Depression in Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period
The author reviews the risks and benefits of untreated maternal depression during pregnancy and the postnatal period and its effects on the well-being of the mother and infant. She then discusses the significant role psychiatrists can play in detecting and managing maternal depression as a primary measure for preventing future child psychopathology.
Older white women join Kenya’s sex tourists
Bethan, 56, lives in southern England on the same street as best friend Allie, 64.
They are on their first holiday to Kenya, a country they say is “just full of big young boys who like us older girls”.
Routine HIV testing may benefit teenagers
Early, routine HIV testing might help stem the spread of the infection among teenagers, according to researchers.
In a study of more than 1,200 sexually active 15- to 21-year-olds, the researchers found that key HIV risk factors—like having unprotected sex or having a high-risk partner—had no bearing on whether the study participants sought HIV testing over the next three months.
Non-Caucasians at higher risk for severe metastatic breast cancer pain
A new study finds significant racial differences in the risk of pain related to metastatic breast cancer. An analysis by Dr. Liana Castel of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and colleagues found that non-whites experience poorer pain control among women with this disease. The study is published in the January 1, 2008 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
Studies indicate that chronic or recurrent pain affects 30 percent of all cancer patients and 60 to 90 percent of patients with advanced cancer. Age, race, tumor type, genetics, psychosocial context, and culture can all affect pain. However, it is unclear how pain is influenced by changes over the course of disease due to factors including radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy. The current study was among the first to examine whether race plays a role in patients’ experiences in pain over the course of metastatic cancer.
Novel MRI technique shows secondhand smoke damages lungs
For the first time, researchers have identified structural damage to the lungs caused by secondhand cigarette smoke.
The results of the study, conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
New research review shows that your family doctor may be the key to quitting smoking
Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) are defining the most effective ways to treat tobacco dependence, and in an article released in the November issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) they highlight the surprisingly significant role that the health practitioner can play in helping people quit smoking. Many people’s attempts to quit are unsuccessful, so effective interventions are critical for the 4.5 million smokers in Canada alone.
“Advising patients to quit, even just once, helps to double quit rates,” write CAMH researchers Dr. Bernard Le Foll and Dr. Tony George.
Cholesterol disturbances impair stroke recovery
New research suggests that people are at an increased risk of memory problems and greater disability after stroke if they have low levels of “good” HDL cholesterol and high levels of homocysteine, an amino acid acquired mostly from eating meat.
“These findings show metabolic stress plays a significant role in stroke recovery,” lead author Dr. George C. Newman, from the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, said in a statement.
High glycemic index diet may boost diabetes risk
Regular consumption of foods with a high glycemic index appears to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes in African-American and Chinese women, according to the results of two studies published Monday.
Glycemic index refers to how rapidly a food causes blood sugar to rise. High-glycemic index foods, like white bread and potatoes, tend to spur a quick surge in blood sugar, while low-glycemic index foods, such as lentils, soybeans, yogurt and many high-fiber grains, create a more gradual increase in blood sugar.
