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Tag: study

  • Can A Facebook Break Help Mental Health?

    Can A Facebook Break Help Mental Health?

    A new study examined whether deactivating Facebook could have a positive effect on mental health.

    The connection between social media and mental health is nothing new, as more research implies that regular use of platforms such as Facebook can take a negative toll on users. 

    In fact, a new “Gold Standard” study from Stanford University and New York University researchers indicates that deactivating Facebook can have positive effects on one’s mental health. 

    According to Fast Company, researchers in the study sought out 2,844 Facebook users via Facebook ads. They asked the users to take part in an in-depth questionnaire about “overall well-being, political views, and daily routine.”

    Of those, half were randomly chosen to be paid in order to deactivate their Facebook accounts for a full month. The accounts were monitored to make sure they remained deactivated. Over the four weeks, researchers studied the moods of the participants. 

    “Deactivation caused small but significant improvements in well-being, and in particular on self-reported happiness, life satisfaction, depression, and anxiety,” researchers wrote. “Effects on subjective well-being as measured by responses to brief daily text messages are positive but not significant.”

    Despite the increase in well-being, researchers made sure to note that Facebook is beneficial for users in some cases. 

    “Our participants’ answers in free response questions and follow-up interviews make clear the diverse ways in which Facebook can improve people’s lives, whether as a source of entertainment, a means to organize a charity or an activist group, or a vital social lifeline for those who are otherwise isolated,” they wrote. “Any discussion of social media’s downsides should not obscure the basic fact that it fulfills deep and widespread needs.”

    In conclusion, researchers noted that by not using Facebook, overall online activity was reduced and replaced by real-life activities such as spending time with friends and family and watching Netflix. They also added that participants who deactivated their accounts were found to have “lower levels of political polarization and news knowledge, and an increase in subjective well-being.”

    “We find that while deactivation makes people less informed, it also makes them less polarized by at least some measures, consistent with the concern that social media have played some role in the recent rise of polarization in the U.S.,” researchers wrote. 

    Additionally, researchers found that participants who had deactivated their accounts continued to spend less time on Facebook even in the weeks after the study had ended. 

    “The trajectory of views on social media—with early optimism about great benefits giving way to alarm about possible harms—is a familiar one,” researchers concluded. “Innovations from novels to TV to nuclear energy have had similar trajectories. Along with the excellent existing work by other researchers, we hope that our analysis can help move the discussion from simplistic caricatures to hard evidence, and to provide a sober assessment of the way a new technology affects both individual people and larger social institutions.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Cocaine Exposure In London River Triggers Eels

    Cocaine Exposure In London River Triggers Eels

    A study found that exposure to cocaine in the water can make fish and eels “hyperactive,” and deteriorate their bone structure. 

    London residents use so much cocaine that the drug is often found in the waters of the River Thames, possibly affecting eels and other wildlife in the river. 

    Researchers from King’s College London said that cocaine and other class A drugs were detected in the water 24 hours after sewer overflow events, according to The Independent.  

    During those events, the city’s water purification system can’t keep up, meaning that some raw sewage can make it into the river. Cocaine and other drugs from people’s urine can thus end up in the water. 

    James Robson, a senior curator at the SEA LIFE London aquarium, said the drugs likely have some effect on wildlife. 

    “Drugs which affect us will almost always affect all animal life, and invertebrates a little bit more because their biochemistry is much more sensitive,” he said. “Essentially everything in the water will be affected by drugs like these. A lot of the triggers and the ways that cocaine affects the system is really primal.”

    A study found that exposure to cocaine in the water can make fish and eels “hyperactive,” and deteriorate their bone structure. 

    “This study shows that even low environmental concentrations of cocaine cause severe damage to the morphology and physiology of the skeletal muscle of the silver eel, confirming the harmful impact of cocaine in the environment that potentially affects the survival of this species,” study authors wrote. 

    However, Robson said it wouldn’t be accurate to say that the wildlife is getting high. 

