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A cancer diagnosis can bring overwhelming stress and depression to women, but new research suggests yoga can help ease that emotional toll. “A wellness intervention that integrates yoga and psychological tools may strengthen the connections among the mind, body and spirit, leading to a better and more meaningful quality of life,” said study senior author Deidre Pereira. She’s an associate professor of clinical and health psychology at the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville. The new research involved 51 women who’d been diagnosed with some form of gynecological, gastrointestinal or thoracic cancer. According to a university news release, they “enrolled in a 10-week, in-person, group intervention that used breathing and relaxation techniques, mindfulness meditation, psychotherapy skills and gentle yoga aimed at improving physical and mental quality of life.” Based on answers to detailed questionnaires, Pereira’s team found women reporting a lowering of their symptoms of anxiety and depression after completing the program. When it came to the physical symptoms of depression, the program was especially helpful to women of color, the researchers noted. “Quality of life during and beyond cancer treatment is a critical component of whole-person cancer care,” explained study co-lead author Elizabeth Kacel, a recent graduate of the clinical psychology doctoral program at UF. It’s the program’s use of yoga/meditation alongside psychotherapeutic training that really seemed to help, she added. “The combination of both… read on > read on >

When people whose parents died by suicide reach that same age, their own risk often spikes, Danish researchers warn. Reporting in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behaviors, the researchers looked at data on more than 470,000 Danes whose parents died between 1980 and 2016. Of those, 17,806 individuals had parents who died by suicide. The study looked at the risk of self-harm and suicide during the year before and after individuals reached the age of their deceased parent — typically about 24 years later. Compared to the 15 years before or after, they were at roughly twice the risk of self-harm or suicide when they reached the corresponding age. Individuals whose parent died of other causes had no increased risk during the corresponding time. “Our findings support the practice of asking suicide-bereaved individuals about age at parental suicide, identifying this as an anticipated period of increased risk,” wrote a team led by Yanakan Logeswaran, of the University College of London. “This is also an opportunity to reinforce that suicide is not inevitable after the suicide of a parent, with an absolute risk … estimated at less than 1%,” they added in a American Psychiatric Association news release. More information If you have suicidal thoughts, free, confidential help is available 24/7. Call or text to 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Or chat with… read on > read on >

New research suggests that a thyroid medication often prescribed to older Americans may be linked to a common problem in old age — bone loss. Levothyroxine is a synthetic hormone often prescribed to treat hypothyroidism. People with the condition don’t make enough thyroxine on their own, which can cause weight gain, fatigue, hair loss and eventually lead to serious, even deadly, complications. An estimated 23 million Americans take levothyroxine daily. Some take it for so long that it’s no longer clear why it was prescribed to begin with or even if it is still needed, researchers said. “Data indicates that a significant proportion of thyroid hormone prescriptions may be given to older adults without hypothyroidism,” said study leader Dr. Elena Ghotbi, a postdoctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. A normal range for thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in the blood is between 0.4 to 5.0 microunits per milliliter. Excess TSH has been tied to increased risk of broken bones. For this study, Ghotbi’s team wanted to learn whether using levothyroxine and having hormone levels on the high end of that range might cause more bone loss over time in older adults with normal thyroid function. They drew on data from 445 participants in a Baltimore-based study of older adults with normal thyroid levels. Participants included 49 women and 32 men taking… read on > read on >

For many, the holidays are a time when you connect with others and share time with loved ones. But for some, the holidays are a painful exercise in loneliness. While a Northwestern Medicine study published last spring found loneliness is more prevalent in both younger and older adults, those feelings intensify around the holidays, said Eileen Graham, who co-authored that study. And those feelings are most pronounced for the oldest. “What was striking was how consistent the uptick in loneliness is in older adulthood,” Graham noted when the study was published. “There’s a wealth of evidence that loneliness is related to poorer health, so we wanted to better understand who is lonely and why people are becoming lonelier as they age out of midlife so we can hopefully start finding ways to mitigate it.” One way to ease loneliness for these folks is to invite them into your home. “Young adults who are living in unfamiliar cities and setting up new social networks will often find ways to celebrate with Friendsgivings because they might not be coming home for the holidays,” said Graham, an associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Others include older adults who have lost friends or spouses and, finally, people who have fewer resources.” How else can folks deal with those heightened feelings of isolation during the… read on > read on >

