Mental health at risk as California wildfire threat grows

PARADISE, California - Tasha Ritza lost her house, her job and her hometown on the day a wildfire destroyed Paradise, California. A year later, her life is still in tatters, she said.

"I'm at a loss. I deal with a lot of anxiety. I can't figure out if I want to stay, if I want to go," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "I haven't worked in a year.

"In a day it was all taken from me, and it's not getting any easier," said Ritza, who ran a kitchen in one of the Paradise public schools before the fire. She has moved to nearby Chico while she struggles to decide what to do next.

In California communities haunted by wildfires losses and new fire threats, the damage has not been only physical. Anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges linked to the fires are growing - and residents say they fear more trauma is ahead.

"This whole county has PTSD, depression," said Michele Evans, a young mother who worked at a dance studio in Paradise before the fire, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Everybody could use some counseling, the whole county," she added.

The wildfire that swept through the northern California town of Paradise in November 2018 was the most deadly in state history, killing 85 people.

Panicked residents fled burning homes and abandoned their cars on blocked streets, running through flames down the main roadway to escape their mountain town, once popular with retirees.

Today only about 10% of the 27,000 people who once lived there remain.

Some moved just up the road to the small mountain community of Magalia and others to bigger cities nearby such as Chico and Sacramento. But many left the area altogether after the fire destroyed almost 18,800 structures, more than half of them homes.

In the charred remains of Paradise, a few people still live in trailers on the burned-out lots where their homes once stood.

California has long suffered seasonal wildfires, but longer dry seasons and more powerful winds - which scientists link to climate change - are helping make the blazes far more destructive, raising risks - and fears.

ANXIETY, DEPRESSION

Rebecca Schmidt, a researcher at the University of California, Davis, has studied mental health among pregnant women during wildfires ever since 2017 blazes tore through the state's Napa and Sonoma wine regions.

"The most commonly reported symptom even a year later was stress and anxiety," she said. That included sleeplessness, headaches, difficulty concentrating and depression.

"It's even more worrisome when communities are disrupted, like Paradise. A lot of them lost their support system," she said.

The losses can have long-standing mental health impacts - and fear of more fires also is taking a toll, Schmidt said.

"The feeling of not being safe affects the mental health of people all around, and it's a long-term thing," she said.

In Sonoma County, where the Kincade fire burned nearly 80,000 acres (32,400 hectares) before being extinguished this month, officials are considering asking residents to vote on a 1/4 cent sales tax to fund mental health services.

County officials there also recently declared a climate emergency in an effort to make climate risks a top priority in policies and decision-making.

"I've seen more mental illness in the last two years than I've ever seen in Sonoma County before," said Kellee Ziegler, an emergency room nurse at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

During the Kincade blaze, people filled the emergency room with complaints of PTSD and suicide attempts, she said.

"This fire threw people over the edge," she said.

Dr. Grant Brenner, a New York-based psychiatrist and expert in disaster-related mental health, said mental health threats from disasters tend to be overlooked.

But as global warming brings growing threats - from stronger hurricanes and more frequent floods and droughts to larger fire risks, "the damage psychologically from climate change is going to be massive," he said.

One way to ease the pressure is letting survivors help other survivors, said Janet Leisen, whose home in the northern California city of Santa Rosa burned two years ago.

She and other Santa Rosa residents who lost homes in the 2017 blaze traveled to Healdsburg during the Kincade fire to offer advice and support on recovering and rebuilding, working from a local assistance center set up for newly affected residents.

"As a victim, we know that it's difficult to talk to people who haven't been there," she said. "It's easier to talk to someone who understands that it's not just stuff (lost), that this is a traumatic event."

Jessie Mercer, an art therapist who lived in Paradise, said she poured her grief into creating a "Phoenix" sculpture, built from the keys of homes lost in the blaze.

The sculpture was unveiled as residents returned to Paradise this month to mark the fire's one-year anniversary.

"I brought us home, even if just for today," Mercer said at the unveiling.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Single? For Emma Watson, actor considers herself ‘self-partnered’

LONDON -- Actor Emma Watson has given up calling herself single and now describes herself as "self-partnered" as she faces down societal pressure to marry and have a family, she said in an interview published on Tuesday.

The "Harry Potter" star told with British Vogue magazine she had battled anxiety as she approached age 30 without a stable career, partner or baby.

"I never believed the whole 'I'm happy single' spiel," she told the magazine, saying she had gradually changed her views.

