_ Mental & Emotional Health Risky Work Scenarios Make Women Anxious & Less Competent By Sondra Forsyth article Risky situations at work increase anxiety for women and hurt their job performance, according to a study done at Stanford University and presented at the 109th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association in August 2014 in San Francisco. On the other hand, study author Susan R. Fisk found that anxiety did not raise anxiety levels for men and that menΓÇÖs job performance was unaffected.
_ Using a Computer to Help Treat Mental Health By Jane Farrell article Experts are developing a genetic computer model that may eventually predict whether a patient going to suffer from a mental illness, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The researchers, from the University of Texas, Arlington; the University of Illinois; and the Beijing Genomics Institutes in Wuhan, China, published their findings in the journal Biomed Research International.
_ Osteoporosis Oxidative Stress Predicts Hip Fracture By Sondra Forsyth article Oxidative stress -- a disruption in the balance between the production of free radicals and antioxidants -- is a significant predictor for hip fracture in postmenopausal women, according to research led by University of Cincinnati epidemiologists and published online ahead of print in August 2014 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
_ Exercise More Exercise Is Not Always Better By Sondra Forsyth article Did you do about a half hour of exercise today? If so, donΓÇÖt feel guilty about sitting down and putting your feet up ΓÇô especially is if you have heart disease. Working out too much is probably bad for you. ThatΓÇÖs the finding of a study published in August 2014 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. A release from the clinic notes that there is clear evidence of an increase in cardiovascular deaths in heart attack survivors who exercise to excess.
_ Anxiety (Panic Disorders, Phobias) Mental & Emotional Health Spiritual Health Prayer Eases Anxiety for Some, But Not All By Sondra Forsyth article For many people with anxiety-related disorders, prayer doesn't ease the symptoms. ThatΓÇÖs the finding of research done at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. What seems to matter is the type of attachment a person feels toward God. According to the Baylor study, those who prayed to a loving and supportive God whom they thought would be there to comfort and protect them in times of need were less likely to show symptoms of anxiety-related disorders such as irrational worry, fear, self-consciousness, dread in social situations, and obsessive-compulsive behavior.
_ Grandparenting Kid's & Teen Health Mental & Emotional Health Parenting Can Fiction Heighten Empathy? By Sondra Forsyth article If you read stories to your grandchildren and also read fiction for your own pleasure, you may be improving the ability of both the children and yourself to understand what other people are thinking or feeling. ThatΓÇÖs the finding of a study presented on August 7th 2014 at the American Psychological Association's 122nd Annual Convention in Washington D.C. by psychologist Raymond Mar from York University in Canada.
_ More Health Research Needed on Natural Gas Drilling By Jane Farrell article Projects involving gas drilling, including hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, should be subject to public-health and community analysis before they begin, an expert panel says. The panel called for groundwater and air quality testing before, during, and after the drilling, saying that the analysis is a key component of guaranteeing the safety of communities near the drilling site.
_ Aging Well Foods That WonΓÇÖt ΓÇ£FrailΓÇ¥ You By Sondra Forsyth article By Robert Ashton M.D. With aging comes frailty. The more frail we are, the more likely we are to get sick or die from chronic illnesses including heart disease, diabetes, and other leading causes of death. If you can slow the debilitating process, then you have a shot at living not only a longer life, but a healthier one too.
_ Vision Health ΓÇ£Seeing'ΓÇ¥ Through Virtual Touch By Sondra Forsyth article Surprising results from University of Cincinnati research could lead to new ways to help the visually impaired better navigate everyday life. Visual impairment comes in many forms, and it's on the rise in America. The University of Cincinnati experiment aimed at this diverse and growing population could spark development of advanced tools to help all the aging baby boomers, injured veterans, diabetics, and white-cane-wielding pedestrians navigate the blurred edges of everyday life.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Keeping Fillers Out of Coffee By Sondra Forsyth article Java lovers beware: Surprise ingredients that are neither sweet nor flavorful may be hiding in your coffee. Not only that, but growing coffee shortages may increase the chance of having these fillers in your cup of joe in the future. The good news, though, is that a highly accurate test is in the works to find coffee containing unwanted fillers before the beverage reaches stores and restaurants.
_ Osteoarthritis Newfound Cause of Osteoarthritis By Sondra Forsyth article A mechanism of joint destruction caused by a natural material that grinds away healthy cartilage and worsens osteoarthritis has been identified in human hip joints for the first time by University of Liverpool scientists in the UK. The scientists, with Professor Alan Boyde and colleagues from Queen Mary University of London, were studying the hip of a man with a rare genetic condition, alkaptonuria (AKU). This is a metabolic disease in which a substance called homogentisic acid accumulates in joint cartilage, causing changes to its physical properties.
Can A Person Ever Be Fully Prepared to Care for Someone with Alzheimer's? By Jane Farrell blog Earlier this year, I attended a caregivers conference at the University of Minnesota. The morning keynote speaker was absolutely terrific ΓÇö an engaging, informed speaker who was also funny and self-deprecating.
_ Breast Cancer Scientists Zeroing In on Third Breast-Cancer Gene By Jane Farrell article Researchers have discovered more about a breast-cancer gene that could be as important as the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in determining a womanΓÇÖs likelihood of getting breast cancer. An international team of 17 researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, said that the gene, PALB 2, could be a candidate to be ΓÇ£BRCA 3.ΓÇ¥ They said that women with the gene have an average one in three chance of developing breast cancer by the age of 70. The findings were reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. Although itΓÇÖs been known for a while that PALB2 was l
_ Dental Health Oral Health Mixed Messages About How to Brush Teeth By Sondra Forsyth article Advice on how we should brush our teeth from dental associations and toothpaste companies worldwide is ΓÇ£unacceptably inconsistentΓÇ¥, according to research done at the University College London and published in August 2014 in the British Dental Journal. The study looked at the brushing advice given by dental associations across ten countries, toothpaste and toothbrush companies, and in dental textbooks. The team found a wide range of recommendations on what brushing method to use, how often to brush, and for how long.
_ Aging Well Genes That Protect Against Frailty By Sondra Forsyth article Frailty is a common condition associated with old age, characterized by weight loss, weakness, decreased activity level and reduced mobility, which together increase the risk of injury and death. Yet, not all elderly people become frail. Some remain vigorous and robust well into old age. The question remains: Why?
_ Alzheimer's Disease and other Dementias Brain Health Mental & Emotional Health Depression & Cognitive Decline = Faster Brain Aging By Sondra Forsyth article People who develop depression and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) after age 65 are more likely to have biological and brain imaging markers that reflect a greater vulnerability for accelerated brain aging, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The findings were published online in Molecular Psychiatry.
_ Medical Care Many Hospitals Missed E-health Deadline By Sondra Forsyth article Many of the nation's hospitals struggled to meet a federally mandated electronic health records deadline, and as a result could collectively face millions of dollars in reduced Medicare payments, according to a study done at the University of Michigan published online August 7th 2014 and slated to be published in the September print issue of the journal Health Affairs.
_ Aging Well Brain Health Right Brain Stays Youthful as We Age By Sondra Forsyth article At least one part of the human brain appears to be able to process information the same way in older age as it does in the prime of life, according to research conducted at the University of Adelaide in Australia and presented at the 12th International Cognitive Neuroscience Conference in Brisbane in July 2014.