http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Like the general public, health care professionals may hold certain stereotypes regarding sexual activity and childbearing among women with disabilities. But a new study finds that women with chronic physical disabilities are about as likely as nondisabled women to say they are currently pregnant, after age and other sociodemographic factors are taken into account. The findings are reported in the June issue of Medical Care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-women-chronic-physical-disabilities-children.html Health Thu, 16 May 2013 14:04:19 EST news287931834 Bipolar disorder – where patients experience recurrent episodes of mood disturbance, ranging from extreme elation (mania) to severe depression – is thought to affect roughly 2% of the world's population in its most pronounced forms (bipolar I and II), with milder forms of the disorder affecting another 2%. A new Lancet Series provides a comprehensive overview of the genetics, diagnosis, and treatment of bipolar disorder, outlining future challenges, and debating imminent changes to the criteria that psychiatrists use to diagnose the illness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-lancet-series-bipolar-disorder.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 09 May 2013 18:30:02 EST news287337873 Researchers at the University of Huddersfield have published a research paper that focuses on the social factors involved in back pain sufferers returning to work, to give a wider context to the medical factors that are often considered. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-family-pain.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:22:04 EST news286093317 It is widely accepted that medical insurance helps older adults with chronic health problems to receive better care. But what about young adults between the ages of 18 and 25, a demographic that also tends to have the lowest levels of health insurance coverage? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-age-asthma-deteriorates.html Pediatrics Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:20:01 EST news285790080 Despite most parents ultimately just wishing for a healthy baby, there are many cultural and social factors that can drive the desire for a baby of a particular sex. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-medical-myth-sex-baby.html Health Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:46:05 EST news285410747 In December of last year the New York Post published images of a man about to be killed by a train while several bystanders did little to help him. Numerous studies have provided evidence that people are less likely to help when in groups, a phenomenon known as the "bystander effect." Those studies examined situations where only one person was needed to take action to help another. A University of Missouri anthropologist recently found that even when multiple individuals can contribute to a common cause, the presence of others reduces an individual's likelihood of helping. This research has numerous applications, including possibly guiding the fundraising strategies of charitable organizations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-individual-donation-amounts-givers-groups.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:01:27 EST news284904080 Most first-time mothers wait until after 6 weeks postpartum to resume vaginal sex following childbirth and women who have an operative vaginal birth, caesarean section, perineal tear or episiotomy appear to wait longer, suggests a new study published today in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-first-time-mothers-weeks-resuming-sex.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:00:01 EST news281108755 Peer pressure has long been blamed for binge drinking among teenagers, yet new research from Flinders University reveals it may not be the root of the problem. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-society-blame-binge.html Addiction Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:35:06 EST news280395235 Much has been made about who or what is to blame for the "obesity epidemic" and what can or should be done to stem the tide of rising body mass among the U.S. population. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-obsession-obesity-dangerous-ucla-author.html Overweight and Obesity Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:42:30 EST news275222538 A doctor-patient relationship built on trust and empathy doesn't just put patients at ease – it actually changes the brain's response to stress and increases pain tolerance, according to new findings from a Michigan State University research team. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-doc-empathy-patients-pain-tolerance.html Health Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:03:38 EST news273773004 Relatively small levels of exposure to alcohol while in the womb can influence a child's IQ, according to a new study led by researchers from the universities of Bristol and Oxford using data from over 4,000 mothers and their children in the Children of the 90s study (ALSPAC) and published today in PLOS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-moderate-pregnancy-affect-child-iq.html Health Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:10:22 EST news272130198 Hate the Lakers? Do the Celtics make you want to hurl? Whether you like someone can affect how your brain processes their actions, according to new research from the Brain and Creativity Institute at USC. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-affects-brain-movement.html Neuroscience Sat, 06 Oct 2012 07:16:03 EST news268726549 It's no secret that pregnancy hormones can dampen moods, but for some expectant moms, it's much worse: 1 in 5 experience major depression. