Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

Toilet bowls reveal much about the health of a community, alerting scientists to coming outbreaks of flu and other seasonal viruses, researchers say. “Just one flush can hold a lot of information,” said Kristine Du, co-author of a new Canadian study. “Wastewater surveillance equips public health experts, clinicians, policymakers and the public with community-based, objective data to inform health and safety decisions against the flu and RSV,” said Du, a lab technician at the University of Calgary School of Medicine. “Knowing what viruses are coming down the pike can help prepare individuals and communities appropriately,” she added in a university news release. Du and her colleagues found that the clinical cases of influenza A and B, as well as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) correlated closely with virus positivity rates from wastewater surveillance in Calgary. Wastewater surveillance rose in prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this new research builds on that. The study included data from weekly collections of 24-hour composite wastewater samples from three treatment plants in Calgary between March 2022 and April 2023. The samples were then compared to clinical data for total cases and test positivity rates across Calgary and Alberta. The researchers found that influenza A peaked in Calgary’s wastewater between November and December 2022. Influenza B peaked between February and April 2023. RSV’s peak was between November 2022 and February 2023.… read on > read on >

The signs of climate change are everywhere, from raging wildfires to flash flooding to soaring temperatures. Now, a new study warns that things could get worse, with scientists reporting that even small increases in global temperatures will make some parts of the Earth too hot for humans to endure. “As long as we continue to put greenhouse gases emissions into the atmosphere, we’re going to continue warming,” said study author Daniel Vecellio, a postdoctoral research scholar at the George Mason University’s Virginia Climate Center. “The take-home message is that we want to keep global warming to as much of a minimum as we can,” said Vecellio, who conducted the research while at Penn State University. “The easiest thing to say, but I guess as we see the hardest thing to do is to accelerate our reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible in order to stave off these worst effects.” In the study, scientists used lab-measured, physiologically-based temperature thresholds at a range of air temperatures and relative humidity. The team modeled global temperature increases ranging from 1.5 degrees Celsius (C) to 4 degrees C (2.7 degrees F to 7.2 degrees F) above what temperatures were when the industrial revolution began. The Paris Agreement, signed by 196 nations from around the world in 2015, aims to limit those increases to 1.5 C. The threshold… read on > read on >

As many doctors and patients hail the advent of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy as the perfect fix for obesity, some experts are urging caution. The drugs are not well-tolerated by everyone struggling with obesity. For some folks, the weight piles back on as soon as the medication stops. There are also financial and ethical considerations, according to a commentary published online recently in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. More research is needed to better understand the medications, said endocrinologist Dr. Michael Schwartz from the University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle. Many experts seem to be saying “OK, we’ve fixed this problem. We’re done,” said Schwartz, co-director of the school’s Diabetes Institute and a co-author of the commentary. “We shouldn’t be complacent, and assume that these drugs are the answer to these chronic conditions,” Schwartz said in a university news release. “We are giving drugs where we don’t understand totally how they work.” Wegovy (semaglutide) is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of obesity, a problem affecting about 42% of the U.S. population. Ozempic (semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) are approved for type 2 diabetes, but are also prescribed for weight loss. The medications mimic the action of naturally produced hormones, including glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Patients feel full when eating less because of the increase in insulin, appetite suppression… read on > read on >

A California bill would have made free condoms available for high schoolers, but it was vetoed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom because of cost. California has a budget deficit of $30 billion, Newsom noted in his veto of Senate Bill 541. This bill, plus several other measures lawmakers passed, would have increased state budget costs by $19 billion. “This bill would create an unfunded mandate to public schools that should be considered in the annual budget process,” the Democratic governor wrote. If the bill had been allowed to go through, it would have required public schools with grades 9 through 12 to make condoms available and free for all students. Those with grades 7 through 12 would have been required to allow condoms to be available as part of educational or public health programs. The state has 1.9 million high school students in more than 4,000 schools, the Associated Press reported. Under the bill, retailers would also have not been allowed to refuse to sell condoms to youth. The bill would have helped “youth who decide to become sexually active to protect themselves and their partners from [sexually transmitted infections], while also removing barriers that potentially shame them and lead to unsafe sex,” said the bill’s author, State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, a Democrat from Los Angeles, the AP reported. Newsom said programs that increase access… read on > read on >

Exercise has been dubbed “nature’s antidepressant” by doctors for years, and now a new study confirms the notion. The finding follows a four-month look at the impact that running had on anxiety and depression when compared to a common antidepressant. SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) work by boosting levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that’s a key player when it comes to regulating mood, depression and anxiety. But among 140 depression patients, those who engaged in regular group running — meaning two or three 45-minute runs each week — actually saw their depression levels drop a bit more than those who took the popular SSRI medication escitalopram (Lexapro). And those who treated their depression with exercise reaped an added reward, with improvements seen in their physical health as well. That group, said study author Brenda Penninx, also “lost weight, improved fitness and reduced heart rate and blood pressure.” The medication group did not see those benefits. Penninx, a professor of psychiatric epidemiology and vice chair of the department of psychiatry at Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands, presented her findings this weekend at the ECNP meeting, which focuses on the science and treatment of brain disorders. The research was published earlier this year in the Journal of Affective Disorders. All told, she said, the findings suggest that “we should pay much more attention to lifestyle… read on > read on >

