Loneliness, Unhappiness Age You Faster Than Smoking
A new study looks into how biological age can outpace chronological age when people suffer poor mental health, and at a rate worse than smoking and that of certain diseases. Separately, research looks at how pregnancy during a hurricane can later impact a child's mental health.
The Hill:
Feeling Lonely, Unhappy Can Accelerate Aging More Than Smoking
Poor mental health can speed up a person’s aging process more than smoking or certain diseases, according to a new study. Humans have two different ages. There is chronological age, which measures how much time a person has spent on Earth, and then there is biological age, referring to how old a person seems. ... A new study from Deep Longevity, a Hong Kong-based longevity company, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Stanford University found that feelings that cause poor mental health like sadness, loneliness and general unhappiness add an extra 1.65 years to a person’s biological age. (O'Connell-Domenech, 9/27)
In other mental health news —
The Washington Post:
Pregnancy During Hurricane Sandy Linked To Kids’ Psychiatric Disorders, Study Says
At the time Hurricane Sandy made landfall over New Jersey and inundated New York City in October 2012, Yoko Nomura, a psychology professor at the CUNY Graduate Center and Queens College, had already assembled a cohort of local pregnant women in preparation for a study about the impact of stress during pregnancy on their offspring’s development. ... The study, published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, found that children who were exposed to Sandy, a superstorm, while in utero had substantially increased risks for depression, anxiety and attention deficit and disruptive behavior disorders. The symptoms of these disorders presented when the children were preschool-age. (Gibson, 9/27)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
N.H. Mental Health Centers Receive Millions In Grants To Expand Services
Two community mental health centers in New Hampshire are getting sizable federal grants to improve and expand their services. (Cuno-Booth, 9/27)
The Atlantic:
Teachers, Nurses, And Child-Care Workers Have Had Enough
The country is in the midst of a burnout crisis. In a recent American Psychological Association Work and Well-Being Survey, large proportions of American workers said that they felt stressed on the job (79 percent), plagued by physical fatigue (44 percent), cognitive weariness (36 percent), emotional exhaustion (32 percent), and a lack of interest, motivation, or energy (26 percent). Such measures are up significantly since the pandemic hit. (Lowrey, 9/27)
Bloomberg:
London Coroner To Review Instagram Role In Teen’s Suicide
Senior Meta Platforms Inc. and Pinterest Inc. executives were quizzed over the malign influence of social media algorithms on young people at an inquest into the death of a British teenager. A two-week London inquest is examining factors that caused the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell who died by suicide in 2017. The coroner will decide whether her prolific social media use played a part. (Gemmell, 9/28)
In related news about transgender health —
Oklahoman:
Oklahoma GOP Bill Blocks Funding For Gender Reassignment Treatment
Republican state lawmakers plan to give $39.4 million in federal stimulus funds to the University of Oklahoma health system to build a new pediatric mental health facility, but the money comes with restrictions. None of the funds can be used to perform "gender reassignment medical treatment" on minors, according to legislation filed Monday by GOP lawmakers. (Forman, 9/27)