"It took me a long time, but I'm very happy. I call it being self-partnered."

Women have long faced particular pressure to partner up and start a family, rights campaigners have argued, with older single women more likely to be seen as an object of pity while men tend to be perceived as free and enjoying bachelor life.

Watson, 29, said she had struggled with anxiety and stress as she approached her 30th birthday, eventually realizing it was because she was facing an "influx of subliminal messaging".

"If you have not built a home, if you do not have a husband, if you do not have a baby, and you are turning 30, and you're not in some incredibly secure, stable place in your career ... There's just this incredible amount of anxiety," she said.

Watson is a leading women's rights activist and a goodwill ambassador for U.N. Women, championing the HeForShe campaign, which urges men to advocate for gender equality.

She has also spoken out about her own experiences of sexism, recalling suffering gender-based discrimination from age 8, and has said as she grew into adulthood she was sexualized by the media in a way that her male "Harry Potter" co-stars were not. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Kelsey Merritt opens up about anxiety attacks, cites 'pressure'

MANILA – She may be at the top of her game now, yet Kelsey Merritt admitted that she suffered anxiety attacks in her journey to becoming a Victoria’s Secret model.

“This year, I put a lot of pressure on myself to the point that I would get anxiety attacks, something that I never had to deal before,” she said in an Instagram post on Thursday.

The Filipino-American model went on to thank her boyfriend, American swimmer Conor Dwyer, for always being there for her, especially during her anxiety attacks.

“I am so thankful for a lot of things that’s happened this year, but I’m really thankful for having Conor in my life,” she said.

“Conor was there for me, made sure I was okay, and was always just my shoulder to cry on,” she added. “We don’t really share a lot about our relationship to the public and I prefer to keep it private. But I just wanted to share with all of you what an amazing human being this guy is.”

Merritt recently made history as the first Filipino model in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Depression in pregnancy may alter babies' brains

Women with depression and anxiety during pregnancy may be more likely to have babies with altered brain development that might be linked to behavior problems later in childhood, a small study suggests.

Researchers asked 101 women to complete questionnaires about depression and anxiety symptoms during their third trimester of pregnancy. Overall, six mothers had symptoms of major depressive disorder, five met criteria for moderate depression, and 42 met criteria for mild depression.

Then, researchers took MRIs of infants’ brains when they were about one month old. They found more alterations in brain structure among the babies born to women who experienced at least moderate levels of depression during pregnancy.

“Our study suggests that moderate levels of maternal depression and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy were associated with variations in the brain’s white matter microstructure or ‘wiring’ at one month of age,” said lead study author Douglas Dean III of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The patterns were different in boys and girls, “which may be related to boys and girls having different developmental trajectories and being differentially impacted by certain early life experiences,” Dean said by email.

Up to one in five pregnant women experience depression and anxiety, and mounting evidence links these conditions with poorer emotional and behavioral outcomes in children, researchers note in JAMA Pediatrics.

That’s true even when mothers’ symptoms aren’t severe, they say.

In the current study, researchers found maternal depression and anxiety linked to changes in what’s known as white matter microstructure in the brain, which is involved in communication between different regions of the brain.

Untreated depression during pregnancy is associated with underweight babies who are more likely to need intensive care after birth. Pregnant women with uncontrolled depression may not eat well or keep up with prenatal visits, and in the most severe cases, they may be at increased risk for suicide.

The study can’t prove whether or how anxiety or depression during pregnancy might directly influence infants’ brain development or emotional or behavioral development.

It’s also not clear whether changes seen on brain scans during infancy would persist as children aged or whether any treatment mothers get for depression or anxiety might impact babies’ brain development.

Still, the results underscore the importance of focusing on both physical and mental health during pregnancy, said David Bridgett, a psychology researcher at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb who wasn’t involved in the study.

“For some, psychotherapy or counseling can be highly effective in the treatment of depression and anxiety, which may help to mitigate any risk to the developing infant,” Bridgett said by email. “Therapy and behavioral treatments for depression and anxiety can be just as effective as medication.”

Like many drugs, antidepressants fall into a gray area during pregnancy, with insufficient evidence to definitively prove the harms or benefits. Often, doctors may reserve drugs for women with more severe depression.

“While there is data suggesting that some medications for depression and anxiety may be relatively safe for pregnant women to take, there also is research suggesting that such medications may have effects on child development,” Bridgett added.

