NO HARM IN ASKING Asking teens if they have thought about suicide doesn't increase the chance that they will consider it, finds a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. On the contrary, some troubled teens seem less distraught after being asked, and the question may make them less likely to try killing themselves, found study author Madelyn Gould, a researcher at Columbia University and New York Psychiatric Institute.
An estimated 3 million U.S. teens aged 15 to 19 contemplate suicide each year. Some 1.7 million try it; about 1,600 succeed.
The study involved 2,342 students at six suburban New York high schools who answered two mental health surveys two days apart. Emotional distress scores for those quizzed both days on suicide was similar to or lower than scores for those quizzed only once.
LONG-LIFE DIET Research published last week shows that eating what's called a Mediterranean diet not only helps people stay healthy, it also seems to prolong life. In a Greek study of nearly 75,000 Europeans aged 60 and older, the diet -- based on plenty of fruit, vegetables, legumes, grains, fish and olive oil -- was linked to a longer life expectancy.
The benefits of the diet in warding off heart disease, some cancers and other illnesses are well documented. But the findings, reported in the British Medical Journal, are among the first to show it may prolong life.
A 60-year-old man who sticks to the diet can expect to live a year longer than a similarly aged man eating differently, say the researchers. A younger person could expect a bigger benefit.
-- From staff and wire reports