    “You haven’t got a lot of disco-dancing fish down the bottom of the Thames,” he said. Although authors of the hyperactivity study said that the fish they studied were exposed to similar levels of cocaine that are found in the water, Robson said that the fish in the study were exposed to higher levels of cocaine, which may explain their greater reactions. 

    London has high rates of cocaine use, and European studies have found that sewage in the city has high levels of the drug. In addition to cocaine, London waters also contain lots of caffeine, which researchers said “was so high that it lay outside of the quantifiable range.”

    While the research about cocaine and caffeine in the waters has spawned some interesting headlines, Robson said that it is relatively unimportant compared to other issues affecting the health of the River Thames and other waterways. 

    He said, “Before you would worry about something like caffeine increasing the heart rate, I would be much more concerned about things like climate change affecting the temperature and plastics pollution. Those do much more significant damage to the ecosystem.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Young People With Opioid Addiction Face Barriers To Treatment

    Young People With Opioid Addiction Face Barriers To Treatment

    Access to medication-assisted treatment is a major issue for young adults with opioid addiction.

    Opioid use among minors has drastically increased since the 1990s—parallel to adult use—yet young people with opioid addiction are largely without access to proper treatment.

    Yale University published a study revealing that nearly 9,000 minors (20 years old and under) in the U.S. died from prescription and illicit opioid poisonings between 1999 and 2016. The related mortality rate increased almost 270% during that same time period, and were mostly unintentional overdoses of kids ages 15 to 19.

    The youth in the study were addicted to and dying from the same opioids as adults, including fentanyl, the deadly drug that is often mixed in with other opioids.

    The National Institute on Drug Abuse writes that research shows that when treating opioid addiction, medication should be the first line of treatment, in tandem with behavioral therapy or counseling. The accepted medications to treat opioid addiction are buprenorphine, naltrexone and methadone.

    Lindsey Vuolo, associate director of health law and policy at the Center on Addiction, assured US News & World Report that these medications work.

    “Overall, approximately 50% of patients who receive medications for opioid addiction are successfully treated, while less than 10% of patients are successfully treated without these medications,” she said. Yet many rehabs do not offer any medication-assisted treatment.

    Adolescents with opioid addiction have an even more difficult road than adults in becoming aware of and accessing medication-assisted treatment.

    Dr. Scott Hadland, a pediatrician, assistant professor at Boston University and researcher at Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction, spoke with US News about the results of his study on opioid treatment and youth.

    Hadland and others looked at close to 5,000 Medicaid-enrolled young people between the ages of 13 and 22 with a diagnosed opioid use disorder in 2014 and 2015. The results were clear: less than a quarter received medication for their treatment within three months of being diagnosed, with most of the youths receiving only behavioral health services. A mere 5% of those under age 18 received timely treatment with medication. 

    Dr. Sharon Levy, director of the Adolescent Substance Use and Addiction Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, was the lead author of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2016 recommendations that called for “increasing resources to improve access to medication-assisted treatment of opioid-addicted adolescents and young adults.”

    The recommendations urged pediatricians to consider offering medication as treatment for young patients with severe opioid use disorders. Levy says that negative perceptions about medicated-assisted recovery (that the person is replacing one addiction with another) are outdated and the benefits of the medications outweigh any associated risks.

    “Policies, attitudes, and messages that serve to prevent patients from accessing a medication that can effectively treat a life-threatening condition may be harmful to adolescent health,” her AAP article states.

    Naltrexone is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for patients age 18 and older, and buprenorphine is approved for patients 16 and older.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Legal Risks Prevent New Moms From Getting Reliable Info About Cannabis Use

    Legal Risks Prevent New Moms From Getting Reliable Info About Cannabis Use

    The possibility of legal repercussions stop women who are pregnant or breastfeeding from starting a dialogue about marijuana use with their health care providers. 

    Pregnant women are finding it hard to get reliable information about the safety of cannabis use during pregnancy, in part because of very limited research on the subject, and in part because bringing it up with health care providers could trigger legal interventions. 

