Could eating fruit more often keep depression at bay?

July 14, 2022

Science Daily/Aston University

A study surveyed 428 adults and looked at the relationship between their consumption of fruit, vegetables, sweet and savoury food snacks and their psychological health. The more often people ate fruit, the lower they scored for depression and the higher for mental wellbeing.

People who frequently eat fruit are more likely to report greater positive mental wellbeing and are less likely to report symptoms of depression than those who do not, according to new research from the College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston University.

The researchers' findings suggest that how often we eat fruit is more important to our psychological health than the total amount we consume during a typical week.

The team also found that people who eat savoury snacks such as crisps, which are low in nutrients, are more likely to report greater levels of anxiety.

Published in the British Journal of Nutrition, the study surveyed 428 adults from across the UK and looked at the relationship between their consumption of fruit, vegetables, sweet and savoury food snacks, and their psychological health.

After taking demographic and lifestyle factors such as age, general health and exercise into account, the research found that both nutrient-rich fruit and nutrient-poor savoury snacks appeared to be linked to psychological health. They also found that there was no direct association between eating vegetables and psychological health.

Based on the survey, the more often people ate fruit, the lower they scored for depression and the higher for mental wellbeing, independent of the overall quantity of fruit intake.

People who frequently snacked on nutrient-poor savoury foods (such as crisps) were more likely to experience 'everyday mental lapses' (known as subjective cognitive failures) and report lower mental wellbeing. A greater number of lapses, was associated with higher reported symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression, and lower mental wellbeing scores.

By contrast, there was no link between these everyday memory lapses and fruit and vegetable intake or sweet snacks, suggesting a unique relationship between these nutrient-poor savoury snacks, everyday mental lapses, and psychological health.

Examples of these frustrating little everyday mental lapses included forgetting where items had been placed, forgetting the purpose of going into certain rooms, and being unable to retrieve names of acquaintances whose name was on the 'tip of the tongue'.

Lead author, PhD student Nicola-Jayne Tuck commented: "Very little is known about how diet may affect mental health and wellbeing, and while we did not directly examine causality here, our findings could suggest that frequently snacking on nutrient-poor savoury foods may increase everyday mental lapses, which in turn reduces psychological health.

"Other studies have found an association between fruit and vegetables and mental health, but few have looked at fruit and vegetables separately -- and even fewer evaluate both frequency and quantity of intake.

"Both fruit and vegetables are rich in antioxidants, fibre and essential micronutrients which promote optimal brain function, but these nutrients can be lost during cooking. As we are more likely to eat fruit raw, this could potentially explain its stronger influence on our psychological health.

"It is possible that changing what we snack on could be a really simple and easy way to improve our mental wellbeing. Conversely, it is also possible that the forthcoming restriction of processed snack foods at checkouts, due to come in this October, could not only improve the country's physical health, but mental health too.

"Overall, it's definitely worth trying to get into the habit of reaching for the fruit bowl."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220714145013.htm

Spirituality linked with better health outcomes, patient care

July 12, 2022

Science Daily/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Spirituality should be incorporated into care for both serious illness and overall health, according to a study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

"This study represents the most rigorous and comprehensive systematic analysis of the modern day literature regarding health and spirituality to date," said Tracy Balboni, lead author and senior physician at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center and professor of radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School. "Our findings indicate that attention to spirituality in serious illness and in health should be a vital part of future whole person-centered care, and the results should stimulate more national discussion and progress on how spirituality can be incorporated into this type of value-sensitive care."

"Spirituality is important to many patients as they think about their health," said Tyler VanderWeele, the John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Epidemiology in the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Harvard Chan School. "Focusing on spirituality in health care means caring for the whole person, not just their disease."

The study, which was co-authored by Balboni, VanderWeele, and senior author Howard Koh, the Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership at Harvard Chan School, will be published online in JAMA on July 12, 2022. Balboni, VanderWeele, and Koh are also co-chairs of the Interfaculty Initiative on Health, Spirituality, and Religion at Harvard University.

According to the International Consensus Conference on Spiritual Care in Health Care, spirituality is "the way individuals seek ultimate meaning, purpose, connection, value, or transcendence." This could include organized religion but extends well beyond to include ways of finding ultimate meaning by connecting, for example, to family, community, or nature.

In the study, Balboni, VanderWeele, Koh, and colleagues systematically identified and analyzed the highest-quality evidence on spirituality in serious illness and health published between January 2000 and April 2022. Of the 8,946 articles concerned with serious illness, 371 articles met the study's strict inclusion criteria, as did 215 of the 6,485 articles focused on health outcomes.

A structured, multidisciplinary group of experts, called a Delphi panel, then reviewed the strongest collective evidence and offered consensus implications for health and health care.

They noted that for healthy people, spiritual community participation-as exemplified by religious service attendance -- is associated with healthier lives, including greater longevity, less depression and suicide, and less substance use. For many patients, spirituality is important and influences key outcomes in illness, such as quality of life and medical care decisions. Consensus implications included incorporating considerations of spirituality as part of patient-centered health care and increasing awareness among clinicians and health professionals about the protective benefits of spiritual community participation.

The 27-member panel was composed of experts in spirituality and health care, public health, or medicine, and represented a diversity of spiritual/religious views, including spiritual-not-religious, atheist, Muslim, Catholic, various Christian denominations, and Hindu.

According to the researchers, the simple act of asking about a patient's spirituality can and should be part of patient-centered, value-sensitive care. The information gleaned from the conversation can guide further medical decision-making, including but not limited to notifying a spiritual care specialist. Spiritual care specialists, such as chaplains, are trained to provide clinical pastoral care to diverse patients-whether spiritual-not-religious or from various religious traditions. Chaplains themselves represent a variety of spiritual backgrounds, including secular and religious.

"Overlooking spirituality leaves patients feeling disconnected from the health care system and the clinicians trying to care for them," said Koh. "Integrating spirituality into care can help each person have a better chance of reaching complete well-being and their highest attainable standard of health."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220712141303.htm

Friends enjoy being reached out to more than we think

The greater the surprise, the greater the appreciation, study says

July 11, 2022

Science Daily/American Psychological Association

People consistently underestimate how much others in their social circle might appreciate an unexpected phone call, text or email just to say hello, and the more surprising the connection, the greater the appreciation, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

"People are fundamentally social beings and enjoy connecting with others," said lead author Peggy Liu, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh. "There is much research showing that maintaining social connections is good for our mental and physical health. However, despite the importance and enjoyment of social connection, our research suggests that people significantly underestimate how much others will appreciate being reached out to."

The research was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Researchers conducted a series of experiments involving more than 5,900 participants that explored how accurate people are at estimating how much others might appreciate an attempt to connect and what factors might play into that level of appreciation.

In one experiment, half the participants were asked to recall the last time they reached out to someone in their social circle "just because" or "just to catch up" via email, text or phone, after a prolonged period of not interacting with them. The rest of the participants were asked to recall a similar situation where someone reached out to them. Participants were then asked to indicate on a 7-point scale (1=not at all, 7=to a great extent) how much either they or the person they reached out to (depending upon the condition) appreciated, felt grateful, felt thankful or felt pleased by the contact. People who recalled reaching out thought the gesture they recalled was significantly less appreciated than those who recalled receiving a communication.

In other experiments, participants sent a short note, or a note and a small gift, to someone in their social circle with whom they had not interacted in a while. Similar to the previous experiment, participants who initiated contact were asked to rate on a 7-point scale the extent to which they thought the recipient would appreciate, feel grateful for, and feel pleased by the contact. After the notes/gifts were sent, researchers also asked the recipients to rate their appreciation.

