Long-term opioid use is associated with an increased risk of depression, finds a study by Saint Louis University scientists. They examined data from 108,000 new opioid users, ages 18 to 80, who did not have a diagnosis of depression when they began taking medication. They found that nearly 11 percent of patients experienced new-onset depression after opioid analgesic use. In addition, those who used the drug for more than 30 days were at highest risk for developing depression (
Annals of Family Medicine
, January/February
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Consumers who seek treatment for depression may not be getting enough information about their options , finds a study by Dartmouth University researchers. They surveyed nearly 1,000 Americans who were undergoing or had previously sought treatment for depression and 250 clinicians who had treated patients for depression. Patients reported they wanted information about whether a treatment would work, as well as about potential side effects, whether insurance would cover it, how long before it took effect and how much it would cost. However most clinicians said they did not report discussing treatment costs and insurance information with their patients. In addition, only 18 percent of patients reported a high level of shared decision-making with their clinician at their most recent clinic visit ( BMJ Open , January opens in new window ).
Using paroxetine during the first trimester of pregnancy may increase newborns' risk of congenital and cardiac malformations , finds research led by scientists at the University of Montreal. They reviewed 23 studies published from 1966 to 2015 and found that, compared with women who did not use the antidepressant, first trimester use of the drug was associated with a 23 percent increased risk of any major congenital malformations and a 28 percent increased risk of major cardiac malformations in newborns ( British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology , online Nov. 27 opens in new window ).
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resources are lacking for nonveterans , according to a study led by Brown University researchers. After reviewing the research literature on civilian PTSD treatment as well as consumer-oriented websites, the researchers found that compared with resources from the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, treatment resources for nonveterans experiencing PTSD, including victims of sexual assault, child abuse and natural disasters, are much less cohesive and helpful. The researchers recommended further study on treatment outcomes, access and costs for these victims, uniform measures across such studies to ensure comparability, and the establishment of a patient-centered institute to marshal and maintain resources and best practices for treatment ( Harvard Review of Psychiatry , November/December opens in new window ).
A patient's mental health status before bladder cancer surgery may indicate his or her risk for complications , finds research conducted at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. Scientists asked 274 patients who were undergoing bladder removal as a treatment for advanced bladder cancer to complete a quality-of-life survey. Patients who scored low on a mental health self-assessment suffered more serious complications in the month following surgery than patients with higher self-assessments, the researchers found ( Journal of Urology , January opens in new window ).
Children conceived via infertility treatments are no more likely to have a developmental delay than those conceived without such treatments
, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, the New York State Department of Health and other institutions. The mothers of more than 5,800 children — 1,800 conceived via infertility treatments — completed questionnaires on their children's fine motor, gross motor, communication, personal and social functioning, and problem-solving skills at numerous intervals during the children's first three years of life. Findings showed that children conceived via fertility treatments scored similarly to other children on the developmental assessments (
JAMA Pediatrics
, online Jan. 4
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).
Psychotherapy is an effective treatment for gastrointestinal symptoms among those suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) , according to a meta-analysis by researchers at Vanderbilt University. The study examined 41 clinical trials with more than 2,200 IBS patients. Results showed no significant difference in the effectiveness of different types of psychotherapy, and all forms and lengths of treatment proved equally effective. Researchers also found that treatment conducted online appears to be as effective as treatment conducted in person, and that the beneficial effects of therapy last at least six to 12 months after treatment has concluded ( Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology , online Dec. 22 opens in new window ).
Men generally have higher levels of self-esteem than women, but that gender gap is more pronounced in industrialized nations , according to research by University of California, Davis, psychologists. They analyzed survey data comparing self-reported self-esteem, gender and age among more than 985,000 individuals ages 16 to 45 from 48 countries. They found that self-esteem tended to increase with age and that men at every age tended to have higher levels of self-esteem than women worldwide. However, individualistic, developed nations with higher gender equality, such as Norway and the United States, had larger gender gaps in self-esteem than collectivist, developing nations with greater gender inequality such as Bolivia and India ( Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , online Dec. 21 opens in new window ).
Eating at times normally reserved for sleep impairs learning and memory , according to research conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles. The team tested the ability of mice to distinguish between a previously presented object and a novel object and found that the rodents regularly fed during their sleep-times were significantly less able to distinguish them than those fed during normal waking hours. The researchers also found that long-term memory was dramatically reduced among the sleep-time-fed mice ( eLife , online Dec. 10 opens in new window ).