    Speaking with Weedmaps, Dr. Thomas Hale, the acting executive director of the InfantRisk Center, said that he hears from thousands of women who want to better understand the risks of cannabis use while pregnant or breastfeeding.

    “None of us will admit that it’s safe because we just don’t know,” said Hale.

    Some studies have connected marijuana use with brain changes in infants, while others have indicated that some THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) passes to an infant through breast milk. However, the studies are not definitive, in part because it’s difficult to study marijuana due to its Schedule I status. 

    The same status makes it difficult for many women to discuss marijuana use candidly with their health care providers. That’s why many parents turn to InfantRisk, where they can call in anonymously to get information, Hale said.

    “A pharmacist like myself or my colleague obstetrician, if we know a mom is using or encounter a mom that’s using a drug in pregnancy or during breastfeeding, in most states it is what we call a reportable offense. You’re supposed to report it.”

    This could cause providers and patients to take a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to cannabis use. However, this is dangerous in and of itself. A new study published in Preventive Medicine found that many women interpret their providers’ silence about marijuana as an indication that the drug isn’t dangerous during pregnancy. 

    “Some stated not receiving adequate information about the risk of cannabis use or how to quit from the providers, even when they actively sought support,” the study authors wrote. “Some women perceived that not communicating and addressing cannabis health risk during pregnancy by the maternity care providers or social workers, or not having specific counseling provided, might indicate that cannabis does not represent a significant concern for the outcome of their pregnancy.”

    This is particularly concerning because marijuana use during pregnancy is rising, and cannabis is the most frequently used drug among pregnant women. 

    Overall, it’s important for women to be able to safely discuss marijuana use with their doctors. 

    “A lack of communication with health care providers regarding the health aspects of cannabis was evident,” study authors wrote. “A discussion about health concerns surrounding cannabis use may influence women’s perceptions of risk and help them to make informed choices.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Are Drug-Related Crime Rates Lower In Affluent Neighborhoods?

    Are Drug-Related Crime Rates Lower In Affluent Neighborhoods?

    A new study suggests that the socioeconomic makeup of a neighborhood may not affect the rate of drug-related crimes or criminal offenses.

    New research suggests that the socioeconomic makeup of a neighborhood does not appear to have any effect on the level of drug-related crime in that area.

    An analysis of crime and census data of a suburban area with an average annual income of $74,000 found that residential stability did not reduce the level of narcotics trafficking or high-level criminal offenses that, according to the study authors, often accompany such activity.

    The authors also suggested that focusing police activity on a single area might dispel crime in that location, but it would also displace dealers and related criminals to other regions, thus increasing crime rates regardless of income or ownership.

    The study, written by Christopher Contreras, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Criminology, Law & Society at the University of California Irvine (UCI), and John R. Hipp, a professor in UCI’s Departments of Criminology, Law & Society and Urban Planning and Public Policy, was published in Justice Quarterly.

    To conduct their research, the pair reviewed crime and census data culled from a heavily suburban area in Florida’s Miami-Dade County between 2010 and 2014. The neighborhood had an average annual income of $74,000 and a home ownership rate of 72.5%.

    According to studies of drug dependency and abuse trends in the region during that time period, heroin-related deaths had increased sharply between 2011 and 2012 in Miami-Dade. Statistics also showed that laws designed to close “pill mills” and to limit the amount of controlled Schedule II medication that physicians could prescribe, caused a slight reduction in the number of prescription opioid-related deaths in Miami-Dade.

    However, four opioids—oxycodone, morphine, hydrocodone and methadone—were responsible for a slightly higher margin of deaths (32%) in 2013 than 2012.

    Upon reviewing the crime and census data, the study authors determined that “residential stability and high socioeconomic status do not necessarily buffer neighborhood blocks against an increase in robberies and burglaries,” as Contreras noted. “Communities with narcotics trafficking bring in serious, high-rate offenders, whose activities spill over into other neighborhoods.”

