http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A new review finds cancer survivors suffer a diverse and complex set of impairments, affecting virtually every organ system. Writing in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Julie Silver, M.D., associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues say a majority of cancer survivors will have significant physical and psychological impairments as a result of treatments, and that these often go undetected and/or untreated, resulting in disability. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-physical-amp-emotional-impairments-common.html Cancer Fri, 17 May 2013 10:59:29 EST news288007108 Depressed middle-aged women have almost double the risk of having a stroke, according to research published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-depression-linked-middle-aged-women.html Cardiology Thu, 16 May 2013 16:26:40 EST news287940388 Although smoking prevalence has declined in the United Kingdom over recent decades, it has changed little among people with mental health disorders, remaining substantially higher than the national average. Yet a study published in the journal Addiction, presenting work carried out for a report released today by the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Psychiatrists called 'Smoking and Mental Health', suggests that general practitioners (GPs) are missing opportunities to help smokers with mental health disorders to quit. Though smokers with mental health problems are more likely than other smokers to receive cessation support from their GP over the course of a year, this reflects the increased frequency of their consultations. Overall, the total proportion of smokers with poor mental health (indicated by a recorded diagnosis or a prescription for a psychoactive medication) who are prescribed a smoking cessation medication in any one year is low: approximately one in ten is prescribed a smoking cessation medication, and only half are advised to quit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-opportunities-smokers-mental-illness.html Addiction Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:00:07 EST news283629426 Poor mental health leads to unhealthy behaviors in low-income adults – not the other way around, according to a new study¹ by Dr. Jennifer Walsh and colleagues from the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at The Miriam Hospital in the US. In this study, stress and anxiety predicted subsequent health-compromising behaviors, such as smoking, binge drinking, illegal drug use, unprotected sex and unhealthy diets. One possible explanation for these findings is that health compromising behaviors may be used as coping mechanisms to manage the effects of stress and anxiety. The study is published online in the Springer journal, Translational Behavioral Medicine², and is part of an issue focusing on multiple health behavior change. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-poor-mental-health-unhealthy-behaviors.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 04 Feb 2013 01:00:01 EST news279118526 Latest research points to the high risk for mental health problems among staff working in humanitarian organizations in northern Uganda, due in large part to their work environment. A new study by researchers at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health examined the mental health of 376 Ugandan workers at 21 humanitarian aid agencies and found that a significant number of the staff at these organizations experienced high levels of symptoms for depression (68%), anxiety disorders (53%), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (26%), respectively. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-humanitarian-aid-workers-uganda-stress.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:00:01 EST news278959803 (Medical Xpress)—Women with significantly lower levels of education than their parents are at higher risk of poor mental health, a new University of Queensland study has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-women-mothers-poor-mental-health.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 09 Jan 2013 07:00:01 EST news276935592 Three University of Kentucky (UK) sociologists have co-authored a study that helps to fill a gap in our understanding of suicide risk among African-American women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-bridge-gap-suicide-african-american-women.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 13 Dec 2012 10:52:14 EST news274618314 Men have borne the brunt of worsening mental health across the population of England since the start of the economic downturn in 2008, reveals research published in the online journal BMJ Open. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-men-brunt-worsening-mental-health.html Health Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:30:12 EST news269712051 (Medical Xpress)—A study by UCL researchers at University College Hospital's intensive care unit has suggested that psychological interventions could reduce the mental health problems experienced by many patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-psychological-interventions-mental-health-problems.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 17 Oct 2012 07:29:51 EST news269677698 Although some girls benefited from a program that moved families from high-poverty areas to low-poverty areas, boys and adolescents from families with preexisting health-related vulnerabilities did not appear to experience mental health benefits, according to a report published Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry, a JAMA Network publication. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-high-poverty-low-poverty-neighborhoods-beneficial-adolescent.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 08 Oct 2012 16:00:03 EST news268913145 Vitamin D is increasingly being recognized as important for good health. Vitamin D is a hormone made in the skin following sun exposure or acquired from diet and supplement intake. Previous medical research has shown that low body levels of vitamin D make people more susceptible to problems such as bone fractures, poor mental health and infections like the common cold. Until recently, there had been little consideration given to the role of vitamin D in more severe diseases, which is why Dr. Dayre McNally's recent publication in the esteemed scientific journal Pediatrics is so compelling. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-pediatric-role-vitamin-d-critical.html Pediatrics Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:04:16 EST news266663046 Recent research carried out at Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, shows that surprisingly, the majority of soldiers exhibiting symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome were suffering from poor mental health before they were posted to a war zone. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-war-necessarily-post-traumatic-stress-disorder.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 17 Aug 2012 10:40:04 EST news264417154 People who grew up in the worst years of 'The Troubles ' are more prone to suicide in Northern Ireland, according to new research carried out at Queen's University Belfast. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-children-prone-suicide.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 25 Jul 2012 00:20:01 EST news262369940 Existing research shows that it is beneficial to have a loved one present when visiting the doctor, but a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests the opposite may be true for older adults suffering from poor mental health. They examined whether companion presence in routine primary care visits helps or hinders physician visit processes and found that older adults with poor mental health function may experience more communication challenges in the form of shorter visits and less patient-centered communication. The results are featured in the June 2012 issue of Journal of General Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-patient-mental-health-overlooked-physician.html Health Wed, 30 May 2012 10:10:09 EST news257591400 Dialysis patients whose mental health deteriorates over time have an increased risk of developing heart problems and dying prematurely, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Additional research should investigate whether caring for kidney disease patients' mental health may help prevent heart complications and even death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-mental-health-role-dialysis-patients.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:00:05 EST news252860439 Referring people with schizophrenia to group art therapy does not improve their mental health or social functioning, finds a study published in the British Medical Journal today. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-guidelines-art-therapy-people-schizophrenia.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:30:02 EST news249670451 First-time first-trimester induced abortion is not associated with an increased risk of readmission to psychiatric facilities among women with a history of a treated mental disorder, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-first-trimester-abortion-psychiatric-readmission.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:00:07 EST news247756056 (Medical Xpress) -- Survivors of Hurricane Katrina have struggled with poor mental health for years after the storm, according to a new study of low-income mothers in the New Orleans area. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-hurricane-katrina-survivors-struggle-mental.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:01:45 EST news246693697 Men who have lost their partner to cancer and who are still single four to five years after their loss run a far greater risk of developing mental illness than those who have managed to find a new partner, reveals a unique study of 691 Swedish widowers carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-relationship-important-mental-health-widowers.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:23:19 EST news243015792