A little about: Weekly Gravy

All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Feeling Work Stress? Your Dog Might Be Feeling It Too

By | | Add a Comment

Stress from work doesn’t always stay at the office — and it may be affecting more than just your mood.  A new study finds that your dog may be picking up on it, too, especially if you have a hard time letting go of work worries at the end of the day, Psychology Today reported. The study — by researchers at Washington State University and published in the journal Scientific Reports — looked at 85 working adults who live with dogs.  It found that dogs showed more signs of stress when their owners felt highly stressed at work and couldn’t let it all go at day’s end. Participants completed surveys about their work stress, how often they thought about work during their free time (rumination), as well as their dog’s behavior. Dogs whose owners often dwelled on work were more likely to act stressed themselves — pacing, whining or being less playful. Interestingly, many dog owners didn’t realize their pets were showing signs of stress. Further, it wasn’t just high job stress that affected the dogs — it was rumination that made the biggest difference. When people mentally carry work problems into their personal time, they tend to be more tense and distracted. Their body language, tone of voice and behavior can signal stress — and dogs are very good at picking up on these…  read on >  read on >

FDA Chief: COVID Vaccine in Pregnancy Should Be Personal Choice

By | | Add a Comment

Federal health officials have pulled back a key recommendation that pregnant women get the COVID-19 vaccine — causing sharp criticism from doctors and other experts. The announcement came Tuesday from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who said the government will no longer recommend COVID shots for healthy children or pregnant women. Dr. Marty Makary, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said Wednesday that the decision should be made between a pregnant woman and her doctor. “The data on the COVID vaccine booster in pregnant women is a mixed set of data,” Makary said in an interview. “Now, I think the decision should be between a doctor and a pregnant woman.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) usually relies on a panel of vaccine experts to review studies and make public health recommendations. This process was skipped in making the COVID recommendation. The CDC, which currently has no director, still hasn’t updated its website to reflect the change. Its advice plays a major role in insurance coverage. If the CDC no longer recommends a vaccine, many patients may be unable to get it for free. The CDC has said pregnant women are more likely to become seriously sick from COVID than people who aren’t pregnant. Dr. Beverly Gray, an OB-GYN at Duke Health in Durham, N.C.,…  read on >  read on >

FDA Chief: COVID Vaccine in Pregnancy Should Be Personal Choice

By | | Add a Comment

Federal health officials have pulled back a key recommendation that pregnant women get the COVID-19 vaccine — causing sharp criticism from doctors and other experts. The announcement came Tuesday from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who said the government will no longer recommend COVID shots for healthy children or pregnant women. Dr. Marty Makary, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said Wednesday that the decision should be made between a pregnant woman and her doctor. “The data on the COVID vaccine booster in pregnant women is a mixed set of data,” Makary said in an interview. “Now, I think the decision should be between a doctor and a pregnant woman.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) usually relies on a panel of vaccine experts to review studies and make public health recommendations. This process was skipped in making the COVID recommendation. The CDC, which currently has no director, still hasn’t updated its website to reflect the change. Its advice plays a major role in insurance coverage. If the CDC no longer recommends a vaccine, many patients may be unable to get it for free. The CDC has said pregnant women are more likely to become seriously sick from COVID than people who aren’t pregnant. Dr. Beverly Gray, an OB-GYN at Duke Health in Durham, N.C.,…  read on >  read on >

Wildfire Smoke Threatens Heart, Lung Health For Months Afterward

By | | Add a Comment

Skies choked with wildfire smoke can affect people’s heart and lung health for up to three months afterwards, a new study says. The particle pollution created by wildfires continues to increase people’s risk of hospitalization for months after the smoke clears, researchers reported May 28 in the journal Epidemiology. “Even brief exposures from smaller fires that last only a few days can lead to long-lasting health effects,” lead researcher Yaguang Wei said in a news release. Wei is an assistant professor of environmental medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Results also showed that risk increases as the amount of smoke pollution rises. For the study, researchers analyzed hospitalization records for the residents of 15 states between 2006 and 2016 — Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. In all, the data included more than 13.7 million hospitalizations for heart diseases and nearly 8 million for respiratory conditions, researchers found. Researchers found that people’s risk of these hospitalizations increased within three months of exposure to wildfire smoke. High blood pressure was the health condition most significantly impacted by wildfire smoke, researchers found. Others included heart disease, stroke, irregular heart rhythms, pneumonia, COPD and asthma. These results show that preventing wildfires also will protect the health…  read on >  read on >

Wildfire Smoke Threatens Heart, Lung Health For Months Afterward

By | | Add a Comment

Skies choked with wildfire smoke can affect people’s heart and lung health for up to three months afterwards, a new study says. The particle pollution created by wildfires continues to increase people’s risk of hospitalization for months after the smoke clears, researchers reported May 28 in the journal Epidemiology. “Even brief exposures from smaller fires that last only a few days can lead to long-lasting health effects,” lead researcher Yaguang Wei said in a news release. Wei is an assistant professor of environmental medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Results also showed that risk increases as the amount of smoke pollution rises. For the study, researchers analyzed hospitalization records for the residents of 15 states between 2006 and 2016 — Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. In all, the data included more than 13.7 million hospitalizations for heart diseases and nearly 8 million for respiratory conditions, researchers found. Researchers found that people’s risk of these hospitalizations increased within three months of exposure to wildfire smoke. High blood pressure was the health condition most significantly impacted by wildfire smoke, researchers found. Others included heart disease, stroke, irregular heart rhythms, pneumonia, COPD and asthma. These results show that preventing wildfires also will protect the health…  read on >  read on >

