For the first time ever, the nation’s top panel of preventive health experts has recommended that doctors routinely screen all adult patients under 65 for anxiety disorder. Evidence now shows that anxiety screening can help those patients find peace of mind, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) said in recommendations that were published online June 20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “The task force found that for the patients who are 19 to 64, what we call the general adult population, the evidence was robust on reducing their symptoms of anxiety. There was also benefit around general quality of life as well,” USPSTF vice chair Dr. Michael Silverstein said. The task force also reiterated its longstanding recommendation that adults receive regular depression screening. “We were able to identify effective practices to screen the adult population for common and serious mental health disorders,” Silverstein said. “The good news is that screening for depression and anxiety can identify these conditions early. When this screening is linked to quality mental health care, patients benefit.” However, the task force did not recommend anxiety screening for seniors. “In the population 65 and older, we didn’t see the same quality of evidence that spoke to those outcomes,” said Silverstein, a professor of health services, policy and practice at the Brown University School of Public Health in Rhode…  read on >  read on >

In the face of an ongoing and widespread legal assault on transgender rights — one that threatens to cut off access to critical aspects of trans health care — a pair of new studies suggest that gender-affirming medical care is a lifesaving treatment for those who need it. One study finds that when trans men get immediate access to hormone/testosterone therapy as part of a gender-affirming treatment plan, their mental health improves markedly. Another finds that when trans teens embark on hormone therapy they rarely, if ever, regret their decision. “Gender-affirming hormone therapy is hormone treatment to align physical characteristics — such as facial hair, changes to muscle mass or body fat — with an individual’s gender identity,” explained study author Brendan Nolan, an endocrinologist with Austin Health in Melbourne, Australia. “For people desiring ‘masculinization,’ this involves the same doses and types of testosterone used to treat cisgender men [when someone’s sex at birth matches their own gender identity] with low testosterone,” added Nolan, who is pursuing his doctorate at the University of Melbourne. For the study, Nolan’s team tracked how 64 adult trans men fared over a three-month period. All wanted to begin testosterone treatment immediately. But only half were allowed to do so. The other half was told to ride out a standard three-month waiting list. “We found that the people who received…  read on >  read on >

(HealthDay news) — Fatty liver disease is increasing rapidly among Americans, outpacing obesity rates across many racial groups and affecting the liver health of millions, a new study reports. Overall, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in Americans increased 131% during the past three decades, rising from 16% in 1988 to 37% in 2018, the researchers said. By comparison, obesity only increased by 74% during the same period, affecting 40% of Americans by 2018, according to findings presented Friday at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, in Chicago. “This is an important condition that seems to be getting worse over time,” said Dr. Theodore Friedman, chair of internal medicine at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science, in Los Angeles. “The rate has increased more than the rate of obesity in the United States.” Fatty liver disease occurs when excess fat begins to be stored in the liver, causing inflammation and eventually scarring, Friedman said. It’s akin to foie gras or pate, which is created by overfeeding ducks or geese. “Most people can live with fatty liver disease, but some people progress to the liver not working, cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer,” Friedman said. Some with fatty liver disease need an organ transplant, Friedman said. “I think it’s less than 1%. It’s not that often,” Friedman said of liver transplants. “But because…  read on >  read on >

There is an epidemic of loneliness and isolation today, and the consequences can be deadly, researchers say. Folks who reported that they were socially isolated or felt lonely were more likely to die early from all causes including cancer, according to a sweeping review of 90 studies that included more than 2.2 million people from around the globe. Exactly how loneliness or social isolation affects a person’s health and well-being is not fully understood, but many theories exist, the researchers reported. People who are socially isolated or lonely may be less likely to eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise and more likely to smoke and consume alcohol. In addition, social isolation is linked to inflammation and weakened immune systems. People who are socially isolated may be less likely to receive medical care due to their smaller social networks. Social isolation and loneliness are not one and the same, the researchers pointed out. Social isolation refers to a lack of contact with other people. By contrast, loneliness is the feeling of being alone, regardless of social contact. For the study, researchers led by Maoqing Wang and Yashuang Zhao from Harbin Medical University in China reviewed 90 studies. Folks who reported being socially isolated and feeling lonely were more likely to die early from all causes including cancer. What’s more, social isolation was linked to…  read on >  read on >

