Data from dozens of studies supports the notion that mental health crises are a big factor behind rising rates of maternal deaths during and around pregnancy in the United States. “We need to bring this to the attention of the public and policymakers to demand action to address the mental health crisis that is contributing to the demise of mothers in America,” said Dr. Katherine Wisner, who led the review. She’s associate chief of perinatal mental health at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. “The rate of maternal mortality in the United States is 2-fold to 3-fold greater than that in other high-income countries,” her team noted in the study, which was published Feb. 21 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. Could mental health issues play a role in many of these tragedies? To find out, Wisner and her colleagues looked at data from 30 recent studies and 15 historical references. They found that: Mental health risks rise during pregnancy. The period in and around a pregnancy is “associated with elevated risk for new-onset or relapse of maternal psychiatric disorders,” the researchers reported. For example, 14.5% of pregnant mothers develop depression while pregnant, and another 14.5% battle the illness during the three months after delivery Many pregnant women face risks for suicide, opioid overdose. The data showed that suicide or opioid overdose together account for nearly…  read on >  read on >

Of course grief can ravage your mind, but science shows it can also weaken your body, leaving you open to illness. “As humans, we are strongly motivated to seek out social bonds that are warm, dependable, friendly and supportive,” explained George Slavich. He directs the Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.  “Losing someone close to us terminates that bond and the social and physical protection they provided, which historically could have put the body at an increased risk of physical danger,” he added in a UCLA article. Much of that danger comes from a hypervigilant, but in some ways weakened, immune system. As Slavich explained, after the loss of a loved one, your brain and body react as if they’ve lost a key line of defense. The immune system escalates its would-healing capabilities (priming for potential threats) but at the same time lowers its guard against viruses. That’s why folks are vulnerable to colds and flu when they’re hit by grief or other stressors, Slavich noted. Bodily inflammatory responses also rise, he added, and that can lead to “feelings of sickness, fatigue, loss of pleasure and social and behavioral withdrawal.” Physical pain might also result from grief. One study found that heightened production of immune system proteins could make grieving people more sensitive to…  read on >  read on >

Hormone replacement therapy might help women avoid depression as they go through menopause, a new study finds. Women treated with hormone therapy at a menopause clinic in Ontario, Canada, experienced a reduction in their symptoms of depression, researchers report Feb. 21 in the journal Menopause. This improvement occurred whether or not antidepressants were also prescribed, results showed. “This study showed a beneficial effect of hormone therapy on mood symptoms during menopause when used alone and a synergistic effect when used in combination with antidepressants,” said Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director for The Menopause Society. “It also highlights the high prevalence of mood symptoms during this transition and the need to address women’s symptoms holistically rather than having a singular focus on hot flash management,” Faubion added in a society news release.  Depression has been shown to be particularly likely to occur around the time of menopause, researchers said. In this study of 170 women, about 62% of participants scored as “depressed,” said researchers led by Dr. Alison Shea, from The Research Institute of St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton. Hormone therapy has been shown to effectively manage hot flashes, but its ability to address mood-related symptoms is less established, researchers said in background notes. Hormones influence the brain pathways that regulate mood during and after menopause, and are thought to play a role in depressive symptoms,…  read on >  read on >

Women working in health care endure significantly more stress and burnout compared to their male co-workers, a new review concludes. Gender inequality, a poor balance between work and life and a lack of workplace autonomy all create pressure on female health care professionals, researchers report. On the other hand, there are factors that can protect women from stress and burnout: a supportive and flexible work environment, opportunities for professional development and mindfulness meditation. “Human beings are not equipped to handle the combined, intense pressures in healthcare, in part due to the pressure to not take time to care for yourself,” said researcher Leigh Frame, associate director of the George Washington University Resiliency & Well-being Center. For the study, Frame and her colleagues analyzed the results from 71 prior studies published in 26 countries and four languages between 1979 and 2022. The studies reviewed stress and burnout among a range of female health care workers, including doctors, nurses, clinical social workers and mental health providers. This is the first comprehensive analysis to examine the relationship between work stress and well-being in female health professionals, researchers said. The pandemic prompted the review, as it cast a spotlight on health care burnout. Results showed that women are under tremendous pressure to succeed both at home and on the job. Such pressure contributes to toxic stress, occupational burnout, depression,…  read on >  read on >

