Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

Smoking is a notoriously tough habit to quit, but a new study suggests it is far harder for women to stop than it is for men. Why? The researchers point to a higher prevalence of anxiety and depression in women, which might interfere with even the best intentions to kick the habit. And one expert noted that prior evidence has shown that women’s brains react differently to nicotine. In the latest study, involving more than 200 patients at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, the prevalence of anxiety or depression was 41% in women while it was only 21% in men. Depression and other mood disorders need to be addressed in women who smoke, especially those with heart disease and stroke, said senior study author Dr. Beth Abramson, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. “Smoking cessation is the most significant modifiable risk factor to prevent heart disease in women, but there is no one-size-fits-all,” Abramson noted. In the study, the average age of participants was 56, and almost one-third were women. Patients reported smoking an average of 18 cigarettes daily for 37 years. Two-thirds had lipid abnormalities such as dyslipidemia, in which blood levels of lipids (triglycerides and cholesterol) hit the roof. Nearly two-thirds had high blood pressure, close to half reported heart disease, and more than a quarter had depression or… read on >

Quality over quantity is an approach that can lead to a better sex life. Studies show that feeling satisfied with the sexual aspect of their relationship is more important to many people than how often they have sex. How can you start to enhance the quality of your sex life? You may be surprised to know that improving intimacy begins before you ever set foot in the bedroom. It’s important to nurture the nonsexual aspects of your relationship to boost marital satisfaction. Acts of tenderness and affection strengthen emotional ties between partners. Feeling secure and loved is a strong foundation for sexual pleasure. Setting the mood for sex itself starts with setting aside time so that you won’t feel rushed and can be at ease with each other and in the moment. Rather than worry about aspects like spontaneity, carve out time for romance when you know that parenting and/or work obligations won’t distract you. This might be at more unusual times, such as very early in the morning when you have far more energy than you did the night before. Sexual satisfaction is very individual. So, open communication with your partner is key to understanding their desires — what turns him or her on — and communicating the same things about yourself. This can be difficult if you feel shy about voicing wants and… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Conversations about sensitive topics can significantly strain relationships, says the American Psychological Association. In fact, about 27 percent of adults agree that the current political climate has caused strain between themselves and family members. To help manage political disagreements, the association encourages you to: Find areas where you agree with the other person. Be open and kind. Avoid polarizing language and personal attacks. Keep calm when tensions rise. Accept that you may not change the other person’s mind. Remember that disagreeing with someone you care about is okay. Know when to end the conversation.

Allergies and asthma can turn Halloween into fright night, so parents must be vigilant. Some fun-sized candy bars have no labels to alert about possible food allergens, such as peanuts, said Dr. Todd Mahr, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. But food allergens aren’t the only potential concerns. “Halloween happens in the fall, so trick or treating involves being aware of fall allergies,” Mahr said in a college news release. Ragweed and other types of pollen can trigger fall allergies. Keep pollen out of your house by leaving shoes at the door, and having children shower, wash hair and change clothes after they’ve been outdoors. Kids who take allergy meds should continue their medications for two weeks after the first frost, Mahr advised. A sudden change in weather can trigger an asthma attack. If it’s cold on Halloween, consider an extra layer under or over the costume for children with asthma. Dry, windy weather is bad for people with allergies, because the wind spreads pollen and mold. Monitor pollen forecasts to see if there will be high levels of pollen in the air on Halloween. If so, consider taking allergy medications. Be cautious about haunted houses if your child has asthma. Fear and other intense emotions can disrupt normal breathing patterns, which can trigger asthma. Many haunted houses also have smoke… read on >

Weight-loss surgery should be more widely used to treat severely obese children and teens, a leading pediatricians’ group says. Severe obesity is a serious and worsening public health crisis among U.S. youngsters, and weight-loss surgery is one of the few effective ways of treating it, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in its new policy statement, published Oct. 27. “Children with severe obesity develop health problems earlier than those with lesser degrees of obesity, including diabetes, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, and sleep apnea,” said policy statement lead author Dr. Sarah Armstrong, a member of the executive committee of the AAP Section on Obesity. “While lifestyle changes remain the mainstay of treatment, medical care is unlikely to significantly change the trajectory for most children with severe obesity,” she said in an academy news release. Current rates of severe obesity are 7.9% in children, 9.7% among 12- to 15-year-olds, and 14% among 16- to 19-year-olds, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey shows. Recent research suggests that weight-loss surgery is safe and effective in youngsters, but significantly underused, according to the AAP. “The last decade of evidence has shown surgery is safe and effective when performed in high-quality centers, with the primary care pediatrician and family in a shared decision-making process,” said Armstrong. “Unfortunately, we see significant disparities in which patients… read on >

