Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

Suicidal thoughts and contemplation of death haunt the minds of many rural Black men in the United States, a new study reports. One in three rural Black men said they had such dark thoughts within the past two weeks, University of Georgia researchers found. These thoughts are driven by childhood trauma, poverty and exposure to racism, all of which take a heavy toll on mental health as Black teens enter adulthood, researchers said. “We found when Black men were exposed to childhood adversity, they may develop an internal understanding of the world as somewhere they are devalued, where they could not trust others, and they could not engage the community in a supportive way,” said researcher Michael Curtis, a graduate of the University of Georgia’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Racial discrimination in particular predicted higher rates of suicidal thoughts, researchers found. Even Black men who reported positive childhood experiences struggled to maintain healthy relationships if they had experienced racial discrimination, results show. As a result, they were more likely to feel isolated and experience thoughts of suicide. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Black people between the ages of 15 and 24, researchers said in background notes. Further, Black men die by suicide at a rate four times that of Black women. “We just know it’s bad, and particularly among young… read on > read on >

Living in a poor and unhealthy neighborhood could nearly double a person’s risk of heart disease and stroke, a new study says. The findings indicate that all the factors that make for a crummy neighborhood — air and water pollution, toxic sites, few parks, tons of traffic — play a significant role in heart health. So, too, do social and economic factors like low income, poor education, unemployment and lack of access to internet and health care. These environmental and social factors deliver a “dual hit” to the heart health of people trapped in lousy neighborhoods, said senior researcher Dr. Sarju Ganatra, director of the Cardio-Oncology Program and South Asian Cardio-Metabolic Program at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Mass. “I was amazed to see the tight links and complex interplay between social and environmental factors on health outcomes,” Ganatra said. Even after adjusting for social factors like low income and poor education, “environmental factors played a crucial and independent role in determining various heart disease and other related health outcomes,” Ganatra added. For the study, researchers rated more than 71,000 U.S. census tracts using the Environmental Justice Index, a database combining demographic, environmental and health data gathered by multiple federal agencies. People living in neighborhoods beset by harmful environmental factors had about 1.6 times the rate of clogged arteries and more than double… read on > read on >

Some folks struggling with obesity appear to be hampered by their own genes when it comes to working off those extra pounds, a new study finds. People with a higher genetic risk of obesity have to exercise more to avoid becoming unhealthily heavy, researchers discovered. “Genetic background contributes to the amount of physical activity needed to mitigate obesity. The higher the genetic risk, the more steps needed per day,” said senior researcher Douglas Ruderfer, director of the Center for Digital Genomic Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. Because of that, physical activity guidelines might not be so helpful when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight, since individual genetic differences drive how much exercise each person requires, Ruderfer noted. People instead need to be “active enough to account for their genetic background, or their genetic risk for obesity, regardless of how high that risk might be,” Ruderfer said in a Vanderbilt news release. For the study, researchers tracked more than 3,100 middle-aged people who weren’t obese and who walked an average 8,300 steps a day for more than five years. Obesity increased 43% among people with the highest genetic risk scores for obesity, but only by 13% among those with the lowest risk, researchers found. Results showed those with the highest genetic risk for obesity had to walk an average of 2,280… read on > read on >

Folks who consistently work out two to three times a week are less likely to suffer from insomnia, a new study says. That sort of long-term commitment to exercise also helps people get the recommended amount of sleep each night, according to findings published March 26 in the journal BMJ Open. The paper “indicates strongly that consistency in [physical activity] might be an important factor in optimizing sleep duration and reducing the symptoms of insomnia,” concluded the research team led by Icelandic psychologists Erla Bjornsdottir and Elin Helga Thorarinsdottir. For the study, researchers tracked the exercise habits and sleep quality of nearly 4,400 middle-aged adults from 21 hospitals in nine European countries. Participants were specifically asked how often they exercise to the point that they become out of breath or sweaty. Researchers found that people who persistently worked out at least a few times a week — totaling at least one hour of exercise weekly — were: 42% less likely to find it difficult to fall asleep 22% less likely to suffer any symptoms of insomnia 40% less likely to suffer more than one insomnia symptom Symptoms of insomnia include taking a long time to go to sleep, waking in the night and feeling excessively sleepy during the day. People who consistently exercised also were 55% more likely to get the normal, recommended amount of… read on > read on >

A protein that shuts down immune cells in the lungs could be key to a new treatment for asthma attacks, a new report says. The naturally occurring protein, called Piezo1, prevents a type of immune cell called type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) from becoming hyperactivated by allergens. An experimental drug called Yoda1 that switches on Piezo1 reduced the activity of these immune cells in mice, alleviating asthma symptoms, researchers report. “Given the importance of ILC2s in allergic asthma, there is an urgent need to develop novel mechanism-based approaches to target these critical drivers of inflammation in the lungs,” researcher Omid Akbari, a professor at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, said in a news release. Once triggered by an allergen, ILC2s drive the inflammatory cascade that cause airways to swell and tighten, making it tough for asthma patients to draw breath. In mouse research, researchers found that activated ILC2s naturally produce a protein called Piezo1 that limits their activity. In the absence of Piezo1, mouse ILC2s became more responsive to allergy signals and promoted even more airway inflammation. On the other hand, Yoda1 caused Piezo1 to kick into action, reducing the activity of ILC2s. Human ILC2s also produce Piezo1, researchers say, and the drug Yoda1 also worked on lab-engineered mice with the human immune cells. “Remarkably, treatment of these humanized mice… read on > read on >