    According to the study authors, a contributing factor may also be due to changes in how drug trafficking takes place. Technology allows dealers to move more freely and conduct business in public places rather than isolated areas or street corners. When police pressure is applied to these scenarios, dealers can simply relocate and continue business. “Drug activity is displaced to somewhere else, along with higher crime,” noted Contreras.

    Keeping drug-related crime out of residential neighborhoods will require stronger law enforcement, according to study co-author John Hipp. But policymakers also need to “address the growing demand for opioids,” he added.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Positive Drug Tests At Work Continue To Rise

    Positive Drug Tests At Work Continue To Rise

    Marijuana is the substance most often detected in workplace drug screenings, according to a new study.

    More and more employees are testing positive for drugs in workplace screenings, an increase that is concerning for some employers and safety specialists. 

    According to a study by Quest Diagnostics, positive drugs tests have increased significantly in a two-year period between 2015 and 2017. Marijuana is the substance most often detected in workplace drug screenings, and analysis found that it was detected 33% more often in 2017 than in 2015. That jump may be expected, as more states make cannabis legal for recreational and medicinal use. 

    However, it’s alarming that the industry with the most significant increase was transportation and warehousing. In this industry, people often operate heavy machinery, and being intoxicated could put them at risk for accidents, human resources expert Rob Wilson, president of Employco USA, told WXYZ Detroit. 

    “Test results showed that there was a double-digit jump of marijuana use in transportation and warehouse fields, which could be very problematic as operating heavy machinery while under the influence of marijuana could be very dangerous indeed,” he said.

    Despite the fact that more states are legalizing cannabis, employees could still put their jobs at risk by using it. Whether or not medical use of cannabis is protected is the subject of many legal battles, but Wilson said that employers can treat cannabis like other legal substances: employees can use them, but not at work. 

    “While it is against the law to discriminate against someone simply because they have a medical marijuana card, as this could be seen as discrimination against someone with a disability, you can still require sobriety among your employees and treat marijuana the same way you would alcohol or prescription drugs like Vicodin. Whether an employee is driving heavy machinery or approving loans, you need your workers to be clear-headed and capable of performing at a high level,” he said. 

    However, this can complicate drug testing because the tests usually just show whether a substance is in someone’s system, without indicating the level, which is needed to know whether someone is currently under the influence of marijuana. 

    In addition, employers could face pushback for testing employees, Wilson said. 

    “Your ability to monitor drug use among your employees is going to depend on whether or not you are a unionized or private workplace,” he explained. “While you have the right to expect and require sobriety from workers on the job, it can become a bit tricky when you suspect drug use and want to act on your fears.”

    In addition to marijuana, more people also tested positive for cocaine and amphetamines, suggesting that the rise in positive tests can’t be wholly explained by cannabis legalization. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Are Rehab Centers Equipped With Meds To Treat Opioid Use Disorder?

    Are Rehab Centers Equipped With Meds To Treat Opioid Use Disorder?

    In spite of the availability of opioid addiction medications, many treatment centers have continued to rely only on abstinence programs and talk therapy. 

    A study published in the January issue of Health Affairs found that only 36% of addiction treatment centers in the U.S. carry any of the medications approved for the treatment of opioid addiction. Not only that, but only 6% carry all three: buprenorphine, naltrexone, and methadone.

    As the opioid crisis has exploded in the U.S. and abroad, cities are scrambling to combat spiking overdose deaths and the massive costs associated with the epidemic. In addition to law enforcement and education campaigns, increasing funds have been allocated to the development of medication that can treat opioid addiction.

    For many years, methadone was the only option for those who needed more than abstinence, therapy, and rehabilitation programs to combat their powerful and relentless disease. Buprenorphine and naltrexone arrived on the scene in 1981 and 1984, respectively, and have shown promising results.

    In spite of the availability of these drugs for decades, many addiction treatment centers have continued to rely only on abstinence programs and talk therapy. The study, led by Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Professor Ramin Mojtabai, looked at 10,000 outpatient facilities in the U.S. via surveys collected between 2007 and 2016.

