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Swedish researchers think they have honed in on why people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to die prematurely. Accidental injuries, suicide and substance abuse all play a part, and psychiatric problems fuel these factors, a new study from the Karolinska Institute suggests. To arrive at that conclusion, the researchers examined data from nearly 2.7 million people born in Sweden between 1983 and 2009. Of those, 3.2% were diagnosed with ADHD. The risk of premature death was higher among adults with ADHD than children with ADHD, and people diagnosed with ADHD later in life had a higher risk of premature death than those diagnosed earlier in life, the findings showed. Accidental injuries and suicide were the leading causes of death among people with ADHD, accounting for 35.8% and 31.4%, respectively, of the 414 deaths in that group. Substance use disorders contributed substantially to the risk of death due to suicide, while the increased risk of death due to accidental injuries was evident only in those without psychiatric conditions, the study authors said in a university news release. The investigators also found that early-onset conditions such as autism were most strongly associated with premature death due to natural causes, while later-onset psychiatric conditions, such as substance use disorders, were most strongly linked with death due to unnatural causes. The study was published recently in the… read on >

If you or someone you love is thinking about suicide, a new review points to effective treatments that can reduce suicide risk. Some involve therapy — cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) — while others involve medication, such as ketamine (by infusion) or lithium. “People should be aware that there are treatments, such as CBT or DBT that can be helpful for people who have thoughts of suicide,” said the study’s lead author, Kristen D’Anci. She’s senior associate director of the Center for Clinical Evidence and Guidelines at the ECRI Institute in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. D’Anci added that medications, although less well-studied, can be an option, too. The study’s findings were published Aug. 26 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Suicide is a growing concern in the United States. The nationwide rate increased 30% between 2000 and 2016, researchers said. Why is death by suicide on the rise? One reason rates have gone up is that people are more likely to report a suicide now because it’s a known mental condition, said psychologist Jill Harkavy-Friedman, vice president of research for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. As for other reasons why the rate is climbing, she said, “Suicide is a complex behavior, and each person’s risk is a little different.” For some, it may be lack of access to mental health or… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Thousands of vehicle crashes occur in parking lots and garages annually, says the National Safety Council. Around the holidays in particular, parking lots become even more dangerous. To stay safer in a parking lot, the council recommends: Stay in your lane. Avoid cutting across the lot. Drive slowly and use directional signals. Anticipate the actions of other drivers. Obey stop signs and no-parking signs. Be mindful of others when backing out. Watch for small children and baby strollers.

(HealthDay News) — Tearing a nail from the nail bed can be very painful. From infection to a jam, nail separation can have a variety of causes, says the University of Wisconsin. To treat a torn nail, the school suggests: Trim or file any sharp edges. Trim off the detached part of a large tear. Soak your finger or toe in cold water for 20 minutes after trimming. Apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly and cover the area with a nonstick bandage.

Do you love restaurant-style scallops but feel nervous about making them at home? Here’s the 101 to cooking the perfect scallop every time. The trick to creating tasty scallop dishes is to choose “dry” scallops — these aren’t treated with phosphates, which can give them an off-taste and make them stringy when cooked. Scallops pair deliciously with citrus, such as oranges. If available, choose blood oranges for their beautiful color and tart flavor. Note: For sustainability, choose sea scallops over bay scallops. Scallops in Citrus Sauce 2 blood or navel oranges 1 pound dry sea scallops 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or 1 tablespoon coconut flour 2 tablespoons coconut or grapeseed oil 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth 2 tablespoons drained capers 1 tablespoon unsalted butter Peel the oranges and then section them over a bowl to catch the juices, which will make part of the base for the sauce. Set both aside. Season the scallops with the salt and black pepper. Dust them with the flour. Note: Use coconut flour for a gluten-free option — its texture means you can use less. Heat a large skillet over high heat and add the oil. Add the scallops and sear them without moving for two to three minutes to allow a thick crust to form. Flip and cook… read on >