So, you have managed to shed 30 pounds with the help of one of the new blockbuster GLP-1 drugs, but as the holidays near you worry about how to handle gatherings where decadent food will be served in abundance. Luckily, one expert from Baylor College of Medicine has tips on how to enjoy holiday fare while on these medications, without overdoing it. GLP-1 medications, which include Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, curb appetite and slow the digestion of food, so consuming large portions on these drugs can make you sick and worsens the nausea that is associated with them. What to do? Stick with small portions. “You lose the benefit of weight loss if you do not watch your diet,” said Dr. Mandeep Bajaj, a professor of medicine – endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at Baylor. “In addition, if you are taking GLP-1 receptor agonists for treatment of diabetes, overindulging will worsen your diabetes control, and you will lose the benefit of the therapy.” Those who take GLP-1s should not stop taking them during the holidays, to avoid regaining the weight already lost. Tips to stay on track with your medication this holiday season include: Consume whole foods and a nutrient-dense diet made up of minimally processed food: eat vegetables, lean proteins, fiber and whole grains Eat smaller portions: more than half your plate should consist of lean meat… read on > read on >

How long Americans can expect to live varies dramatically — and the gap continues to widen. A new report says health inequalities have, in essence, created 10 Americas. These mutually exclusive populations are divided along familiar fault lines, including race, ethnicity, income and address. While life expectancy rose in nine of 10 Americas between 2000 and 2010, only six saw gains between 2010 and 2019, according to the report. And it plummeted in all 10 in 2021, the first year of the pandemic. In 2021, Asian Americans had the longest life expectancy at birth — 84 years. That’s two decades more than the group with the lowest life expectancy: American Indians and Alaska Natives living in the West, who were expected to live 63.6 years. “The extent and magnitude of health disparities in American society are truly alarming in a country with the wealth and resources of the USA,” said Christopher Murray, director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. “These disparities reflect the unequal and unjust distribution of resources and opportunities that have profound consequences on well-being and longevity, especially in marginalized populations.” Murray is senior author of the report, which was published Nov. 21 in The Lancet, a British health journal. It builds on an earlier study that identified “Eight Americas” based on race, geography, ethnicity, per capital income… read on > read on >

A daily dose of vitamin B3 reduced inflammation in the lungs of patients with COPD, Danish researchers report. “This is significant, because inflammation can lead to reduced lung function in these patients,” said researcher Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, of the University of Copenhagen. Patients with COPD — the full name of which is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — are more likely to get pneumonia, influenza and other serious respiratory infections, which can be fatal. The new study included 40 participants with COPD and a control group of 20 healthy volunteers. They received either 2 grams a day of nicotinamide riboside — a member of the vitamin B3 family — or a placebo. After six weeks, researchers saw a 53% drop in a marker of inflammation known as interleukin 8, or IL 8. After 12 more weeks of vitamin therapy, the effect increased by 63%. “In other words,” the researchers said in a university news release, “The group treated with vitamin B3 experienced reduced lung inflammation during the study.” More study will be needed to confirm the findings and determine the long-term effect of nicotinamid riboside in treating COPD, Scheibye-Knudsen said. During the study, the team also observed that COPD patients have lower blood levels of a chemical called NAD, which appears to play a role in the aging process. NAD levels rose with vitamin B3 treatment and… read on > read on >

