Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by the inability of individuals; to gauge the emotions and mental states of other people. However, if the lens is widened to include the behavior of people in general; those with ASD traits are as good or even slightly better social psychologists than people who do not have traits…
Puerto Rican teens growing up as minorities in the South Bronx are more likely to experience anxiety; and depression than their peers growing up as a majority in Puerto Rico; even under similar conditions of poverty, says a new study in World Psychiatry. Researchers looked at nearly 2,000 Puerto Rican youth over two decades to…
Suicide is becoming more common in America, an increase most pronounced in rural areas, new research has found. The study, which appears online today (Sept. 6, 2019) in the journal JAMA Network Open, also highlights a cluster of factors; including lack of insurance and the prevalence of gun shops; associated with high suicide rates. Researchers…
The study, led by the University of York and the National Centre for Social Research, found that the risk to mental health associated with experiencing weather-damage to your home is similar to the risk to mental health associated with living in a disadvantaged area. People with weather-damaged homes are more likely to experience poor mental health…
Assessing risk factors between depression* and 925 diseases; a study from the Australian Center for Precision Health at the University of South Australia found a causal relationship between depression and a range of respiratory; heart and digestive diseases including: asthma, coronary heart disease, high cholesterol, oesophagitis; gastroenteritis, E. coli infections, and urinary system disorders. UniSA…
The research findings, published in Clinical Psychological Science; a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reveal declines in mental health that were still evident several years after the official end of the recession; but were obscured when examining trends in population-level data. “The study provides a new perspective on the impact of The Great…
Scientists have found that spending two hours a week in nature linked to better health and well-being. It’s maybe not entirely surprising then that some patients are increasingly being prescribed time in nature; and community gardening projects as part of “green prescriptions” by the NHS. In Shetland for example, islanders with depression and anxiety may…
A medication that boosts the body’s own cannabis-like substances; endocannabinoids, shows promise to help the brain un-learn fear memories when these are no longer meaningful. These results, obtained in an early-stage; experimental study on healthy volunteers at Linköping University in Sweden; give hope that a new treatment developed for post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. The study…
More than 50 % of older Chinese American immigrants experience depression; linked to increased disabilities and chronic health conditions, according to two new Rutgers studies. The studies, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society; examine the relationship between psychological well-being and the onset of disability; and existence of comorbid chronic medical conditions among…
Carrying ten kilograms of excess body fat increases the risk of depression by seventeen per cent. The more fat, the greater the probability of developing depression. This is the main conclusion of a new study carried out by researchers; from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. “The study also indicated that the location of…
Using Big Data, the researchers found that people; with restless leg syndrome (RLS) had a 2.7- fold higher risk of suicide or self-harm, even when the researchers controlled for such conditions as depression, insomnia, diabetes and others. The study was published today (Aug. 23) in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open.…
Elderly women battling breast cancer who have anxiety; depression or other mental health conditions are more likely to use opioids and more likely to die, a new study led by the University of Virginia School of Medicine has found. The findings should encourage doctors to better manage mental health in patients with breast cancer and…