Developing core strength is essential for fitness and overall health, but it doesn’t have to be a drudge. If you’re ready to go beyond crunches — or never liked them to begin with! — consider these moves that target the muscles in your torso and spine. The Advanced Bird Dog: Begin on your hands and knees. Contract your core muscles and straighten your right leg behind you until it’s level with your hip. Now raise your left arm straight out in front of you to shoulder level. From this start position, draw in your right knee and left elbow, touch the elbow to the knee if you can, and then straighten them back to the start position without touching the floor. Do one set, then switch sides and repeat. The Plank With Knee Drive: Begin on your hands and knees. Straighten your legs behind you, shifting your weight to the balls of your feet. Contract your core muscles and, with control, bring one knee toward your chest and then back out to the starting position. Alternate legs throughout the set. The Lying Single Leg Extension: Lie flat on a mat and then draw in your knees so that they make a 90-degree angle with your thighs; calves are parallel with the floor. Contract your core muscles. Keep your back pressed into the mat as you… read on >

Your lunch leftovers are doing no favors for urban birds’ hearts, new research shows. Fatty food scraps may be boosting the cholesterol levels of crows in U.S. cities, but whether it’s a threat to their health isn’t clear. A team from Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., analyzed blood cholesterol levels of 140 crow nestlings in urban and rural areas of California. Those in urban areas had higher levels of cholesterol than those in rural areas, the findings showed. The researchers also tested the impact of human food by giving nestlings in rural New York state a regular supply of cheeseburgers. They then compared the cholesterol levels of those crows with nearby nestlings that didn’t get cheeseburgers. The cheeseburger-fed nestlings’ cholesterol levels were higher, and comparable to those of the city-dwelling crows in California. But whether higher cholesterol is bad for crows is uncertain. “Despite all the bad press that it gets, cholesterol has benefits and serves a lot of essential functions,” said study author Andrea Townsend, an assistant professor of biology. “It’s an important part of our cell membranes and a component of some crucial hormones. We know that excessive cholesterol causes disease in humans, but we don’t know what level would be ‘excessive’ in a wild bird,” she explained. The study was published Aug. 26 in The Condor: Ornithological Applications journal. The researchers followed… read on >

A quirk in quality testing could mean that pot-laced chocolates are more potent than their label indicates, researchers report. Many states that allow the sale of marijuana-infused edibles — gummy bears, cookies and chocolates — require package labeling that shows the products’ level of THC, the compound that gets you high. But potency testing on chocolate products appears to be slightly skewed, said David Dawson, a research principal with CW Analytical Laboratories, one of California’s longest-operating marijuana testing labs. It turns out that larger samples of chocolate used in testing actually produce less accurate results than smaller samples, Dawson said. “It’s pretty striking and definitely goes against your basic gut instinct,” Dawson said. “As the amount of sample you are testing increases, it should be more representative of the whole of the product. Thus, you should be getting more solid values,” Dawson said. “We saw the opposite here, where we actually start getting less accurate and precise values the more actual product we are testing at a given moment.” The testing flaw tends to cause a chocolate product’s THC levels to be reported as lower than they actually are, Dawson said. For example, a bar containing 97 milligrams of THC might test at 93 milligrams. The variance “isn’t enough to truly pose a danger to consumers, but it is enough to possibly make a good… read on >

Books, tablets, lunch: Stuff can really start to weigh heavily in your kid’s school backpack. And so experts at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) are offering tips on backpack safety to parents as a new school year begins. That’s because heavy and improperly worn backpacks can trigger back, neck and shoulder-related pain in children, the group says. In fact, in 2018, almost 51,000 people were seen for backpack-related injuries at emergency departments, doctors’ offices and clinics, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. “Back pain due to improperly wearing and overloading a backpack is a common symptom,” AAOS spokesperson Dr. Afshin Razi, an orthopedic spine surgeon, said in an academy news release. “To limit injuries or back pain, encourage your children to limit the load and utilize both padded straps for proper posture and weight distribution.” Ideally, healthy children with a normal body weight should not carry more than 10%-20% of their body weight in a backpack. Always have kids use both shoulder straps when carrying a backpack, so that the weight is distributed more evenly across the back. Tighten backpack straps to keep the load closer to the back, as well. The bottom of the backpack should sit at waist level, the AAOS said. Kids should carry only items that are required for the school day, and heavier items should be… read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Why ADHD Might Raise the Risk of Early Death

What Treatments Work Best to Prevent Suicide?

Health Tip: Parking Lot Safety

Health Tip: Treating a Torn Nail

Get Cooking With Elegant, Flavorful Scallops

Do More to Strengthen Your Core

Caw-lesterol? Fatty City Food Hits Crows’ Arteries

Your Chocolate Pot ‘Edible’ Could Hold a Hidden Danger

Your Chocolate Pot ‘Edible’ Could Hold a Hidden Danger

Backpacks Shouldn’t Be a Back-to-School Burden on Health