    In 2007, only 20% of the centers offered even one of the medications, so at least some progress is being made in this respect. 

    “Medication treatment (MT) is one of the few evidence-based strategies proposed to combat the current opioid epidemic,” reads the study abstract. “The findings highlight the persistent unmet need for MT nationally and the role of expansion of health insurance in the dissemination of these treatments.”

    Image Source: NIDA

    Lindsey Vuolo, associate director of health law and policy at the Center on Addiction, assured U.S. News & World Report that these medications work.

    “Overall, approximately 50 percent of patients who receive medications for opioid addiction are successfully treated, while less than 10 percent of patients are successfully treated without these medications,” she said. At the same time, only 10 to 20% of people with substance use disorders seek any treatment at all.

    Though Dr. Mojtabai feels that increased attention to the opioid crisis may continue the trend toward more treatment centers offering addiction-combating medications, Vuolo notes that most of the facilities offering these drugs are concentrated in wealthy urban and suburban areas, and is generally more pessimistic.

    “The number of people receiving treatment has not changed significantly, even in light of the unrelenting opioid epidemic,” said Vuolo. “I don’t think research will show significant changes between 2016 and 2019 on a national scale.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • How The Mediterranean Diet Affects Mental Health

    How The Mediterranean Diet Affects Mental Health

    A new study found that certain foods correlated with better moods.

    The old saying “you are what you eat” could ring true for people with depression, according to a recent scientific review, which found that eating a Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of depression by as much as a third. 

    According to ABC 30, researchers analyzed 41 studies that looked at how food affected people’s moods. The researchers found that people who ate Mediterranean diets were 33% less likely to be depressed. 

    Mediterranean diets place an emphasis on eating fruits, vegetables, legumes and other plants, according to Healthline. The diet encourages eating fish over red meat and—perhaps most importantly for mental health—incorporates plenty of healthy fats, like those found in olive oil and nuts. 

    “Especially the omega three fatty acids—those are known to have pretty clear effects with depression,” said Charles Conway, a researcher at Washington University in St. Louis. Conway has researched more modern approaches to treating depression, including vagus nerve stimulation, but found that one’s diet is still important for mental health. 

    The researchers found that certain foods correlated with better moods, including avocados, berries, tomatoes, leafy greens, walnuts, seeds, and beans. Many of these are part of a Mediterranean diet. 

    However, foods that are associated with a modern Western diet could make depression symptoms worse or increase the risk of depression. These include processed foods, sugar and artificial sweeteners, and saturated fats. 

    Omega-3 fatty acids have long been associated with brain health and boosting one’s mood. A 2014 review found that people who consume these “good fats” are less likely to be depressed.  

    “Among the biological properties of omega-3 PUFA, their anti-inflammatory effects and their important role on the structural changing of the brain should be taken into account to better understand the possible pathway through which they can be effective both in preventing or treating depression,” study authors wrote.  

    The authors concluded that there needs to be a better understanding of how to integrate these healthy fats into a Western diet. 

    “The problem of how to correct the inadequate supply of omega-3 PUFA in the Westernized countries’ diet is a priority in order to set food and health policies and also dietary recommendations for individuals and population groups,” they wrote. 

    In addition to eating a healthy diet, Conway said that exercising is also an effective way to reduce your risk of depression and control symptoms. 

    “Pushing yourself to exercise regularly probably helps with some degree of mood improvement,” he said. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Is There A Link Between Anxiety And Weight Loss?

    Is There A Link Between Anxiety And Weight Loss?

    Recent findings may make developing drugs to treat obesity and anxiety much easier.

    New research on mice suggests that there is a connection between anxiety and burning fat. 

    According to New Atlas, researchers say the connection comes from a molecule that seems to connect the two. Researchers believe these findings could aid in developing drugs for managing both anxiety and obesity. 

    The research was conducted by scientists at Florida’s Scripps Research Institute and carried out on mice. Researchers focused on a molecule called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is known to “promote the growth and function of brain cells and recent research has linked it to schizophrenia, memory and experimental Alzheimer’s treatments.”