Across all experiments, those who initiated the communication significantly underestimated the extent to which recipients would appreciate the act of reaching out. The researchers also found one interesting variable that affected how much a person appreciated a reach out.

"We found that people receiving the communication placed greater focus than those initiating the communication on the surprise element, and this heightened focus on surprise was associated with higher appreciation," said Liu. "We also found that people underestimated others' appreciation to a greater extent when the communication was more surprising, as opposed to part of a regular communication pattern, or the social ties between the two participants were weak."

Many people have lost touch with others in their lives, whether they're friends from high school or college or co-workers they used to see at the water cooler before work went remote, according to Liu. Initiating social contact after a prolonged period of disconnect can feel daunting because people worry about how such a gesture might be received. These findings suggest that their hesitations may be unnecessary, as others are likely to appreciate being reached out to more than people think.

"I sometimes pause before reaching out to people from my pre-pandemic social circle for a variety of reasons. When that happens, I think about these research findings and remind myself that other people may also want to reach out to me and hesitate for the same reasons," Liu said. "I then tell myself that I would appreciate it so much if they reached out to me and that there is no reason to think they would not similarly appreciate my reaching out to them."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220711095206.htm

Online art viewing can improve well-being

Effects are similar to those of visits to physical art galleries or even nature experiences

July 8, 2022

Science Daily/University of Vienna

Viewing art while visiting galleries and museums can have powerful effects on an individual's mood, stress and well-being. But does the same hold true for viewing art in digital space? A new study by psychologists led by MacKenzie Trupp, and Matthew Pelowski investigated whether engaging with art online also has this effect. Their conclusion: a short three-minute visit to an online art or cultural exhibition also shows significant positive effects on subjective well-being.

In the first wave of the Covid 19 pandemic, arts and cultural institutions quickly shifted from stationary buildings to the Internet. For the first time, digital museums and online art galleries became the focus of public attention. This had two effects: First, art and cultural objects could be accessed from the sofas of citizens around the globe. Second, art had the opportunity to reach a much wider audience than before.

Over the past decade, scholars have conducted numerous research studies demonstrating that art can have a positive impact on health and well-being. However, it was unknown whether these effects could also be felt over the Internet.

In a new study, MacKenzie Trupp, PhD, Matthew Pelowski of the Arts and Research on Transformation of Individuals and Society research group, and their colleagues from the Department of Psychology and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics asked participants to visit art exhibitions accessible via smartphones, tablets, and computers. Before and after the visit, psychological state and well-being were measured to determine the extent to which viewing the art might be beneficial.

Results showed that even very brief viewings can have significant effects, leading to lower negative mood, anxiety, and loneliness, as well as higher subjective well-being. These results were comparable to other interventions such as nature experiences and visits to physical art galleries. Upon further investigation, the personal subjective experiences of individuals became an important aspect to consider. The research team discovered that the more meaningful or beautiful people found the art to be and the more positive feelings they had while viewing it, the greater the benefit.

These results demonstrate that brief online art viewing can improve and support well-being. In addition, this study emphasizes art interventions-a recommendation that can be implemented on-site or made specific to individual viewers*. This opens new avenues for further research and applications in spaces such as waiting rooms, hospitals, and rural areas where access to art is limited.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220708095642.htm

Adolescents more vulnerable to cannabis addiction but not other mental health risks

July 1, 2022

Science Daily/University College London

Adolescents are over three times more vulnerable to developing a cannabis addiction than adults, but may not be at increased risk of other mental health problems related to the drug, finds a new study led by UCL and King's College London researchers.

The study, published today in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, found that adolescents who used cannabis were no more likely to have higher levels of subclinical depression or anxiety than adults who use cannabis, nor were they more vulnerable than adult users to the associations with psychotic-like symptoms.

These findings build on a separate study by the same team, published recently in Psychopharmacology that found adolescents were not more vulnerable to associations between chronic cannabis use and cognitive impairment.

Lead author Dr Will Lawn (UCL Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit and Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London) said: "There is a lot of concern about how the developing teenage brain might be more vulnerable to the long-term effects of cannabis, but we did not find evidence to support this general claim.

"Cannabis addiction is a real issue that teenagers should be aware of, as they appear to be much more vulnerable to it than adults.

"On the other hand, the impact that cannabis use has during adolescence on cognitive performance or on depression and anxiety may be weaker than hypothesised.

"But we also replicated previous work that if someone becomes addicted to cannabis, that may increase the severity of subclinical mental health symptoms. Given adolescents are also at a greater risk of experiencing difficulties with mental health than adults, they should be proactively discouraged from regular cannabis use."

The findings in both papers come from the CannTeen study, funded by the Medical Research Council, which is comparing the effects of regular cannabis use among adolescents and adults, while also comparing to age-matched controls (non-users of cannabis), a completely novel design.

The study involved 274 participants, including 76 adolescents (aged 16 and 17) who used cannabis one to seven days per week, alongside similar numbers of adult (aged 26-29) users, and teenage and adult control (comparison) participants, who all answered questions about their cannabis use over the last 12 weeks and responded to questionnaires commonly used to assess symptoms of mental ill health. The cannabis users in the study, on average, used it four times per week. The adolescent and adult users were also carefully matched on gender, ethnicity, and type and strength of cannabis.

The researchers found that adolescent cannabis users were three and a half times as likely to develop severe 'cannabis use disorder' (addiction) than adult users, a finding which is in line with previous evidence using different study designs. Cannabis use disorder is defined by symptoms such as, among others: cravings; cannabis use contributing to failures in school or work; heightened tolerance; withdrawal; interpersonal problems caused by or exacerbated by cannabis use; or intending to cut back without success. The researchers found that 50% of the teenage cannabis users studied have six or more cannabis use disorder symptoms, qualifying as severe cannabis use disorder.

Among people of any age, previous studies have found that roughly 9-22% of people who try the drug develop cannabis use disorder, and that risk is higher for people who tried it at a younger age. The increased risk of cannabis addiction during adolescence has now been robustly replicated.

The researchers say that adolescents might be more vulnerable to cannabis addiction because of factors such as increased disruption to relationships with parents and teachers, a hyper-plastic (malleable) brain and developing endocannabinoid system (the part of the nervous system that THC in cannabis acts upon), and an evolving sense of identity and shifting social life.

Adolescent users were more likely than adult users or adolescent non-users to develop psychotic-like symptoms, but the analysis revealed that this is because all adolescents, and all cannabis users, are more likely to newly develop psychotic-like symptoms, rather than cannabis affecting the teenagers differently to adults. In other words, there was no adolescent vulnerability, as the increased risk of psychotic-like symptoms was an additive effect (of the two already known risk factors for psychotic-like symptoms, cannabis use and adolescent age), rather than an interaction between age and cannabis use. The researchers say this fits in with prior evidence that cannabis use may increase the likelihood of developing a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia, but they warn their study did not investigate the risk of clinical psychosis or schizophrenia.

The researchers found that neither teenage nor adult cannabis users were more likely to develop depressive or anxiety symptoms than non-users. Only the adolescents that have severe cannabis use disorder had worse mental health symptoms, but the researchers caution that the small sample size for this group limits their confidence in this finding.

The separate study published in Psychopharmacology found that cannabis users were no more likely to have impaired working memory or impulsivity. Cannabis users were more likely to have poor verbal memory (remembering things said to you); this effect was the same in adults and teenagers, so again there was no adolescent vulnerability. However, the researchers caution that cannabis use could impact school performance during a key developmental stage of life.

