Behavioral Health News
Age Can be a Good Thing for Mental Health
While many people report aging as something they hope to avoid as long as possible, most have come to terms with the reality it is inevitable. The good news, according to researchers speaking at the American Psychological Association meeting, aging can be a good thing when it comes to mental health.
A recent USA Today piece highlighted the presentations of two different California researchers – in separate presentations – in which both have shown mental health improves with age. Most people tend to get happier as they get older. At the same time, those who are older have more control over their emotions and are less negative.
Emotional State Directly Relates to Pain Levels in RA Patients
It is a well-known fact a person’s emotional state can directly impact their health. The same is also true in the reverse as the physical state can play havoc on mental health. In the case of patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), depression is extremely likely.
Science Daily recently published a release showing severe chronic pain accompanied by progressive destruction, disability and disfigurement is known to increase the risk of experiencing emotional disturbances. For RA patients, they are doubly at risk.
The interrelationship between levels of depression symptoms, C-reactive protein (CRP) level and pain were studied by researchers at Nagoya City University and Nagoya University Graduate Schools of Medicine in Japan.
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Poll: Obesity and Substance Abuse are Top Two Problems for Kids
Obesity continues to outrank all other health problems as the number one concern for children in the United States. According to a report by the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, 42 percent of adults believe childhood obesity is a big problem. This number increased from 35 percent in 2008.
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Babies Can Remember Traumatic Events for Years
Most people are under the impression that infants younger than six months old do not remember traumatic events that happen to them or to their loved ones; however, this has recently been disproved.
Judy Siegel-Itzkovich of the Jerusalem Post reports that a professor of infant mental health announced to an audience of 300 at a Jerusalem conference that young children, even babies, “remember traumatic events in their bodies” with increases in stress hormones such as cortisol. She said that the event makes a distinct impression on them.
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Frequent Chest Pain Linked to Anxiety and Depression
A new study shows that heart patients with depression and anxiety are more likely to suffer chest pain than patients without those symptoms. The findings, published in the June 30 edition of Circulation, also suggest that angina associated with blocked arteries may also have a psychosocial component.
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New Insights into Anorexia Discovered
Science Daily reports that new technology provides insights into brain abnormalities in patients with anorexia nervosa that may contribute to the symptoms found in people with the disorder.
Walter Kaye, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Eating Disorders Program at the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues describe dysfunction in certain neural circuits of the brain that may help explain why people develop anorexia.
Mental Disorders Can Be Prevented in Young People
About one in five young people in the US currently suffer from a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder. About half of all adults with mental disorders recalled that their problems started in their mid-teens, and three-quarters said they started by their mid-twenties. Early onset of mental health problems have been associated with poor outcomes such as failure to complete high school, increased risk for psychiatric problems and substance abuse, and teen pregnancy.
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Study on Eating Habits in Obese Women Shows Links to Drug Addicts
Millions of women and men throughout the world struggle to develop and maintain a healthy relationship with the food they eat. For those who are considered obese, the struggle could be one originating much deeper than merely the food eaten.
A new report shows that obese and non-obese women respond to high-energy, high-density snacks in very different ways. Background information taken from this study demonstrates that only 10 percent of people who lose weight through diet and exercise are able to keep the weight off for five years.
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Childhood Adversities, including Parental Alcoholism, Play a Role in Peptic Ulcers
New research shows that childhood adversities such as long-lasting financial difficulties, serious family conflicts, and a seriously or chronically ill family member have a predictive role in peptic ulcer. Adjusting for smoking, heavy drinking, stress, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use had no further influence.
Science Daily reports that smoking and NSAID use are the most important risk factors for peptic ulcer, and alcohol intake may also play a role in the development of gastric ulcers. Psychological stress can also have an impact on the onset and course of ulcer disease. However, very little is known as to whether childhood adversities involving financial problems, conflicts in the family, problems with alcohol, and matters of personal security are associated with peptic ulcer.
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Link Between Depression and Asthma
Depression and asthma can often go hand in hand, to the detriment of the patient suffering from both. In young people with asthma, they have nearly twice the incidence of depression as compared to their peers without asthma. Studies into the area have found that depression is associated with increased asthma symptoms. In some cases, it even results in death.
Science Daily recently reported on a new study from researchers at the University of Buffalo found that depressed children with asthma exhibit a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system along with increased airway compromise. This could possibly be the first study to examine pathways linking emotional stress, depressive symptoms, autonomic nervous system dysregulation and airway function in young asthma patients.
The study was designed and carried out by Bruce D. Miller, M.D., and Beatrice L. Wood, Ph.D., professors of psychiatry and pediatrics in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, in collaboration with other UB researchers.
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