Majority of adolescents with prescriptions for pain, stimulant, sleeping and antianxiety medications take them appropriately, study finds

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2011) — Adolescents who misuse controlled medications (e.g., pain, stimulant, sleeping and antianxiety medications) for which they have a legitimate prescription may be more likely to abuse other substances and to sell, give or trade their controlled medications to other individuals, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

According to background information in the article, U.S. children and teens have increasingly received prescriptions for controlled medications. "Despite the importance of controlled medications in treating childhood and adolescent disorders, a consequence of this increase in prescribing may be a concomitant rise in medical misuse, diversion of controlled medications, and nonmedical use of controlled medications among adolescents," write the authors. They define "medical misuse" as "the use of a controlled psychotherapeutic medication by a patient in a manner not intended by the prescribing health care professional, including (but not limited to) not following the prescribed dosage, using intentionally to get high, not taking the medication within a prescribed interval, or co-ingesting with alcohol or other drugs."

Sean Esteban McCabe, Ph.D., from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues conducted a Web-based survey from December 2009 to April 2010. The 2,597 respondents who completed the survey were students at middle schools and high schools in two southeastern Michigan school districts. The average age was 14.8 years, 65 percent of respondents were white and 51.1 percent of participants were female. The survey included standard measures of substance use (cigarette smoking in the past month, binge drinking in the past two weeks, nonmedical use of prescription medication and marijuana and other illicit drug use in the past year); questions about medical use, misuse and diversion (selling, giving away or trading) of controlled medications; and two drug-screening tests.

Of the 18 percent of respondents who said that during the past year they had used, for medical purposes, one of the controlled medications mentioned, 22 percent also said they had misused these medications, mostly by taking too much. Those defined as frequent users of controlled medications (at least 10 instances) were more likely than less-frequent users to engage in misuse. Prevalence of misuse was greater among frequent users of pain, sleeping and antianxiety medications. Adolescents who misused their controlled medications were also more likely to use alcohol and other drugs, and to divert these medications to others.

"Despite the importance of controlled medications for the treatment of pediatric disorders, our results suggest that a consequence of the greater availability of these medications may be an increase in their nonmedical use," write the authors. "Clinicians must balance the risks and benefits of controlled medication use with the abuse potential when assessing, treating, and monitoring their patients." The researchers also urge clinicians to "consider prescribing controlled medications with less potential for substance abuse and diversion."

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals.

Journal Reference:

S. E. McCabe, B. T. West, J. A. Cranford, P. Ross-Durow, A. Young, C. J. Teter, C. J. Boyd. Medical Misuse of Controlled Medications Among Adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2011; 165 (8): 729 DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.114

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New antidepressants can increase risks for elderly, study suggests

ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2011) — Older people taking new generation antidepressants are at more risk of dying or suffering from a range of serious health conditions including stroke, falls, fractures and epilepsy, suggests a new study involving researchers at The University of Nottingham.

The research, published on the British Medical Journal website, discovered that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are more strongly associated with an increased risk of several adverse outcomes in people over the age of 65 with depression compared with older tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs).

The authors say the risks and benefits of different antidepressants should be carefully considered when prescribing these drugs to elderly patients and have called for further research to investigate the findings.

Dr Carol Coupland, Associate Professor in Medical Statistics in The University of Nottingham's Division of Primary Care said: "We've found some evidence from our study that the older tricyclic antidepressants may be associated with lower risks of several adverse outcomes compared with newer antidepressants in older people diagnosed as having depression.

"This was an unexpected finding, and so further research using other data sources is needed to confirm these findings as well as provide more evidence on the benefits of different antidepressants in this group of people."

Depression is a common condition in older people and antidepressants -- particularly SSRIs -- are widely used. However, very little is known about the safety of these drugs in older people.

The team of researchers from the Universities of Nottingham and East Anglia set out to investigate the potential link between antidepressant treatment and the risk of a number of potentially life-threatening outcomes in older people.

They identified 60,746 UK patients aged 65 and over with a newly diagnosed episode of depression between 1996 and 2007 using the QResearch primary care database. Many patients had other conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, and were taking several medications.

Patients were tracked until the end of 2008. During this time, 89 per cent (54,038) received at least one prescription for an antidepressant, and a total of 1,398,359 prescriptions for antidepressants were received. Of these 57 per cent were for SSRIs, 31 per cent for TCAs, 0.2 per cent for monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and 13.5 per cent for other antidepressants.

Antidepressant use was then analysed against several adverse outcomes including all-cause mortality, attempted suicide or self harm, heart attack, stroke, falls, fractures, epilepsy or seizures and high salt levels in the blood (hyponatraemia).

After adjusting for factors that could affect the results, including age, sex, severity of depression, other illnesses and use of other medications, the team found that SSRIs and drugs in the group of other antidepressants were associated with an increased risk of several adverse outcomes compared with TCAs.

Those taking SSRIs were more likely to die, suffer a stroke, fall or fracture, have epilepsy or a seizure and have hyponatraemia compared with TCAs. The group of other antidepressants were associated with an increased risk of mortality, attempted suicide or self-harm, stroke, fracture and epilepsy or seizures.

Patients in the study had a seven per cent risk of dying over one year while they were not taking antidepressants, while the comparable risks were 8.1 per cent when taking TCAs, 10.6 per cent for SSRIs and 11.4 per cent for the group of other antidepressants. For stroke, one-year risks were 2.3 per cent, 2.6 per cent and three per cent (compared with 2.2 per cent when not on antidepressants) and for fracture they were 2.2 per cent, 2.7 per cent and 2.8 per cent compared with 1.8 per cent.

Among individual drugs trazodone, mirtazapine and venlafaxine carried the highest risk for some adverse outcomes.

Rates of most adverse outcomes were highest in the 28 days after starting the antidepressant and also in the 28 days after stopping.

The authors also point out that TCAs were prescribed at lower doses than SSRIs and other antidepressant drugs, which they say "could in part explain our findings." They also caution that differences between patients prescribed different antidepressant drugs may account for some of the associations seen in the study, underlining the need for further research to confirm the findings.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Nottingham, via AlphaGalileo.

Journal Reference:

C. Coupland, P. Dhiman, R. Morriss, A. Arthur, G. Barton, J. Hippisley-Cox. Antidepressant use and risk of adverse outcomes in older people: population based cohort study. BMJ, 2011; 343 (aug02 1): d4551 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.d4551

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View the original article here sciencedaily.com

Length of parental military deployment associated with children's mental health diagnoses, study finds

ScienceDaily (July 4, 2011) — Children with a parent who was deployed in the U.S. military efforts Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) for longer periods were more likely than children whose parents did not deploy to receive a diagnosis of a mental health problem, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

According to background information in the article, previous research has attributed children's depression and negative affect to parental military deployments. However, there has not been much research into this topic with regards to the United States' present conflicts, OIF and OEF. "As troops face dynamic and evolving threats (e.g., an increasingly sophisticated array of roadside explosive devices)," write the authors, "the need to anticipate the psychological consequences for their children and to offer timely intervention becomes increasingly important."

Alyssa J. Mansfield, Ph.D., M.P.H., then of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, now of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Honolulu, and colleagues examined electronic medical record data for outpatient care received at military facilities or through military health insurance between 2003 and 2006. The study included children ages 5 years through 17 years who had at least one parent serving on active duty in the U.S. Army. (Children of Reserve and National Guard personnel were excluded.) Researchers used the International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, to identify mental health diagnoses.