There are many unanswered questions about the long-term safety and impacts of artificial sweeteners in children, a new American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement says. The AAP statement also recommends that the amount of artificial sweeteners should be listed on product labels to help parents and researchers better understand how much children are consuming, and the possible health effects. “Looking at the evidence, we found there’s still a lot to learn about the impact of nonnutritive sweeteners on children’s health,” statement lead author Dr. Carissa Baker-Smith said in an AAP news release. “We need more research into the use of nonnutritive sweeteners and the risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes, especially in children. Considering how many children are regularly consuming these products — which have become ubiquitous — we should have a better understanding of how they impact children’s long-term health,” Baker-Smith said. A group that represents the low-calorie beverage and food industry challenged the AAP’s policy statement. “The Calorie Control Council takes issue with these claims and maintains its longstanding position that, when consumed as part of a healthy and balanced diet, the consumption of [artificial sweeteners] may serve as a tool for managing overall caloric and sugar intake,” said Robert Rankin, president of the council. Artificial sweeteners have been used for more than 60 years. Six are approved as food additives… read on >

Young and middle-aged adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have an increased risk of stroke, new research suggests. For the study, researchers analyzed medical data from more than 1 million veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. They ranged in age from 18 to 60 years and two-thirds were white. Of those, 29% had been diagnosed with PTSD. None had previously suffered a stroke or mini-stroke (also known as a transient ischemic attack, or “TIA”). During 13 years of follow-up, 766 vets had a TIA and 1,877 had an ischemic stroke, which is caused by blocked blood flow to the brain. Veterans with PTSD were 62% more likely to have a stroke, raising the risk more than known risk factors such as obesity and smoking. They were also twice as likely to have a TIA, increasing the risk more than diabetes and sleep apnea. Even after accounting for known stroke risk factors, mental health disorders (such as depression and anxiety) and drug and alcohol abuse, the investigators found that veterans with PTSD were still 61% more likely to have a TIA and 36% more likely to have a stroke than vets without PTSD. The link between PTSD and stroke was stronger in men than in women. In addition, vets with PTSD were more likely to have unhealthy habits — such as smoking and inactivity —… read on >

While fewer straight teens suffer depression than did two decades ago, the same cannot be said for lesbian, gay and bisexual teens. For those teens, depression risk remains much higher than among their straight peers, new research shows, and it is not following a similar downward trend. Each year between 1999 and 2017, Massachusetts-based teens reported on struggles with sustained bouts of depressed moods, such as sadness or hopelessness. Depression was common. Among teens who identified as straight, nearly 3 in 10 said they had felt depressed for two weeks in a row or more back in 1999. By 2017, that number was down about 5 percentage points. However, the numbers were far worse among those who identified as gay or lesbian. In 1999, more than half (51%) indicated being depressed. And that figure remained unmoved nearly 20 years later. (Transgender youth were not included in the survey.) “To our knowledge, this is the first study to be able to look at data across nearly two decades to demonstrate that rates of depressed mood in sexual minority, compared to heterosexual youth, have not improved over time,” said study author Alexandra Bettis. “And this is not surprising, given that we see elevated rates of depression and other mental health problems in sexual minority youth,” added Bettis, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry and Human… read on >

Beyonce Knowles’ father first suspected something was wrong when he noticed a dot of blood that kept appearing on his shirts and bedsheets. “Imagine a piece of white paper and you took a red pen and just put a dot,” Mathew Knowles told the New York Times. “That’s what it looked like in my T-shirt.” Knowles scheduled a mammogram in July after he squeezed a nipple and a bit of bloody discharge came out. The diagnosis: stage 1A breast cancer. Knowles is one of about 2,670 cases of breast cancer that will occur among men in 2019, according to the American Cancer Society. About 500 men die from breast cancer every year. “Most men who get breast cancer usually present with a mass behind the nipple,” said Dr. Hank Schmidt, an associate professor of surgery with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. It’s an extremely rare form of cancer in men, and male breast cancer accounts for just 1% of all breast cancer cases, said Dr. Siddhartha Yadav, a hematology-oncology fellow with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Men just don’t have as much breast tissue in which a tumor could grow, Yadav said. They also don’t have high levels of the female hormone estrogen, which can fuel breast cancer. “Men just don’t have that kind of exposure,” Yadav said. About 9 out… read on >