(HealthDay News) – New research finds that many of those who have received an implanted cardiac device to extend their life also have mood disorders, including anxiety, depression and PTSD. “Implantable cardioverter defibrillators [ICDs] are effective at extending patients’ lives, but we need to make sure that’s a good quality life,” said study author Hannah Keage, a professor of psychology at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. “Rates of mood disorders in people with an ICD are much higher than in the general population, suggesting that psychological assessment and therapy should be integrated into the routine care of these patients.” In the study published June 13 in EP Europace, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology, the researchers found that nearly one-third of patients had anxiety in the first year after their device was implanted. Depression affected 1 in 5. More than 1 in 10 had PTSD. Anxiety and depression are associated with higher likelihood of premature death in these patients who had a device implanted because of risk of a life-threatening heart rhythm. The researchers analyzed 109 studies involving nearly 40,000 ICD patients. They examined prevalence of mental health issues from the time the ICD was implanted to one year of follow-up, finding that rates of anxiety were 23%, depression was at 15% and PTSD at 12%. In the general population, the…  read on >  read on >

It is already known that getting enough sleep is vital to good health, but now new research suggests that having a sleep disorder is linked to suicidal thoughts in children, teens and young adults. Treating these sleep issues could be an inroad to improving their mental health, the study authors suggested. “People so often think of sleep disorders as being a symptom of other mental health problems like depression or anxiety,” said Melynda Casement, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, in Eugene. “But sleep problems can also contribute to anxiety, mood disorders and suicide risk,” she explained in a university news release. The researchers, which included collaborator Jason Carbone of Wayne State University in Detroit, looked at emergency department records for a nationally representative sample of children, adolescents and young adults aged 6 to 24. The investigators found that youth who had a sleep disorder were three times more likely to be seen in an emergency department with suicidal thoughts than those who did not have a sleep disorder. Yet, the prevalence of sleep disorders diagnosed in the emergency room was much lower, at just 0.38%, than what would be expected in the general population, Casement said. This suggests that these disorders are underdiagnosed in emergency medicine, he added. Screening youth for sleep disorders in the ER could provide an indication…  read on >  read on >

Using gas stoves can increase indoor air levels of benzene, a chemical linked to higher risk of leukemia and other blood cell cancers, a new study reports. Analysis of dozens of stoves revealed that a single gas cooktop burner on high or a gas oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit can raise indoor levels of benzene above those typically released by secondhand tobacco smoke, the researchers reported. Benzene emitted by gas stoves also can drift throughout a home and linger for hours, according to the study published June 15 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. More than one-third of U.S. households, some 47 million homes, cook with gas, researchers said in background notes. “Benzene forms in flames and other high-temperature environments, such as the flares found in oil fields and refineries. We now know that benzene also forms in the flames of gas stoves in our homes,” said senior study author Rob Jackson. He is a professor of Earth system science at Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability. “Good ventilation helps reduce pollutant concentrations, but we found that exhaust fans were often ineffective at eliminating benzene exposure,” Jackson added in a Stanford news release. The researchers noted that the new study is the first to analyze benzene emissions when a gas stove or oven is in use. Gas stoves have become something of a…  read on >  read on >

Testosterone replacement therapy is safe for most men with heart problems who also have been diagnosed with a low testosterone disorder, a new clinical trial has concluded. The trial found that testosterone replacement did not raise these patients’ incidence of heart attack, stroke or heart-related death in a group of men with both heart problems and hypogonadism — a condition in which low testosterone levels have led to specific health problems. “For men with heart disease or at risk for heart disease, taking testosterone — when given in appropriate doses and carefully monitored — did not increase the risk of heart-related events like heart attack, stroke or death from heart-related causes,” said senior researcher Dr. Steve Nissen, chair of cardiovascular medicine with the Cleveland Clinic. However, researchers warn the results are not a green light for “Low-T Centers” to tout testosterone replacement for any healthy man, including those whose levels of the male hormone are declining naturally with age. “My nightmare really is that we’ll see ads on television that say, ‘Cleveland Clinic says that testosterone is safe. Now, come on in and we’ll give you your testosterone.’ That’s not a good outcome from this study,” Nissen said. The trial also identified certain health risks with testosterone replacement therapy that should be taken into account before prescribing the treatment, Nissen added. “There are some people…  read on >  read on >