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During the past half-century, the United States’ annual number of school shootings has increased more than twelvefold, a new study finds. What’s more, children are now four times more likely to be a school shooting victim, and the death rate from school shootings has risen more than sixfold. “Firearm violence is a public health crisis, and it needs to be addressed,” said lead researcher Dr. Louis Magnotti, a clinical professor of trauma surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. For the study, researchers analyzed 2,056 school shootings from 1970 through 2022. The incidents involved 3,083 victims, including 2,033 children ages 5 to 17 and 1,050 adults ages 18 to 74. The yearly number of school shootings has increased from 20 incidents in 1970 to 251 in 2021, researchers found. During that same period, the rate of children becoming a victim of a school shooting quadrupled, rising from 0.5 to 2.2 per 1 million population. Deaths occurred six times as often, rising from 0.2 to 1 per 1 million population. “Not only have school shootings increased, but fatalities have increased even more than the number of shootings,” said Dr. Ronald Stewart, chair of the department of surgery at University Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. He wasn’t involved with the study. Victims and shooters were both predominantly male, 77% and 96% respectively, results… read on > read on >

Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata: Millions of bleary-eyed Americans turn to this class of so-called “Z-drugs” to get restful sleep. But how do these drugs work, and do they come with risks? Experts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have issued an advisory to boost awareness about the meds. All of these medications — generically known as zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar and Zolpimist), eszopiclone (Lunesta) and zaleplon (Sonata) — work by putting the brakes on brain activity, allowing you to drift off to sleep. But the FDA warns that Z drugs also come with risks, most notably upping your odds for “complex sleep behaviors” — things like sleepwalking, sleep driving, sleep cooking or even taking other medicines. “The FDA has received reports of people taking these insomnia medicines and accidentally overdosing, falling, being burned, shooting themselves and wandering outside in extremely cold weather, among other incidents,” the agency noted. You might not even recall any of these behaviors occurring once you reawaken, according to the FDA. The onset of complex sleep behaviors tied to Z drug use is also unpredictable. For some, the behavior can begin after the first dose, while for others it might begin much later into use. Many sleep medicines can also cause daytime drowsiness, so avoid driving and other hazardous tasks under those circumstances. Some other tips for safe use of… read on > read on >

The perpetrator of a mass shooting in Maine last fall had extensive brain damage from “thousands of low-level blasts” tied to his work at an Army Reserve hand grenade training range, a new report shows. On Oct. 25, Robert Card, 40, killed 18 and injured another 13 in a deadly rampage in the town of Lewiston after opening fire in a bowling alley and then a restaurant. After a two-day manhunt, Card was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Card was a U.S. Army Reservist who had long been an instructor at the hand grenade training range, where it is believed he was exposed to constant low-level blasts on a daily basis. In a statement released Wednesday, the nonprofit Concussion Legacy Foundation said Card’s family was releasing the findings of a tissue analysis conducted on Card’s brain “in an effort to help prevent future tragedies.” The analysis had been performed at the request of the Maine Chief Medical Examiner’s office and was led by Dr. Ann McKee, of the Boston University CTE Center. “Robert Card had evidence of traumatic brain injury,” McKee said in the statement. “In the white matter, the nerve fibers that allow for communication between different areas of the brain, there was significant degeneration, axonal and myelin loss, inflammation and small blood vessel injury. There was no evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy [CTE].” CTE… read on > read on >

Athletes whose coaches are open, authentic and positive are more likely to have better mental health, a new study says. Athletes feel happier and deal with problems more easily if their coaches adopt an “authentic leadership” style, researchers report in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise. Such a leadership style also produces better and more cohesive team spirit at higher competitive levels, results show. Players in national, international or college leagues are more likely to support and encourage each other if they’re receiving such coaching, said lead researcher Maria Kavussanu, a professor of sport and exercise psychology with the University of Birmingham in the UK. “Higher level athletes tend to train together for longer hours and have the opportunity for more frequent social interaction with each other,” Kavussanu said in a news release. “The relationships that develop within the team become important, as do experiencing positive behaviors such as support and encouragement from their teammates, which can be promoted by coaches adopting an authentic leadership style,” Kavussanu added. Researchers said that aspects of authentic leadership include: Openly sharing information Showing understanding of athletes’ strengths and weaknesses Acting in an ethical manner Listening to alternative perspectives Authentic leadership from coaches is associated with fewer feelings of depression, anxiety and stress among athletes, researchers found. Such leadership also influenced athletes to better support each other, by… read on > read on >

Nearly a quarter of Labrador retrievers are more likely to be obese due to a genetic “double-whammy,” a new study finds. This gene mutation causes Labradors to both feel hungry all the time and also burn fewer calories, British researchers report. The mutation involves a gene called POMC, which plays a critical role in hunger and energy use among Labs. About 25% of Labradors and 66% of flat-coated retriever dogs have this POMC mutation, which causes increased interest in food, researchers said. Specifically, it makes them hungrier in between meals, even though they don’t need to eat more to feel full at mealtime. “We found that a mutation in the POMC gene seems to make dogs hungrier. Affected dogs tend to overeat because they get hungry between meals more quickly than dogs without the mutation,” said study author Eleanor Raffan, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience. Dogs with the POMC mutation also tend to burn about 25% less energy at rest than dogs without it, the researchers added. That means they should consume fewer calories to maintain a healthy body weight. “Dogs with this genetic mutation face a double whammy: They not only want to eat more, but also need fewer calories because they’re not burning them off as fast,” Raffan said in a university news release. The… read on > read on >

