Results will be published in the November 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Co-authors of the ACER paper, “Alcohol Has a Dose-Related Effect on Parasympathetic Nerve Activity During Sleep,” were: Hideaki Kondo of Saiseikai Nagasaki Hospital; Namiko Matsubuchi, Takaubu Takemura, Hironobu Kanayama, Yoshihiko Kaneko, Takashi Kanbayashi, and Tetsuo Shimizu of the Department of Neuropsychiatry at Akita University School of Medicine; and Yasuo Hishikawa of Akita Kaiseikai Hospital.
…it is important for clinicians who are treating physical and psychological disorders related to alcohol to consider the disturbing effects on sleep’s restorative effects that habitual drinking can have.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08/ace-aiw080811.php
“This year we want to help you prepare for winter and keep the winter blues and sniffles at bay. Whether you’re sitting in the great white north or the sun belt, here’s how to winterize your body.”
via LifeHacker
For several decades now, studies have consistently shown that physicians have higher rates of suicide than the general population — 40 percent higher for male doctors and a staggering 130 percent higher for female doctors.
via NYTimes
(J Med Internet Res 2009;11(4):e42)ABSTRACT
Background: There is a need to identify interventions that increase help seeking for depression among young adults.
Objective: The aim was to evaluate a brief depression information intervention employing health e-cards (personalized emails containing links to health information presented on a Web page).
Methods: A randomized controlled trial was carried out with 348 19- to 24-year-olds drawn from the community. Participants were randomized to receive one of three conditions, all of which delivered a short series of health e-cards. Two active conditions involved the delivery of depression information designed to increase help-seeking behavior and intentions and to improve beliefs and knowledge associated with help seeking. A control arm delivered information about general health issues unrelated to depression. The primary outcome was help-seeking behavior. Secondary outcomes were help-seeking intentions; beliefs about the efficacy of depression treatments and help sources; ability to recognize depression; knowledge of the help-seeking process; and depressive symptoms. The study’s primary focus was outcomes relating to formal help seeking (consultation with a general practitioner or mental health professional) but also targeted behaviors, intentions, and beliefs relating to informal help seeking.
Results: Relative to the control condition, depression health e-cards were not associated with an increase in formal help-seeking behavior, nor were they associated with improved beliefs about depression treatments; ability to recognize depression; knowledge of the help-seeking process; or depressive symptoms. Depression e-cards were associated with improved beliefs about the overall efficacy of formal help sources (z = 2.4, P = .02). At post-intervention, participants in all conditions, relative to pre-intervention, were more likely to have higher intentions of seeking help for depression from a formal help source (t641 = 5.8, P < .001) and were more likely to rate interpersonal psychotherapy as being helpful (z = 2.0, P = .047). Depression e-cards were not associated with any significant changes in informal help-seeking behavior, intentions, or beliefs.
Conclusions: The study found no evidence that providing depression information in the form of brief e-cards encourages help seeking for depression among young adults. Involvement in the study may have been associated with increased help-seeking intentions among participants in all conditions, suggesting that mechanisms other than depression information may increase help seeking.
Trial Registration: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): ISRCTN98406912; http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN98406912/ISRCTN98406912 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5k221KiMi)
doi:10.2196/jmir.1294
(J Med Internet Res 2010;12(1):e6) via JMIRABSTRACT
Background: The rapid expansion of the Internet has increased the ease with which the public can obtain medical information. Most research on the utility of the Internet for health purposes has evaluated the quality of the information itself or examined its impact on clinical populations. Little is known about the consequences of its use by the general population.
Objective: Is use of the Internet by the general population for health purposes associated with a subsequent change in psychological well-being and health? Are the effects different for healthy versus ill individuals? Does the impact of using the Internet for health purposes differ from the impact of other types of Internet use?
Methods: Data come from a national US panel survey of 740 individuals conducted from 2000 to 2002. Across three surveys, respondents described their use of the Internet for different purposes, indicated whether they had any of 13 serious illnesses (or were taking care of someone with a serious illness), and reported their depression. In the initial and final surveys they also reported on their physical health. Lagged dependent variable regression analysis was used to predict changes in depression and general health reported on a later survey from frequency of different types of Internet use at an earlier period, holding constant prior depression and general health, respectively. Statistical interactions tested whether uses of the Internet predicted depression and general health differently for people who initially differed on their general health, chronic illness, and caregiver status.
Results: Health-related Internet use was associated with small but reliable increases in depression (ie, increasing use of the Internet for health purposes from 3 to 5 days per week to once a day was associated with .11 standard deviations more symptoms of depression, P = .002). In contrast, using the Internet for communication with friends and family was associated with small but reliable decreases in depression (ie, increasing use of the Internet for communication with friends and family purposes from 3 to 5 days per week to once a day was associated with .07 standard deviations fewer symptoms of depression, P = .007). There were no significant effects of respondents’ initial health status (P = .234) or role as a caregiver (P = .911) on the association between health-related Internet use and depression. Neither type of use was associated with changes in general health (P = .705 for social uses and P = .494 for health uses).
Conclusions: Using the Internet for health purposes was associated with increased depression. The increase may be due to increased rumination, unnecessary alarm, or over-attention to health problems. Additionally, those with unmeasured problems or those more prone to health anxiety may self-select online health resources. In contrast, using the Internet to communicate with friends and family was associated with declines in depression. This finding is comparable to other studies showing that social support is beneficial for well-being and lends support to the idea that the Internet is a way to strengthen and maintain social ties.
doi:10.2196/jmir.1149
via CPOST - Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism
“Researchers at Hofstra University have learned that moderate to severe depression increased to 41 percent in 2009, compared to 34 percent in 1997 and 1998. Additionally, the use of medicine to combat psychiatric issues - including depression, anxiety and ADHD - has more than doubled.” (via RTT News)
“A new algorithm developed by Israeli researchers can pinpoint human emotions and intentions by studying vast amounts of publicly available data on blogs and other social media outlets. Lead researcher Dr. Yair Neuman from Israel’s Bar-Ilan University has especially promising results for identifying depression. The data provided by his application could help human experts to home in on who might be at risk for suicide. And the application, which skims the Internet automatically, can be adapted to any sort of data he says, presenting intriguing possibilities for crime fighters, pollsters or Homeland Security.” (link ) mining analysis health
Beer linked to psoriasis: “Women who drink regular beer may be increasing their risk of developing psoriasis, an autoimmune disorder affecting the skin, new findings suggest. Other options, such as light beer and wine, were not linked to such a risk.” (via USAToday)
Psoriasis linked to suicide: “Individuals with psoriasis appear to have an increased risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Dermatology.” (via Medical News Today)
Suggestion to ladies: Stick to wine or light beer.
Women are most vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) between ages 51 and 55, while men are more prone to the condition from ages 41 to 45, a new study finds.
ITHACA, N.Y., June 24 (UPI) — A mother showing favoritism to one child can have lasting effects — in middle age, her children can show depressive symptoms, U.S. researchers say.
Those discrepancies between young and old may have something to do with age and developmental differences, said Bruce Blaine, a health psychologist at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, who reviewed 16 studies on the link between depression and weight gain and found depressed people were at significantly higher risk for becoming obese. Most dramatically affected were teenage girls, who were two-and-a-half times more likely to become obese if they were depressed.