The study included 307,520 children, of whom 16.7 percent had a mental health diagnosis (most often for stress disorders, depression, behavioral problems, anxiety, and sleep disorders) during the study. More than 62 percent of parents were deployed at least once during the period, for an average of 11 months. The researchers found that mental health diagnoses were more common among children who had a parent who was deployed at least once for military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan. After adjusting the data for age, sex and mental health history, they showed that the likelihood of a mental health diagnosis increased with increases in parental deployment length; other factors included older age groups and male sex. The strongest associations were for acute stress reaction and adjustment disorders, depressive disorders, and behavioral disorders, among the total of 6,579 mental health diagnoses observed in children of deployed parents.

"We observed a clear dose-response pattern such that children of parents who spent more time deployed between 2003 and 2006 fared worse than children whose parents were deployed for a shorter duration," write the authors. "Similar to findings among military spouses, prolonged deployment appears to be taking a mental health toll on children." They urge further research of this issue among other branches of the military as well as the National Guard and Reserves.

Commentary: A Closer Look at the Effect Military Deployment Has on Children

In a commentary, Stephen J. Cozza, M.D., from the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine in Bethesda, Md., provides perspective on the scope of U.S. military deployment and the population it touches. As of 2009, he notes, 44 percent of active duty military members have children (for a total of 1.2 million children), as well as 43 percent of Reserve and National Guard members. Furthermore, since combat operations began in 2001, roughly 2 million U.S. military personnel have deployed at least once.

The article by Mansfield and colleagues, writes Cozza, provides "an important contribution to our understanding of a child's health and its relationship to parental combat deployment." The study, he adds, appears to confirm earlier research into this topic. But it also raises questions, such as what long-term consequences, if any, deployments have on children's health and development.

Cozza recommends that these findings be used to raise national awareness of the problem, both within the military community and without. Since affected children are likely to at some point receive care outside the military health system, he urges civilian clinicians to pay special attention to these patients. "Brief screening for anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, academic difficulties, peer relational problems, or high-risk behaviors (such as substance misuse or unsafe sexual practices) is warranted and will help identify treatment needs," Cozza concludes.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals.

Journal References:

Alyssa J. Mansfield; Jay S. Kaufman; Charles C. Engel; Bradley N. Gaynes. Deployment and Mental Health Diagnoses Among Children of US Army Personnel. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2011; DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.123Stephen J. Cozza. Children of Military Service Members: Raising National Awareness of the Family Health Consequences of Combat Deployment. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2011; DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.117

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View the original article here sciencedaily.com

Mothers with breastfeeding difficulties more likely to suffer postpartum depression, study finds

ScienceDaily (July 19, 2011) — Women who have breastfeeding difficulties in the first two weeks after giving birth are more likely to suffer postpartum depression two months later compared to women without such difficulties.

For that reason, women with breastfeeding difficulties should be screened for depressive symptoms, according to a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"We found that women who said they disliked breastfeeding were 42 percent more likely to experience postpartum depression at two months compared to women who liked breastfeeding. We also found that women with severe breast pain at day one and also at two weeks postpartum were twice as likely to be depressed compared to women that did not experience pain with nursing," said Stephanie Watkins, MSPH, MSPT, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

The idea for the study, published online ahead of print by the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, grew from the clinical experience of senior author, Alison Stuebe, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the UNC School of Medicine.

"We found that very commonly the same moms who were struggling with breastfeeding were also depressed," she said. "There was a tremendous clinical overlap."

In the study, Stuebe, Watkins and UNC co-authors Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH and Denniz Zolnoun, MD, MPH, set out to determine if this anecdotal association would be backed up by statistical analysis of relevant data. For this purpose, they used data collected as part of the Infant Feeding and Practices Study II, and assessed the postpartum depression status of the 2,586 women in that study with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

Of those women, 8.6 percent met the criteria for major depression two months after giving birth. Women who reported disliking breastfeeding during the first week were 1.42 times as likely to be depressed at two months. Women who reported severe breastfeeding pain on their first day were 1.96 times as likely to be depressed at two months.

For health care providers, this study shows that mothers with breastfeeding difficulties should be screened for depression and referred to counseling when depression is confirmed. But the study also provides a message for mothers, Stuebe said.

"If they're struggling with breastfeeding, they should seek help and tell their provider. If they don't have joy in their life, if they wake up in the morning and think, 'I just can't do this another day' -- that's a medical emergency. They shouldn't just say, 'I'm going to power through this and snap out of it.' They should call their provider and say, 'I just don't feel right, I'm wondering if I could be depressed, can I come in and talk to you about it?' "

The study is scheduled for publication in the August 2011 print issue of the journal.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Journal Reference:

Stephanie Watkins, Samantha Meltzer-Brody, Denniz Zolnoun, Alison Stuebe. Early Breastfeeding Experiences and Postpartum Depression. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2011; DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e3182260a2d

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Weight loss from gastric bypass may be partly due to dietary fat aversion, study suggests

ScienceDaily (July 27, 2011) — Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the most common type of bariatric surgery in the United States, is currently considered the most effective therapy for morbid obesity. Patients who undergo this procedure, in which the stomach is reduced to a small pouch and connected to the middle of the small intestine, often lose massive amounts of weight. However, the reasons behind this surgery's success have been unclear. Shedding more light on why this procedure prompts such dramatic weight loss, a team of researchers has found, in a study using both humans and rats, that Roux-en-Y appears to lead patients to significantly reduce their intake of dietary fat. This effect, which was present for both solid and liquid dietary fat, lingered for up to 200 days after surgery in the animals. Further experiments suggest that this fat avoidance is triggered through digestive consequences, rather than just altered taste, and may be the result of an excess of hormones previously linked to food avoidance.

The study appears online in the American Journal of Physiology -- Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology, published by the American Physiological Society.

Methodology

The researchers used data from a study in obese people comparing gastric bypass to vertical-banded gastroplasty. At 1 and 6 years after surgery, these patients were asked to fill out questionnaires that included a series of questions to determine whether they avoided certain foods.

The researchers also performed either Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sham operations on rats. At time points ranging from 10 to 200 days after surgery, these animals were subjected to various food preference experiments.

In one experiment, the rats were offered either high- or low-fat chow, with the researchers comparing the animals' intake of both foods before and after surgery. Similarly, the rats were presented with bottles containing either water or various concentrations of a fat emulsions, with the researchers recording intake of each liquid. To determine whether taste could be responsible for preference, the researchers recorded how many licks the animals took at each bottle when it was offered for only a brief amount of time.

To determine whether digestive effects instead might be responsible for aversions, rather than taste, the researchers offered the rats water flavored with saccharine, which they typically prefer to unflavored water. They then placed a feeding tube directly into the stomachs of the animals and infused some with corn oil and others with saline solution. Other animals received an injection that causes unpleasant sensations. Previous studies have shown that animals can be conditioned to avoid foods they associate with illness -- for example, by avoiding saccharine-flavored water after becoming ill from lithium chloride. Consequently, the researchers reasoned that if corn oil caused unpleasant digestive effects, the rats fed this liquid might also avoid the saccharine-flavored water. Additionally, the researchers tested the levels of GLP-1 and PYY, hormones previously linked with food avoidance, in both the Roux-en-Y and sham-operated animals.

Results

Questionnaires from human patients revealed that those who had gastric bypass were significantly more likely to report a reduction in dietary fat intake compared to those who had gastroplasty instead.

