Mental Health Archive

A 2022 study found that antidepressant use during pregnancy is not associated with problems in children's future brain health or behavior patterns. The medications were not linked to conditions such as autism, ADHD, or problems in speech, language, learning, and coordination.

As people age, they are more likely to explore a religious or spiritual practice. Research has found that this type of engagement is linked to longer life and a lower risk of serious health issues. These practices also can offer comfort and support if and when a person needs to navigate difficult times.

People exposed to long-term stress have a higher risk of dying from cancer, according to a 2022 study. The connection may be related to high levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

As with a financial portfolio, older adults should routinely review their wellness portfolio to ensure their health investments meet their short-and long-term goals. Working with their doctor, personal trainer, and nutritionist, they can identify areas that require changes and implement new strategies. Older men often don't make investments in strength training, balance, and their mental health, but should.

People with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, a condition marked by trouble focusing and impulsive behavior, may be more likely to have cardiovascular disease that people without the disorder.

By age 40, one in five women has dealt with an eating disorder, twice the proportion of women known to be affected by age 21. Risks for anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating can rise at midlife due to job stressors, an empty nest, and dating again after divorce or widowhood. Health effects can include bone loss, heart problems, lung conditions, gastrointestinal issues, diabetes, and skin breakdown. Signs of an eating disorder include dramatic weight fluctuations, excessive exercising, and preoccupation with weight, calories, and body size and shape.

Wintertime can pose challenges to cardiovascular health. Cold temperatures can cause arteries to narrow, which can leave people with heart disease vulnerable to angina or heart attacks, especially during physical exertion. Changes in sleep, eating, and exercise habits related to the season may also affect the heart. Crowded indoor gatherings also raise a person's risk for respiratory infections, which can exacerbate heart disease.

Having a dog or another pet appears to lower the risk of high blood pressure and improve blood pressure control. Pet ownership may foster positive feelings (such as decreased stress) and habits (such as daily walks) that may improve heart health. People who own dogs walk about 20 minutes more per day on average than those without dogs. Pets can help combat loneliness and social isolation, which have been linked to a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, or death from these causes.

The routine yearly medical check-up is now more often referred to as the annual wellness visit, which allows people to formulate detailed health goals with their doctor and design plans to meet them, as well as assess the possibility of life-changing events, like heart attack, stroke, and cancer.

Each year, millions of couples face one partner's serious diagnosis with a condition such as cancer, heart or kidney failure, or neurological illness, among others. People can support their partners through a difficult diagnosis and treatment by keeping communication open, maintaining daily routines, becoming informed about the medical condition, attending doctor visits, adding assistive devices in their home, getting wills and other legal documents in order, and seeking and accepting help from others.