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Most kids with attention issues won’t go on to develop serious psychiatric conditions like psychosis or schizophrenia. However, a new study finds poor attention spans in childhood, plus certain genes, could play a role in raising the risk for these conditions. Of course, much more research is needed to pinpoint precursors to psychotic symptoms in a person’s teens or 20s, said a team from the University of California, Los Angeles. Even if children have certain risk factors, that’s still not a guarantee of psychiatric illness in adulthood, they stressed. “If you have this strong liability based on your genetics and early attentional span, we don’t know what the longer-term trajectories are and who are the people who are going to be more resilient to their underlying risk,” explained study lead author Dr. Carrie Bearden. “That’s going to be really important to look at when those [better] data become available,” said Bearden, a professor at the UCLA Health Semel Institute and the UCLA Health Brain Research Institute. Her team published its findings Oct. 28 in the journal Nature Mental Health. The study looked at cognitive, brain and genetic data for more than 10,000 children tracked for an average of six years, from about age 9 into adolescence. Bearden’s team sought to compare rates of attentional issues in childhood, plus certain genetics, against the likelihood of a… read on > read on >

Repeated concussions dramatically increase a hockey player’s risk of depression and burnout, a new study warns. Hockey players who’d suffered three or more concussions had twice the risk of depression symptoms than whose who’d never had a concussion, researchers found. They also faced three and a half times the risk of burnout symptoms, results showed. Concussion caused these effects in both male and female players, the researchers noted. “Other studies have shown that women experience more short-term symptoms after a concussion than men, but it was interesting that the link between concussion and heightened prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and burnout was equally strong for both sexes,” said lead researcher Mitchell Andersson, a doctoral student in psychiatry at Lund University in Sweden. “This might indicate that the long-term neuropsychiatric recovery process is more similar in men and women than the short-term process,” Andersson added in a university news release. For the study, researchers surveyed nearly 650 active hockey players in Sweden’s top hockey divisions. They found that more than 1 in 4 men and nearly 1 in 5 women reported having suffered three or more concussions. Both men and women had a higher risk of depression if they’d suffered repeated concussions, researchers found. Athletes with at least three concussions were also 3.5 times more likely to develop burnout as those with none, and twice… read on > read on >

The weight-loss drug Ozempic can guard against kidney disease in obese people, a new study shows. Patients taking semaglutide — the active agent in Ozempic and Wegovy — had as much as a 52% reduction in kidney damage, as measured by urine testing, researchers reported Oct. 25 in the journal Nature Medicine. The results will also be presented simultaneously at the American Society of Nephrology’s annual meeting. Semaglutide patients also had a 30% reduction in kidney inflammation, researchers found. “The great thing is that the drug has both direct and indirect effects on the kidneys,” said lead researcher Hiddo Heerspink, a clinical pharmacologist with the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands. “The drug has direct effects on inflammation parameters in the kidney, and lowers fat tissue around the kidneys, lowering the amount of protein in the urine,” Heerspink said. “And indirectly because it reduces participants‘ weight and blood pressure.” For the study, researchers recruited 101 obese people with chronic kidney disease in Canada, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, starting in 2022. Half received injections of semaglutide for 24 weeks, while the other half received a placebo. Participants taking the drug lost about 10% of their weight, and they also experienced a decrease in high blood pressure similar to that from taking a blood pressure medication, researchers found. The results also show that the drug… read on > read on >

Anxiety is driving more children with potentially dangerous food allergies to seek out psychological care, a new study finds. Focusing on one Ohio hospital, the researchers found a more than 50% jump in psychology referrals for kids with food allergies between 2018 and 2023. “Our center has devoted significant resources to address the psychosocial support needed by many families who have children with food allergies,” said study lead author Dr. Andriana La Mantia, a pediatrician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “Our goal in this study was to characterize use of these services for food allergy-related anxiety,” La Mantia said in a news release from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). Her team presented its findings Thursday at the ACAAI annual meeting in Boston. Food allergies can bring the specter of analphylaxis: A sudden, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction to even small amounts of the food allergen. Anxiety around preventing these incidents and trauma resulting from anaphylactic episodes can harm a child’s mental health. “Food allergy patients, particularly children, often suffer from anxiety related to potential accidental ingestion and anaphylaxis,” said study co-author Dr. David Stukus, director of the Food Allergy Treatment Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. In the new study, the Columbus team reviewed the cases of 250 kids with food allergies, who averaged 9.5 years of age. Many were allergic to… read on > read on >

In a move that further toughens safety standards for lead paint dust, the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced the finalization of a rule that declares any detectable amount of the toxin in a home or child care center to be hazardous. “Too often our children, the most vulnerable residents of already overburdened communities, are the most profoundly impacted by the toxic legacy of lead-based paint,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a news release announcing the new rule. “EPA is getting the lead out of communities nationwide. These protections will reduce lead exposures for hundreds of thousands of people every year, helping kids grow up healthy and meet their full potential.” How will the tougher standard accomplish that? The new rule would trigger extensive cleanup by a property owner once a doctor, public health official or other expert identifies signs of lead exposure, depending on state and local laws. It also establishes an aggressive new standard for cleanup that would reduce lead to be at the lowest detectable levels that can be measured in a lab. Lead dust can be created when lead paint crumbles or is disturbed. The EPA estimated that the rule will reduce lead exposure for up to 1.2 million people every year, including up to 326,000 children under the age of 6. “We can all breathe a little easier now that… read on > read on >