The current study provides fresh evidence that mood disorders do need to be addressed during pregnancy, said Erika Forbes, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh who wasn’t involved in the study.

“Changes in brain development don’t necessarily lead to long-term impairments in cognition, behavior, or emotion,” Forbes said by email.

“They might not be meaningful, and they’re just one factor,” Forbes added. “But they could make some children more vulnerable to serious problems.”

SOURCE: bit.ly/2PboV1x JAMA Pediatrics, online August 27, 2018.

Ivanka Trump: Family separations a 'low point,' media not the enemy

WASHINGTON -- Ivanka Trump distanced herself Thursday from some of her father's most controversial policies and strident rhetoric, saying she was "vehemently against" family separations and that journalists are not the enemy.

Speaking publicly for the first time since she shuttered her eponymous fashion brand last week, the first daughter and senior adviser to President Donald Trump took a decidedly different approach than her combative father to stress that the immigration crisis has caused her anxiety.

"That was a low point for me as well," Trump, 36, told a conference organized by news website Axios, referring to the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy that led to the stripping of thousands of children from their migrant parents.

"I am very vehemently against family separation and the separation of parents and children, so I would agree with that sentiment."

Ivanka's position aligns with the opinion of everyday Americans, who polls show are largely opposed to the separations.

The immigration crisis, which swelled further when audio emerged of detained toddlers crying for their mothers, caused a firestorm and in June the president reversed course.

But as of last week's deadline, 711 of the roughly 2,500 separated children were still not reunited with their parents, and officials were unable to clarify when they would see their family.

Trump also distanced herself from her father's relentless condemnation of the media -- attacks that have raised the levels of anti-press antagonism at his recent rallies.

While saying she had "sensitivity" about why some people who feel targeted have gripes with reporters, she said the name which the president has bestowed on them is misplaced.

"No, I do not feel that the media is the enemy of the people," Ivanka said.

Her words came in stark contrast to those of the president hours later, when he dubbed journalists "horrible, horrendous people" while speaking at a Pennsylvania rally.

'INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT ISSUES'

Many observers at the start of Trump's presidency expressed confidence that Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, formed a compassionate camp in the White House and would act as a check on her father's cruder instincts.

That has largely failed to materialize. While Trump was said to have discouraged her father privately from the border policy, she said nothing publicly until after his reversal, when she thanked him for "taking critical action ending family separation."

Last year, she urged him to keep the United States in the Paris climate accord, but her prodding fell on deaf ears and the president pulled out. 

In November, as Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore faced accusations of misconduct with teen girls when he was in his 30s, Ivanka Trump declared "there's a special place in hell for people who prey on children."

But two weeks later, the president endorsed Moore, who ultimately lost to a Democrat.

As first daughter, Ivanka has traveled overseas representing the United States, attended meetings with visiting heads of state and traveled domestically, fueling speculation she may harbor future political ambitions of her own.

"I'm really passionate about the work that I'm doing here and I'm really committed to it," she said Thursday.

So much so that last week she announced she was closing her fashion brand, following criticism about potential conflicts of interest and flagging sales.

In discussing the immigration crisis, Trump described herself as "the daughter of an immigrant" -- her mother was born and raised in the former Czechoslovakia, and came to the US legally.

"So we have to be very careful about incentivizing behavior that puts children at risk of being trafficked," said Trump, a mother of three.

"These are incredibly difficult issues, and like the rest of the country I experience them in a very emotional way."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Sofia Andres admits battling anxiety

MANILA -- Former "Bagani" star Sofia Andres opened up about her mental health on Thursday, revealing on social media that she is suffering from anxiety.

She also admitted that she has started counselling and therapy.

The actress also wrote a message to all those who are also battling anxiety, assuring them that they have nothing to be ashamed of.

"To be honest I was real scared to tell my friends, my loved ones, and my family about the anxiety attacks I have been experiencing. Everyone is an individual and everyone gets anxious, just on different levels and to different extents," she said.

According to the website Health.com, anxiety comes in many forms such as panic attacks, anxiety attacks, phobia, and social anxiety. These disorders affect how people feel and behave and can even cause physical symptoms.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Child abuse linked to later depression for teens

Tough experiences before age six, like family instability or abuse, are tied to changes in brain structure and to a higher risk of anxiety or depression, according to a study of mother-son pairs in England.

“Early adversity increases later symptoms of depression or anxiety, which, in turn, can associate with variation in cortical structure,” said senior author Edward D. Barker of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s College London.