The researchers caution that these findings were cross-sectional (only looking at one time point), and that longitudinal analyses of how their participants changed over time are ongoing.

Senior author Professor Val Curran (UCL Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) said: "Our findings suggest that schools should be teaching pupils more about the risk of addiction to cannabis, which has been neglected in drugs education. Becoming addicted to cannabis is a serious problem in itself, but it can also increase the likelihood of other mental health problems. Teenagers should therefore be informed of their greater risk of addiction."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220701102757.htm

Emergency care and hospitalizations higher among cannabis users

Serious physical injury and respiratory-reasons the two leading causes of ED visits and hospitalizations among cannabis users

June 28, 2022

Science Daily/St. Michael's Hospital

Visits to the emergency department and hospitalizations are 22 per cent higher among individuals who use cannabis compared with those who do not, according to a new study.

The study, published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research and led by researchers at Unity Health Toronto and ICES, found serious physical injury and respiratory-reasons were the two leading causes of ED visits and hospitalizations among cannabis users.

The findings suggest an association between cannabis use and negative health events, which the researchers say should underline the need to educate and remind the public of the harmful impacts of cannabis on health. Recreational cannabis use has increased in Canada since decriminalization in October 2018.

"Our research demonstrates that cannabis use in the general population is associated with heightened risk of clinically serious negative outcomes, specifically, needing to present to the ED or be admitted to hospital," said Dr. Nicholas Vozoris, lead author, a respirologist at St. Michael's and an associate scientist at the hospital's Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute.

"Unlike tobacco, there is some uncertainty or controversy regarding the adverse health impacts of cannabis. Some individuals may perceive that cannabis has some health benefits and is otherwise benign. Our research highlights to those using -- or considering to use -- cannabis, that this behaviour is associated with important negative health events."

To compare health outcomes among cannabis users and individuals who don't use cannabis, researchers used data collected in a survey of individuals who self-reported cannabis use and linked it with health administrative data from ICES for Ontario residents ages 12 to 65 years old.

Using propensity score matching -- a statistical matching technique -- researchers compared the health outcomes of nearly 4,800 individuals who reported any cannabis use in the preceding 12 months with the health outcomes of over 10,000 individuals who reported never having used cannabis, or having used cannabis only once and more than 12 months ago. Researchers incorporated 31 different variables while matching study participants to minimize an unfair comparison, including demographics, multiple physical and mental health diseases, and tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use.

The primary goal of the study was to explore whether there was a link between cannabis use and respiratory-related hospitalization or ED visits. The researchers found no significant associations between cannabis use and respiratory-related ED visits, hospitalizations, or death from any cause. However, they did find that overall visits to the ED or hospitalizations for any reason was significantly higher among cannabis users.

In addition to having greater odds of going to the ED or being hospitalized, the findings show that one of every 25 people who use cannabis will go to the emergency department (ED) or be admitted to hospital within a year of using cannabis.

Among the reasons cannabis users went to the ED or were hospitalized, acute trauma -- defined as bodily injury -- was the most common, with 15 per cent of cannabis users who got medical attention receiving it for this reason, and 14 per cent receiving care for respiratory reasons.

"The results of our research support that health care professionals and government should discourage recreational cannabis consumption in the general population. Given the context of cannabis decriminalization in Canada, which has very likely facilitated the broader use of this product in the population, more efforts need to made from our health and political leaders to educate and remind citizens about the harmful impacts of cannabis on health," said Dr. Vozoris, who is also a scientist at ICES

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220628083257.htm

Cannabis products demonstrate short-term reduction in chronic pain, little else

In a systematic review of scientific literature, researchers find thin evidence that cannabis has clinical benefits

June 6, 2022

Science Daily/Oregon Health & Science University

Evidence behind the effectiveness of cannabis-related products to treat chronic pain is surprisingly thin, according to a new systematic evidence review by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University.

The federally funded review, which will be updated on an ongoing basis, was published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers did find evidence to support a short-term benefit in treating neuropathic pain -- caused by damage to peripheral nerves, such as diabetic neuropathy resulting in pain described as burning and tingling, involving two FDA-approved synthetic products with 100% tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC: dronabinol (under the trade name Marinol) and nabilone (Cesamet). Both products also lead to notable side effects including sedation and dizziness, according to the review.

Another product, a sublingual spray of equal parts THC and cannabidiol, or CBD, extracted from the cannabis plant, known as nabiximols, also showed evidence of some clinical benefit for neuropathic pain, although that product is not available in the U.S. This product also led to side effects, such as nausea, sedation and dizziness.

"In general, the limited amount of evidence surprised all of us," said lead author Marian S. McDonagh, Pharm.D., emeritus professor of medical informatics and clinical epidemiology in the OHSU School of Medicine. "With so much buzz around cannabis-related products, and the easy availability of recreational and medical marijuana in many states, consumers and patients might assume there would be more evidence about the benefits and side effects.

"Unfortunately, there is very little scientifically valid research into most these products," she said. "We saw only a small group of observational cohort studies on cannabis products that would be easily available in states that allow it, and these were not designed to answer the important questions on treating chronic pain."

Voters in Oregon, Washington and 20 other states have legalized medical and recreational marijuana, however the researchers found many of the products now available at U.S. dispensaries have not been well studied.

"For some cannabis products, such as whole-plant products, the data are sparse with imprecise estimates of effect and studies had methodological limitations," the authors write.

This situation makes it difficult to guide patients.

"Cannabis products vary quite a bit in terms of their chemical composition, and this could have important effects in terms of benefits and harm to patients," said co-author Roger Chou, M.D., director of OHSU's Pacific Northwest Evidence-based Practice Center. "That makes it tough for patients and clinicians since the evidence for one cannabis-based product may not be the same for another."

The living review, including a visual abstract summary of the findings, will also be shared on a new web-based tool launched by OHSU and VA Portland Health Care System early this year to help clinicians and researchers evaluate the latest evidence around the health effects of cannabis. Known as Systematically Testing the Evidence on Marijuana, or STEM, the project includes "clinician briefs" to help health care workers translate the clinical implications.

"This new living evidence review is exactly the type of resource clinicians need to clarify for patients the areas of potential promise, the cannabis formulations that have been studied and, importantly, the major gaps in knowledge," said co-author Devan Kansagara, M.D., M.C.R., professor of medicine in the OHSU School of Medicine and a staff physician at the VA Portland.

Reviewers searched more than 3,000 studies in the scientific literature as of January of this year and landed on a total of 25 with scientifically valid evidence -- 18 randomized controlled studies and seven observational studies of at least four weeks.

The effects of cannabis and related products are based on their ability to mimic the body's own endocannabinoid system. The system is composed of receptors and enzymes in the nervous system that regulate bodily functions and can affect the sensation of pain. In the evidence review, researchers sorted the types of product into high, comparable and low ratios of THC to CBD and compared their reported benefits and side effects.

Dronabinol and nabilone fit into the high THC to CBD ratio category, with 100% THC (no CBD), showing the most benefit among the products studied, with meta-analysis of the six randomized controlled studies demonstrating statistically valid benefits for easing neuropathic pain compared to a placebo.

