Minds, Brains, & Mental Health
College-Aged Individuals & Mental Health
An article published in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry reports that almost half of college-aged individuals had a psychiatric disorder in the past year. Also, college students were significantly less likely to have a diagnosis of drug use disorder or nicotine dependence or to have used tobacco than their non–college-attending peers, and college students were significantly less likely to receive past-year treatment for alcohol or drug use disorders than their non–college-attending peers. Bipolar disorder was less common in individuals attending college. Researchers also found that while treatment rates varied across disorders, overall fewer than 25% of individuals with a mental disorder sought treatment in the year prior to the survey. The findings were based face-to-face interviews of 2,188 individuals aged 19 to 25 who were attending college and 2,904 individuals of the same age who were not.
Now, from the people who brought you the news that obesity is contagious, is the finding, published online on December 4 in the British Medical Journal, that happiness and unhappiness are also contagious. The findings, based on 4,739 individuals followed from 1983 to 2003, who were members of the Framingham Heart Study social network, showed that the relationship between people's happiness extends up to three degrees of separation (e.g., to the friends of one's friends' friends). They wrote, "A friend who lives within a mile (about 1.6 km) and who becomes happy increases the probability that a person is happy by 25% Similar effects are seen in coresident spouses siblings who live within a mile next door neighbours ." Interestingly, they also noted that effects are not seen between coworkers. Also, the effect decays with time and with geographical separation. Some more good news: Happiness is more contagious than unhappiness!
Cold Sores & Future Alzheimer's
A paper published in the January issue of The Journal of Pathology reports finding DNA from the herpes simplex 1 virus (HSV1) in 90% of plaques in Alzheimer's disease patients' brains. (The researchers had previously shown that HSV1 infection of nerve-type cells in mice leads to deposition of beta amyloid, the main component of the plaques.) The two findings, the authors wrote, " suggest that this virus is a major cause of amyloid plaques and hence probably a significant aetiological factor in Alzheimer's disease.")
Being overweight or obese may increase the likelihood of experiencing headaches! Research published in the December issue of Cephalalgia, which was based on data from 7,601 men and women aged ≥ 20 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2002, showed that being overweight or obese increased the likelihood of headache by 1.2 to nearly 1.4 times.
* * * * *
Sound Processing Speed & Autistic Kids' Brains
A study presented at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting evaluated 64 kids, ages six to 15, with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder using magnetoencephalography (MEG). The kids were presented with audio stimulation in the form of beeps, tones in pairs, vowels, or sentences. The sounds were presented at different frequencies and tone pairs in rapid succession, including unusual streams of incongruous tones and vowels. When compared with non-autistic children, those with autism experienced a fraction of a second delay in the brain's response while processing the rapid succession sounds and the unusual streams. Timothy Roberts, PhD, vice chair of research in the Department of Radiology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia said, "This delay in processing certain types and streams of sound may underpin the subsequent language processing and communication impairment seen in autistic children. We hope that in the future these signatures will also be revealed in the infant brain to help diagnose autism and allow earlier intervention."
A paper published in the December issue of Pediatrics looked at 390 sets of twins at ages 18 and 30 months, and found both individuals in a set of identical twins were much more likely to experience night terrors than both individuals in a set of fraternal twins. They also found that the prevalence of night terrors was 36.9% at 18 months and 19.7% at 30 months; 49% of affected children were boys, and 51% were girls.
* * * * *
Also from the December issue of Pediatrics are two articles about vaccine costs and pediatricians. One, based on a survey of more than 800 pediatricians and family physicians, revealed that 11% of doctors who vaccinate privately insured children are considering dropping that service largely because they lose money when they do it. A second, a cross-sectional survey of physician practices in California, Georgia, Michigan, York, and Texas, found disparities in reimbursements, in that some doctors lose money on a certain type of vaccine, while others make $40 per vaccine.
A new report from the Institute of Medicine, Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep, Supervision, and Safety, proposes revisions to medical residents' duty hours and workloads to decrease the chances of fatigue-related medical errors and to enhance the learning environment for these doctors in training. Although the report does not recommend further reducing residents' work hours from the maximum average of 80 per week set by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in 2003, it recommends reducing the maximum number of hours that residents can work without time for sleep to 16, increases the number of days residents must have off, and restricts moonlighting during residents' off-hours, among other changes.
Patient Photos Improve Radiologists' Reading
Also from the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting is a report which suggests that including a patient's photo with imaging exam results may enable a more meticulous reading from the radiologist interpreting the images, as well as a more personal and empathetic approach. The findings were based on 318 patients who had undergone CT scans, and who also had agreed to have their photos taken, which were added to the files sent to the radiologists. Lead author Yehonatan N. Turner, MD said, "Our study emphasizes approaching the patient as a human being and not as an anonymous case study. The photos were very helpful both in terms of improving diagnosis and the physicians' own feelings as caregivers. We feel it is important to counteract the anonymity that is common in radiologic exams, especially with the growth of teleradiology."
* * * * *
Brand Name Drugs versus Generics in Cardiovascular Disease
A contribution published in the December 3 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association reported, based on a systematic review and meta-analysis, that brand name drugs used in cardiovascular disease are not superior to generic drugs. Despite this, the authors wrote, " a substantial number of editorials counsel against the interchangeability of generic drugs."
A study published in the December 8/22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reports that for healthy adults under age 50, half a dose of a flu shot may work just as well as a full dose. Interestingly, researchers also found that women's immune response, regardless of age group, was significantly higher than men's immune response. They wrote, "Half-dose vaccination may be an effective strategy for healthy adults younger than 50 years in the setting of an influenza vaccine shortage."
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use
A December 10 news release from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine reports that a new nationwide government survey shows that approximately 38% of adults in the United States aged 18 years and over and nearly 12% of children (about one in nine) aged 17 years and under use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The survey, conducted as part of the 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), was the first time children's use of CAM was queried. Among children, CAM therapies were used most often for back or neck pain, head or chest colds, anxiety or stress, other musculoskeletal problems, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD).
* * * * *
Some good news and bad news for women: An article published online on December 8 in Circulation has found no sex differences in in-hospital mortality rates after AMI. However, compared with men, women were less likely to receive early aspirin treatment, early beta-blocker treatment, reperfusion therapy, or timely reperfusion, and women also experienced lower use of cardiac catheterization and revascularization procedures after AMI. Finally, women who had presented with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) had higher adjusted mortality rates than men. The findings were based on 78,254 patients with AMI in 420 US hospitals from 2001 to 2006.
Financial Rewards to Promote Weight Loss?
A communication published in the December 10 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association looked at the efficacy of financial rewards in weight loss programs. Researchers found that weight-loss programs that reward participants with money (and remind them of the money they will lose if they fail) are more effective at achieving weight loss than standard methods. Over the 16 weeks of the study, those in the financial incentive groups lost far more weight than those who got no pay, with about half of the participants in each incentive group meeting their weight loss goals of 16 pounds (7.26 kilograms) in 16 weeks – only 10% in the control group lost the 16 pounds. Unfortunately, once the money stopped, the weight began to creep back on.
An investigation published in the December 8/22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reports that found that, in following a typical Mediterranean diet, adding nuts (30 grams per day) works better than boosting olive oil consumption rates to cut the risk of metabolic syndrome. The metabolic benefits occurred even when calories weren't reduced and weight loss didn't occur.