“Most children will experience a degree of adversity, but this is not necessarily harmful,” Barker told Reuters Health by email. “Our research suggests that children who experience many forms of adversity are at risk.”

His team followed almost 500 pairs of mothers and sons, starting during pregnancy, from 1991 or 1992.

When the children were eight, 21, 33, 47, 61 and 73 months old, roughly from infancy to age six, their mothers answered questions about 37 types of “adversity” in the home, including interpersonal loss, family instability, and abuse toward the child or mother.

When the boys were seven, 10 and 13 years old, their mothers reported on their symptoms of anxiety or depression.

Between age 18 and 21, the young men had magnetic resonance imaging of their brains.

According to the MRI scans, having experienced more types of adversity before age six was tied to lower gray matter volume in an area of the brain called the anterior cingulate cortex, which is involved in emotion, decision-making and empathy, and higher volume in the precuneus, which is involved with episodic memory.

“The relationship is likely similar for girls, but this needs to be confirmed,” Barker said.

Early adversity was also tied to lower volume in the right superior frontal gyrus of the brain, as were later symptoms of anxiety and depression, the researchers reported in JAMA Pediatrics.

The right superior frontal gyrus may be related to self-awareness.

Researchers are still learning what processes the precuneus is involved with and how that might be related to problems after early life stress, said Jamie L. Hanson of the Carolina Consortium on Human Development at Duke University who was not part of the new study.

“It can be difficult to know if an effect is a direct result of an experience (like early life stress) or caused by the other effects of an experience (indirect; early life stress is related to depression, and depression can affect the brain),” Hanson told Reuters Health by email. “This study found that differences in the superior frontal gyrus were related to these “indirect” effects.”

Child maltreatment, extreme poverty, or having a parent with major mental health issues happens to almost a million kids in the U.S. each year, Hanson said.

“Research suggests that the experiences early in life really matter, especially before the age of five,” Hanson said. “This isn’t to say that if a child experiences stress during this period, that they will definitely have physical or mental health issues. Stress during infancy and early childhood, however, does increase the risk for many different problems.”

“Young children are dependent on their caregivers, whereas teenagers have a greater range of experience and autonomy,” Barker said.

Dr. Martin H. Teicher, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston, told Reuters Health that early life adversity plays an important role in risk for substance abuse, personality disorders, anxiety disorders and even psychotic disorders.

“We do not yet know if there are actions that can be taken later in childhood or during adolescence that would preempt the consequences of early exposure,” Teicher, who was not part of the study, wrote by email.

Social programs where registered nurses visit low-income first-time mothers have had strong positive effects, Hanson said. “These programs start during pregnancy and typically continue for two years following a child’s birth, and really help maternal and child health outcomes.”

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Researchers measure average penis size

PARIS -- What is an "average" size for a penis?

The enduring question now has a scientific answer: 13.12 centimeters (5.16 inches) in length when erect, and 11.66 cm around, according to an analysis of more than 15,000 appendages around the world.

In a flaccid state, it found, the penis of the average Joe is all of 9.16 cm in length and has a girth of 9.31 cm.

The numbers should help "reassure the large majority of men that the size of their penis is in the normal range," said British researchers who had assembled data from studies where participants had their member measured by a professional.

The team then used the collated numbers to devise a graph that doctors can use in counselling men with "small penis anxiety."

In the worst cases, men may be diagnosed with Body Dysmorphic Disorder -- a debilitating psychological condition that can lead to obsessive and anti-social behavior, depression and even suicide.

In reality, only 2.28 percent of the male population have an abnormally small penis, said the study -- and the same percentage an unusually large one.

The study participants were men aged 17-91 who had their penises measured in 20 previously published studies conducted in Europe, Asia, Africa and the United States.

The team found no evidence for penis size differences linked to race, though most of the study participants were of European and Middle Eastern descent and a full comparison could thus not be made.

Nor did the researchers find any convincing correlation between a man's foot size and the length of his manhood.

They acknowledged their results may have been somewhat skewed by the possibility that men who volunteer to be examined may be more confident in their penis size than the general population.

The team said their work, published in the BJU International journal of urology, was the first to combine all existing data on penis length and girth into a definitive graph.

The information may be useful for reassuring men worried about their size. But it may also have the unintended effect of shriveling the egos of those who thought they were abnormally well-endowed.