The researchers found that rats who underwent Roux-en-Y surgery consumed significantly lower proportions of high-fat chow and higher proportions of low-fat chow compared to the sham-operated animals. Additionally, those animals who underwent the bypass surgery showed a lower preference for high concentrations of the fat emulsions compared to those who received the sham operation. The Roux-en-Y animals had about the same preference for all concentrations of the fat emulsion when exposed to these liquids for only brief amounts of time. However, those that had a small amount of corn oil infused into their stomach were more likely to avoid the saccharine-flavored water than those infused with saline, much like those given the lithium chloride injections. Levels of GLP-1 were significantly higher in the Roux-en-Y rats compared to the non-bypass animals.

Importance of the Findings

The results suggest that people and animals who undergo Roux-en-Y gastric bypass decrease their consumption of both solid and liquid dietary fat, possibly helping people stick to a healthier diet. This avoidance does not appear to be triggered by taste alone, but can be influenced by the effects after ingestion. The hormone GLP-1 might be partly responsible for these effects.

"These findings suggest that changes in fat preference may contribute to long-term maintained weight loss after gastric bypass," the authors wrote. "By elucidating the mechanisms by which obesity surgery reduces the consumption of high fat foods, new surgical and non-surgical therapies could be developed that mimic these mechanisms to offer safe and effective weight loss."

Study Team

The study team was composed of Carel le Roux, Marco Bueter, Torsten Olbers, Hutan Ashrafian, Thanos Athanasious and Stephen Bloom, all of Imperial Weight Centre, Imperial College London, UK; Nadine Theis, Christian Löwenstein, and Thomas A. Lutz, the Institute of Veterinary Physiology Zurich, Switzerland; Malin Werling, Goteborg University, Goteborg, Sweden; Alan Spector, Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by American Physiological Society.

Journal Reference:

Carel W. Le Roux, Marco Bueter, Nadine Theis, Malin Werling, Hutan Ashrafian, Christian Löwenstein, Thanos Athanasiou, Stephen R. Bloom, Alan C. Spector, Torsten Olbers, Thomas Alexander Lutz. Gastric bypass reduces fat intake and preference. American Journal of Physiology -- Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology, 2011; DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00139.2011

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Children and adolescent cell phone users at no greater risk of brain cancer than non-users, study suggests

ScienceDaily (July 28, 2011) — Children and adolescents who use mobile phones are not at a statistically significant increased risk of brain cancer compared to their peers who do not use mobile phones, according to a study published July 27 in the Journal of The National Cancer Institute.

Mobile phone usage has increased among children and adolescents in recent years. The increased usage has raised a concern about the possibility of the development of brain tumors in this population since children have a developing nervous system; also, because their head circumference is smaller, the radio frequency electromagnetic fields may penetrate regions that are deeper in their brains. However, no previous study has examined whether mobile phone usage among children and adolescents is associated with a difference in brain tumor risk.

To determine the relationship between mobile phone usage and brain tumor risk among children and adolescents, Martin Röösli, Ph.D, of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel, Switzerland, and colleagues looked at the medical records of children aged 7-19 with brain tumors, identified through population registries. Researchers did face-to-face interviews with them regarding their mobile phone usage. They also consulted data from phone network providers.

The study, conducted between 2004 and 2008, included participants from Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland. They looked at data for 352 brain cancer patients, and 646 control subjects.

The researchers found that patients with brain tumors were not statistically significantly more likely to have been regular mobile phone users than control subjects. They found that 265 (75.3%) of case patients and 466 control subjects (72.1%) reported having spoken on a mobile phone more than 20 times before the time when the case patient was diagnosed. Furthermore, 194 case patients (55%) and 329 control subjects (51%) reported regular mobile phone usage. However, in a subset of study participants for whom operator recorded data were available, brain tumor risk was related to the time elapsed since the mobile phone subscription was started (but not to amount of use). No increased risk of brain tumors was observed for brain areas receiving the highest amount of exposure.

The researchers write, "Because we did not find a clear exposure-response relationship in most of these analyses, the available evidence does not support a causal association between the use of mobile phones and brain tumors." Nevertheless, since mobile phone usage among children and adolescents has increased over the years, they encourage a careful watch on the trend.

In an accompanying editorial, John D Boice, Jr., ScD. and Robert E. Tarone, PhD., of the International Epidemiology Institute in Rockville, Maryland and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee write that Röösli and his colleagues "have filled an important gap in knowledge by showing no increased risk of brain tumors among children and adolescents who are regular cell phone users"

Boice and Tarone conclude that it is reassuring that the incidence rates of brain cancer in the general population, including children and teenagers, have not changed over the past 20 years in the United States and many other countries despite the steady and marked rise in the use of cell phones throughout the world since the 1980s. They recommend that investigators continue to monitor population incidence rates and that in the meantime, individuals who are concerned might consider alternatives to holding a cell phone up to their ears, such as using an ear piece or using the phone's speaker. They also point out that individuals should heed what is known about real risks by avoiding the use of cell phones while driving a car, because such distractions have been clearly documented to increase the risk of accidents and injuries.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Journal of the National Cancer Institute, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal References:

John D. Boice, Jr and Robert E. Tarone. Cell Phones, Cancer, and Children. J Natl Cancer Inst, July 27, 2011 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djr285Denis Aydin, Maria Feychting, Joachim Schüz, Tore Tynes, Tina Veje Andersen, Lisbeth Samsø Schmidt, Aslak Harbo Poulsen, Christoffer Johansen, Michaela Prochazka, Birgitta Lannering, Lars Klæboe, Tone Eggen, Daniela Jenni, Michael Grotzer, Nicolas Von der Weid, Claudia E. Kuehni, and Martin Röösli. Mobile Phone Use and Brain Tumors in Children and Adolescents: A Multicenter Case–Control Study. J Natl Cancer Inst, July 27, 2011 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djr244

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Children born after unplanned pregnancy are slower to develop, UK study finds

ScienceDaily (July 27, 2011) — Children born after unplanned pregnancies tend to have a more limited vocabulary and poorer non-verbal and spatial abilities; however this is almost entirely explained by their disadvantaged circumstances, according to a new study published online in the British Medical Journal. The same study reported no adverse effects of infertility treatment on the children.

In the UK, as many as 30-40% of pregnancies that end in childbirth are unplanned, while the number of children born after assisted reproductive technologies is growing every year.

It is already known that children born after a prolonged time to conception or assisted reproduction are at greater risk of poor health outcomes, such as preterm birth, low birth weight, and congenital anomalies, and some researchers have reported lower cognitive (mental) scores in such children.

Unplanned pregnancies also have poorer outcomes, but there has been little research to assess whether child development is associated with pregnancy planning.

So a team of UK researchers set out to investigate how pregnancy planning, time to conception, and infertility treatment influence a child's cognitive development at three and five years old.

They analysed data from approximately 12,000 children from the Millennium Cohort Study, a large UK study of families and infants born in 2000-2. Parents who took part were interviewed when their child was nine months old and then revisited when the child was three and five years old.

Mothers reported whether the pregnancy was planned, their feelings when first pregnant, time to conception, and details of any infertility treatment.

Each child's verbal, non-verbal and spatial abilities were tested at age three and five using the British Ability Scales.

Initial analyses showed that children born after an unplanned pregnancy were four to five months behind planned children in verbal abilities, while children born after assisted reproduction were three to four months ahead.

However, these differences all but disappeared when the researchers took into account the socioeconomic circumstances of each child.

The authors conclude: "These differences are almost entirely explained by socioeconomic factors, providing further evidence of the influence of socioeconomic inequalities on the lives of children in the UK. To help children achieve their full potential, policy makers should continue to target social inequalities."

