A dangerous weed
For psychiatric patients, a link between marijuana and violent behavior Recreational drugs can wreak havoc on anyone’s life. But for those with mental illness, smoking pot could lead to aggressive behavior—and put their loved ones at risk. According to a new study published in September in Frontiers in Psychiatry, adults who persistently smoke marijuana following a psychiatric hospitalization are 2½ times more likely to commit violent acts, including assault, battery, or threats with a weapon, than those who do not use the drug. The study included 1,136 patients from ages 18 to 40 who...
Read MoreTeens starting with E-cigs?
E-Cigarettes May Create More Smokers Than Quitters, Research Suggests. Bloomberg News (3/14, Wolf) reports that researchers at Dartmouth College’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center found that “vaping has led more people to start a real smoking habit, rather than avoid tobacco or quit in favor of e-cigarettes,” according to a study published Wednesday in PLOS One. The researchers used census data, published literature, and surveys to build a model which showed that while 2,070 cigarette smokers in the US quit in 2015 with the help of e-cigarettes, 168,000 adolescents who had never smoked began...
Read MoreBreast Feeding and Diabetes
The 30-Year CARDIA Study Question Is the protective association between lactation duration and progression to diabetes supported by a biochemical evidence basis? Findings Among young white and black women in this observational 30-year study, increasing lactation duration was associated with a strong, graded 25% to 47% relative reduction in the incidence of diabetes even after accounting for prepregnancy biochemical measures, clinical and demographic risk factors, gestational diabetes, lifestyle behaviors, and weight gain that prior studies did not address. Meaning This study provides...
Read MoreHerbal-Drug Interactions
Some Common Herbal Supplements May Have Dangerous Interactions With Common Prescription Drugs, Review Study Suggests. TIME (1/24, MacMillan) reports some “common herbal supplements, including green tea and Ginkgo biloba, can interact with prescription medications” in “dangerous or deadly” ways, “according to a new research review published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.” Researchers reviewed “49 case reports of adverse drug reactions, along with two observational studies,” and concluded that herb-drug interactions were “highly probable” in 8% of the reports, “probable” in...
Read MoreTeens Smartphone Risk
Study Ties Sudden And Large Drop In Teen Happiness With Smartphone Proliferation. The Washington Post (1/22, Bahrampour) reports researchers have tied “a sudden and large drop in adolescents’ happiness with the proliferation of smartphones and finding that the more hours a day teens spend in front of screens, the less satisfied they are.” Their report, called “Decreases in Psychological Well-Being Among American Adolescents After 2012 and Links to Screen Time During the Rise of Smartphone Technology,” was published online Jan. 22 in the journal Emotion. In arriving at their conclusions, the...
Read MoreSave by Rx Shopping
Consumers Find Some Drugs Cheaper Without Insurance In a front-page article, the New York Times (12/9, A1, Ornstein, Thomas, Subscription Publication) reports that consumers are “increasingly” finding that some drugs are cheaper without insurance than with it. According to the Times, “one industry expert estimated that up to 10 percent of drug transactions” – or 400 million prescriptions each year – could fall into this category. In a separate article, the New York Times (12/9, Ornstein, Thomas, Subscription Publication) offers advice to readers on how to save money on prescription...
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