Black voters support a ban on menthol cigarettes by a wide margin, refuting claims that such a ban would be strongly opposed by Black Americans, a new survey shows. Black voters support by a 37-point margin the menthol ban proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with 62% in favor and 25% against. That’s even greater than the 29-point margin by which all voters support the ban, with 58% in favor and 29% against. Implementing the rule would not harm President Joe Biden’s chances of re-election, the poll found. There was no change in Biden’s overall standing after voters were asked to assume his administration ended the sale of menthol cigarettes. “There is clear evidence that the menthol rule has no meaningful electoral impact,” concluded The Mellman Group, a leading political research firm that conducted the poll on behalf of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free kids. In December 2023, the Biden administration announced it was delaying until March a long-planned ban on menthol cigarettes. The ban had been opposed by some civil rights leaders with ties to Big Tobacco, who argued it would give police an excuse to target Black smokers. Media reports said that a poll commissioned by tobacco giant Altria also influenced the administration’s decision to delay the ban.  The Altria poll, presented to the administration but never publicly released, claimed that the…  read on >  read on >

Lockdown drills have become a shudder-inducing part of American life, preparing kids to lie low and keep quiet if a gunman chooses to roam their school. But a new study finds these drills help children who’ve been exposed to violence, helping them feel safer at school. The findings contradict claims that drills traumatize children rather than making them feel secure, researchers said. “Participating in drills may be a way to help students who have been exposed to violence feel safer in schools,” said researcher Jaclyn Schildkraut, executive director of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government in the U.S. Lockdown drills, now carried out at almost all public schools, involve locking classroom doors, turning off the lights, staying out of sight and remaining quiet. The drills were introduced following the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, in which two teens shot dead 12 classmates and a teacher and wounded 24 others. For this study, students in fifth grade and above at a large urban school district in New York State responded to a survey about how safe they felt at school and how prepared they were for lockdowns and other emergencies. The students were also asked about their exposure to violence, such as seeing or hearing that someone brought a gun or knife to school or being involved in or…  read on >  read on >

Toddlers who are really into their food might have a higher risk of developing an eating disorder once they enter adolescence, a new study shows. Kids ages 4 and 5 with a strong urge to eat when teased with tasty food appear more likely to report a range of eating disorder symptoms by ages 12 to 14, researchers report Feb. 20 in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal. For example, teens who responded to food most strongly as a toddler were nearly three times more likely to report binge eating symptoms as those who were least interested in food, results show. “Although our study cannot prove causality, our findings suggest food cue responsiveness may be one predisposing risk factor for the onset of eating disorder symptoms in adolescence,” said researcher Ivonne Derks, with the University College London Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care. “However, high responsiveness to food is also a normal and very common behavior and should be seen as just one potential risk factor among many rather than something to cause parents worry,” Derks added in a university news release. High food responsiveness is defined as the urge to eat when seeing, smelling or tasting good food, researchers said in background notes. For the study, researchers analyzed data from 3,670 youngsters in the U.K. and the Netherlands to see how appetite traits…  read on >  read on >

Former talk show host Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, her representatives announced in a statement on Thursday. The conditions are the same diagnoses actor Bruce Willis received in 2022; his aphasia later progressed to frontotemporal dementia. Williams’ team said the 59-year-old’s decision to reveal her diagnoses was “difficult and made after careful consideration.” Williams is receiving treatment and is still able to “do many things for herself,” they added. Primary progressive aphasia is a nervous system disorder that brings a gradually increasing inability to communicate, the Cleveland Clinic explained. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, frontotemporal dementia is “a group of disorders caused by progressive nerve cell loss in the brain’s frontal lobes [the areas behind your forehead] or its temporal lobes [the regions behind your ears].” It is a progressive, debilitating neurological condition for which there is no effective treatment, the association said. The illness can also affect speech, language comprehension and movement. Behavioral changes are common. Unlike Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia is typically diagnosed at a younger age, often in a person’s 40s or 50s. Williams was diagnosed in 2023 after a series of medical tests, her team said. Aphasia and frontotemporal dementia have already “presented significant hurdles in Wendy’s life,” they said. “Wendy would not have received confirmation of these diagnoses were it not for the diligence…  read on >  read on >

Burnout: It’s a common enough concept, but how do you know if you’re experiencing it at work and at home? According to experts at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, a myriad of daily pressures placed on individuals can culminate in burnout. “Burnout is not a result of one singular thing,” explained Dr. Eric Storch, vice chair of psychology at Baylor. “Work, familial responsibilities and everyday stressors can all contribute to a sense of depleting motivation.”  Storch lists the common signs of burnout: a persistent sense of being mentally overwhelmed and stressed each day little sense of satisfaction at work or in the home, even during moments of success physical tension and difficulties relaxing chronic sleep issues fatigue that doesn’t ease There are ways to help prevent or ease burnout. Having honest conversations about issues is crucial, Storch said. “If you find that you are beginning to show signs of becoming burned out at work, speak with a trusted colleague for their advice or talk to a supervisor about what you both can do to change your work environment into one that allows for a healthier balance between personal and professional responsibilities,” he advised in a Baylor news release.   If you believe that someone else is suffering from burnout, reaching out to them in the correct way is key. First off, be clear that…  read on >  read on >