A little about: Weekly Gravy

All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

ADHD Stimulants Can Be Safely Prescribed Via Telehealth, Study Argues

By | | Add a Comment

People with ADHD might be prescribed their meds remotely without increasing their risk of addiction, a new study says. Experts have worried that prescribing stimulants like Adderall through telehealth visits might increase substance abuse among people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But this study found no increased risk among ADHD patients prescribed their meds via telehealth versus those who got their scrips at an in-person visit, according to results published June 11 in the American Journal of Psychiatry. “Our study suggests that, generally, telehealth-based relationships – which make health care more accessible – can be safe and don’t increase the risk of substance use disorder,” lead researcher Dr. Vinod Rao, medical director of adult ambulatory psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said in a news release. For the study, researchers tracked nearly 8,000 patients treated for ADHD at Massachusetts General Hospital between March 2020 and August 2023, a time during which many doctors pivoted to telehealth due to the COVID-19 pandemic. About 46% of the patients had an in-person appointment on the day their first stimulant was prescribed, results show. Overall, about 91% of patients had at least one in-person visit with their doctor prior to their first prescription, while 9% had a telehealth-only relationship with their doc. Patients who never met their doc in person were not more likely to develop a substance use…  read on >  read on >

ADHD Stimulants Can Be Safely Prescribed Via Telehealth, Study Argues

By | | Add a Comment

People with ADHD might be prescribed their meds remotely without increasing their risk of addiction, a new study says. Experts have worried that prescribing stimulants like Adderall through telehealth visits might increase substance abuse among people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But this study found no increased risk among ADHD patients prescribed their meds via telehealth versus those who got their scrips at an in-person visit, according to results published June 11 in the American Journal of Psychiatry. “Our study suggests that, generally, telehealth-based relationships – which make health care more accessible – can be safe and don’t increase the risk of substance use disorder,” lead researcher Dr. Vinod Rao, medical director of adult ambulatory psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said in a news release. For the study, researchers tracked nearly 8,000 patients treated for ADHD at Massachusetts General Hospital between March 2020 and August 2023, a time during which many doctors pivoted to telehealth due to the COVID-19 pandemic. About 46% of the patients had an in-person appointment on the day their first stimulant was prescribed, results show. Overall, about 91% of patients had at least one in-person visit with their doctor prior to their first prescription, while 9% had a telehealth-only relationship with their doc. Patients who never met their doc in person were not more likely to develop a substance use…  read on >  read on >

Eating More Fruits and Veggies May Help You Sleep Better, Study Finds

By | | Add a Comment

Struggling to get a good night’s sleep? A new study suggests that a natural solution might be found right in your fridge: fruits and veggies. Researchers from the University of Chicago and Columbia University found that eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains during the day may lead to better sleep that same night. “Dietary modifications could be a new, natural and cost-effective approach to achieve better sleep,” study co-author Dr. Esra Tasali, director of the UChicago Sleep Center, said in a news release. The study — published June 11 in the journal Sleep Health — is one of the first to show that what you eat during the day may affect your sleep that very night, researchers said. The researchers asked healthy young adults to log what they ate each day using a smartphone app. Participants also wore wrist monitors that tracked how well they slept. They specifically measured “sleep fragmentation,” or how often someone wakes up or shifts into lighter sleep. Less fragmentation means better, deeper sleep, researchers explained. While research had already been conducted on how poor sleep can lead to unhealthy eating, this study flipped the script, looking at how food choices can impact sleep. The results showed that people who ate more fruits, vegetables and healthy carbohydrates — such as whole grains — had better quality sleep that night. In…  read on >  read on >

