Most Americans are eating their way to inflammation that puts them at risk of cancer, heart disease and other serious health problems, a new study shows. “Overall, 57% of U.S. adults have a pro-inflammatory diet and that number was higher for Black Americans, men, younger adults and people with lower education and income,” said lead study author Rachel Meadows, a visiting faculty member at Ohio State University’s College of Public Health. Her team used a tool known as the dietary inflammatory index, which includes 45 components, to examine the self-reported eating habits of more than 34,500 adults included in a federal health and nutrition survey between 2005 and 2018.  While other dietary measures look at intake of food groups like fruit, veggies or dairy or nutrients like fats, proteins and carbs, Meadows said inflammation is important to consider. Using the tool, they assigned inflammation values ranging from -9 to 8, with 0 representing a neutral diet. In all, 34% had anti-inflammatory diets, according to findings published Sept. 27 in the journal Public Health Nutrition. Meadows said overall balance of the diet is important. “Even if you’re eating enough fruits or vegetables, if you’re having too much alcohol or red meat, then your overall diet can still be pro-inflammatory,” she said, adding that she wants people to think about anti-inflammatory foods as tools to boost health.…  read on >  read on >

More and more, primary care doctors routinely ask patients a question that may come as a surprise: Do you ever have suicidal thoughts? Now, new research shows it’s a simple intervention that can save lives. When suicide care was made a routine part of primary care visits at Kaiser Permanente clinics in Washington state, suicide attempts dropped 25% in the next 90 days, the study found. Published Oct. 1 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the research is the first to show that suicide risk screening in primary care, followed by safety planning, improved prevention efforts in a health care setting. “Our findings are important because we know many people seek primary care prior to fatal and nonfatal suicide attempts,” said lead study author Julie Angerhofer Richards, a collaborative scientist at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle.  The study relied on data from January 2015 to July 2018. “Many healthcare systems in the U.S. and abroad now routinely ask patients about suicidal thoughts, and this study provides evidence to support this practice, in combination with collaborative safety planning among people identified at risk of suicide attempt,” Richards said in a Kaiser Permanente news release. Kaiser Permanente clinics began using the integrated care model in January 2016 with all adult patients, who completed a screening questionnaire. Those who said they often thought about self-harm…  read on >  read on >

Besides being useless in altering a person’s sexuality or gender identity, so-called “conversion therapy” or “conversion practice” can greatly raise the odds that an LGBT person experiences mental health issues, new research finds. Questionnaires completed by over 4,400 LGBTQ+ Americans found that having undergone these bogus interventions was linked to higher rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal thoughts or attempts. “Our findings add to a body of evidence that shows conversion practice is unethical and linked with poor mental health,” said study lead author Dr. Nguyen Tran, of Stanford University School of Medicine.  “Protecting LGBTQ+ people from the impacts of these harmful practices will require multi-pronged legislation, including state and federal bans,” Tran added. “Additional measures such as support networks and targeted mental health support for survivors are also vital.” The findings were published Sept. 30 in The Lancet Psychiatry journal. Conversion therapy is any kind of formal, structured effort to alter a person’s sexuality or gender identification, often employing psychological, behavioral, physical and faith-based practices.  Most respected professional medical and mental health organizations are opposed to the practice, although it’s still offered at sites throughout the United States. Anywhere from 4% to 34% of LGBTQ+ American children and adults may have been subjected to conversion practices, according to a Lancet news release. The data used in the new study came from the…  read on >  read on >

In a world where families may be more apt to interact with technology than with one another, some things never change. Many still struggle to get along. But just what do 21st century families fight about? A new survey of 593 parents with at least one child between the ages of 4 and 17 offers some clues — and the flashpoints are very familiar. For couples, communication is No. 1. They’re also clashing about issues like mood, parenting, money and whose turn it is to take out the trash or do other chores. “Think about how much relationships in our world have changed in the last 50 years, with massive cultural and technological shifts,” said study co-author Allen Barton, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  “Interestingly, despite all these changes, couples still seem to argue about the same things,” he added in a university news release. “This suggests there are some fundamental aspects for what it takes to make a romantic relationship last.” Parents and teens, meanwhile, have added technology and cellphone use to the traditional clashes over chores and messy rooms. But perennial issues such as bedtime delays, obeying instructions and picky eating remain the biggest battles between parents and younger kids. “These struggles appear to be common across different types of families,” Barton said. …  read on >  read on >