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

C. Carson, Y. Kelly, J. J. Kurinczuk, A. Sacker, M. Redshaw, M. A. Quigley. Effect of pregnancy planning and fertility treatment on cognitive outcomes in children at ages 3 and 5: longitudinal cohort study. BMJ, 2011; 343 (jul26 1): d4473 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.d4473

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Yoga boosts stress-busting hormone, reduces pain, study finds

ScienceDaily (July 27, 2011) — A new study by York University researchers finds that practicing yoga reduces the physical and psychological symptoms of chronic pain in women with fibromyalgia.

The study is the first to look at the effects of yoga on cortisol levels in women with fibromyalgia. The condition, which predominantly affects women, is characterized by chronic pain and fatigue; common symptoms include muscle stiffness, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal discomfort, anxiety and depression.

Previous research has found that women with fibromyalgia have lower-than-average cortisol levels, which contribute to pain, fatigue and stress sensitivity. According to the study, participants' saliva revealed elevated levels of total cortisol following a program of 75 minutes of hatha yoga twice weekly over the course of eight weeks.

"Ideally, our cortisol levels peak about 30-40 minutes after we get up in the morning and decline throughout the day until we're ready to go to sleep," says the study's lead author, Kathryn Curtis, a PhD student in York's Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health. "The secretion of the hormone, cortisol, is dysregulated in women with fibromyalgia" she says.

Cortisol is a steroid hormone that is produced and released by the adrenal gland and functions as a component of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in response to stress.

"Hatha yoga promotes physical relaxation by decreasing activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which lowers heart rate and increases breath volume. We believe this in turn has a positive effect on the HPA axis," says Curtis.

Participants completed questionnaires to determine pain intensity pre- and post-study; they reported significant reductions in pain and associated symptoms, as well as psychological benefits. They felt less helpless, were more accepting of their condition, and were less likely to "catastrophize" over current or future symptoms.

"We saw their levels of mindfulness increase -- they were better able to detach from their psychological experience of pain," Curtis says. Mindfulness is a form of active mental awareness rooted in Buddhist traditions; it is achieved by paying total attention to the present moment with a non-judgmental awareness of inner and outer experiences.

"Yoga promotes this concept -- that we are not our bodies, our experiences, or our pain. This is extremely useful in the management of pain," she says. "Moreover, our findings strongly suggest that psychological changes in turn affect our experience of physical pain."

The study -- Curtis' thesis -- was published July 26 in the Journal of Pain Research. It is co-authored by her supervisor, York professor Joel Katz, Canada Research Chair in Health Psychology, and Anna Osadchuk, a York University undergraduate student.

Curtis was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canada Graduate Scholarship and a CIHR Strategic Training Grant Fellowship in Pain: Molecules to Community.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by York University.

Journal Reference:

Kathryn Curtis, Anna Osadchuk, Joel Katz. An eight-week yoga intervention is associated with improvements in pain, psychological functioning and mindfulness, and changes in cortisol levels in women with fibromyalgia. Journal of Pain Research, 2011; : 189 DOI: 10.2147/JPR.S22761

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Yoga boosts stress-busting hormone, reduces pain, study finds

ScienceDaily (July 27, 2011) — A new study by York University researchers finds that practicing yoga reduces the physical and psychological symptoms of chronic pain in women with fibromyalgia.

The study is the first to look at the effects of yoga on cortisol levels in women with fibromyalgia. The condition, which predominantly affects women, is characterized by chronic pain and fatigue; common symptoms include muscle stiffness, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal discomfort, anxiety and depression.

Previous research has found that women with fibromyalgia have lower-than-average cortisol levels, which contribute to pain, fatigue and stress sensitivity. According to the study, participants' saliva revealed elevated levels of total cortisol following a program of 75 minutes of hatha yoga twice weekly over the course of eight weeks.

"Ideally, our cortisol levels peak about 30-40 minutes after we get up in the morning and decline throughout the day until we're ready to go to sleep," says the study's lead author, Kathryn Curtis, a PhD student in York's Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health. "The secretion of the hormone, cortisol, is dysregulated in women with fibromyalgia" she says.

Cortisol is a steroid hormone that is produced and released by the adrenal gland and functions as a component of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in response to stress.

"Hatha yoga promotes physical relaxation by decreasing activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which lowers heart rate and increases breath volume. We believe this in turn has a positive effect on the HPA axis," says Curtis.

Participants completed questionnaires to determine pain intensity pre- and post-study; they reported significant reductions in pain and associated symptoms, as well as psychological benefits. They felt less helpless, were more accepting of their condition, and were less likely to "catastrophize" over current or future symptoms.

"We saw their levels of mindfulness increase -- they were better able to detach from their psychological experience of pain," Curtis says. Mindfulness is a form of active mental awareness rooted in Buddhist traditions; it is achieved by paying total attention to the present moment with a non-judgmental awareness of inner and outer experiences.

"Yoga promotes this concept -- that we are not our bodies, our experiences, or our pain. This is extremely useful in the management of pain," she says. "Moreover, our findings strongly suggest that psychological changes in turn affect our experience of physical pain."

The study -- Curtis' thesis -- was published July 26 in the Journal of Pain Research. It is co-authored by her supervisor, York professor Joel Katz, Canada Research Chair in Health Psychology, and Anna Osadchuk, a York University undergraduate student.

Curtis was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canada Graduate Scholarship and a CIHR Strategic Training Grant Fellowship in Pain: Molecules to Community.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by York University.

Journal Reference:

Kathryn Curtis, Anna Osadchuk, Joel Katz. An eight-week yoga intervention is associated with improvements in pain, psychological functioning and mindfulness, and changes in cortisol levels in women with fibromyalgia. Journal of Pain Research, 2011; : 189 DOI: 10.2147/JPR.S22761

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Increased risk of Parkinson's disease in methamphetamine users, study finds

ScienceDaily (July 26, 2011) — People who abused methamphetamine or other amphetamine-like stimulants were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those who did not, in a new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

The researchers examined almost 300,000 hospital records from California covering 16 years. Patients admitted to hospital for methamphetamine or amphetamine-use disorders had a 76 per cent higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease compared to those with no disorder.

Globally, methamphetamine and similar stimulants are the second most commonly used class of illicit drugs.

"This study provides evidence of this association for the first time, even though it has been suspected for 30 years," said lead researcher Dr. Russell Callaghan, a scientist with CAMH. Parkinson's disease is caused by a deficiency in the brain's ability to produce a chemical called dopamine. Because animal studies have shown that methamphetamine damages dopamine-producing areas in the brain, scientists have worried that the same might happen in humans.

It has been a challenge to establish this link, because Parkinson's disease develops in middle and old age, and it is necessary to track a large number of people with methamphetamine addiction over a long time span.

The CAMH team took an innovative approach by examining hospital records from California -- a state in which methamphetamine use is prevalent -- from 1990 up to 2005. In total, 40,472 people, at least 30 years of age, had been hospitalized due to a methamphetamine- or amphetamine-use disorder during this period.

These patients were compared to two groups: 207,831 people admitted for appendicitis with no diagnosis of any type of addiction, and 35,335 diagnosed with cocaine use disorders. A diagnosis of Parkinson's disease was identified from hospital records or death certificates. Only the methamphetamine group had an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease.

While the appendicitis group served as a comparison to the general population, the cocaine group was selected for two reasons. Because cocaine is another type of stimulant that affects dopamine, this group could be used to determine whether the risk was specific to methamphetamine stimulants. Cocaine users also served as a control group to account for the health effects or lifestyle factors associated with dependence on an illicit drug.