Eating More Fruits and Veggies May Help You Sleep Better, Study Finds

By | | Add a Comment

Struggling to get a good night’s sleep? A new study suggests that a natural solution might be found right in your fridge: fruits and veggies. Researchers from the University of Chicago and Columbia University found that eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains during the day may lead to better sleep that same night. “Dietary modifications could be a new, natural and cost-effective approach to achieve better sleep,” study co-author Dr. Esra Tasali, director of the UChicago Sleep Center, said in a news release. The study — published June 11 in the journal Sleep Health — is one of the first to show that what you eat during the day may affect your sleep that very night, researchers said. The researchers asked healthy young adults to log what they ate each day using a smartphone app. Participants also wore wrist monitors that tracked how well they slept. They specifically measured “sleep fragmentation,” or how often someone wakes up or shifts into lighter sleep. Less fragmentation means better, deeper sleep, researchers explained. While research had already been conducted on how poor sleep can lead to unhealthy eating, this study flipped the script, looking at how food choices can impact sleep. The results showed that people who ate more fruits, vegetables and healthy carbohydrates — such as whole grains — had better quality sleep that night. In…  read on >  read on >

Building Strength May Take Less Exercise Than You Think

By | | Add a Comment

Think you need to spend hours lifting weights to build muscle or get stronger?  Researchers at Florida Atlantic University say just a few smart, focused sets may be all it takes this summer to see real gains. The study — available as a preprint on SportRxiv — reviewed results from dozens of earlier studies on training volume. Volume means how many sets you do during a workout, while frequency refers to how often you train each week. “Our findings show that you don’t need lengthy gym sessions to get stronger or build muscle,” senior author Michael Zourdos, a professor of exercise science at FAU, said in a news release.  “There’s a tipping point where the benefit of doing more becomes very questionable – and in some cases, it may even work against you when considering fatigue, time and so on,” he added. “This challenges the common assumption that more volume always equals more gains.” His team looked at how training volume affects muscle growth and strength. It found that doing more sets can help — but only up to a point. The benefits for muscle growth increased until about 11 fractional sets per session. For strength, the sweet spot was even smaller — just two direct sets per session. “It’s important to understand the difference between direct and fractional sets,” Jacob Remmert, the study’s lead…  read on >  read on >

Building Strength May Take Less Exercise Than You Think

By | | Add a Comment

Think you need to spend hours lifting weights to build muscle or get stronger?  Researchers at Florida Atlantic University say just a few smart, focused sets may be all it takes this summer to see real gains. The study — available as a preprint on SportRxiv — reviewed results from dozens of earlier studies on training volume. Volume means how many sets you do during a workout, while frequency refers to how often you train each week. “Our findings show that you don’t need lengthy gym sessions to get stronger or build muscle,” senior author Michael Zourdos, a professor of exercise science at FAU, said in a news release.  “There’s a tipping point where the benefit of doing more becomes very questionable – and in some cases, it may even work against you when considering fatigue, time and so on,” he added. “This challenges the common assumption that more volume always equals more gains.” His team looked at how training volume affects muscle growth and strength. It found that doing more sets can help — but only up to a point. The benefits for muscle growth increased until about 11 fractional sets per session. For strength, the sweet spot was even smaller — just two direct sets per session. “It’s important to understand the difference between direct and fractional sets,” Jacob Remmert, the study’s lead…  read on >  read on >

Mild Sleep Apnea More Common Among Female Athletes Than Thought

By | | Add a Comment

Sleep apnea could be more common in female college athletes than previously thought, a new study says. Mild sleep apnea was observed in a quarter of a group of 68 female athletes, according to findings presented Thursday at an American College of Cardiology meeting in Washington, D.C. “We found in this cohort that sleep health, not even considering sleep apnea, was poor among athletes, with 36% reporting poor sleep quality and 22% reporting that they had trouble staying awake at least once in the past month while eating or engaging in social activities,” lead researcher Dr. Austin Rim, a cardiology fellow at Emory University in Atlanta, said in a news release. “Ensuring good sleep hygiene among these athletes is low-hanging fruit for improving overall health in this population,” Rim added. Sleep apnea has been observed in male athletes, but the condition’s prevalence in female athletes has gone largely unstudied, researchers said in background notes. For the study, researchers recruited college athletes at two universities in the United States. Softball, volleyball and basketball were the main sports represented among the athletes. Sleep apnea occurs when the throat muscles relax and block the airway during sleep, causing patients to repeatedly stop and start breathing. These folks tend to snore loudly and wake repeatedly during the night, gasping and choking for air. “There is a lot of overlap…  read on >  read on >