A synthetic form of the active ingredient in cannabis helps reduce agitation in people with Alzheimer’s, new research shows. Synthetic THC (dronabinol) also gave patients’ caregivers a boost, according to findings presented Thursday at a meeting of the International Psychogeriatrics Association in Buenos Aires. The findings may provide encouragement for the families of the 7 million Americans who have Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. Nine out of 10 develop behavior problems, and agitation is the most common, affecting 4 in 10. Agitated patients with Alzheimer’s often pace, wander, yell, scream and get verbally abusive. Their behavior may also leave their caregivers burned out and depressed. “It is the agitation, not the memory loss, that often drives individuals with dementia to the emergency department and long-term care facilities,” said study co-author Dr. Brent Forester, director of behavioral health for Tufts Medicine in Boston. “Dronabinol has the potential to both reduce health care costs and make an important, positive impact on caregivers’ mental and physical health.” The new study included 75 outpatients with Alzheimer’s dementia. For three weeks, they took either 5 milligrams (mg) of dronabinol twice a day or a dummy pill.  Symptoms of agitation were significantly improved in the patients who took dronabinol, and researchers said the drug was well-tolerated. “Dronabinol appears to perform just as well, if not better, than the only other…  read on >  read on >

The first new type of medication in decades to help fight against schizophrenia was approved on Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Cobenfy (xanomeline/trospium chloride) could bring patients what they’ve long hoped for: A means of easing the hallucinations and “voices” that disrupt their lives without the weight gain and sluggishness of current dopamine-focused drugs. Cobenfy does affect dopamine, but indirectly through what are known as cholinergic receptors, altering the activity of another neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. “Schizophrenia is a leading cause of disability worldwide. It is a severe, chronic mental illness that is often damaging to a person’s quality of life,” said Dr. Tiffany Farchione, director of psychiatry in the Office of Neuroscience in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “This drug takes the first new approach to schizophrenia treatment in decades,” she said in an agency news release. “This approval offers a new alternative to the antipsychotic medications people with schizophrenia have previously been prescribed.” According to the FDA, about 1% of people have schizophrenia, which is characterized by intrusive thoughts, hallucinations (including voices) and paranoia that can greatly interfere with daily living and social interactions with others. It can be a debilitating illness and greatly raises the odds of dying at a young age, the agency said. Almost 5% of people with schizophrenia die by suicide, the FDA noted. Almost…  read on >  read on >

Patients with opioid use disorder who receive higher doses of a drug to treat their addiction are more likely to have positive results, a new study finds.  Daily doses of the drug buprenorphine is a standard treatment for opioid use disorder, and the findings suggest that higher doses may be a better way to manage it. Researchers say this could be an important way to improve treatment for people who use fentanyl, a major cause of opioid overdose. “As the overdose crisis evolves, particularly with the rise of fentanyl, it is crucial to investigate how to best adapt and deliver the lifesaving and evidence-based treatments for opioid use disorder that we have available,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).  For the study, researchers reviewed insurance claims data from more than 35,000 patients who entered buprenorphine treatment between 2016 and 2021. During that time, 12.5% required emergency or inpatient care for mental health issues.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends a daily dose of 16 milligrams (mg) of buprenorphine.  In the first year after receiving treatment, patients who took 16 to 24 mg of buprenorphine took 20% longer to have a subsequent ER or inpatient hospital visit than those receiving 8 to 16 mg a day. Meanwhile, those taking more than 24 mg of buprenorphine a day went…  read on >  read on >