"It is important for the public to know that our findings do not apply to patients who take amphetamines for medical purposes, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), since these patients use much lower doses of amphetamines than those taken by patients in our study," said Dr. Stephen Kish, a CAMH scientist and co-author.

To put the study findings into numbers, if 10,000 people with methamphetamine dependence were followed over 10 years, 21 would develop Parkinson's, compared with 12 people out of 10,000 from the general population. "It is also possible that our findings may underestimate the risk because in California, methamphetamine users may have had less access to health-care insurance and consequently to medical care," said Dr. Callaghan.

The current project is significant because it is one of the few studies examining the long-term association between methamphetamine use and the development of a major brain disorder. "Given that methamphetamine and other amphetamine stimulants are the second most widely used illicit drugs in the world, the current study will help us anticipate the full long-term medical consequences of such problematic drug use," said Dr. Callaghan.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Russell C. Callaghan, James K. Cunningham, Jenna Sykes, Stephen J. Kish. Increased risk of Parkinson's disease in individuals hospitalized with conditions related to the use of methamphetamine or other amphetamine-type drugs. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.06.013

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Worrying can impact interpersonal relationships, study finds

ScienceDaily (July 26, 2011) — Most people worry from time to time. A new research study, led by a Case Western Reserve University faculty member in psychology, also shows that worrying can be so intrusive and obsessive that it interferes in the person's life and endangers the health of social relationships.

These people suffer from what's called generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), says Case Western Reserve psychologist Amy Przeworski.

Individuals with GAD frequently put social relationships with family, friends, or coworkers at the top of their lists of worries, but the negative methods they use to cope -- from over nurturing to extreme detachment -- may be destructive.

Przeworski and colleagues at Penn State University observed that people in therapy for GAD manifested their worries in different ways based on how they interact with other people.

In two studies the researchers found four distinct interactive styles prominent among people with GAD -- intrusive, cold, nonassertive and exploitable.

Both studies supported the presence of these four interpersonal styles and their significant role in how people with GAD manifested their worrying.

"All individuals with these styles worried to the same extent and extreme, but manifested those worries in different ways," Przeworski said.

Take the examples of two people with similar worries about someone's health and safety.

One person may exhibit that worry through frequent intrusive expressions of concern for the other person. Think of the parent or spouse who calls every five minutes to get an update on what's happening.

Another person may exhibit the worry by criticizing the behaviors that the person believes to be careless or reckless.

"The worry may be similar, but the impact of the worry on their interpersonal relationships would be extremely different. This suggests that interpersonal problems and worry may be intertwined," Przeworski says.

She suggests that therapies to treat GAD should target both the worry and the related interpersonal problems.

Most treatments for GAD rely on cognitive behavioral therapy, a treatment that is usually successful for about 60 percent of people, a percentage considered successful in therapy. However, one way to improve therapy for worriers may be to integrate techniques that target the interpersonal relationship problems.

The research was part of larger study supported by the National Institute of Mental Health.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Case Western Reserve University.

Journal Reference:

Amy Przeworski, Michelle G. Newman, Aaron L. Pincus, Michele B. Kasoff, Alissa S. Yamasaki, Louis G. Castonguay, Kristoffer S. Berlin. Interpersonal pathoplasticity in individuals with generalized anxiety disorder.. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 2011; 120 (2): 286 DOI: 10.1037/a0023334

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Misuse of pain medication is pathway to high-risk behaviors, study finds

ScienceDaily (July 24, 2011) — A new study by researchers at Drexel University's School of Public Health suggests that abuse of prescription painkillers may be an important gateway to the use of injected drugs such as heroin, among people with a history of using both types of drugs.

The study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, explores factors surrounding young injection drug users' initiation into the misuse of opioid drugs. Common factors identified in this group included a family history of drug misuse and receiving prescriptions for opioid drugs in the past. The results support a need for efforts to prevent misuse of prescription drugs, particularly during adolescence.

"Participants were commonly raised in household where misuse of prescription drugs, illegal drugs, or alcohol, was normalized," explains Dr. Stephen Lankenau, an associate professor in the School of Public Health and principal investigator of the study. "Access to prescription medications -- either from a participant's own source, a family member, or a friend -- was a key feature of initiation into prescription drug misuse."

In numerous cases, the desire to experiment with a prescription opioid drug (the common class of drugs that includes codeine and oxycodone), combined with financial incentives or pressures from friends to sell available quantities, resulted in escalated patterns of opioid misuse, according to the study.

Lankenau and colleagues also describe two key findings as evidence of an emerging dynamic among misuse of opioid drugs and the use of injection drugs. First, four of five IDUs misused an opioid before injecting heroin, in contrast to more conventional patterns of using opioids as a substitute drug after initiating heroin use.

Second, in nearly one out of four young IDUs in this study, a prescription opioid was the first type of drug they injected. Prescription opioids are rarely reported at initiation into injection drug use amongst young IDUs. All but two of these participants later transitioned into injecting heroin.

Opioid misuse is an important public health concern due to the increasing association of opioids with drug dependence and fatal overdose, and much research has focused on the factors affecting how and when people initially misuse opioids. However, descriptive data about initiation into prescription opioid misuse among young injection drug users are scarce.

To fill this gap, in this study researchers interviewed 50 young IDUs aged 16 and 25 years old in New York and Los Angeles, who had misused a prescription drug at least three times in the past three months, to study contextual factors leading to their use of opioid drugs. Participants were recruited in natural settings, such as parks, streets, and college campuses, during 2008 and 2009. A mixed-methods research design was utilized that collected both quantitative and qualitative data.

Additional findings and descriptors of the study population include:

Most were white, heterosexual males in their early 20sMany did not complete high school, were expelled from school, or held back a gradeNearly all were homeless at some point, most were currently homeless, and most regarded themselves as "travelers," (i.e., moving from city to city in search of work, housing, or adventure)Most had received a psychological diagnosis, such as depression, anxiety, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and many had a history of drug treatmentMost generally regarded prescription opioids as readily accessible, valued commodities that could be traded or soldNearly three-quarters had been prescribed an opioid in their lifetime, which occurred on average at 14.6 years old, often for common ailments such as dental procedures or sports injuriesMost witnessed family members misuse one or more substances during childhood and adolescence, ranging from alcoholism to injecting heroin

The authors conclude that prevention efforts, especially during adolescence, are needed, and that parents and guardians need to carefully monitor and safeguard all prescription medications, particularly opioids, within the household. Although households where drug use is normalized or where broader social or psychological problems exist are more difficult to remedy with prevention efforts or policy changes, future research examining prescription opioid misuse among a range of adolescents and young adults to better understand the contextual and environmental factors of drug use may yield additional solutions.

The article was co-authored by Karol Silva (Drexel University); Michelle Teti (University of Missouri); Alex Harocopos (National Development and Research Institutes); and Jennifer Jackson Bloom and Meghan Treese (Children's Hospital Los Angeles).

Lankenau is also principal investigator of two studies evaluating the effectives of overdose prevention programs in Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

Lankenau is an associate professor in the Department of Community Health & Prevention at the Drexel University School of Public Health. He received his PhD and MA degrees in Sociology from the University of Maryland. He earned his BA in Sociology at the University of Vermont.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Drexel University.

Journal Reference:

Stephen E. Lankenau, Michelle Teti, Karol Silva, Jennifer Jackson Bloom, Alex Harocopos, Meghan Treese. Initiation into prescription opioid misuse amongst young injection drug users. International Journal of Drug Policy, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2011.05.014

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What mom thinks matters when it comes to mental illness, study finds

ScienceDaily (June 7, 2011) — A new study led by a Northern Illinois University sociologist shows that while family members often provide critical support, they also can sometimes be the source of stigmatizing attitudes that impede the recovery of mentally ill relatives.