Doctors may also use the graph to help men find well-fitting condoms, said the team.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How to avoid stress, anxiety during the holidays

MANILA - Amid the happy and festive atmosphere this Christmas season, many people also suffer from stress and anxiety due to their busy schedule these coming holidays.

In an interview on the radio show "Magandang Gabi Dok", psychiatrist Bernadette Arcena explained that too much stress and anxiety can lead to serious health problems.

Among the conditions that can worsen due to stress and anxiety are heart problems.

"Kapag may cardiac problems, unang-una kailangan inumin mo 'yung gamot mo. Importante 'yun ah, you have your check up with your cardio," she said.

"Second, bibigyan sila ng mga exercises or some techniques para makabawas sila ng weight, or mamaintain nila 'yung tinatawag natin na timbang. So importante yun," she added.

Aside from maintaining the proper weight and taking medicines, Arcena advised people to eat the right kind of food to keep getting the right kind of nutrients the body needs.

Symptoms
Arcena said that although stress and anxiety usually affect a person's psychological health, these can also have physical manifestations.

Symptoms of stress and anxiety include headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, heavy shoulders, backache, abdominal upset, diarrhea, and muscle pain.

"A lot of these things can happen to a person na sobrang stressed," said Arcena, adding that stress not only affects the body, but also the mind.

"At times, 'yung mood mo apektado rin," the doctor added.

How to avoid stress
Arcena gave some tips to avoid stress and anxiety this coming holiday season.

First, one should know his or her priorities. Planning events, parties, and other things can help in preventing stressful situations.

It is also important to have time to relax.

"Importante 'yun ah, hindi lang tayo work nang work," Arcena said.

The doctor also suggests having micro-vacations, or even micro-breaks.

"Weekends lang, or during the day you can have micro-breaks," she added.

Arcena describes micro-breaks as five to ten minute breaks one should take every day whenever they start to feel stressed or anxious.

For those suffering from broken relationships, Arcena said it is important to learn to forgive oneself, and to surround oneself with happy people.

"Kasi may mga memories na attached with Christmas, so it is important to surround yourself with people. Go with people who can make you feel valuable, and don't be alone," she added.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Obama names Ebola 'czar', bolsters Texas response

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama appointed a former White House adviser as Ebola "czar" on Friday and named officials to bolster the response to the disease in Texas, the center of U.S. Ebola cases, as the death toll in three West African nations topped 4,500.

The White House appointments came as Obama faced criticism from some lawmakers over his administration's efforts to contain the hemorrhagic virus and as widening Ebola fears kept a U.S. cruise ship out of a Mexican port.

Obama appointed Ron Klain, a lawyer who had served as chief of staff to Vice Presidents Joe Biden and Al Gore, to oversee the U.S. Ebola response.

The White House also said it would send senior personnel to Dallas to help federal, state and local officials there trying to identify and monitor people who came in contact with three people who caught the disease.

The three include Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with the disease in the United States, and two nurses who were on the team of health workers caring for Duncan until his death last week.

Obama met with health and national security aides and "underscored that the domestic response to Ebola cases must be seamless at all levels," the White House said in a statement.

It was the third consecutive day that Obama had convened officials to discuss what has become a major political issue for his Democratic administration ahead of mid-term elections next month.

The officials will include a Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinator, Kevin Hannes, and a White House liaison, Adrian Saenz, a presidential aide. Governor Rick Perry has named Texas emergency management chief W. Nim Kidd to coordinate the state Ebola effort, the White House said.

CRUISE SHIP QUARANTINE

Authorities said a Texas health worker, who was not ill but may have had contact with specimens from the patient, was quarantined on a cruise ship that departed on Sunday from Galveston, Texas.

The Carnival Magic, operated by Carnival Corp unit Carnival Cruise Lines, skipped a planned stop in Cozumel, Mexico, because of delays getting permission to dock from Mexican authorities, the cruise line said. The ship was scheduled to return to Galveston on Sunday.

A Mexican port authority official said the ship was denied clearance to avoid any possible risk from Ebola.

The countries worst hit by Ebola have been Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where the disease has killed 4,546 since the outbreak started in March, an updated tally from the World Health Organization shows.

That marked a sharp increase from late July, when fewer than 730 people had died from the disease in West Africa. The virus is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids from an infected person.

The toll on the worst-hit countries has gone beyond the illness, because of disruptions to farming and marketing. The World Food Program said food prices in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone had risen an average of 24 percent, forcing some families to cut back to one meal a day.