"Honestly, the best advice is to talk to your primary care physician about possible treatments for chronic pain," McDonagh said. "If you want to consider cannabis, you need to talk to your doctor."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220606181234.htm

An engaging leadership style may boost employee engagement

Engaging leaders also appear to enhance workplace effectiveness at the level of entire teams

June 29, 2022

Science Daily/PLOS

A new analysis suggests that a particular leadership style dubbed "engaging leadership" can boost employees' engagement and enhance team effectiveness within the workplace. Greta Mazzetti of the University of Bologna, Italy, and Wilmar Schaufeli of Utrecht University in the Netherlands present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on June 29, 2022.

An employee who is engaged typically has a positive state of mind relating to their work and shows vigor, dedication, and absorption in their work. Previous research suggests that more engaged employees tend to have greater well-being and better job performance.

Previous research also suggests that a certain style of leadership known as engaging leadership -- involving leaders who fulfill employees' need for autonomy, feeling competent, and feeling cared for -- may boost employee engagement. However, most studies of workplace leadership styles have focused on a single point in time, without analyzing potential effects over time.

To provide new insights, Mazzetti and Schaufeli explored the impact of an engaged leadership style on work engagement and team effectiveness of 1,048 employees across 90 teams within a Dutch workplace. Participants each took two surveys, one year apart, which included questions about their supervisors' level of engaging leadership, their own work engagement, and other personal and team characteristics.

Statistical analysis of the responses suggests that supervisors perceived as engaged leaders in the initial survey did indeed enhance employee engagement as captured in the second survey. This impact appeared to occur via a boost in employees' personal psychological resources of optimism, resiliency, self-efficacy, and flexibility -- these results are in line with evidence from previous studies.

Similarly, engaged leaders appeared to enhance team effectiveness by boosting team resources, which consisted of performance feedback, trust in management, communication, and participation in decision-making. Team resources also appeared to affect individual employee engagement.

These findings support the use of engaging leadership to boost employee engagement and team effectiveness in the workplace. Future research could compare the effects of engaging leadership versus other leadership styles on employees and teams over time.

The authors add: "A leader who inspires, strengthens and connects team members fosters a shared perception of available resources (in terms of performance feedback, trust in management, communication, and participation in decision-making), and a greater psychological capital (i.e., self-efficacy, optimism, resilience, and flexibility)."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220629150254.htm

Being mindful can improve your interactions with co-workers

Mindful interactions and relationships can bring about a more harmonious and healthy workplace

June 29, 2022

Science Daily/Virginia Commonwealth University

Although mindfulness originates within an individual, a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher has found the benefits do not end with this person. The real payoffs emerge when an individual's mindfulness is translated into mindful interactions and relationships. Such interactions -- infused with intentionality, compassion and presence -- can bring about more harmonious and healthy organizations.

"An understanding of how individuals bring mindfulness with them to work, and how these practices may contribute to interaction and relationship quality, is especially relevant as work landscapes are ever changing and interdependence is increasingly becoming the norm," said Christopher S. Reina, Ph.D., an associate professor of management and entrepreneurship in the VCU School of Business.

In the study "Your Presence is Requested: Mindfulness Infusion in Workplace Interactions and Relationships," which was published in Organization Science, Reina and management professors Glen E. Kreiner, Ph.D., of the University of Utah; Alexandra Rheinhardt, Ph.D., of the University of Connecticut; and Christine A. Mihelcic of the University of Richmond explore how individuals bring mindfulness to work and how it infuses their workplace interactions.

These practices may be formal, such as engaging in a mindful pause before beginning a meeting, or informal, such as listening to someone with a high level of attention.

The qualitative study draws on the experiences of actual leaders to explain how they bring mindfulness into the workplace. Primary data sources included interviews and on-site participant observation. The researchers conducted 30 formal interviews with managers, professionals and consultants who practice mindfulness in the workplace, and more than 50 informal interviews with a wide variety of individuals who apply mindfulness principles at work.

"Interestingly, interviewees noted how other individuals around them had noticed the emotional effects of their mindful behaviors on interactions and relationships," Reina said. "We found initial evidence that our interviewees' efforts toward bringing their mindfulness into the workplace were seen by their colleagues as having a positive effect."

High-quality connections are shown to improve individual functioning, and positively affect group outcomes, such as psychological safety and trust.

In addition to mindfulness arising within an interaction, the study also found that mindfulness practices could be used to set individuals up for success in future interactions, such as when preparing for a difficult or important conversation.

"Mindfulness reminds us that our thoughts and emotions are complex," Reina said. "They are contextualized by prior events experienced within a social environment, and within this social environment, individuals must be aware of both their own and others' thoughts and emotions in order to navigate these complexities with skill and compassion."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220629121145.htm

Exercise-induced central fatigue -- low oxygen supply clouds judgment

June 29, 2022

Science Daily/University of Tsukuba

Research on the effects of exercise in low-oxygen environments on the brain demonstrated that cognitive performance worsens when lower-than-usual amounts of oxygen are carried by the blood. Consequently, tissue in brain regions with less critical functions may receive inadequate oxygen supply to maintain normal activity levels.

When physically demanding activities are performed at high altitude or in other low-oxygen environments, excellent coordination, judgment, and decision-making are important. In some cases, such as when mountaineering, these capabilities may be the difference between life and death.

What is executive function and why is it important? Executive functions control and coordinate other brain functions, like memory, emotions, and movement control, to enable more complex behaviors -- for example, learning, planning, judgment, and decision-making.

In a study published this month in Scientific Reports, researchers at the University of Tsukuba showed that reductions in neural activity in brain regions responsible for executive control-related cognitive functions and cognitive performance during exercise in low-oxygen conditions could be prevented by maintaining oxygen saturation.

Demonstrating causality -- that the decreases in neural activity and performance are caused by low oxygen availability to brain tissue -- is not straightforward because of the complexity exhibited by the brain and all its functions. Yet the University of Tsukuba research team have done just that. "We compared the effects of hypoxic conditions in which blood oxygen levels is reduced with those in which blood oxygen levels remains stable during exercise," says senior author Professor Hideaki Soya. "By doing this, we isolated low oxygen saturation as a factor for decreased neural activity and decreased performance."

Neural activity in the prefrontal cortex was measured with functional near-infrared spectroscopy to show change in oxygenated hemoglobin (i.e., oxygen usage from regional blood supply). Cognitive performance was assessed using Stroop interference, which is the difference in completion time (or number of errors) between neutral and incongruent trials. In incongruent trials, the color of the text must be identified when, for example, the word red is written in green. In neutral trials, only the color of a swatch must be identified.

"When blood oxygen levels remained stable during exercise, the Stroop effect was not as pronounced," says senior author Dr. Genta Ochi. "In the brain region of interest -- the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex -- there was less of a decrease in activation from the neutral to the incongruent trial."

The study suggests that oxygen supply is important for maintaining cognitive function during exercise in low-oxygen environments. Furthermore, regions of the brain with newer (from an evolutionary point of view), less critical functions may be lower priority than those responsible for functions that keep us alive. Thus, the effects of cognitive fatigue must be taken into account when physical activities that require judgment and critical thinking are performed in low-oxygen environments.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220629121051.htm

Predicting the future: A quick, easy scan can reveal late-life dementia risk

June 28, 2022

Science Daily/Edith Cowan University

Researchers have discovered an important link between vascular health and late-life dementia, discovering the calcification of plaques within the abdominal aorta to be a reliable marker for late-life dementia.

Late-life dementia is becoming increasingly common in people after 80 years of age.

A new long-term study has shown a simple and common scan can reveal if people are at increased risk of developing the condition late in life.

Late-life dementia develops when brain cells are damaged from several diseases, some of which cause narrowing of the blood vessels to the brain.