"Negative attitudes of family members have the potential to affect the ways that mentally ill persons view themselves, adversely influencing the likelihood of recovery from the illness," said lead researcher Fred Markowitz, an NIU professor of sociology.

Markowitz and his colleagues, Beth Angell from Rutgers, and Jan Greenberg from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, published their findings in the June issue of Social Psychology Quarterly, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Sociological Association.

Over an 18-month period, the researchers studied 129 mothers of adult children with schizophrenia.

"In short, what mom thinks matters," Markowitz said. "It's a chain of effects that unfolds.

"We found that when those with mental illness exhibited greater levels of initial symptoms, lower self-confidence and quality of life, their mothers tended to view them in more stigmatized terms -- for example, seeing them as 'incompetent,' 'unpredictable,' and 'unreliable,'" Markowitz continued. "When mothers held these views, their sons and daughters with mental illness were more likely to come to see themselves in similar terms -- what social psychologists call 'the reflected appraisals process.' Importantly, when the individuals with mental illness took on these stigmatizing views of themselves, their symptoms became somewhat greater and levels of self-confidence and quality of life lower."

A long line of research has shown that the stigma associated with mental illness can be a major impediment to recovery, affecting self-esteem and even job prospects. But research has not historically examined the links between stigma, reflected appraisals, identity formation, and recovery, Markowitz said.

"Our study is part of research that is starting to more fully examine how stigma affects the self-concept and identity of those with mental illness," he said.

Markowitz and his colleagues believe it is important to acknowledge that many of the sentiments conveyed toward ill relatives grow out of positive intentions and reflect attempts to cope with the difficulties of having a relative with serious mental illness. Yet, stigmatizing attitudes are of concern because of their potential adverse effects.

"This study highlights the notion that recovery from mental illness is not simply a matter of controlling symptoms as indicated by a strictly 'psychiatric' perspective," Markowitz said. "It is, to a certain extent, a social-psychological process.

"The ways in which people, including family members and service providers, think about persons with mental illness affect the beliefs and actions of the individuals with mental illness, in turn shaping the trajectory of recovery."

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by American Sociological Association, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Fred E. Markowitz, Beth Angell, and Jan S. Greenberg. Stigma, Reflected Appraisals, and Recovery Outcomes in Mental Illness. Social Psychology Quarterly, June 2011; [link]

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Length of parental military deployment associated with children's mental health diagnoses, study finds

ScienceDaily (July 4, 2011) — Children with a parent who was deployed in the U.S. military efforts Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) for longer periods were more likely than children whose parents did not deploy to receive a diagnosis of a mental health problem, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

According to background information in the article, previous research has attributed children's depression and negative affect to parental military deployments. However, there has not been much research into this topic with regards to the United States' present conflicts, OIF and OEF. "As troops face dynamic and evolving threats (e.g., an increasingly sophisticated array of roadside explosive devices)," write the authors, "the need to anticipate the psychological consequences for their children and to offer timely intervention becomes increasingly important."

Alyssa J. Mansfield, Ph.D., M.P.H., then of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, now of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Honolulu, and colleagues examined electronic medical record data for outpatient care received at military facilities or through military health insurance between 2003 and 2006. The study included children ages 5 years through 17 years who had at least one parent serving on active duty in the U.S. Army. (Children of Reserve and National Guard personnel were excluded.) Researchers used the International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, to identify mental health diagnoses.

The study included 307,520 children, of whom 16.7 percent had a mental health diagnosis (most often for stress disorders, depression, behavioral problems, anxiety, and sleep disorders) during the study. More than 62 percent of parents were deployed at least once during the period, for an average of 11 months. The researchers found that mental health diagnoses were more common among children who had a parent who was deployed at least once for military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan. After adjusting the data for age, sex and mental health history, they showed that the likelihood of a mental health diagnosis increased with increases in parental deployment length; other factors included older age groups and male sex. The strongest associations were for acute stress reaction and adjustment disorders, depressive disorders, and behavioral disorders, among the total of 6,579 mental health diagnoses observed in children of deployed parents.

"We observed a clear dose-response pattern such that children of parents who spent more time deployed between 2003 and 2006 fared worse than children whose parents were deployed for a shorter duration," write the authors. "Similar to findings among military spouses, prolonged deployment appears to be taking a mental health toll on children." They urge further research of this issue among other branches of the military as well as the National Guard and Reserves.

Commentary: A Closer Look at the Effect Military Deployment Has on Children

In a commentary, Stephen J. Cozza, M.D., from the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine in Bethesda, Md., provides perspective on the scope of U.S. military deployment and the population it touches. As of 2009, he notes, 44 percent of active duty military members have children (for a total of 1.2 million children), as well as 43 percent of Reserve and National Guard members. Furthermore, since combat operations began in 2001, roughly 2 million U.S. military personnel have deployed at least once.

The article by Mansfield and colleagues, writes Cozza, provides "an important contribution to our understanding of a child's health and its relationship to parental combat deployment." The study, he adds, appears to confirm earlier research into this topic. But it also raises questions, such as what long-term consequences, if any, deployments have on children's health and development.

Cozza recommends that these findings be used to raise national awareness of the problem, both within the military community and without. Since affected children are likely to at some point receive care outside the military health system, he urges civilian clinicians to pay special attention to these patients. "Brief screening for anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, academic difficulties, peer relational problems, or high-risk behaviors (such as substance misuse or unsafe sexual practices) is warranted and will help identify treatment needs," Cozza concludes.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals.

Journal References:

Alyssa J. Mansfield; Jay S. Kaufman; Charles C. Engel; Bradley N. Gaynes. Deployment and Mental Health Diagnoses Among Children of US Army Personnel. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2011; DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.123Stephen J. Cozza. Children of Military Service Members: Raising National Awareness of the Family Health Consequences of Combat Deployment. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2011; DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.117

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Sexual anxiety, personality predictors of infidelity, study says

ScienceDaily (July 25, 2011) — People with sexual performance anxiety are more likely to cheat on their partners. That's just one of the curious findings of a new study by a University of Guelph professor on the factors that predict infidelity.

Men who are risk-takers or easily sexually aroused are also more likely to wander; for women, relationship issues are stronger predictors of unfaithfulness.

The study, published recently in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour, is the first to look at how demographics, interpersonal factors and sexual personality affect infidelity.

For both men and women, personality characteristics and interpersonal factors are more relevant predictors than are religion, marital status, education or gender.

"Few studies on infidelity have gone beyond exploring demographics," said Robin Milhausen, a professor and sexuality researcher in Guelph's Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition who conducted the study with Kristen Mark and Erick Janssen of Indiana University.

"This research shows that demographic variables may not influence decision-making as much as previously thought -- that personality matters more, especially for men."

The study involved 506 men and 412 women who reported being in monogamous sexual relationships lasting from three months to 43 years. Participants were asked to report on demographic variables such as religion, education and income. They also completed scales that measured sexual personality variables and answered questions about their relationships.

The study found little difference in rates of infidelity reported by men and women (23 and 19 per cent, respectively). But different things predicted the behavior for men and women.

For men, significant predictors of infidelity are personality variables, including propensity for sexual excitation (becoming easily aroused by many triggers and situations) and concern about sexual performance failure.

The latter finding might seem counterintuitive, Milhausen said, but other studies have also found this connection. "People might seek out high-risk situations to help them become aroused, or they might choose to have sex with a partner outside of their regular relationship because they feel they have an 'out' if the encounter doesn't go well -- they don't have to see them again."