U.S. ANXIETY

The White House appointments and the Mexican cruise ship incident highlighted anxiety over the threat from Ebola, even though the three Dallas cases are the only ones diagnosed in the United States.

Klain replaces U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Thomas Frieden as the new public face of the government's response to Ebola. The CDC chief was strongly criticized for his handling of the situation in Dallas.

Republicans were quick to criticize Klain, who is seen as a political operative.

"Leave it to President Obama to put a liberal political activist in charge of the administration's Ebola response," Representative John Fleming, a Louisiana medical doctor, said in a statement.

Frieden told a congressional hearing this week that some protective equipment used by health care workers exposed some parts of the skin.

Given those concerns and the fact that two nurses got Ebola at the hospital, the CDC "very soon" will put out new guidelines on putting on and taking off protective gowns, masks, gloves and other gear, CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds said.

SCARE REACHES THE PENTAGON
Illustrating the public worry in the United States, the Pentagon confirmed an Ebola scare when a woman who recently traveled to Africa vomited after getting off a bus headed to a Marine Corps ceremony.

In a statement, Virginia health officials said Ebola had been ruled out as the cause of the woman's illness.

Klain was appointed the day after U.S. lawmakers, in a congressional hearing, criticized the administration's handling of Ebola. Some called for a ban on travel from West Africa, as other politicians have in recent weeks.

The White House said on Friday that Obama was willing to "keep an open mind" about a travel ban, but it was not being considered.

In a sign the disease can be beaten, the World Health Organization said the West African country of Senegal was now Ebola-free, although still vulnerable.

The CDC has said it is expanding its search for people who may have been exposed to Amber Vinson, one of the nurses who treated Duncan, to include passengers on a flight she made to Cleveland, Ohio, in addition to those on her Monday return trip to Texas. Vinson went to Ohio over the weekend on Frontier Airlines while running a slight fever.

One of the 48 people who had the earliest contact or possible contact with Duncan has come out of quarantine after showing no symptoms for 21 days of monitoring, a Dallas County official said. The man was the first to get the all-clear.

There is no cure for Ebola. But U.S. health officials have asked three advanced biology laboratories to submit plans for producing the experimental Ebola drug ZMapp, when supplies ran out after it was given to medical workers who contracted the disease in West Africa.

Australian biotech firm CSL Ltd said it was working on a plasma product to treat Ebola following a request from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, part of a growing commercial response to the outbreak.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Do you 'like' how I look?

NEW YORK - Social media that emphasizes sharing and commenting on photos and other images may feed the anxieties of young women with eating disorders, according to US researchers.

In experiments with a group of female college students, those who logged into their Facebook accounts were more likely to worry about their weight and body shape afterward, compared to women who read online articles about a neutral topic.

For those working on treatment and prevention of eating disorders, the effects of spending time on Facebook may be a factor to take into account, the study team suggests.

"We've done research on peer influences in other contexts - this is the first time we've looked at social media use," Pamela Keel told Reuters Health.

Keel is a researcher and director of clinical training at the Florida State University Department of Psychology in Tallahassee. She oversaw the study that was led by student Annalise Mabe.

The idea for the new study started when Mabe wondered if Facebook use could be related to how women feel about their weight, their body shape and their eating, Keel said.

Some previous research had indicated links between Facebook use and disordered eating, Keel said, but "nothing had really examined whether that meant that Facebook could in some way be contributing to eating disorder risk, so we decided to look at it."

In the first part of the study, 960 students answered survey questions on their attitudes about dieting and their eating behaviors. They were also asked about the amount of time they spent on Facebook.

About 96% of the women used Facebook, and on average, they spent a total of about two hours a week on the site.

The young women whose questionnaire answers indicated disordered eating attitudes and behaviors were somewhat more likely to spend more time on Facebook, the researchers found.

"When you find that kind of association, you can't be sure whether somehow the time spent on Facebook is an eating disorder risk or it could also be that women who have higher concerns of weight and shape and are more concerned about their eating are more drawn to spending time on Facebook," Keel said.

"So the second study was really what makes an important contribution in this area because it represented an experiment in which we could demonstrate whether or not Facebook use had any causal effect on eating disorder risk factors," she added.

The researchers identified 84 women from the earlier survey who used Facebook more than two hours a week and randomly assigned them to one of two groups.

In one group, each of the participants was instructed to log into her Facebook account and spend 20 minutes on the site doing whatever she normally would. Members of the comparison group spent 20 minutes on the Web reading Wikipedia articles and watching YouTube videos about ocelots.