Mild Sleep Apnea More Common Among Female Athletes Than Thought

By | | Add a Comment

Sleep apnea could be more common in female college athletes than previously thought, a new study says. Mild sleep apnea was observed in a quarter of a group of 68 female athletes, according to findings presented Thursday at an American College of Cardiology meeting in Washington, D.C. “We found in this cohort that sleep health, not even considering sleep apnea, was poor among athletes, with 36% reporting poor sleep quality and 22% reporting that they had trouble staying awake at least once in the past month while eating or engaging in social activities,” lead researcher Dr. Austin Rim, a cardiology fellow at Emory University in Atlanta, said in a news release. “Ensuring good sleep hygiene among these athletes is low-hanging fruit for improving overall health in this population,” Rim added. Sleep apnea has been observed in male athletes, but the condition’s prevalence in female athletes has gone largely unstudied, researchers said in background notes. For the study, researchers recruited college athletes at two universities in the United States. Softball, volleyball and basketball were the main sports represented among the athletes. Sleep apnea occurs when the throat muscles relax and block the airway during sleep, causing patients to repeatedly stop and start breathing. These folks tend to snore loudly and wake repeatedly during the night, gasping and choking for air. “There is a lot of overlap…  read on >  read on >

‘Forever Chemicals’ Linked To Elevated Childhood Blood Pressure

By | | Add a Comment

Kids exposed to PFAS “forever chemicals” before birth have an increased risk of high blood pressure in childhood, particularly during their teen years, a new study says. Teenage boys had a 17% higher risk of increased risk of elevated blood pressure if their moms had elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in blood samples taken after delivery, researchers reported June 12 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. “Prenatal PFAS exposure is associated with higher blood pressure later in childhood, especially during adolescence,” said lead researcher Zeyu Li, a graduate student researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.  “This suggests these forever chemicals can have long-lasting and potentially harmful effects that may only become apparent years after birth,” Li added in a news release. PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they combine carbon and fluorine molecules, one of the strongest chemical bonds possible. This makes PFAS removal and breakdown extremely difficult. PFAS can be found in 99% of Americans, absorbed through what they eat, drink, breathe or touch, according to the Environmental Working Group. There are thousands of different PFAS chemicals, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says. They can be found in drinking water as well as a wide range of consumer products including paper fast food wrappers, Teflon cookware, stain-resistant furniture and clothing, and cosmetics and personal…  read on >  read on >

‘Forever Chemicals’ Linked To Elevated Childhood Blood Pressure

By | | Add a Comment

Kids exposed to PFAS “forever chemicals” before birth have an increased risk of high blood pressure in childhood, particularly during their teen years, a new study says. Teenage boys had a 17% higher risk of increased risk of elevated blood pressure if their moms had elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in blood samples taken after delivery, researchers reported June 12 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. “Prenatal PFAS exposure is associated with higher blood pressure later in childhood, especially during adolescence,” said lead researcher Zeyu Li, a graduate student researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.  “This suggests these forever chemicals can have long-lasting and potentially harmful effects that may only become apparent years after birth,” Li added in a news release. PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they combine carbon and fluorine molecules, one of the strongest chemical bonds possible. This makes PFAS removal and breakdown extremely difficult. PFAS can be found in 99% of Americans, absorbed through what they eat, drink, breathe or touch, according to the Environmental Working Group. There are thousands of different PFAS chemicals, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says. They can be found in drinking water as well as a wide range of consumer products including paper fast food wrappers, Teflon cookware, stain-resistant furniture and clothing, and cosmetics and personal…  read on >  read on >