Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

One way to get real peace of mind: Start doing something creative. Americans who engage in creative activities — from crafting to playing the piano to painting — report better mental health, according to a new poll from the American Psychiatric Association. “We live in stressful times, and sometimes our jobs and responsibilities can drain our energy and our mental health,” said APA President Dr. Petros Levounis. “Creative activities aren’t just for fun, they can help us take a step back from the daily grind, use our brains differently, and relax. Picking up that paintbrush or solving a tricky puzzle can truly move us to a different mindset,” Levounis said in an APA news release. About 46% of American adults say they use creative activities to relieve stress or anxiety. Those who rate their own mental health as “very good” or “excellent” tend to participate in this kind of creative fun more than those who say their mental health is “fair” or “poor,” according to the Healthy Minds Monthly Poll. This poll was conducted in June among 2,202 adults. Things are looking up: About 77% of American adults said their current mental health was good or better, compared to 63% in early 2023. Of those reporting very good or excellent mental health, about 7 in 10 engaged in creative activities, compared to 50% of adults… read on > read on >

“Forever chemicals” are widespread in the environment, and new research finds they can be detected in about 45% of U.S. tap water samples. The chemicals are per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFAS, and their spread through drinking water — both tap and well — may be even higher because researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) were unable to test for all of them, CNN reported. These synthetic substances have been linked to a variety of health issues, including cancer, liver damage, hormone suppression, decreased fertility, obesity, high cholesterol and thyroid disease, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “There’s been almost no place scientists have looked where they have not found PFAS,” toxicologist Jamie DeWitt told CNN. She’s a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., and was not involved in the new study. To gauge the impact on drinking water, a team led by Kelly Smalling of the USGS used water samples collected between 2016 and 2021 from 269 private wells and 447 public sources. Their models suggest 45% of U.S. drinking water samples have at least one PFAS chemical. Lab tests developed by the USGS can also test for 32 compounds out of the 12,000 that exist. “I don’t think people should be afraid, but they should be aware and [arm] themselves with knowledge so that… read on > read on >

Loneliness might be a true heartbreaker for people with diabetes — raising their odds of a heart attack even more than unhealthy lifestyle habits do. That’s according to a new study of over 18,000 adults with the blood sugar disease. Researchers found that people who reported feeling lonely were up to 26% more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke in the next decade, compared to those who felt more socially connected. Loneliness, in fact, was more strongly linked to cardiovascular trouble than well-known risk factors like smoking, lack of exercise and unhealthy eating habits. Still, the study, published recently in the European Heart Journal, does not prove that loneliness directly harms physical health. But it’s not the first to link feelings of isolation to heart disease: Experts said that many studies have found a similar connection, and the new findings bolster that evidence. “Loneliness is not a benign condition,” said Theresa Beckie, a professor at the University of South Florida College of Nursing. Beckie, who was not involved in the study, co-wrote a 2022 scientific statement from the American Heart Association on the subject. In a review of published research, she and her colleagues found that social isolation and loneliness were linked to a 30% increased risk of heart attack and stroke, or death from either. To Beckie, the new study adds a… read on > read on >

When frail patients go into cardiac arrest and need cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during surgery, they’re more likely to die than those who are stronger, a new study shows. Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston studied the impact of frailty on survival in these cases where previously frailty was not considered as a factor. “CPR should not be considered futile for frail patients in the context of surgery,” said lead author Dr. Matt Allen, an attending physician in Brigham’s department of anesthesiology. “But it’s not the case that these patients do just as well as anybody else. In fact, we see a significant association between frailty and mortality.” Overall, about 25% of patients who suffer cardiac arrest and receive CPR in a normal hospital setting will survive. For those who get CPR during or in the immediate period following surgery, where they are closely monitored by specialists who know their medical history and can intervene quickly, that number is 50%. About one in three older frail patients survive, according to the analysis of more than 3,000 patients. Cardiac arrest is the abrupt loss of heart function in a person who may or may not have been diagnosed with heart disease. Frail patients were more likely to die from cardiac arrests that occurred during non-emergency procedures than non-frail individuals, which may mean a higher overall… read on > read on >

Youth who are both LGBTQ+ and either Black or Hispanic and live in U.S. states that have discriminatory policies are more likely to have depression than their counterparts in states that are more affirming to gender and sexual identity, new research finds. “This study provides scientific evidence to what many queer and trans people of color in the U.S. are experiencing day to day,” said study co-author Tyler Harvey, program administrator of the Yale School of Medicine’s SEICHE Center for Health and Justice. “Queer and trans youth living in states such as Florida that are passing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation know this to be true: Their surroundings are influencing their mental health,” Harvey said in a school news release. When controlling for individual experiences of bullying based on race and ethnicity or sexual orientation, Black and Hispanic LGBTQ+ youth were 32% more likely to have symptoms of depression in states without protections such as anti-bullying legislation and conversion therapy bans, the study found. “The laws, policies and overall social conditions within which individuals live take a toll on their health and well-being,” said lead study author Skyler Jackson, an assistant professor in Yale’s department of social and behavioral sciences. “This study helps to complete the puzzle of the various ways that stigma might show up within the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals.” Jackson is part of a team… read on > read on >