A “case of the Mondays” is more perilous than just the return-to-work blues, a new study warns. Suicide risk is highest on Monday in the United States and around the world, an international team of researchers has discovered. “Mondays and New Year’s Day were both associated with increased suicide risk in most countries,” concluded the team led by Yoonhee Kim, an associate professor with the University of Tokyo’s Department of Global Environmental Health. Mondays constitute 15% to 18% of total suicides, compared with other days, researchers found. Results also show that weekend suicide risk varies greatly between countries. Suicide risk is lowest on Saturdays or Sundays in many countries across North America, Asia and Europe. However, suicide risk increases during the weekend in South and Central American Countries, Finland and South Africa. For the study, researchers analyzed suicide data for 740 locations in 26 countries and territories from 1971 to 2019, including more than 1.7 million suicides. Previous studies have shown that suicide risk differs by day of the week, but results have been inconsistent, researchers said in background notes. Suicide risk increased on New Year’s Day in all countries, especially in men, the results showed. The researchers said there are several potential explanations for the increased suicide risk on Mondays and New Year’s Day. One is the “broken-promise effect theory,” which holds that people… read on > read on >

Expanding access to cutting-edge diabetes and weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound could prevent more than 42,000 deaths a year in the United States, a new study claims. Obesity and all its attendant ills — type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer among them — have had a dramatic impact on American health, researchers said. More than 40% of U.S. adults are obese, and the research team estimates that about half of all annual deaths in the nation occur among the obese. Helping more people shed their excess weight could save a fair portion of those lives, researchers argue. “Expanding access to these medications is not just a matter of improving treatment options but also a crucial public health intervention,” said senior researcher Alison Galvani, a professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs mimic the GLP-1 hormone, which helps control insulin and blood sugar levels, decreases appetite and slows digestion of food. However, the drugs are costly — people without insurance face paying more than $1,000 a month to take them. What’s more, people often must have some sort of health problem occurring alongside their obesity to get insurance coverage for GLP-1 drugs. Medicare, for example, doesn’t cover the drugs solely for weight loss, researchers noted. For this study, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academies… read on > read on >

Most Americans say they’re stressed out over the future of the United States and the presidential election, a new poll shows. The Stress in America poll, conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA), found that 77% of adults are stressed about the future of the nation, and 69% are worried about the upcoming election. The economy is another significant source of stress, with 73% reporting worry over it. People are particularly worried about the potential fallout from the election results. About 72% said they are worried the election results could lead to violence. More than half (56%) believe the election could be the end of democracy in the United States. Further, this stress is testing people’s relationships with those close to them. About a third (32%) say the political climate has caused strain between themselves and family members, and 20% say they limit time with relatives who don’t share their views. “For nearly a decade, people have faced a political climate that is highly charged, which has led to the erosion of civil discourse and strained our relationships with our friends and our families. But isolating ourselves from our communities is a recipe for adding more stress to our lives,” said American Psychological Association CEO Arthur Evans Jr. “We must remember that the most extreme voices are often the loudest, and that the majority of… read on > read on >

Stress is flooding the nation as the 2024 U.S. presidential election nears its climax. This stress is only natural, but it can be managed, said Eric Storch, vice chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “There is uncertainty with change,” Storch said in a Baylor news release. “People worry about how their lives will change depending on the election results or that the elected individual may not represent them or their values — this can heighten feelings of distress throughout the election.” A new poll from the American Psychological Association shows just how distressed Americans are: About 77% of adults are stressed about the future of the nation, while 69% are worried about the upcoming election. It’s tricky to manage that stress, so Storch recommends a mixed bag of tactics to help keep it together through the end of the year: Take control over the things within your power to control, such as actively supporting your political position and voting Limit exposure to the media, which can trigger fresh stress Understand that whether your candidate wins or loses, another election will take place in the future Focus on stress relievers like physical activity, good sleep and socializing with loved ones If you find your anxiety unmanageable, seek counseling “Distress can be channeled into feelings of helplessness, or it can… read on > read on >

Baby Boom seniors are divorcing at rates triple that of a few decades ago, a new study has found. “Gray divorce” among folks 65 and older increased to 15% in 2022 from 5% in 1990, according to research from the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University. Increased life expectancy and the fragile nature of second, third or fourth marriages could play a factor in this trend, said researcher Susan Brown, a sociology professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. “This cohort of individuals experienced the divorce revolution in the 1970s as young adults, and many eventually remarried,” Brown said. “We know that remarriages are more likely to end in divorce than first marriages, which could be one cause for the increase.” However, divorce rates among middle-aged Gen X’ers 50 to 64 slightly declined in 2022, researchers noted. This means that “gray divorce” is largely a phenomenon among the Baby Boomer generation, the researchers concluded. Using U.S. Census Bureau data, Bowling Green researchers also found that an increasing number of seniors never married – a percentage that steadily rose from 5.2% in 1990 to 6.6% in 2022. At the same time, widowhood has declined by more than 14% during the past three decades, thanks to increases in life expectancy. “Traditionally, when we’ve studied older adults, we tend to confine… read on > read on >