For women, relationship happiness is paramount. Women who are dissatisfied with their relationship are more than twice as likely to cheat; those who feel they are sexually incompatible with their partners are nearly three times as likely.

"All kinds of things predict infidelity," Milhausen said. "What this study says is that when you put all of those things together, for men, personality characteristics are so strong they bounce everything else out of the model. For women, in the face of all other variables, it's still the relationship that is the most important predictor."

Milhausen cautions against misinterpreting or overemphasizing the study's findings. "Taken at face value, this research might seem to just support sexual stereotypes: Women are just concerned about the relationship, and, for men, once a cheater, always a cheater, regardless of their relationship. But the caveat is that there are a lot of variants and factors that are not explained here that might impact whether someone cheats."

Still, knowing that sexual personality characteristics -- and, for women, relationship factors -- are strong predictors suggests directions for therapeutic interventions, she said.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Guelph.

Journal Reference:

Kristen P. Mark, Erick Janssen, Robin R. Milhausen. Infidelity in Heterosexual Couples: Demographic, Interpersonal, and Personality-Related Predictors of Extradyadic Sex. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2011; DOI: 10.1007/s10508-011-9771-z

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Omega-3 reduces anxiety and inflammation in healthy students, study suggests

ScienceDaily (July 13, 2011) — A new study gauging the impact of consuming more fish oil showed a marked reduction both in inflammation and, surprisingly, in anxiety among a cohort of healthy young people.

The findings suggest that if young participants can get such improvements from specific dietary supplements, then the elderly and people at high risk for certain diseases might benefit even more.

The findings by a team of researchers at Ohio State University were just published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity. It is the latest from more than three decades of research into links between psychological stress and immunity.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have long been considered as positive additives to the diet. Earlier research suggested that the compounds might play a role in reducing the level of cytokines in the body, compounds that promote inflammation, and perhaps even reduce depression.

Psychological stress has repeatedly been shown to increase cytokine production so the researchers wondered if increasing omega-3 might mitigate that process, reducing inflammation.

To test their theory, they turned to a familiar group of research subjects -- medical students. Some of the earliest work these scientists did showed that stress from important medical school tests lowered students' immune status.

"We hypothesized that giving some students omega-3 supplements would decrease their production of proinflammatory cytokines, compared to other students who only received a placebo," explained Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychology and psychiatry.

"We thought the omega-3 would reduce the stress-induced increase in cytokines that normally arose from nervousness over the tests."

The team assembled a field of 68 first- and second-year medical students who volunteered for the clinical trial. The students were randomly divided into six groups, all of which were interviewed six times during the study. At each visit, blood samples were drawn from the students who also completed a battery of psychological surveys intended to gauge their levels of stress, anxiety or depression. The students also completed questionnaires about their diets during the previous weeks.

Half the students received omega-3 supplements while the other half were given placebo pills.

"The supplement was probably about four or five times the amount of fish oil you'd get from a daily serving of salmon, for example," explained Martha Belury, professor of human nutrition and co-author in the study.

Part of the study, however, didn't go according to plans.

Changes in the medical curriculum and the distribution of major tests throughout the year, rather than during a tense three-day period as was done in the past, removed much of the stress that medical students had shown in past studies.

"These students were not anxious. They weren't really stressed. They were actually sleeping well throughout this period, so we didn't get the stress effect we had expected," Kiecolt-Glaser said.

But the psychological surveys clearly showed an important change in anxiety among the students: Those receiving the omega-3 showed a 20 percent reduction in anxiety compared to the placebo group.

An analysis of the of the blood samples from the medical students showed similar important results.

"We took measurements of the cytokines in the blood serum, as well as measured the productivity of cells that produced two important cytokines, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa)," said Ron Glaser, professor of molecular virology, immunology & medical genetics and director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research.

"We saw a 14 percent reduction in the amounts of IL-6 among the students receiving the omega-3." Since the cytokines foster inflammation, "anything we can do to reduce cytokines is a big plus in dealing with the overall health of people at risk for many diseases," he said.

While inflammation is a natural immune response that helps the body heal, it also can play a harmful role in a host of diseases ranging from arthritis to heart disease to cancer.

While the study showed the positive impact omega-3 supplements can play in reducing both anxiety and inflammation, the researchers aren't willing to recommend that the public start adding them to the daily diet.

"It may be too early to recommend a broad use of omega-3 supplements throughout the public, especially considering the cost and the limited supplies of fish needed to supply the oil," Belury said. "People should just consider increasing their omega-3 through their diet."

Some of the researchers, however, acknowledged that they take omega-3 supplements.

Also working on the research with Kiecolt-Glaser, Glaser and Belury were William Malarkey, professor emeritus of internal medicine, and Rebecca Andridge, an assistant professor of public health.

The study was supported in part by a grant from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a part of the National Institutes of Health.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Ohio State University. The original article was written by Earle Holland.

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Adding a stent during minimally invasive surgery to repair aneurysms prevents recurrence, study suggests

ScienceDaily (July 26, 2011) — The addition of a simple stent can help prevent potentially lethal blood vessel bulges in the brain from recurring after they are repaired in a minimally invasive "coiling" procedure, according to new research by Johns Hopkins physicians. A report on the research, published in the July Journal of Neurointerventional Surgery, could make coiling a more viable option for the 30,000 people diagnosed with brain aneurysms each year in the United States, the investigators say.

Cerebral aneurysms, abnormal outward pouching of blood vessels in the brain, are traditionally repaired by an "open" operation, in which surgeons remove part of the skull, cut into the brain to reach the affected blood vessel, and then place a metal clip on the vessel where it balloons outward to close it down. In the past several years, surgeons are increasingly repairing aneurysms through coiling, in which they thread a platinum wire into a small incision in the groin, push it through the body's network of blood vessels to the bulging one, then pack the wire into the bulge where a natural clotting reaction closes it off.

Though endovascular (through the vessel) coiling has significant benefits compared to clipping, such as a lower risk of infection and recovery times measured in weeks instead of months, it also comes with a significant drawback -- recurrence of the aneurysm about a third of the time, says study leader Alex Coon, M.D., assistant professor of neurosurgery, neurology and radiology and director of endovascular surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Traditional aneurysm surgery has a low recurrence rate of about two percent.

To avoid recurrence and the need for further surgery, some surgeons have experimented with insertion of a stent, or small tube, in the blood vessel near the neck of the aneurysm. The goal is to prop open the affected vessel so that more wire can be packed into the bulge.

To learn whether stents actually prevent recurrence or add complications, Coon and his colleagues looked at medical records of 90 people whose aneurysms were repaired by coiling at The Johns Hopkins Hospital between May 1992 and March 2009. A stent was used in a third of the operations.

After two years of follow-up, the researchers found that aneurysms recurred in more than 40 percent of patients who did not have stents. The recurrence rate in the stented patients was only about 15 percent, and stented patients had no more complications than those without stents.

Coon notes that endovascular surgery for aneurysms is becoming more common, and knowing what can prevent recurrence will help surgeons and patients make informed decisions about the choice of procedure.

"It's easy to treat someone's aneurysm, but can you treat it durably and make it last? We've now shown in our study that stenting -- something that makes sense from an engineering perspective, a clinical perspective and a common sense perspective -- truly works," he says.