Older American adults who live in warmer regions are more likely to have serious vision impairment than those who live in cooler places, new research finds. Living with average temperatures of 60 degrees Fahrenheit or above — think South Florida, for example — created much higher odds of blindness or trouble seeing even with glasses, according to a new study of 1.7 million people. “This link between vision impairment and average county temperature is very worrying if future research determines that the association is causal,” said co-author Esme Fuller-Thomson, director of the University of Toronto’s Institute of Life Course and Aging. “With climate change, we are expecting a rise in global temperatures. It will be important to monitor if the prevalence of vision impairment among older adults increases in the future,” she added in a school news release. Compared with those who lived in counties with average temperatures of less than 50 degrees F, the odds of severe vision impairment were 14% higher for those who lived in counties with average temperatures from 50-54.99 degrees, according to the study. The risk was 24% higher for those in places where temps averaged 55-59.99 degrees. For those basking in even warmer territory, the odds of vision loss were 44% higher. Even with differences in age, sex and income, the relationship held. “It was powerful to see that… read on > read on >

As you stare down your freshman year of college and contemplate living away from home, you’re probably facing a few “firsts”: First roommate who isn’t a sibling; first time fending for yourself to make sure you’re eating properly; and if you have nasal allergies, food allergies or asthma, this could be the first time you’re in charge of keeping your symptoms under control. Your health, particularly regarding allergic diseases, shouldn’t be among the last things you prepare for as you make plans to leave home for college. There are many details to handle before you depart, so start planning now for your allergy and asthma care. Some of the things you’ll need to consider as you plan for your first year away include: What will health care visits look like? — If you have an allergist you’ve been seeing for years, you’ll have to consider whom you’ll consult while away. Ask your allergist for a recommendation or contact the health care service at your school to find out if they have an allergist you can work with. The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology has an allergist locator that can help you in your search to find an allergist in your new town. What other health factors will change? — Will your prescriptions need to be transferred to a new pharmacy? Are your prescriptions… read on > read on >

A man’s cardio fitness might influence whether he’ll develop — or survive — three of the most common cancers in males, a new Swedish study reports. Higher levels of cardio fitness are associated with a significantly lower risk of developing colon and lung cancers, researchers report. Cardio fitness also plays a role in a man’s likelihood of surviving prostate, colon and lung cancers, results show. “Better cardiorespiratory fitness [CRF] is not only important for reducing cardiovascular disease risk, which is often communicated, but also for reducing cancer risk in men,” said lead researcher Elin Ekblom-Bak, a senior lecturer with the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm. “Current cancer prevention guidelines focus on physical activity, but these findings show that CRF is also very important for both reducing cancer risk and risk of death from common cancers in men,” Ekblom-Bak said. For this study, Ekblom-Bak and her colleagues analyzed data on nearly 178,000 Swedish men, all of whom completed an occupational health assessment between October 1982 and December 2019. As part of this assessment, the men tested their cardio health on an exercise bike, with doctors registering their blood oxygen levels as they pedaled. Researchers then tracked the men’s health using Swedish health registries, to see which men wound up developing cancer. They specifically found a strong dose-response association between cardio fitness and… read on > read on >

Researchers have found significant new evidence of a link between a decreased sense of smell and the risk of developing depression later in life. Known as hyposmia, or at its most profound, anosmia, the condition has been associated previously with Alzheimer’s disease in older adults. “We’ve seen repeatedly that a poor sense of smell can be an early warning sign of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, as well as a mortality risk. This study underscores its association with depressive symptoms,” said Vidya Kamath, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. “Additionally, this study explores factors that might influence the relationship between olfaction and depression, including poor cognition and inflammation,” she said in a university news release. In the study, researchers followed more than 2,100 community-dwelling older adults over eight years, using data from the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study (Health ABC). These older adults were healthy and ages 70 to 73 when the study period began in 1997. They each had no difficulty walking a quarter of a mile, climbing 10 steps and performing normal activities. The participants were assessed in person each year and by phone every six months. Smell was first measured in 1999, when 48% of participants displayed a normal sense of smell. Another 28% showed a… read on > read on >

Fewer teens consider themselves overweight and more underestimate what they weigh, a perception concerning to experts worried about childhood obesity. These trends could reduce the effectiveness of public health interventions meant to help young people lose weight, researchers warn. Their findings were published July 3 in the journal Child and Adolescent Obesity. “Young people who underestimate their weight and therefore do not consider themselves to be overweight may not feel they need to lose excess weight and, as a result, they may make unhealthy lifestyle choices,” lead author Anouk Geraets said in a journal news release. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Luxembourg. For the study, researchers reviewed 2002-2018 data involving more than 745,000 adolescents from 41 countries in Europe and North America. Information was collected at four-year intervals from kids who were 11, 13 and 15 years old. Over the period, underestimation of weight status increased for both boys and girls, but the trend was stronger for girls. Girls’ weight perception did get more accurate over time, however, but boys’ got worse. These changes in correct weight perception varied across countries. They could not be explained by an increase in country-level overweight/obesity prevalence. The authors noted that boys’ and girls’ body ideals may differ, which would explain why their perceptions differed. Body ideals have also changed over time, they pointed out.… read on > read on >