After the online sessions, all the participants were asked to answer the questionnaires again, along with questions about their Facebook use and surveys about their attitudes toward eating and dieting.

The researchers found that women who had stronger attitudes of disordered eating tended to place greater importance on receiving comments and ‘likes' on their Facebook status and photos.

Those same participants were more likely to untag photos of themselves and to compare photos of themselves to pictures of their female friends more often.

After 20 minutes online, both groups of students were less preoccupied with weight and body shape, but the women in the comparison group showed a greater decline in that preoccupation than the women who spent their time on Facebook, the researchers report in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

"We did see significant differences in how their disordered eating risk factors changed after Internet use and that provides a very strong piece of evidence that Facebook use does influence eating disorder risk factors," Keel said.

The study has limitations, including the fact that it didn't look at men, and it's not clear that the decrease in weight and shape concerns would happen outside of a laboratory setting. The researchers also can't say whether other social media sites would have a similar influence.

"This is a very interesting study in part because it brought in the new element of how social media use can actually impact young women's perception of their health, specifically in the context of body image," Yvonne Chen told Reuters Health.

Chen, an assistant professor of strategic communication at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas, studies how mass media affects peoples' decision-making processes, perceptions, attitudes and behavior.

"The authors in the article talked about how Facebook actually is a risk factor that impacts eating disorders and then in the conclusion they were quite optimistic that perhaps Facebook could also be used to promote health," said Chen, who was not involved in the study.

The fact that "Being around peers who are concerned about dieting and weight increases your own concerns about dieting and weight, also means that being surrounded by peers who have lower concerns about dieting and weight and have a greater body acceptance actually protects you from those problems," Keel noted.

"So I think there's an opportunity to use peer influences in positive ways that are supportive for young women," she said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

BRIC or MINT? Investors suffer acronym anxiety

Acronyms are economic, not investment concepts - inventor

LONDON - Which investment takes your fancy: BRIC, MINT or CIVETS? For many fund managers seeking the next big thing in emerging markets, the answer is none.

Acronym investment - putting money into small groupings of markets which often have little in common beyond a broad economic concept - is giving way to acronym anxiety.

Former Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill set the ball rolling in 2001 when he created the BRIC family of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Many of these countries and others lumped together under separate acronyms have, at least until recently, enjoyed turbo-charged economic growth. But investment gains are not guaranteed and underperforming local stock markets have led fund managers to flee what had been fashionable groupings.

Assets under management in BRIC funds fell to 9 billion euros at the end of last year from 21 billion at the end of 2010, according to Lipper data, while assets under management in broader emerging equity funds have grown in that time.

Goldman Sachs's own BRIC fund has lost 20 percent in value over the past three years.

Undaunted, O'Neill has coined a new acronym. In a series on BBC radio this month, he championed the MINT group - Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey - as the next giants after the BRICs. O'Neill stresses that MINT - like BRIC before - is an economic, not an investment, concept and his programmes explored each country's problems as well as its potential.

Nevertheless, the appeal of acronym investment is fading. Fund managers say such groupings do not take into account different stages of development of the countries involved and risk sidelining other promising markets. The groupings have also frequently suffered from disappointing performances of their listed companies, the main target of foreign investors.

O'Neill's timing is not ideal. Turkey has been rocked by an investigation into alleged corruption following street protests last summer, while Nigerian politics are in turmoil before elections next year.

Indonesia, along with other emerging economies which are running large current account deficits, is experiencing a flight of investors.

"Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey are all very interesting countries but not much connected beyond the excuse for having an acronym," said Richard Titherington, chief investment officer of emerging equities at JP Morgan Asset Management. Titherington prefers groupings by concepts such as markets where companies offer the highest dividend yields.

Investors in the BRIC countries have already found out the hard way that economic growth may not convert into stock market gains, and some analysts blame problems with corporate governance in markets such as Russia and China.

BRIC markets have underperformed the broader MSCI index of emerging stocks in dollar terms in the past three years, with emerging markets in turn lagging developed markets.

NO MORE CIVETS

In another sign of acronym anxiety, HSBC closed its CIVETS fund last year, leaving no managers tracking another group of emerging markets - Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa.

Both the BRIC and MINT groupings focus on demographics - countries which are going to grow rapidly by the middle of the century, due to their young populations.

This is an attraction of frontier economies - those which are at an earlier stage of development than established emerging markets. One such is Nigeria, whose stock market has been an extreme outperformer, doubling in value last year.