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-yoga-depression-pregnant-women-boost.html Health Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:49:29 EST news263645364 A study conducted at the University of Granada has concluded that most immigrant women who give birth in Spain suffer "severe stress" and should receive psychological treatment after giving birth to help them overcome disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, phobic anxiety, depression or psychoticism. These disorders are caused by "the stress of labor itself combined with other personal stress factors. This is a very stressful moment in women's life due to biological, psychological and social factors". http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-immigrant-women-birth-spain-great.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Wed, 30 May 2012 09:46:36 EST news257589989 In a novel study of health disparities in the United States, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have identified 22 socioeconomic and environmental variables that together are better indicators of early death than are race or geography. The findings upend long-held beliefs that where you live and the color of your skin are the best markers for how long you may live. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-social-factors-early-death-skin.html Health Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:00:10 EST news253890576 A new Cambridge-led study has examined the past 60 years of incidence data on psychotic disorders in England in the hope that the data can reveal clues about the possible social factors which appear to underpin such conditions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cambridge-psychotic-disorders-future.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 23 Mar 2012 09:49:01 EST news251714932 It is estimated that half of all deaths in the United States are linked to behavioral and social factors such as smoking, diet and physical inactivity. Despite these causal links, of the $2 trillion spent annually on health care in the U.S., only 5 percent of that is devoted to addressing behavioral and social risk factors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-grant-behavioral-social-factors-linked.html Health Tue, 28 Feb 2012 12:56:40 EST news249656152 Nearly 2 million adults in California, about 8 percent of the population, need mental health treatment, but the majority receive no services or inadequate services, despite a state law mandating that health insurance providers include mental health treatment in their coverage options, a new report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-million-californians-mental-health-treatment.html Health Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:27:18 EST news241882031 A survey of more than 33,000 Italian high school students reveals that both underweight and overweight teens consume 20 to 40% more illegal drugs than their normal-weight peers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-illegal-drug-abnormal-weight-teens.html Health Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:42:33 EST news240687746 Ditching the diet for Thanksgiving? Turkey with all the fixings isn't the only temptation causing would-be dieters to miss their goals, according to a new Cornell University review article that finds powerful environmental cues are subconsciously bending willpower every day. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-gobbling-extra-stuffing-willpower-cheap.html Health Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:30:01 EST news240674756 In 2005, Jeffrey Martin, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology, health and sport studies in Wayne State University's College of Education, found that children living in underserved communities are less physically active than their higher-income counterparts. Now, in a follow-up study, Martin has found environmental factors that may affect underserved children's physical activity and fitness levels: classmate support, gender and confidence. The study was published in the June 2011 issue of Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-environmental-factors-underserved-children-physical.html Health Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:12:22 EST news229864324 How researchers classify and quantify causes of death across a population has evolved in recent decades. In addition to long-recognized physiological causes such as heart attack and cancer, the role of behavioral factors—including smoking, dietary patterns and inactivity—began to be quantified in the 1990s. More recent research has begun to look at the contribution of social factors to U.S. mortality. In the first comprehensive analysis of such studies, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found that poverty, low levels of education, poor social support and other social factors contribute about as many deaths in the U.S. as such familiar causes as heart attacks, strokes and lung cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-deaths-poverty-social-factors.html Health Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:00:04 EST news227450591 A brain imaging study suggests that men with a history of violent behavior may have greater gray matter volume in certain brain areas, whereas men with a history of substance use disorders may have reduced gray matter volume in other brain areas, according to a report published online today by the Archives of General Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-brain-scans-violent-behavior.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:40:01 EST news226596548 People in different cultures make different assumptions about the people around them, according to an upcoming study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The researchers studied the brain waves of people with Caucasian and Asian backgrounds and found that cultural differences in how we think about other people are embedded deep in our minds. Cultural differences are evident very deep in the brain, challenging a commonsense notion that culture is skin deep. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-actions-personality-east-west.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:24:40 EST news221757868