Other Johns Hopkins researchers who participated in this study include Geoffrey P. Colby, Alexandra R. Paul, Martin G. Radvany, Dheeraj Ghandi, Philippe Gailloud, Judy Huang, and Rafael J. Tamargo.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Schools failing pupils with sickle cell disease, U.K. study suggests

ScienceDaily (July 20, 2011) — A new study suggests young people with a serious genetic blood disorder are not getting the right help at school, especially pupils who miss lessons due to sickness.

Research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) at De Montfort University, the University of York and Loughborough University reveals that most children with sickle cell disease (SCD) do not feel supported by schools in catching up on absences from class.

Sickle cell is an inherited condition affecting around one in every 2,000 children born in England. The majority are from ethnic minority backgrounds and those with the disease may develop abnormal shaped red blood cells which block blood vessels. This can lead to chronic pain, organ damage and even strokes.

A common assumption has been that raising awareness in teachers about sickle cell is enough. Yet Professor Simon Dyson from De Montfort and the research team found no link between a school knowing a pupil has SCD and the child reporting improved experiences at school.

The study also found that young people are divided on whether others at school should be told they have SCD. Some believe this will lead to help, other pupils feel it will intensify bullying.

"Many schools are failing to keep young people well, and are not supporting them to catch-up any schooling they miss through illness," says Professor Simon Dyson who works in the Unit for the Social Study of Thalassaemia and Sickle Cell at De Montfort.

Professor Dyson and his researchers have developed a policy guide for schools on supporting children with medical conditions. The Department for Education have since used this information in a health and safety leaflet targeting educators.

The guide highlights examples of good practice where schools have adjusted their approach or policies to improve support for young people with SCD. Often this includes providing assistance but without drawing attention to pupils with the condition and not labelling pupils with SCD as 'truants' if they are persistently absent, or not forcing children who are tired or in pain to take exercise.

One school instigated a system of issuing the young person with a laminated card stating that the young person has the right to excuse themselves during lesson in order to go the toilet. Another school has a policy of regular twilight catch-up sessions after school. This learning centre is staffed on a rota basis so that any pupil who has missed a lesson for any reason can catch up in the presence of teachers, which doesn't single out the SCD student.

The impact of SCD on the educational experiences of young people is an under-researched area. Schools do have a duty to ensure the health and safety of pupils under the Health and Safety at Work Act, but previous studies have shown that pupils can miss weeks of schooling a year if schools and colleges do not have the correct support in place.

Professor Dyson comments: "Good practice consists of changing the wider school environment in the background without drawing attention to the young person with sickle cell as different from others. Being seen as different is something young people with sickle cell hate."

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), via AlphaGalileo.

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Mothers with breastfeeding difficulties more likely to suffer postpartum depression, study finds

ScienceDaily (July 19, 2011) — Women who have breastfeeding difficulties in the first two weeks after giving birth are more likely to suffer postpartum depression two months later compared to women without such difficulties.

For that reason, women with breastfeeding difficulties should be screened for depressive symptoms, according to a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"We found that women who said they disliked breastfeeding were 42 percent more likely to experience postpartum depression at two months compared to women who liked breastfeeding. We also found that women with severe breast pain at day one and also at two weeks postpartum were twice as likely to be depressed compared to women that did not experience pain with nursing," said Stephanie Watkins, MSPH, MSPT, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

The idea for the study, published online ahead of print by the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, grew from the clinical experience of senior author, Alison Stuebe, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the UNC School of Medicine.

"We found that very commonly the same moms who were struggling with breastfeeding were also depressed," she said. "There was a tremendous clinical overlap."

In the study, Stuebe, Watkins and UNC co-authors Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH and Denniz Zolnoun, MD, MPH, set out to determine if this anecdotal association would be backed up by statistical analysis of relevant data. For this purpose, they used data collected as part of the Infant Feeding and Practices Study II, and assessed the postpartum depression status of the 2,586 women in that study with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

Of those women, 8.6 percent met the criteria for major depression two months after giving birth. Women who reported disliking breastfeeding during the first week were 1.42 times as likely to be depressed at two months. Women who reported severe breastfeeding pain on their first day were 1.96 times as likely to be depressed at two months.

For health care providers, this study shows that mothers with breastfeeding difficulties should be screened for depression and referred to counseling when depression is confirmed. But the study also provides a message for mothers, Stuebe said.

"If they're struggling with breastfeeding, they should seek help and tell their provider. If they don't have joy in their life, if they wake up in the morning and think, 'I just can't do this another day' -- that's a medical emergency. They shouldn't just say, 'I'm going to power through this and snap out of it.' They should call their provider and say, 'I just don't feel right, I'm wondering if I could be depressed, can I come in and talk to you about it?' "

The study is scheduled for publication in the August 2011 print issue of the journal.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Journal Reference:

Stephanie Watkins, Samantha Meltzer-Brody, Denniz Zolnoun, Alison Stuebe. Early Breastfeeding Experiences and Postpartum Depression. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2011; DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e3182260a2d

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Adolescent boys among those most affected by Washington state parental military deployment, study suggests

ScienceDaily (July 21, 2011) — In 2007, nearly two million children in the United States had at least one parent serving in the military. Military families and children, in particular, suffer from mental health problems related to long deployments.

A new study from researchers at the University of Washington (UW) concludes that parental military deployment is associated with impaired well-being among adolescents, especially adolescent boys. The study, "Adolescent well-being in Washington state military families," was published online in the American Journal of Public Health.

Lead author Sarah C. Reed, who has a master's degree from the UW School of Public Health, said the findings show that it is time to focus more on the children that are left behind in times of war. "There is a lot of research about veterans and active-duty soldiers, and how they cope or struggle when they return from a deployment," said Reed. "Those studies hit the tip of the iceberg of how families are coping and how their children are doing."

Adolescents are uniquely vulnerable to adverse health effects from parental military deployment. Healthy development, including identifying a sense of self and separation from family, can be interrupted during parents' active military service.

Media exposure and the developmental ability to understand the consequences of war may further disrupt adolescents' adjustment and coping. Teens may also have additional responsibilities at home after a parent's deployment, researchers said.

UW researchers used data from the Washington state 2008 Healthy Youth Survey, administered to more than 10,000 adolescents in 8th, 10th- and 12th grade classrooms. Female 8th graders with parents deployed to combat appear to be at risk of depression and thoughts of suicide, while male counterparts in all grades are at increased risk of impaired well-being in all of the areas examined (low quality of life, binge drinking, drug use and low academic achievement).

National research organizations, including RAND Health and the RAND National Security Research Division, have studied what's known as the "invisible wounds" of war. But Reed and her team said existing research is not enough. "We have to figure out more of what's going on within families and with children, and what's going to be helpful to mitigate the difficult things -- including risky behaviors by adolescents -- that are happening in families," she said.

Reed said that implementing or strengthening school-based programs that target affected adolescents would be a good starting point. Research and support programs also need to be beefed up, based on the research team's analysis. "There seem to be a lot of programs available but they are scattered and hard to navigate," said Reed. "In Washington state, schools have support programs, but they appear to be disconnected. There's a lot of energy in terms of people who would like to help, but a more cohesive effort in reaching out to adolescents and providing services is important."

Reed and her team are working on a follow-up study, analyzing parental military service and adolescent behaviors of school-based physical fighting, weapon carrying and gang membership.

Funding for the study was supported by a grant from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Co-authors on the study include Janice Bell, UW assistant professor of health services, and Todd Edwards, UW research assistant professor of health services, both in the UW School of Public Health.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Washington, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Sarah C. Reed, Janice F. Bell, Todd C Edwards. Adolescent Well-Being in Washington State Military Families. American Journal of Public Health, 2011; DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300165

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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