Former pro football players with symptoms of depression or anxiety are far more likely to receive an unverifiable diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) than players without those mental health conditions, a new study reports. Players with depression are 9.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with CTE, while players with both depression and anxiety are 12 times more likely, the study results showed. The problem: At this point CTE can only be diagnosed as part of a brain autopsy. “CTE can only be diagnosed after death,” said lead author Shawn Eagle, a research assistant professor of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “It shouldn’t be diagnosed in anyone while they’re living. Being told you have CTE when you’re alive is a problem because there’s no valid test to diagnose CTE in a living person.” Researchers argue that those players’ doctors are dropping the ball by handing out a CTE diagnosis, because there are effective treatments for the mood disorders that led to the diagnosis. “Depression, anxiety and sleep apnea produce cognitive symptoms, are treatable conditions, and should be distinguished from neurodegenerative disease,” Eagle said. “CTE is a neurodegenerative disease without available treatments or available diagnosis in a living person.” CTE is a degenerative brain disease that can be caused by repeated head impacts and concussions. It usually affects athletes who… read on > read on >

New research suggests that concert goers may synchronize their breathing and more as they listen to the intricacies of a classical symphony performance. Previous studies have shown that music may be able to induce synchronization in listeners, but the authors of this study said there has been little investigation into whether concert audiences actually become synchronized. This new study, involving 132 participants, suggests that heart rate, breathing rate and the electrical conductivity of skin (which suggests excitement) may synchronize between audience members at classical concerts. People who rated more highly for personality traits such as agreeableness or openness were more likely to synchronize with other audience members. Those with neurotic or extravert traits were less likely to become synchronized. The researchers, led by Wolfgang Tschacher, from the University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, in Bern, Switzerland, observed the 132 people while they listened to a concert in which three classical music pieces were played by a string quintet. They were Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Op. 104 in C minor,” Brett Dean’s “Epitaphs,” and Johannes Brahms’ “Op. 111 in G major.” The research team monitored participants’ movement using overhead cameras and measured their physical responses with wearable sensors. They also asked the participants to fill in questionnaires about their personality and mood both before and after the concert. While the investigators saw synchronization in a variety of… read on > read on >

FRIDAY, Oct. 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Postpartum depression is commonly thought of as something new moms experience, but fathers can also suffer from these feelings when entering this phase of life. A pilot study from the University of Illinois Chicago suggests new dads should also be screened for the condition. Addressing their health may also be an important tool for improving the maternal health crisis, given that the physical health of these parent partners are so intertwined, according to the authors. “A lot of dads are stressed. They’re scared. They’re struggling with balancing work and parental and partner responsibilities,” said lead author Dr. Sam Wainwright, an assistant professor of internal medicine and pediatrics. “Men are often not doing well, but no one is asking them about it.” For the study, researchers interviewed and screened 24 dads using a tool commonly used for screening moms. About 30% of dads were positive for postpartum depression. “A woman at risk for postpartum depression is much more likely to get postpartum depression if she has a depressed partner,” Wainwright noted in a university news release. Nearly 90% of study participants were from groups facing structural racism and social factors such as crime and poverty that can worsen mental health. This may have led to more men screening positive for depression than in past studies, which have seen a… read on > read on >

Should Fluffy and Fido go vegan? A new study says yes — for the environment. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that livestock are responsible for 14.5% of the greenhouse gas emissions. In response, some experts say eating vegan — meaning a nutritionally sound diet without animal proteins or products — for two-thirds of meals could slash food-related emissions by 60%. “Vegan pet food is clearly associated with very large savings in greenhouse gas emissions, land and water use, and a range of other environmental parameters,” said Dr. Andrew Knight, a professor of philosophy at Griffith University in Australia, who led the new study. “If implemented globally, such diets would also save the lives of billions of ‘food’ animals annually, and enable the feeding of billions of additional people (and dogs and cats), with the food energy saved.” The new study said American dogs and cats consume about one-fifth as much meat as their human counterparts and about one-tenth of that worldwide. Recent research suggests that nutritionally sound vegan diets — lacking meat, eggs and dairy — are safe for pets and may have comparable health benefits, the study noted. If all U.S.-based dogs and cats went vegan, researchers estimated that the lives of 2 billion livestock animals a year could be saved, along with billions of aquatic animals. If pets around the… read on > read on >

A nasal spray containing a ketamine derivative appears to beat one of the standard drugs used for people with difficult-to-treat depression, a new clinical trial has found. The trial, of nearly 700 people with treatment-resistant depression, found that esketamine nasal spray was more effective at sending patients into remission than a standard oral drug called quetiapine (Seroquel). After eight weeks, 27% of esketamine patients were in remission, versus 18% of those given quetiapine. By week 32, half of esketamine patients were faring that well, compared with one-third of those on quetiapine. Experts said the findings, published in the Oct. 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, strengthen the case that esketamine is a good option for people with treatment-resistant depression. The condition, which plagues up to 30% of people with depression, is generally diagnosed when a person’s symptoms have failed to yield to at least two standard antidepressants. It’s a situation that places people at increased risk of hospitalization and suicide. There are a few medications approved in the United States as an “augmentation” therapy for treatment-resistant depression — meaning they are used along with a standard antidepressant. Quetiapine is one of them, and so is esketamine nasal spray, which has been available since 2019 under the brand-name Spravato. That approval was based on research testing esketamine against a placebo nasal spray. The… read on > read on >