Edith Cowan University (ECU) researchers have discovered an important link between vascular health and late-life dementia.

This link is calcification of the plaques which can build up within the abdominal aorta, which is the largest artery in the body and supplies oxygenated blood from the heart to the abdominal organs and lower limbs.

This calcium build up -- known as 'abdominal aortic calcification', or AAC -- can be very useful to predict cardiovascular disease risk such as heart attack and stroke.

But researchers have now found it is also a reliable marker for late-life dementia.

Led by ECU's Nutrition and Health Innovation Institute and Centre for Precision Health, the international team included researchers from the University of Western Australia, University of Minnesota, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and the Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Harvard Medical School.

They examined the AAC results in 968 women from the late 1990s, and then followed their health status for over 15 years.

They found one in two older women had medium to high levels of AAC, and these women were twice as likely to be hospitalized or die from a late-life dementia -- independent of other cardiovascular factors or genetic factors.

Centre for Precision Health director Professor Simon Laws said AAC could identify dementia risk earlier in people's life, which could prove vital in warding off the condition.

"There's an adage in dementia research that what's good for your heart is good for your brain," he said.

"This study reaffirms this link and further adds to our understanding of late-onset dementia risk and potential preventative strategies.

"What's come to light is the importance of modifying risk factors such as diet and physical activity in preventing dementia: you need to intervene early and hopefully this study allows for the earliest possible change and the greatest impact.

"AAC is important as it was able to identify dementia risk in people who don't have the major genetic risk factor present in 50 per cent of people who develop Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of dementia."?

A simple test

Conveniently, AAC can be easily detected using lateral spine scans from bone density machines.

These machines are common, with some 600,000 bone density tests performed each year in Australia to screen for osteoporosis.

ECU Associate Professor and National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow Joshua Lewis said an additional scan capturing lateral spine images can be performed when people undergo standard bone density tests.

"It's generally very quick and easy to capture these scans and they are less-invasive, cheaper and miniscule in radiation exposure compared to X-rays or CT scans," Professor Lewis said.

"We know the causes of AAC go beyond traditional cardiovascular risk factors and many of these causes overlap with late-life dementia risk factors.

"At ECU we're also working with the computer science team automating the AAC assessments, which will make the process a lot quicker and easier rather than needing a trained imaging expert to read the scans.

"It means these scans may be a cheap, rapid and safe way to screen a large number of susceptible older Australians for higher late-life dementia risk."

Professor Lewis said incorporating dementia risk into discussions surrounding cardiovascular health could see people make necessary lifestyle changes.

"I think the next step is telling people about their AAC and late-life dementia risk to see if this can motivate healthy diet and lifestyle behaviour changes."

Heart Foundation chief medical adviser, Professor Garry Jennings AO, welcomed the research.

"Vascular dementia is an increasingly common disability in older people," Professor Jennings said.

"It is often associated with heart disease or risk factors such as hypertension earlier in life.

"Josh's study is an excellent example of benefits arising from the Heart Foundation's Future Leadership funding program."

'Abdominal aortic calcification on lateral spine images captured during bone density testing and late-life dementia risk in older women: a prospective cohort study' was published in The Lancet Regional Health -- Western Pacific.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220626200205.htm

Nervous system workings related to PTSD, other mental health disorders

July 5, 2022

Science Daily/University of California - San Diego

A first-of-its-kind study published recently in the journal Brain Stimulation measures changes in the human brain's response to a perceived threat following non-invasive stimulation of the nervous system via the vagus nerve. The results have implications for the development of treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health conditions, as well as for increasing alertness and attention during learning.

"While our sample size was small, our results are intriguing," said the study's lead author Dr. Imanuel Lerman of UC San Diego's Qualcomm Institute (QI), School of Medicine, and Jacobs School of Engineering as well as the VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health. "The stimulation of participants' vagus nerve heightened their reaction to negative images and decreased reaction to positive images. This supports the idea that there's an additive link between vagus nerve stimulation and norepinephrine signaling, which is critical for fight or flight responses, in the brain."

One of the body's major means of communicating with the brain, the vagus nerve plays a critical role in regulating the "fight or flight" response. While previous research had indicated that stimulating this nerve improves attention, reduces reaction time and augments learning, no one had tested how this technique affects the body's response to emotionally charged stimulus.

The research team selected 24 healthy adults to receive either a placebo treatment or non-invasive stimulation of the vagus nerve where it runs parallel to the carotid artery.

These volunteers entered an fMRI machine and completed a simple task that involved pressing a button on a handheld device in response to being shown a blue circle or square. All participants were then either informed that the shape would turn red to signal the imminent appearance of an upsetting image (i.e. an image of warfare), accompanied by a high-pitched tone, or green to signal an incoming pleasant image (i.e. a photo of a quiet lakeside), accompanied by a low, soothing tone.

Researchers recorded the difference in participants' reaction time, brain activity and blood oxygen levels. Volunteers who received vagus nerve stimulation showed significantly quicker reaction times during both the neutral and emotionally charged tasks. However, individuals who received vagus nerve stimulation had stronger brain responses to negative/upsetting imagery, and diminished responses to pleasant imagery when measured with fMRI. The opposite was true for the control group.

"The study's findings represent a first step toward understanding how non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation might be efficiently used as a tool to treat patients with PTSD, generalized anxiety and other disorders that involve a heightened response to perceived threats," Lerman said.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220705162244.htm

Most British COVID-19 mourners suffer PTSD symptoms

July 5, 2022

Science Daily/Curtin University

More than eight out of 10 British people who are seeking support for having lost a loved one to COVID-19 reported alarming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, new Curtin University-led research has found.

The study, based on data from people seeking help and guidance from the United Kingdom's National Bereavement Partnership in collaboration with researchers from the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition and Christopher Newport University in the United States of America, also found almost two-thirds of British COVID-19 mourners experienced moderate or severe symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Lead author Professor Lauren Breen, from the Curtin School of Population Health, said the results were alarming given more than six million people had died from COVID-19 across the globe.

"These survey results indicate a concerning 'shadow pandemic' in the wake of a COVID-19 death with the vast majority of British mourners reporting alarming rates of psychological distress including constantly feeling on guard or easily startled," Professor Breen said.

"The mourners who were seeking support from the National Bereavement Partnership also reported concerning symptoms of anxiety and depression, dysfunctional grief including wanting to die in order to be with their loved one, and functional impairment that was affecting their home and family responsibilities."

According to the UK's dedicated PTSD charity, PTSD UK, about 20 per cent of all PTSD cases worldwide are linked to the unexpected death of a loved one.

To date, there have been more than 175,000 COVID-19-related deaths in the United Kingdom.

Professor Breen said the findings had significant implications for counsellors in the UK, particularly in light of modelling that showed an average of nine family members were affected by each COVID-19 death.

"Counsellors in the UK should be alert to a broad band of pandemic-related psychological distress in people who have lost a loved one to COVID-19, and not concentrate solely on symptoms of grief," Professor Breen said.

"In particular, these findings underscore the need to screen for high levels of trauma as well as grief, for potential referral to counsellors with specialised skills in treating the intersection of trauma and bereavement."

Co-author Dr Robert Neimeyer, a leading bereavement researcher and the Director of the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition, said the study suggested a useful focus for support and therapy for COVID-19 loss survivors.

"We found that much of the struggle that mourners reported in terms of intense PTSD symptoms, anguishing grief, and perturbing depression and anxiety was explained by the difficulty they had in making sense of a senseless loss, and preserving their orientation in a bewildering, threatening and disempowering world," Dr Neimeyer said.