    Baoji Xu, a Scripps Institute obesity researcher, says that in observing certain mice that were engineered to lack the BDNF molecule, she noticed another potential function of it.

    She notes that just like with humans, there was a connection between times of stress and anxiety and weight loss in mice, even when the mice were specifically given a diet intended to lead to weight gain.

    “Even on a high-fat diet, these mice were really lean,” Xu said, according to New Atlas. “Could the same thing be happening in humans?”

    To fully understand this connection, researchers adjusted their study in an attempt to learn more. 

    In order to do so, researchers needed BDNF to be working in certain parts of the brain, but not in other parts. So they first eliminated the BDNF gene in the brain’s cortex, hippocampus and amygdala regions, according to New Atlas.

    After doing so, the mice still displayed anxiety symptoms. Upon further study, researchers found that the elimination of BDNF was impacting the neurotransmitter GABA, which has to do with slowing signals in the brain and creating a sense of relaxation. 

    In studying the BDNF-less mice, researchers determined that they had an “elevated basal metabolic rate,” which means they were “expending more energy just to keep their anxious bodies in working order,” according to New Atlas.

    It was also discovered that the mice produced more brown fat, which is a type of fat that burns energy to create body warmth. 

    Though the results of this study could prove helpful in creating drugs to treat anxiety and weight loss, there will have to be more thorough research conducted first. However, researchers are still hopeful based on these preliminary results. 

    “We’ve found a relationship between anxiety and weight loss,” says Xu. “This research could guide new therapies for anxiety and help researchers design treatments for obesity.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • How Results-Driven School Culture Affects Teachers’ Mental Health

    How Results-Driven School Culture Affects Teachers’ Mental Health

    Researchers talked to teachers on long-term sick leave as a result of struggling with mental health for a new study.

    More and more UK teachers are beginning to struggle with their mental health as a result of changing expectations in the profession. 

    This information comes from a new study, Forbes reports. Researchers have determined that the results-driven culture in schools, as well as a heavy workload, changing policies and lack of support from higher-ups, is leading teachers to be more prone to stress, anxiety and depression and is also causing a decrease in their self-esteem.

    The authors of the study have referred to the results-driven culture as “managerialist.” The authors explained that it has led to teachers not being able to encourage “active learning,” leading them to feel as if they are failing their students and themselves.  

    “The result is teachers feeling they are being driven out of the classroom, and in some cases attempting suicide, due to the pressure of work,” Forbes states. 

    In their research, study authors talked to teachers on long-term sick leave as a result of struggling with mental health. They also spoke to leaders in schools who had dealt with mental health struggles among staff members. 

    According to Forbes, many of those interviewed stated that the focus on results and targets has changed the position of teachers and has altered their ability to form relationships with students. 

    Many also noted that increasing amounts of paperwork have added to their workloads and that they felt they were always under pressure to reach unrealistic expectations while also not being allowed to participate in the decision-making process about expectations. 

    One teacher, according to Forbes, stated that a new leader at the school had “immediately set about changing everything, didn’t take advice from anybody.”

    Another teacher stated that teachers have lost the ability to respond to students’ needs, saying “there seems to be a loss of spontaneity that teachers used to have” and adding that “it’s all confirming to syllabus and rigor of that syllabus rather than responding to the children.”

    According to Gerry Leavey, the director of the Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing at Ulster University and principal investigator on the study, a decrease in self-esteem and teaching effectiveness was commonly brought up in interviews.  

    “This tension is often internalized and impacts on teachers’ identity,” he said. “It often pits taking care of themselves and the non-academic needs of pupils against management duties and targets. Too often, this leads to stress and mental health problems.” 

    Lead author Dr. Barbara Skinner told Forbes that when it comes to policy changes, the mental health of teachers must be considered. 

    “Educational reforms, and the rigidly prescribed organizational and management structures that accompany them should be weighed against their impacts on professional identity and personal well-being,” she said.

    View the original article at thefix.com