Even high-achieving students perform better in school once their sleep apnea is fixed , according to a University of Michigan study. Researchers followed 147 children ages 3 to 12 who had their tonsils and adenoids removed in order to treat sleep-disordered breathing. Six months after the procedure, all participants regardless of IQ showed improvements in sleep, inattention, hyperactivity, social problems and perfectionism. The findings are significant as it may be more difficult to identify sleep apnea among higher-IQ children since they may not show problems with school performance, the researchers say ( International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology , January opens in new window ).
A resilience program appears to help military families cope with the stresses of multiple deployments and combat-related injuries , according to a study by University of California, Los Angeles, researchers. They looked at 2,615 families at 15 Navy and Marine Corps bases who participated in Families OverComing Under Stress, or FOCUS, an eight-week intervention that teaches the entire family how to overcome misunderstandings, diminish tensions, handle difficult emotions and band together. Family members completed questionnaires on their psychological health when they began the program, and again immediately following the training, one month later and six months later. Findings showed that the FOCUS program reduced by one-half the number of service members, spouses and children suffering from the most problematic psychological symptoms, and the improvements increased over time ( Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , January opens in new window ).
Music therapy increases the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) , finds a study led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers. Over six weeks, a randomized group of 68 patients with COPD attended weekly music therapy sessions, which included live music, visualizations, wind-instrument playing, singing and breath-control instruction. Those who received music therapy in conjunction with standard rehab treatment had an improvement in symptoms, psychological well-being and quality of life compared with patients who only had standard rehab ( Respiratory Medicine , December opens in new window ).
Electronic toys don't foster as much language interaction between infants and adults as traditional toys do
, according to researchers at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. Twenty-six sets of parents and infants ages 10 months to 16 months received three sets of toys: electronic toys such as a baby laptop and a talking farm; traditional toys including a chunky wooden puzzle and shape-sorter; and five board books that highlight farm animals, shapes or colors. When children and adults played together with electronic toys, the adults spoke less and had less verbal back-and-forth with the children, compared with when parents and children played with traditional toys or books. Children also vocalized less while playing with electronic toys than with books (
JAMA Pediatrics
, online Dec. 23).
Exercising early in life can alter the body's gut microbes, promoting healthier metabolic activity , according to a study with rats conducted at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Researchers compared juvenile rats who voluntarily exercised every day with those who stayed sedentary. They found that the active rats developed a more beneficial microbial structure, including expanded probiotic bacterial species in their guts, compared with both their sedentary counterparts and adult rats, even when the adult rats exercised as well. Previous research has shown that the human brain responds to microbial signals from the gut, indicating that a robust, healthy community of gut microbes may also promote healthy brain function and provide antidepressant effects, say the authors ( Immunology and Cell Biology , online Dec. 9 opens in new window ).
Whether you order a dessert or drink may be influenced by how much your server weighs
, according to a study by Cornell University scientists. They observed 497 diners ordering dinner in 60 casual sit-down restaurants and matched those orders to the body mass index of each diner's server. Findings show that diners who ordered their dinners from heavier wait staff ordered 17 percent more alcohol and were four times more likely to order dessert (
Environment and Behavior
, online Dec. 28
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).
Material purchases bring more frequent happiness, but experiential purchases lead to greater satisfaction , finds a study by University of British Columbia psychologists. They asked participants to record their thoughts in the weeks and months following such material purchases as reindeer leggings, portable speakers and coffeemakers, and for such experiential purchases as a weekend ski trip, tickets to a hockey game or spa gift cards. While the material purchases brought repeated doses of happiness over time in the weeks after they were bought, the experiential purchases offered a more intense but fleeting dose of happiness. When people looked back on their purchases six weeks later, they felt more satisfied about their experiential purchases ( Social Psychological and Personality Science , online Nov. 30 opens in new window ).
The number of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses among U.S. school children jumped 43 percent from 2003 to 2011 , based on parents' reports of an ADHD diagnosis, according to George Washington University researchers. They analyzed data from a national survey on children's health and found that 5.8 million, or 12 percent, of U.S. children ages 5 to 17 had the diagnosis in 2011. They also found the parent-reported prevalence for girls diagnosed with ADHD rose 55 percent, from 4.3 percent in 2003 to 7.3 percent in 2011. The data further showed an 83 percent rise among Latino youth ( Journal of Clinical Psychiatry , online Dec. 8).
— Amy Novotney