Six out of every 10 stroke survivors wind up struggling with depression later in their lives, a new study says. That compares to the 22% depression rate of the general population, results show. Further, 9 of 10 stroke-related depression cases occur within five years of surviving a stroke, researchers found. “Depression is common in stroke survivors but our research shows it persists for much longer than previously thought,” researcher Yanzhong Wang, a professor of statistics in population health at King’s College London, said in a news release. Biochemical changes in the brain caused by stroke injury can contribute to depression by interfering with a person’s ability to feel positive emotions, according to the American Stroke Association. For the study, researchers reviewed the cases of 6,600 stroke survivors whose data appears in a South London stroke registry. Results showed that severe depression tended to occur earlier after stroke, lasted longer than expected, and was quicker to recur than cases of mild depression. Depression among stroke survivors can affect their mobility, hampering simple tasks like walking and holding objects, Wang said. It also can increase their overall risk of death. “Quality of life is important for stroke survivors as there is evidence depressed survivors have a reduced survival rate,” researcher Lu Liu, a doctoral candidate at King’s College London, said in a news release. “There are many… read on > read on >

Honey bees fly to flowers whenever the weather is right, and warmer autumns and winters are putting these crop pollinators at risk, researchers warn. Using climate and bee population models, a Washington State University team showed that longer and longer autumns with ideal flying weather increase the odds that bee colonies will collapse come spring. “It’s not like this is something that can be expected 80 years from now,” lead author Kirti Rajagopalan, an assistant professor of biological systems engineering, said in a WSU news release. “It is a more immediate impact that needs to be planned for.” A potential intervention: Putting colonies into cold storage, where bees will cluster in their hive from October to April before too many workers wear out. The practice is relatively new. But commercial beekeepers already rely on it to help manage logistics of moving more than 2 million hives from around the country to pollinate almond trees in California, researchers said. “A lot of beekeepers are already practicing this management technique of storing bees indoors because it has a lot of immediate potential to help in a number of ways,” study co-author Brandon Hopkins, a WSU entomologist, said in the news release. He said the new study demonstrates that cold-storage has additional benefits for the survival of bee colonies in a changing climate. For the study, researchers used… read on > read on >

Federal regulators are taking a second stab at banning the controversial use of electroshock devices to manage the behavior of patients with intellectual and developmental disorders. The devices deliver electric shocks to a patient’s skin, in an attempt to stop them from harming themselves or lashing out physically at others, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in its Monday announcement. These devices — called electrical stimulation devices or ESDs — now are in use at just one U.S. facility, the Judge Rotenberg Education Center in Canton, Mass., the FDA said. “We estimate around 50 individuals currently have a treatment plan that includes the use, or potential use, of” these devices, the FDA statement said. A special United Nations report in 2013 concluded that the Rotenberg Center’s use of the shock devices on students constitutes a violation of the U.N. convention against torture. The FDA previously attempted to ban the use of the devices in 2020, but a federal court ruled that the agency didn’t have the authority to enact its proposed ban. “Since ESDs were first marketed more than 20 years ago, we have gained a better understanding of the danger these devices present to public health,” Dr. William Maisel, director of the Office of Product Evaluation and Quality in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a news release… read on > read on >

Most parents are torn about letting their middle or high school students take a sick day. “In some cases, the decision to keep kids home from school is clear, such as if the child is vomiting or has a high fever,” said Sarah Clark, co-director of the Mott Poll from University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. “But parents often have to guess at whether their child’s report of ‘not feeling well’ represents a good reason to miss school.” In the latest poll — based on 1,300 responses last month from parents of 11- to 18-year-olds — 2 in 3 said their child frets about how missing school will affect their grades. The same number worry about missing friends or school activities. For parents, deciding whether kids need a sick day rests mainly on whether they think they can get through the entire academic day, whether they’re contagious and whether they will miss a test, presentation or after-school activity, the poll revealed. How any symptoms are causing them to behave is also key. When it’s not clear just how sick a child is, more than half of parents are likely to keep them home, according to the poll. Another 25% send them to school and keep their fingers crossed. About 1 in 5 let the child decide. The same number said… read on > read on >

Most folks know they’d be healthier if they ate more plant-based foods, but only a quarter are willing to follow through and do it, a new study shows. Surveys reveal that Americans’ beliefs about eating more plants for health are often at odds with their daily dietary choices, researchers say. “U.S. consumers have favorable perceptions of foods and beverages that support human and environmental health, but that’s not translating into what they’re purchasing and consuming,” said lead researcher Katherine Consavage Stanley, a doctoral student in human nutrition, foods and exercise at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. For the study, researchers looked at data from more than a decade of nationwide surveys gathered between 2012 and 2022 by the International Food Information Council, analyzing more than 1,000 participants’ responses. Across all the years, 73% of Americans said plant proteins were healthy, compared to 39% who said animal proteins were healthy. The percentage of Americans who follow a plant-rich dietary pattern more than doubled during the decade studied, rising from 12% to nearly 26%. At the same time, however, the percentage of people eating more red meat also rose, from 13% to 19%. Generation Z (born 1997-2012) and Millennials (1981-1996) were more likely to follow a plant-rich diet than Generation X (born 1965-1980) or Baby Boomers (1946-1964), results show. But about 25% of Generation Z and Millennials also… read on > read on >