When it comes to giving at-risk Americans access to the mental health services they need, prevention is far better than detention, new research confirms. However, a majority of the 950 U.S. counties surveyed in the report do not offer access to the types of mental health and substance use disorder services that can save communities money and prevent incarceration. “Most counties offer only a tiny fraction of the community services that are necessary to keep people out of jail,” said study author Jennifer Johnson, a professor of public health at Michigan State University. “We’re hoping that by publishing this article, county administrators will look at the list of services that they don’t yet offer and try to make them happen,” Johnson added in a university news release. Her team surveyed the availability of 59 mental health practices that are known to help at-risk folks stay healthy. The survey asked people representing the counties studied if such programs might be accessible “to people interacting with police, 911, courts, jails, probation or parole.” The results were disappointing. For example, only about 29% of counties offered permanent supportive housing to people with mental health conditions, while even fewer (about 27%) offered what’s know as assertive community treatment. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, assertive community treatment is “treatment, rehabilitation and support services using a person-centered,… read on > read on >

Air pollution harms the health of everyone exposed to it, but a new study says communities of color are disproportionately harmed by dirty air. Smog causes nearly 8 times higher childhood asthma rates and 1.3 times higher risk of premature death among minority communities compared to white communities, researchers found. These elevated risks are a matter of geography, said study co-author Gaige Kerr, a senior research scientist with the George Washington University School of Public Health. “Redlining and systemic racism have resulted in the least white areas of the U.S. being located near factories, congested roadways or shipping routes with heavily polluted air,” Kerr said in a university news release. For this study, the researchers tracked health problems linked to two forms of air pollution –- the nitrogen dioxide typically spewed by traffic and the fine particulate soot produced by vehicles and industry. To do this, they combined U.S. Census Bureau data with NASA satellite scans to estimate pollution concentrations and their affect on human health. Nitrogen dioxide can irritate the lungs and trigger asthma attacks, researchers said in background notes. Fine particulate matter can lodge deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, raising the risk of a number of different diseases that include heart disease, lung cancer and stroke. Overall, an estimated 49,400 premature deaths and nearly 115,000 new cases of childhood asthma… read on > read on >

Menopause is thought to trigger mood changes among women, with changes in female hormone levels contributing to anxiety, depression and stress. However, a new study says some women are at more risk than others for menopause-linked mental health issues, and many escape them altogether. There’s no evidence that menopause causes a universal rise in risk for mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or psychosis, researchers concluded March 5 in The Lancet journal. Instead, certain groups of women are more likely to have mental health problems during menopause — those with previous depression or depressive symptoms, those whose sleep is disturbed by nighttime hot flashes, and those who had a stressful life event around the time of menopause. “We have a negative media image about menopause, but without looking at someone’s mental health prior to menopause, it’s very challenging to understand what might be biologically related to menopause as opposed to life stage or life trajectory,” said co-senior study author Dr. Hadine Joffe, interim chair of psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “Clinicians need to think about what happened before, because depression might be coincident with menopause but unrelated,” Joffee added in a hospital news release. Menopause can last four to ten years, and tends to begins around age 47, researchers said in background notes. Menopause is thought of as emotionally taxing… read on > read on >

The vast majority (84%) of Americans with pets say their animal companion brings a positive mental health impact to their lives, a new poll shows. The poll of more than 2,200 adults conducted early last month also found about two-thirds of respondents calling their pet “a true friend,” a “companion” and someone who “provide[s] unconditional love and support.” That’s according to a news release from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), which jointly funded the poll. Pets can provide a kind of mental health therapy for humans, according to APA president Dr. Petros Levounis. “It’s easy to overlook the role of pets when we’re talking about mental health,” he said. “But for people who do enjoy the company of animals, they can be a source of companionship, comfort, love and friendship. I routinely encourage adoption of a pet to my patients who struggle with addiction to alcohol, drugs or technology. We’re also starting to see more and more research around the role that animals can play in recovery from depression and other psychiatric disorders.” In the poll, about one in five (18%) of people with pets said one or more of their animals was a certified emotional support animal. Other findings from the poll: Nearly two-thirds of respondents said their pet provides a calming presence The same amount said their… read on > read on >

(HealthDay news) — More than 1 billion adults and children around the world are now obese, a new global analysis estimates. Nearly 880 million adults now are living with obesity, as well as 159 million children, according to the report published Feb. 29 in The Lancet journal. Obesity rates for kids and teenagers quadrupled worldwide between 1990 and 2022, rising from 1.7% to 6.9% for girls and 2.1% to 9.3% for boys. Meanwhile, adult obesity rates more than doubled during the same period, researchers found. Obesity increased more than twofold in women (8.8% to 18.5%) and nearly tripled in men (4.8% to 14%). “It is very concerning that the epidemic of obesity that was evident among adults in much of the world in 1990 is now mirrored in school-aged children and adolescents,” said senior study author Majid Ezzatti, chair of global environmental health at Imperial College London. These figures outstrip predictions made by the World Obesity Federation, which had predicted that 1 billion people globally would be living with obesity by 2030 in its World Obesity Atlas 2022. Essentially, the globe had already surpassed that mark by the time of the atlas’ publication, according to the new study. Obesity is now the most common form of malnutrition in most countries, researchers said. That’s because the proportion of adults who are underweight declined by more than… read on > read on >