"Not only did they lose their loved ones, but they also lost a sense of predictability, justice and control over the circumstances of the loss -- all of which could be crucial themes to address in bereavement support and therapy."

The study was based on surveys completed by 183 people seeking support from the National Bereavement Partnership in the United Kingdom.

Of those surveyed, 83 per cent reported clinically elevated PTSD symptoms, 64 per cent experienced psychiatric distress, 57 per cent suffered functional impairment and 39 per cent reported clinically significant symptoms of dysfunctional grief.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220705162239.htm

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder

July 1, 2022

Science Daily/University of Zurich

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently listed a new sibling diagnosis for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), termed complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). An international team with the involvement of the University of Zurich has now summarized the symptoms of the long-awaited new diagnosis and issued guidelines for clinical assessment and treatment.

One of the most widely known responses to trauma is post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. People affected by this mental disorder typically suffer intrusive memories or flashbacks that may overwhelm them. But international experts have been aware for decades that some trauma victims or survivors exhibit a broader pattern of psychological changes, most commonly after prolonged or repetitive events -- such as exposure to war, sexual abuse, domestic violence or torture -- now termed CPTSD.

Expanded criteria

Many experts have thus been calling for the diagnostic requirements for PTSD to be adapted. Earlier this year, the WHO issued a new version of its International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). The updated ICD now includes a new diagnosis for complex post-traumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD). New symptoms -- such as self-organization disturbances -- were added to the previous symptoms of PTSD, which include flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, social withdrawal and hypervigilance. Key features of self-organization disturbances include excessive or heightened emotional responses, feelings of worthlessness and persistent difficulties in sustaining relationships and in feeling close to others.

An international team with the involvement of UZH has now published a study in The Lancet describing in detail how to diagnose complex PTSD based on a patient's symptoms. The study describes the difficulties that may occur, the distinct features of the disease in children and adolescents, and the diagnostic differences that need to be made to closely related mental health disorders such as severe depression, bipolar disorders, psychoses or personality disorders.

Precise description of diagnosis and therapy

"We elaborate how the CPTSD diagnosis can be made in routine situations in emergency medical facilities and in regions with underdeveloped health care systems, for example," says first author Andreas Maercker, professor of psychopathology and clinical intervention at the University of Zurich. The study covers the latest findings on biopsychosocial correlations based on systematic selection criteria. The researchers also analyzed the evidence base for all available therapeutic studies and developed guidelines for treating CPTSD.

"This is particularly important, since not all countries use the WHO's disease classification. Some have adopted the DSM-5 classification published by the American Psychiatric Association, which currently doesn't list a diagnosis for complex PTSD," explains Maercker, emphasizing the significance of their study.

New classification developed globally

The University of Zurich was also involved in updating the WHO's new International Classification of Diseases. Based on their own research and clinical experience, Andreas Maercker from the UZH Department of Psychology and Marylene Cloitre from Stanford University came out in favor of a new diagnosis for complex post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, global surveys among psychiatrists and psychologists also showed that there was a need for a more detailed assessment of this mental disorder. A systematic review of previous research as well as new findings then led to the creation of the new diagnosis for complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220701113149.htm

Study reveals the job problems contributing to physician suicide

June 29, 2022

Science Daily/University of California - San Diego

Physician burnout and suicide are a growing public health concern, with 1 in 15 physicians experiencing suicidal ideation. Studies consistently show that physicians are more likely than non-physicians to experience work-related stressors prior to suicide. Still, the exact nature of these stressors was unknown.

To better understand and characterize the job stressors that contribute to physician suicide, researchers at UC San Diego Health reviewed the death investigation narratives from 200 physician suicides collected by a national database between 2003 and 2018. Using natural language processing and thematic analysis -- tools for extracting and interpreting data from the reports -- the team was able to identify the main issues contributing to physician job stress and suicide.

The study, published June 29, 2022 in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, found six overarching themes in the reports. These included an incapacity to work due to deterioration of physical health, substance use that was jeopardizing employment, the interaction between mental health and work-related issues, relationship conflicts affecting work, legal problems and increased financial stress.

"We often overlook the physical health of our health care workers, but poor health can lead to difficulty performing tasks at work, which then leads to job stress and mental health issues," said corresponding author Kristen Kim, MD, a resident physician in psychiatry at UC San Diego Health.

The authors outlined several short- and long-term solutions for health care systems to consider.

In the short-term, they stressed the need to improve physicians' access to primary care services, minimize their scheduling challenges, and address their concerns about confidentiality. Kim encouraged health care workers to utilize resources like the UC San Diego Healer Education Assessment and Referral (HEAR) program, which provides access to confidential mental health counseling and was recently endorsed by the U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on Health Worker Burnout.

In the long-term, the authors called for broader structural and cultural changes to address workplace stress and poor physician self-care.

"The unspoken culture of medicine encourages self-sacrifice, deferred needs and delayed rewards," said Kim. "We always want to put our patients first, but healers cannot optimally heal unless they themselves are first whole."

The authors highlighted the importance of cultivating a sense of safety and community among physicians. They also suggested that health care systems and medical schools provide additional personal finance education and legal support.

"There is a lot of work to be done," said Kim, "but identifying and acknowledging the problem is always the first step towards a solution, and that's exactly what we're doing."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220629150307.htm

A rhythmic small intestinal microbiome prevents obesity and type 2 diabetes

July 5, 2022

Science Daily/University of California - San Diego

An estimated 500 to 1,000 bacterial species reside in each person's gut, perhaps numbering 100,000 trillion microorganisms. In a new paper, published July 5, 2022 in Cell Reports, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine used mouse models to explore how diet and feeding patterns affect these intestinal microbes -- and the health of the hosts, particularly with obesity and type 2 diabetes.

In both mice and men, the ileum is the final stretch of the small intestine, connecting to the cecum, the first part of the large intestine. In the ileum, nutrients are drawn out of liquefied food; in the cecum, which also marks the beginning of the colon, the process of extracting water begins.

Both processes are complex, dynamic and profoundly influenced by factors ranging from the types of foods consumed and when, to the microbial residents of the gut, whose presence and behaviors help dictate digestion, absorption of nutrients, vitamin synthesis and development of the immune system.

"It's important to realize that the gut microbiome is constantly changing, not only based on what we're eating, but also based on the time of day," said senior study author Amir Zarrinpar, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine and a gastroenterologist at UC San Diego Health.

"Most researchers are getting snapshots of this constantly shifting environment, which makes it hard to understand what is going on in the gut. With this study, we are trying to get multiple snapshots throughout the day, almost like a movie, to better understand how food and the microbiome interact to affect weight gain and diabetes.

"And what we've learned is that cyclical changes in the gut microbiome are quite important for health since they help with the circadian clock, and with that the regulation and control of glucose, cholesterol and fatty acids -- and overall metabolic health."

In their latest work, Zarrinpar and colleagues further elucidate the impact and interplay of these factors, particularly in terms of the ileum and its unique functions related to digestion and absorption. Specifically, they looked at how diet-induced obesity (DIO) and time-restricted feeding (TRF) alter ileal microbiome composition and transcriptome (the protein-coding part of an organism's genome) in mouse models.

The researchers found that in mouse models, DIO and the absence of TRF (mice could eat as much as they wanted whenever they wanted) resulted in disruptions to gut microbiome rhythms and the signaling pathways that help modulate intestinal clocks. In other words, the mice became fat and unhealthy.

