Well, Well, Well
Well, Well, Well
A Log of Notes and Observations
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A Higher Cost of Unemployment
Getting the boot late in your career may be especially bad for your health , according to research published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine. In the study, based on a nationally representative survey involving more than 12,500 participants from nearly 8,000 households, those who lost jobs at age 50 or older were more than twice as likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke as younger job-losers. The stress associated with late-career job loss appeared tied to adverse health outcomes, even after considering other risk factors such as diabetes, smoking, obesity and high blood pressure.
Snort, Don't Fight?
Could marital bliss be just a sniff away? Unpublished findings, presented at the International Congress of Neuroendocrinology, suggest that an experimental nasal spray containing the "love hormone" oxytocin may reduce stress during social situations. Swiss researchers tested a spray containing the chemical, which has been associated with psychological and interpersonal health, on 50 couples engaged in argument. Pairs who received the oxytocin spray showed lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and were better able to express their emotions than those in the placebo group. Investigators say further research is needed. Until then, try to be nice to each other.
Fishing for Help
Consuming omega-3 fatty acids, the type found in fish oils and over-the-counter supplements, may ease kids' symptoms of depression without harmful side effects. Sound fishy? According to a pilot study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, seven out of 10 children in the active treatment group and none of those in the placebo group showed a significant reduction in depression scores. Authors of the study claim that theirs is the first to test the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on pre-pubescent childhood depression. Similar experiments on depressed adults have offered mixed results.
-- Jeffrey G. Ghassemi
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