Strong Emotions Increase Risk For Suffering Heart Attack
New studies look at a variety of topics, including: emotions and heart attacks; Facebook's impact on longevity; the soda industry and its ties to research; children's sleep habits; and more.
The Wall Street Journal:
Heart Attacks Are Linked To Patients’ Activity Level, Emotional State
A large global study of more than 12,000 first-time heart-attack patients found a strong link between the attack and what the patients were doing and feeling in the hour preceding the event. The study, published in the journal Circulation, found that being angry or emotionally upset more than doubled the risk of suffering a heart attack. (Lukits, 10/31)
The New York Times:
Facebook Could Be Associated With A Longer Life, Study Finds
As our social lives have moved onto social media sites like Facebook over the past decade, there’s been a lot of hand-wringing over what all that screen time might be doing to our health. But according to a new paper, time spent on social media could be associated with a longer life. (Bromwich, 10/31)
Los Angeles Times:
Accepting More Facebook Friend Requests Is Linked To Lower Mortality, Study Says
Think online social networks have no bearing on your real life? Think again. Scientists who studied Facebook activity and mortality rates of registered California voters found that people who received many friend requests were far less likely to die over a two-year period than those who did not. Initiating friend requests, however, seemed to have no effect on death rates whatsoever. (Khan, 10/31)
The New York Times:
Studies Linked To Soda Industry Mask Health Risks
Do studies show that soft drinks promote obesity and Type 2 diabetes? It depends on who paid for the study. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, looked at studies of soft drink consumption and its relationship to obesity and diabetes published between 2001 and 2016. They found about 60 studies that were fairly rigorous in their methodology. (O'Connor, 10/31)
Los Angeles Times:
Does The Soda Industry Manipulate Research On Sugary Drinks' Health Effects?
One hundred percent. That is the probability that a published study that finds no link between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and poorer metabolic health was underwritten by the makers of sugar-sweetened beverages, or authored by researchers with financial ties to that industry. (Healy, 10/31)
The Washington Post:
Children’s Sleeplessness May Be Linked To Bedtime Use Of Electronic Gadgets
If you shrugged off the new screentime guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics earlier this month, you may want to grab your kid's tablet back for a second and reevaluate your position. An analysis published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics of data from 26,000 children provides the strongest evidence yet of a link between bedtime use of electronic devices and poor sleep, inadequate sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness. (Cha, 10/31)
Los Angeles Times:
Mobile Devices In The Bedroom Rob Kids Of Sleep, Study Says
Good night, sleep tight, and don’t look into that tablet light. Dads and moms who are concerned about the quantity and quality of their children’s sleep should keep mobile devices like phones, tablets and laptops out of kids’ bedrooms, according to a new study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. (Netburn, 10/31)
Kaiser Health News:
Premature Births Rise Slightly, First Uptick In 8 Years, March Of Dimes Reports
The number of preterm births in the United States rose in 2015 for the first time in eight years, according to data presented Tuesday by the March of Dimes. The organization also reported that racial minorities continue to experience early labor at higher rates. Preterm births increased from 9.57 to 9.63 percent in 2015, which represents an additional 2,000 babies born prematurely in the U.S., the report found. (Heredia Rodriguez, 11/1)
Reuters:
Cancer Survivors Take More Psych Meds Than Other People
People who live through a bout with cancer are more likely than others to use drugs for anxiety and depression, a study suggests. About 19 percent of adult cancer survivors take drugs for depression, anxiety or both, compared with roughly 10 percent of other adults, the study found. (10/31)