"It is interesting that restricting food access with TRF acts not only through restoration of patterns affected under the unhealthy state, but also through new pathways," said first author Ana Carolina Dantas Machado, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in Zarrinpar's lab.

"These findings underscore the influence of diet and time restricted feeding patterns in maintaining a healthy gut microbiome, which in turn modulates circadian rhythms that govern metabolic health," said Zarrinpar. "It's a very complicated relationship between the microbiome and the host, with the former helping determine the latter's gastrointestinal functioning and health."

Their work, said the authors, can inform future studies, in particular investigations of how the gut works or how drugs act upon the gut function depending upon the state of the microbiome at a particular time or time of day.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220705162154.htm

Study finds women have more brain changes after menopause

June 29, 2022

Science Daily/American Academy of Neurology

Women who have gone through menopause may have more of a brain biomarker called white matter hyperintensities than premenopausal women or men of the same age, according to a new study published in the June 29, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

White matter hyperintensities are tiny lesions visible on brain scans that become more common with age or with uncontrolled high blood pressure. These brain biomarkers have been linked in some studies to an increased risk of stroke, Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline.

"White matter hyperintensities increase as the brain ages, and while having them does not mean that a person will develop dementia or have a stroke, larger amounts may increase a person's risk," said study author Monique M. B. Breteler, MD, PhD, of the German Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), in Bonn, Germany, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Our study examined what role menopause may have on amounts of these brain biomarkers. Our results imply that white matter hyperintensities evolve differently for men and women, where menopause or factors that determine when menopause starts, such as variations in the aging process, are defining factors."

The study involved 3,410 people with an average age of 54. Of those, 58% were women, and of the women, 59% were postmenopausal. Also, 35% of all participants had high blood pressure and of those, half had uncontrolled high blood pressure.

All participants had MRI brain scans. Researchers looked at the scans and calculated the amount of white matter hyperintensities for each participant. Average total volume for these brain biomarkers was 0.5 milliliters (ml). Average total brain volume was 1,180 ml for men and 1,053 ml for women. Average total white matter volume, the area of the brain where white matter hyperintensities can be found, was 490 ml for men and 430 ml for women.

After adjusting for age and vascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes, researchers found that postmenopausal women had more of these brain biomarkers when compared to men of similar age. In people 45 and older, postmenopausal women had an average total white matter hyperintensities volume of 0.94 ml compared to 0.72 ml for men. Researchers also found that the increase in brain biomarkers accelerated with age and at a faster rate in women than in men.

Premenopausal women and men of a similar age did not have a difference in the average amount of white matter hyperintensities.

Researchers also found that postmenopausal women had more white matter hyperintensities than premenopausal women of similar age. In a group of participants ages 45 to 59, postmenopausal women had an average total volume of white matter hyperintensities of 0.51 ml compared to 0.33 ml for premenopausal women.

There was no difference between postmenopausal and premenopausal women using hormone therapy. Breteler said this finding suggests that hormone therapy after menopause may not have a protective effect on the brain.

Unrelated to menopausal status, women with uncontrolled high blood pressure had higher amounts of this brain biomarker compared to men.

"It has been known that high blood pressure, which affects the small blood vessels in the brain, can lead to an increase in white matter hyperintensities," said Breteler. "The results of our study not only show more research is needed to investigate how menopause may be related to the vascular health of the brain. They also demonstrate the necessity to account for different health trajectories for men and women, and menopausal status. Our research underscores the importance of sex-specific medicine and more attentive therapy for older women, especially those with vascular risk factors."

A limitation of the study was that researchers did not know the exact age of menopause onset or whether some participants were perimenopausal.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220629160922.htm

Helping teens channel stress, grow in resilience

July 6, 2022

Science Daily/University of Rochester

The mental health crisis among teens has prompted an urgent quest for preventive interventions. Researchers believe they have one. As the team explains in a recent study, the 30-minute online training module teaches teenagers to channel their stress responses away from something negative that needs to be feared and tamped down towards recognizing those responses -- sweaty palms, a racing heart, for example -- as a positive driving force.

Adolescents today are more stressed than ever, exhibiting record levels of stress-related mental health problems. Of course, there are plenty of reasons for teens to worry. A global pandemic. War in Europe. Mass shootings, economic insecurity, and staggering college costs in the US.

Add to that the pernicious effects of the 24/7 exposure to social media. Teenagers' psychological well-being, much more so than for other age groups, is affected by how they think their social environment -- peers, teachers, parents, coaches -- perceive and judge them.

"We receive an endless stream of likes, dislikes, and comments via social media, which makes for a constant state of social evaluation," says Jeremy Jamieson, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. "That's probably one of the most damaging things we've seen for adolescents."

The mental health crisis among teens has prompted an urgent quest for preventive interventions. Jamieson, who heads up Rochester's Social Stress Lab, and colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, and the Google Empathy Lab, believe they have one.

As the team explains in a recent study in the journal Nature, the 30-minute online training module teaches teenagers to channel their stress responses away from something negative that needs to be feared and tamped down towards recognizing those responses -- sweaty palms, a racing heart, for example -- as a positive driving force.

The intervention works by helping teens develop what the researchers call two "synergistic mindsets."

The first is a growth mindset -- the idea that people's intelligence can be developed in response to challenges, which helps the teenagers engage with difficult stressors. It's "basically the belief that intellectual ability is not fixed but can be developed with effort, effective strategies, and support from others," Jamieson says. "It's the idea that if I push myself, I can grow, I can learn, I can improve, and I can push through difficulties."

The second is a stress-can-be-enhancing mindset -- the idea that people's stress responses are not harmful but instead can fuel a person's performance by helping them persevere and take on difficult challenges. Sweaty palms, a racing heart, and deeper breathing, for example, are physiological changes that "mobilize energy and deliver oxygenated blood to the brain and tissues," says Jamieson.

How does the 'synergistic mindsets intervention' work?

The researchers showed over the course of six double-blind, randomized experiments, conducted in both laboratory and field settings with a total of 4,291 young people (students in grades 8-12 and college undergraduates), that their intervention improved the participants' stress-linked health outcomes, such as their biological responses, psychological well-being, anxiety symptoms during COVID-19 lockdowns, as well as their academic performance.

One of the experiments took place at a rigorous, urban public charter high school where 95 percent of students are Black, African-American or Hispanic/Latinx, and nearly all students (99 percent) come from low-income families. The researchers chose this population because students facing the combination of socioeconomic disadvantages and high academic standards are likely to face chronic, daily stressors, which have the potential to elicit negative stress responses.

The team observed striking results in the most demanding STEM courses where the intervention led to a 63 percent pass rate among students in the synergistic mindsets intervention group, compared to just a 47 percent pass rate for students in the control group.

Here's some of what the researchers taught the teenagers during the intervention

• High school is a time when experiences of difficulty, struggle, and frustration offer opportunities for personal growth.

• The stress that your body feels when you face those experiences is preparing you to learn from challenges.

• People who understand that the brain changes with learning and that the body's stress response facilitates learning are better prepared to address the demands of high school.

• As you approach difficult challenges more often, things that used to be hard begin to feel easier. When something feels really difficult your brain learns how to respond more effectively.