Three out of four times, your Facebook friends don’t read past the headline when they share a link to political content. Experts say that’s somewhat surprising — and downright scary. People who share without clicking may be unwittingly aiding hostile adversaries aiming to sow seeds of division and distrust, warned S. Shyam Sundar, a professor of media effects at Penn State University. “Superficial processing of headlines and blurbs can be dangerous if false data are being shared and not investigated,” said Sundar, corresponding author of the new study published Nov. 19 in the journal Nature Human Behavior. “Disinformation or misinformation campaigns aim to sow the seeds of doubt or dissent in a democracy — the scope of these efforts came to light in the 2016 and 2020 elections,” he added in a Penn State news release. To learn more about content shared on social media, his team analyzed more than 35 million public posts containing links shared on Facebook between 2017 and 2020. The links included political content from both ends of the spectrum — and it was shared without clicking more often than politically neutral content. While the study was limited to Facebook, researchers said their findings likely apply to other social media platforms as well. Data for the analysis were provided in collaboration with Facebook’s parent company, Meta. It included user demographics and… read on > read on >

America’s kitchen trash bins are receiving more unwanted food as appetites falter among people taking GLP-1 weight-loss meds, a new study shows. GLP-1s like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound all work by making food less desirable, and it’s showing up in more food wasted at dinner tables, said a team led by Brian Roe, of Ohio State University. The study surveyed 505 new GLP-1 users. It found 25% agreeing that they had wasted more food since taking the drugs, compared to 61% who disagreed. There was some good news, however: Food wastage appears to decline as people adjust to their GLP-1 medication. “The fact that food waste appears to decrease as patients acclimate to the medication suggests there may be a fairly simple remedy — advising patients new to these medications about the possibility of discarding food as their diets change, which could reduce food waste and lower their spending,” said Roe, a professor in the department of agricultural, environmental and development economics. According to the researchers, 6% of all U.S. adults were taking a GLP-1 medications as of spring of 2024. The medicines act on a hormone in the small intestine to help lower blood sugar, slow stomach emptying and signal fullness in the brain. In this study, almost 70% of respondents were taking semaglutide (Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy) and nearly a quarter were taking… read on > read on >

A drug used to help patients lose weight and manage diabetes may also help those with heart failure, an international clinical trial shows. The test of tirzepatide, brand named Zepbound, included 731 patients with diastolic heart failure and obesity who were followed for two years. “This class of drugs continue to show benefits far beyond weight loss,” said researcher Dr. Christopher Kramer, chief of cardiovascular medicine at UVA Health. “This drug will become an important part of the armamentarium for patients with obesity-related heart failure and preserved heart function.” In nearly half of heart failure cases, the left ventricle of the heart becomes stiff and can no longer pump blood properly. Doctors call this diastolic heart failure or heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Obesity is a major cause of heart failure, so Kramer’s team wondered if the weight-loss drug tirzepatide could help. The new trial — published in four journals and reported Saturday at an American Heart Association meeting in Chicago — showed that tirzepatide offered big benefits for managing heart failure. Patients saw improvements in how far they could walk in six minutes and big decreases in a biological marker used to measure inflammation and predict risk of serious heart events, the study found. During the two-year follow-up, 56 participants who received a placebo died or saw their heart failure get worse, compared to… read on > read on >

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Yoga Helps Women Deal With the Mental Stress of Cancer

Reaching Age at Which a Parent Died by Suicide Raises Risk in Adult Child

Could a Common Thyroid Medicine Weaken Bones?

For Some, ‘Tis the Season for Loneliness. Experts Offer Tips to Stay Connected

Taking a GLP-1 Medication? Here’s Tips to Holiday Eating

’10 Americas:’ Health Disparities Mean Life Expectancy Varies Across U.S.

Could a Vitamin Be Effective Treatment for COPD?

Reading Beyond Headline Rare For Most on Social Media, Study Finds

Meds Like Ozempic Are Causing Folks to Waste More Food

Weight-Loss Drug Zepbound May Lower Heart Failure Deaths