Combo Diabetes/High Blood Pressure Threatening More American Lives

By | | Add a Comment

Twice as many Americans now face the increased risk of death that comes from having both high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, a new study reports. About 12% of the U.S. population had high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes at the same time in 2018, up from 6% in 1999, researchers reported recently in the journal Diabetes Care. Having both conditions more than doubled the risk of dying from any cause and tripled the risk of death from heart disease, compared to those without either condition, researchers found. “Even having co-existing prediabetes and elevated blood pressure was associated with up to 19% higher mortality risk, compared to having neither or either of these risk states,” said senior researcher Nour Makarem, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “This suggests that the increase in risk of dying commences before levels of blood glucose and blood pressure progress to Type 2 diabetes and hypertension,” she said in a news release. For the study, researchers analyzed data for nearly 49,000 adults who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2018. Conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, the survey includes health exams and lab tests to check the health of participants. “A striking finding is that the burden of co-existing hypertension and type…  read on >  read on >

Combo Diabetes/High Blood Pressure Threatening More American Lives

By | | Add a Comment

Twice as many Americans now face the increased risk of death that comes from having both high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, a new study reports. About 12% of the U.S. population had high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes at the same time in 2018, up from 6% in 1999, researchers reported recently in the journal Diabetes Care. Having both conditions more than doubled the risk of dying from any cause and tripled the risk of death from heart disease, compared to those without either condition, researchers found. “Even having co-existing prediabetes and elevated blood pressure was associated with up to 19% higher mortality risk, compared to having neither or either of these risk states,” said senior researcher Nour Makarem, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “This suggests that the increase in risk of dying commences before levels of blood glucose and blood pressure progress to Type 2 diabetes and hypertension,” she said in a news release. For the study, researchers analyzed data for nearly 49,000 adults who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2018. Conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, the survey includes health exams and lab tests to check the health of participants. “A striking finding is that the burden of co-existing hypertension and type…  read on >  read on >

Military Service Might Protect Against Depression

By | | Add a Comment

The mentally scarred, deeply depressed combat veteran is an indelible stereotype promoted by movies and TV. The post-traumatic stress and despair that some suffer following military deployment have prompted concerns that service members are highly vulnerable to depression. However, the opposite might be true, a new study says. General service in the military actually appears to lower a person’s risk for depression rather than increase it, according to findings published May 29 in the journal BMJ Military Health. Military service is associated with a 23% lower risk for depression, after accounting for other potentially influential factors, researchers report. “These findings suggest that military service may have protective effects against depression, contrary to some previous assumptions,” concluded a research team led by X.L. Shi of the Hospital of Shandong Provincial Corps in China. It’s not unreasonable to think military service could foster depression, given the soldiers’ separation from their loved ones and the toll of combat, researchers said. But the service also can shape personal growth and enhance coping skills, which might protect against depression, researchers noted. For this study, researchers drew on data from five cycles of the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 2011 and 2023. Conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, the survey includes health exams and lab tests to check the health of participants. The team evaluated…  read on >  read on >

Military Service Might Protect Against Depression

By | | Add a Comment

The mentally scarred, deeply depressed combat veteran is an indelible stereotype promoted by movies and TV. The post-traumatic stress and despair that some suffer following military deployment have prompted concerns that service members are highly vulnerable to depression. However, the opposite might be true, a new study says. General service in the military actually appears to lower a person’s risk for depression rather than increase it, according to findings published May 29 in the journal BMJ Military Health. Military service is associated with a 23% lower risk for depression, after accounting for other potentially influential factors, researchers report. “These findings suggest that military service may have protective effects against depression, contrary to some previous assumptions,” concluded a research team led by X.L. Shi of the Hospital of Shandong Provincial Corps in China. It’s not unreasonable to think military service could foster depression, given the soldiers’ separation from their loved ones and the toll of combat, researchers said. But the service also can shape personal growth and enhance coping skills, which might protect against depression, researchers noted. For this study, researchers drew on data from five cycles of the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 2011 and 2023. Conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, the survey includes health exams and lab tests to check the health of participants. The team evaluated…  read on >  read on >

About 40% Of U.S. Smokers Struggle With Disability

By | | Add a Comment

About 2 of 5 smokers in the U.S. suffer from some form of disability, a new study says. And in 1 of 7, their disability is so severe it interferes with their daily lives, researchers report. “The prevalence of disability among adults in the USA who currently smoke cigarettes was more than two times higher when compared with those who have never smoked,” concluded the research team led by Jeanette Novakovich, a writer-editor at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The most common disabilities among smokers were mobility and problems with thinking or memory, researchers reported May 29 in the journal Tobacco Control. For the study, researchers analyzed data gathered between 2019 and 2023 by the National Health Interview Survey, an in-person household survey conducted by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. The survey asks people whether they are current or former smokers, and also asks a series of questions designed to assess their disability. The research team compared reported disability among around 17,600 current smokers to 37,500 former smokers and just under 91,000 people who never smoked. Results showed that about 40% of the nation’s 25 million current smokers have “some difficulty,” “a lot of difficulty,” or “cannot do at all” when it comes to: Mobility, defined as difficulty walking or climbing up steps. Cognitive difficulty, or difficulty remembering or…  read on >  read on >