Mental Health
Depression
Research Latest News
Vitamin D Linked to Overall Health - [10/10/08]
Summary: Vitamin D has been linked to improved overall health. This vitamin affects 36 organ tissues in the body including bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and uterus tissues. It has also been linked to improving immune systems, insulin secretion, heart health, blood pressure, muscle, brain activity, and decreased risk of cancer. For most adults 200-600 IU of daily vitamin D is recommended, but some experts recommend up to 2000 IU daily.
Comment: Vitamin D has previously been thought to improve bone health, but this study shows that it can affect all areas of health. By increased intake of vitamin D people with depression can experience improved health.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 10, 2008
St. John's Wort Helps with Depression - [10/09/08]
Summary: The herbal medicine St. John's Wort has been proved to work, in most cases, just as well as prescribed medication for those with depression. Though this herb is helpful in the United States, it is more effective in German-speaking countries and is often prescribed from doctors. Exactly how St. John's Wort treats depression is unknown, but there is no regulation to what the extract may contain.
Comment: Prescribed medications for depression can often be addicting, so it is important to find the right medication for yourself. St. John's Wort is most effective on milder cases of depression which can be an advantage if you are against taking prescribed medicine for a minor case of this condition.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 9, 2008
Suicide Risk in Cancer Patients - [10/06/08]
Summary: A recently conducted study shows that cancer patients are two times more likely to commit suicide than the average U.S. citizen. Most patients with cancer that committed suicide were diagnosed with the condition when it was at a terminal state, concluding that they were "better off dead". "Our data suggest that the psychological experience of cancer survivors deserves further attention, as urged by the Institute of Medicine, particularly because appropriate use of psychosocial interventions in patients with cancer can make a positive impact on quality of life," write the authors of this study.
Comment: Cancer patients are at higher risk for developing the condition of depression. It is very important to diagnose cancer as early as possible because of the even higher suicide risk of those who are diagnosed with cancer when it is at a terminal stage. Frequent doctor check-ups are a successful way to discover cancer early on, and reduce the chance of developing depression.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 6, 2008
Depression Linked to Higher Death Rates in Elderly with Diabetes - [10/06/08]
Summary: For elderly people with diabetes depression can raise death rates from all causes. Both diabetes and depression increased the risk of death from all causes by about 36% to 38% over a two-year period. Patients diagnosed with depression were less likely to be African-American, more likely to be Hispanic, more likely to be female, and had a more severe medical condition.
Comment: It is suggested that depression worsens chronic conditions such as diabetes because patients are less likely to care for themselves and are more likely to have a harmful habit such as smoking or overeating. Depression has also been associated with many other factors that raise a person's risk of death. By avoiding and treating depression elderly patients with diabetes can prolong the patients life and improve their health.
Read article - Science Daily October 6, 2008
Depression Risk Increased with Smoking - [10/01/08]
Summary: There is a greater risk of developing a major depressive disorder in women that smoke. A test recently conducted with 87 women, concluded with 13 of them developing a depressive disorder. The researchers found a 93 percent increase of risk for developing a depressive condition when you smoke.
Comment: Those who smoke are at higher risk for a depressive disorder than non-smokers. However, heavy smokers (those who smoke more than twenty cigarettes a day) more than double their risk for a depressive disorder. Smoking can affect many aspects of a patient's life, causing it to be important to receive medical help.
Read article - Medical News TODAY October 1, 2008
Teenagers with Anxiety Disorders and Depression - [09/30/08]
Summary: About 25 percent of the population of America has experienced depression or an anxiety disorder over their lifetime. Michell Craske, a psychology professor at UCLA, has conducted studies on the early predicting of who may get these conditions and why. She and her colleagues have found that the tendency to feel negative emotions in a given situation is a strong predictor of both depression and anxiety disorders.
Comment: Children with anxious parents are 3.5 times more likely to develop depression or an anxiety disorder later in their youth. Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder and post-traumatic stress syndrome, are conditions that tend to continue to affect a patients health if untreated.
Read article - Medical News TODAY September 16, 2008
Efforts to Reduce Ethnic and Racial Disparities - [09/29/08]
Summary: This article outlines current efforts are being made to reduce racial and ethnic health care disparities. These include the Respira program, which focuses on providing asthma education and outreach to Hispanic communities. Another program is a lecture that seeks to improve knowledge of blood pressure management and diabetes. Other efforts involve grants to increase levels of minority students in medical programs, and campaigns to increase medical literacy in minority communities.
Comment: Racial and ethnic disparities exist in most areas of medical care including depression. These disparities can often be dangerous to the health of minority people. These programs are aiming to close the gaps in health care, which can result in better care for people with depression.
Read article - Medical News TODAY September 29, 2008
Physical and Mental Health of Police Officers - [09/29/08]
Summary: The pressures of law enforcement have been linked to high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive stress hormones, heart problems, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide. The high risk of physical and mental illnesses faced by police officers brings the light the importance of providing adequate help and information to these men and women.
Comment: "Policing is a psychologically stressful work environment filled with danger, high demands, ambiguity in work encounters, human misery and exposure to death," said Violanti, a 23-year veteran of the New York State Police. "We anticipate that data from this research will lead to police-department-centered interventions to reduce the risk of disease in this stressful occupation."
Read article - Medical News Today. September 29, 2008.
Brain Study Adds to Understanding of Depression - [08/30/08]
Summary: A new brain study has helped scientists discover how the brain links social behavior with moral sentiments, including guild and pride. This means that, for the first time, regions of the brain which interact to link knowledge about socially acceptable actions and different moral feelings can be charted.
Comment: Now that scientists understand how these associations are made, they have the knowledge needed to observe the differences in function in the brains of those suffering with depression. Studies in that area may lead scientists to a deeper understand of the disease, and an ability to better diagnose and treat the condition.
Read article - Medical News Today. August 30, 2008.
Telling Depression From a Bad Mood in Teenagers - [08/29/08]
Summary: The Harvard Medical Letter has published an article detailing how one can distinguish between a bad mood and actual depression in teenagers. Authors of the article identified these three signs: 1) severity, the more pronounced the change in behavior, the more likely the problem is depression, 2) duration, and negative change in behavior or emotional state lasting more than two weeks could signal depression, and 3) domains, changes at home, school, and with friends indicate possibe depression.
Comment: Symptoms of depression often begin to manifest between ages 16 and 24, but may begin occurring as early as age 13. Because it is at this same time in life when all teenagers go through emotional changes and begin to develop a better sense of self, perhaps changing how they act, it is important to learn the distinction between the common changes in attitude and behavior and a real case of depression.
Read article - Medical News Today. August 29, 2008.