Drug overdoses and suicide are common causes of death among women who die within a year of giving birth, a new study finds. In fact, in the study based on data from California, these two causes accounted for nearly 20% of postpartum deaths from 2010 to 2012. “These deaths are rare but devastating for families,” said study co-author Claire Margerison, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Michigan State University, in East Lansing. “We need to place more emphasis on prevention.” For the study, Margerison and her colleagues analyzed more than 1 million medical records from California hospitals. While maternal death rates during and after pregnancy are rising nationwide, California is below the national average. Even so, drug overdose was the second-leading cause of death among California women in the first year after giving birth. Suicide ranked seventh. Suicide and fatal overdoses were more common among white and poor women, the study found. The data aren’t sufficient to identify trends but could inform future studies, the researchers said. The findings, however, might be a sign of what’s occurring across the country. Although maternal death rates have dropped in California because of efforts to improve care, mental health and drug abuse continue to affect many new mothers. Some of these deaths might reflect stigmas that stop women from getting help for mental health and drug…  read on >

A face-lift for Father’s Day, anyone? It could happen: A new report finds many more men are taking advantage of the same plastic surgeries that have long been associated with women. The midlife decision by men to try a face-lift or other procedure has been nicknamed the “Daddy-Do-Over” — referencing the “Mommy Makeover” for women. Whatever it’s called, “men are embracing the idea of surgery more than before,” said Dr. Alan Matarasso, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). He stressed that the average man approaching or in middle age might have different reasons for wanting a nip or a tuck, compared to his female peers. “Obviously, men don’t go through the same physical changes that women experience during pregnancy and post-pregnancy, but their lifestyle does change, which can impact their appearance,” Matarasso said in a society news release. “Diet and exercise patterns fluctuate, and they don’t sleep as much,” he added. “Men notice their body changes due to aging and parenting, and it starts to look completely different in their 30s and 40s. That is the point of a Daddy-Do-Over.” In fact, according to the ASPS, more than 1 million men had cosmetic surgery in 2018, a 29% increase since 2000. Like women, men are typically getting body contouring and facial procedures to enhance their physique and keep the dreaded “dad bod”…  read on >

When eating healthy becomes an around-the-clock obsession, it could be a sign of trouble. An extreme preoccupation with clean eating is an eating order called orthorexia nervosa. Though less well-known than anorexia nervosa or bulimia — and not as well-documented — a new study review says orthorexia can also have serious emotional and physical consequences. “Orthorexia is really more than just healthy eating,” said review co-author Jennifer Mills, an associate professor of health at York University in Toronto. “It’s healthy eating taken to the extreme, where it’s starting to cause problems for people in their lives and starting to feel quite out of control.” The review of published research from around the world on the disorder was recently published in the journal Appetite. Mills and her colleague Sarah McComb looked at risk factors and links between orthorexia and other mental disorders. Orthorexia, unlike some other eating disorders, is not yet recognized in the standard psychiatric manuals. Healthy eating to the extreme No clear line divides healthy eating from orthorexia’s extreme eating. The foods someone with orthorexia might avoid are the same as those someone with healthy habits might avoid — such as preservatives, anything artificial, salt, sugar, fat, dairy, other animal products, genetically modified foods or those that aren’t organic. It boils down to whether avoiding foods leads to obsession — excessive time and energy…  read on >