault on transgender rights — one that threatens to cut off access to critical aspects of trans health care — a pair of new studies suggest that gender-affirming medical care is a lifesaving treatment for those who need it. One study finds that when trans men get immediate access to hormone/testosterone therapy as part of a gender-affirming treatment plan, their mental health improves markedly. Another finds that when trans teens embark on hormone therapy they rarely, if ever, regret their decision. “Gender-affirming hormone therapy is hormone treatment to align physical characteristics — such as facial hair, changes to muscle mass or body fat — with an individual’s gender identity,” explained study author Brendan Nolan, an endocrinologist with Austin Health in Melbourne, Australia. “For people desiring ‘masculinization,’ this involves the same doses and types of testosterone used to treat cisgender men [when someone’s sex at birth matches their own gender identity] with low testosterone,” added Nolan, who is pursuing his doctorate at the University of Melbourne. For the study, Nolan’s team tracked how 64 adult trans men fared over a three-month period. All wanted to begin testosterone treatment immediately. But only half were allowed to do so. The other half was told to ride out a standard three-month waiting list. “We found that the people who received…  read on >  read on >

(HealthDay news) — Fatty liver disease is increasing rapidly among Americans, outpacing obesity rates across many racial groups and affecting the liver health of millions, a new study reports. Overall, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in Americans increased 131% during the past three decades, rising from 16% in 1988 to 37% in 2018, the researchers said. By comparison, obesity only increased by 74% during the same period, affecting 40% of Americans by 2018, according to findings presented Friday at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, in Chicago. “This is an important condition that seems to be getting worse over time,” said Dr. Theodore Friedman, chair of internal medicine at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science, in Los Angeles. “The rate has increased more than the rate of obesity in the United States.” Fatty liver disease occurs when excess fat begins to be stored in the liver, causing inflammation and eventually scarring, Friedman said. It’s akin to foie gras or pate, which is created by overfeeding ducks or geese. “Most people can live with fatty liver disease, but some people progress to the liver not working, cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer,” Friedman said. Some with fatty liver disease need an organ transplant, Friedman said. “I think it’s less than 1%. It’s not that often,” Friedman said of liver transplants. “But because…  read on >  read on >

There is an epidemic of loneliness and isolation today, and the consequences can be deadly, researchers say. Folks who reported that they were socially isolated or felt lonely were more likely to die early from all causes including cancer, according to a sweeping review of 90 studies that included more than 2.2 million people from around the globe. Exactly how loneliness or social isolation affects a person’s health and well-being is not fully understood, but many theories exist, the researchers reported. People who are socially isolated or lonely may be less likely to eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise and more likely to smoke and consume alcohol. In addition, social isolation is linked to inflammation and weakened immune systems. People who are socially isolated may be less likely to receive medical care due to their smaller social networks. Social isolation and loneliness are not one and the same, the researchers pointed out. Social isolation refers to a lack of contact with other people. By contrast, loneliness is the feeling of being alone, regardless of social contact. For the study, researchers led by Maoqing Wang and Yashuang Zhao from Harbin Medical University in China reviewed 90 studies. Folks who reported being socially isolated and feeling lonely were more likely to die early from all causes including cancer. What’s more, social isolation was linked to…  read on >  read on >