Findings

The data showed that the synergistic mindsets intervention

• Improved physiological responses to stress, including increased delivery of oxygenated blood to the brain and body, and caused a faster return to the body's homeostasis after a challenging event

• Improved psychological well-being (people felt liked, powerful, satisfied, good about themselves, had higher self-esteem, and didn't feel rejected, insecure, or disconnected)

• Reduced negative self-regard, an internalizing symptom that can lead to depression

• Increased academic achievement (measured in pass rates for core classes)

• Decreased anxiety symptoms

"Because mindset interventions like the one we tested could be delivered cost-effectively in national or regional scale-up studies, our research links insights about people's affect regulation with the discovery of actionable intervention methods that might be able to produce real and lasting change for a large group of people," says study coauthor David Yaeger, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, who is an expert on adolescent development and well-being.

The team notes that their intervention applies to growth-promotive stressors, such as formal schooling, the acquisition of new skills, or social evaluative contexts. They caution, however, that this kind of approach would not be suitable for addressing trauma, abuse, or structural inequalities.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220706153053.htm

Depression in fathers and children linked, regardless of genetic relatedness

July 6, 2022

Science Daily/Penn State

Adolescent depression and behavior problems are on the rise and paternal depression may be contributing to this increase, regardless of whether the fathers and children are genetically related, according to new research from Penn State and Michigan State.

"A lot of research focuses on depression within biologically related families," said Jenae Neiderhiser, Social Science Research Institute cofunded faculty member and distinguished professor of psychology and human development and family studies at Penn State. "Now more information is becoming available for adoptive families and blended families."

The researchers looked at naturally occurring variations in genetic relatedness between parents and their adolescent children in the 720 families participating in the Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development (NEAD) study, with over half of those families containing a child-rearing stepparent.

Mothers, fathers and children each answered questions to measure symptoms of depression, behaviors and parent-child conflict. The researchers then examined the association between paternal depression symptoms and child behavioral symptoms in a series of models.

Neiderhiser and Alex Burt, professor of clinical science at Michigan State, along with their colleagues found paternal depression was associated with adolescent depression and adolescent behavior problems regardless of whether the fathers and their children were genetically related.

"The results pointed squarely to the environmental transmission of depression and behaviors between fathers and children," said Burt, who has been collaborating on projects with Neiderhiser since the early 2000s "Additionally, we continued to see these associations in a subset of 'blended' families in which the father was biologically related to one participating child but not to the other, which was an important confirmation of our results. We also found that much of this effect appeared to be a function of parent-child conflict. These kinds of findings add to the evidence that parent-child conflict plays a role as an environmental predictor of adolescent behaviors."

According to Neiderhiser, while the results were expected, they also thought the effects on children's behavior and depression would be greater in parent-child pairs who were genetically related.

"It would be great to do more studies on step and blended families," she said. "They tend to be an underutilized natural experiment we could learn more from to help us disentangle the impacts of environmental factors and genetics on families."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220706153059.htm

Helping babies to sleep more

June 29, 2022

Science Daily/Penn State

Over the last decade, researchers and staff working on Penn State's INSIGHT study have trained new mothers in skills that -- among other things -- help newborns sleep more during the night. New research from Penn State's Center for Childhood Obesity Research (CCOR) shows that second children in these families also slept longer.

New parents often want infants to sleep because the parents are tired, but sleep is critical to health and development. The researchers in CCOR study sleep because it affects whether children develop obesity. Sleep also affects a child's capacity for emotional regulation and cognitive development. What is more, research shows that sleep deprived parents are more likely to develop depression and be involved in traffic accidents. Infant sleep can be important for the whole family's health and well-being.

Responsive parenting

The INSIGHT study -- an acronym for intervention nurses start infants growing on healthy trajectories -- began in 2012 with CCOR researchers training 279 mothers of first-born infants in responsive parenting practices. Responsive parenting involves responding to children in a timely, sensitive, and age-appropriate manner, based on the child's presenting needs.

In INSIGHT, the mothers were taught how to respond to infant behavior states like fussiness, alertness (feeding and interactive play), drowsiness, and sleeping. The training included several specific recommendations about bedtime routines and responding to nighttime waking.

Children in the INSIGHT intervention group slept longer each night and were more likely to soothe themselves to sleep than children in the control group. Significantly, these children also had lower body mass indices (BMIs) for the first three years of their lives.

Understanding 'spillover' effects

As the INSIGHT study progressed, it led the investigators to explore whether the training also affected children who were later born into INSIGHT families.

"Many parents say things like, 'Oh, I did everything right with my first child, and then I had no time for the others,'" explained Emily Hohman, assistant research professor in CCOR. "So, in order to understand whether the effects of INSIGHT spill over to other siblings, we launched a new study where we do not provide any training or intervention for parents or children. We just track information about second-born children in families where mothers received the INSIGHT training for their first-born."

Hohman led a team of researchers who examined data from 117 mothers from the original INSIGHT study who were having a second child, about half of whom had received the responsive parenting training with their firstborn child. The team used a brief questionnaire to assess second-born children's sleep behavior and duration when the children were three, 16, and 52 weeks old.

In a recent publication in the journal Pediatrics, the researchers demonstrated that second-born children in INSIGHT families slept an average of 40 minutes longer per night than second-born children in the control group. The second-born INSIGHT children also slept more than 50 minutes longer per 24-hour period, had earlier bedtimes in early life, and were more likely to fall asleep in under 15 minutes.

This is not the first study that has shown that the effects of INSIGHT spilled over to second-born children. Other studies have demonstrated that second-born children in INSIGHT families have lower body-mass indices (BMIs) as infants than children in the control group. Additionally, parental feeding practices and infants' dietary intake were healthier than those of children from control group families.

How parents can promote better sleep for their infants (and themselves)

The INSIGHT study trained mothers, but responsive parenting skills are useful for anyone who provides care to children. At bedtime, responsive parenting involves establishing healthy routines, responding to children according to their development and needs, and teaching children to soothe themselves as much as possible.

For parents who do not know anything about responsive parenting, Hohman recommends starting by establishing a bedtime. "People sometimes think that if they keep their babies awake with them later at night, then the baby will sleep later. But the research shows that early establishment of a bedtime between seven and eight o'clock will help babies sleep longer," said Hohman.

Once a regular bedtime is established, research indicates that consistent bedtime routines also promote longer sleep. The routine should be soothing and include things like baths and reading, while avoiding overly stimulating activities like rowdy play. The routine will help the child prepare for sleep. Additionally, infants who are not yet rolling over can be swaddled to increase their sense of calm.

To help children learn to soothe themselves to sleep, parents are encouraged to put their children to bed while they are drowsy but still awake. Self-soothing is a valuable skill, and the sooner children learn it, the better they and their parents will sleep.

Nighttime waking is inevitable; newborns and infants wake throughout the night for many reasons, including hunger. This does not mean that feeding should always be a parent's first response when their baby wakes. Hohman and her colleagues encourage parents to use "lighter touch" soothing methods like offering the baby a pacifier, words of reassurance, and gentle touches. More engaged soothing, like holding, rocking and feeding, should only be used if the baby remains distressed or shows signs of hunger.

"No one likes to hear their baby cry, and everyone wants to get back to sleep as soon as possible," said Hohman. "But a baby can only learn to soothe themselves when they are not being soothed by someone else. During the daytime, parents should feel free to use more active soothing strategies like holding or rocking, but these should be used more judiciously at nighttime in order to promote better sleep."

Helping families everywhere

The study results indicate that intervening with first-time parents could be an efficient way to help multiple children in a family.

"Our outcomes suggest that pediatricians may have a new tool to help promote better infant sleeping and prevent unhealthy infant weight gain," Hohman said. "Pediatricians typically have a lot of visits with new families. If those clinicians help new parents build responsive parenting skills, the benefits could extend to the parents, their newborns, and any potential future children in those families."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220629150317.htm