But relying exclusively on demographics to make investment decisions is risky, says Andrew Brudenell, frontier fund manager at HSBC Asset Management.

Instead, investors should look at countries with weaker corporate regulation and where relatively low levels of goods and services are available, offering potential for growth.

These factors should produce the best returns on company earnings. "Demographics are definitely one of the (investment) criteria, the others are also criteria," Brudenell said. "We would not necessarily decide MINT are interesting countries to invest in, there are lots of other ones."

Nigeria is at an earlier stage in the development cycle than the others. According to IMF estimates, its per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was about $2,800 last year measured by purchasing power parity. That compares with around $5,000 for Indonesia and more than $15,000 for Mexico and Turkey.

Turkey is the country most out of kilter in stock performance terms. It has been hit by weakness of its currency as foreign investors pulled out before the U.S. Federal Reserve begins scaling back its bond-buying this month, a programme that had depressed yields in U.S. markets and encouraged investors to seek higher returns in riskier assets.

The Turkish stock market has underperformed even the BRICs in dollar terms in the last three years. The corruption inquiry, which led to the resignations of government ministers, aggravated the problem.

"Turkey remains a long-term investment opportunity but in the short term remains quite risky," said Mauro Ratto, head of emerging markets at Pioneer Investments.

As with Turkey, investors are wary of political risk in Nigeria before the next year's elections and amid uncertainty over whether President Goodluck Jonathan will run.

Whatever their differences or similarities, the danger with all emerging markets is that their performance is not always dictated by local stories, but by the global economic outlook.

"These countries do not have an independent monetary cycle," said Bill O'Neill, chief UK strategist at UBS Wealth Management. "In these environments, emerging markets do struggle short term."

Jim O'Neill said investors had got the wrong end of the stick by banking on the BRIC. "It is very important for me to emphasise, being Mr BRIC, that I created the BRIC as an economic concept, not as an investment theme," he said.

The same went for the MINT grouping, said O'Neill. "Each of the four MINT (economies) make up more than 1 percent of the world's GDP, except Nigeria - which has the best potential to make up 1 percent of GDP," he added.

And as always, timing is vital with investing. While Goldman's BRIC fund has fallen in the past three years, it is up 26 percent since its launch almost eight years ago.

"If you invested in the BRICS in 2008 for the first time, you would not be very happy. If you had invested in them in 2000, you would be very happy," he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Lindsay Lohan Stressful Arrest Caused Pain Beneath My Breasts

Lindsay Lohan believes getting arrested is bad for her health ... 'cause she's telling friends the stress from her NYC bust aggravated her pre-existing pneumonia so badly, she had to be hospitalized.

We broke the story .. Lohan was rushed to the emergency room in NYC Sunday night with a lung infection ... but was released a short time later.

Now, Lindsay's telling friends the arrest caused her so much anxiety, it landed her in the hospital -- exacerbating the "walking pneumonia" she's been suffering from the last few weeks.

That's right, Lindsay is blaming stress for her damaged lungs ... Lindsay, the infamous chain smoker who blew through 49 packs of cigarettes in 47 days while she stayed at the Chateau Marmont this summer.

Makes total sense.

source: tmz.com

Pinoy shooting victim suffers anxiety attacks

AURORA, Colorado - Seventeen-year-old Colorado shooting victim Ryan Lumba, who remains in intensive care following two surgeries that removed bullet slugs in his stomach, now struggles with anxiety attacks.

His mother, Remy Lumba, told Balitang America that her son constantly asks if the attacker is still in jail. She said she always has to remind him that the nightmare is over.

Doctors are treating Ryan’s anxiety and have urged his mother to always be by his side.

Meantime, law enforcement officials said the suspect in last week's massacre at a Colorado movie theater, James Holmes, sent a package to a university psychiatrist that contained a notebook describing the attack.

The package, which reportedly included stick figure drawings of a gunman shooting people, was sent before the shootings.

Mrs. Lumba said officials of the University of Colorado hospital gave them a heads up about this, before the news came out to help them manage Ryan’s further anxiety attacks.

Hospital help shooting victims

Meanwhile, three of five hospitals treating the wounded said they will limit or completely wipe out medical bills for the victims.

Health-One, which owns the medical center of Aurora, and Swedish Medical Center said it will limit or eliminate charges based on the individual circumstances of the patients.

Children’s Hospital Colorado, for its part, said it would use donations and its charity care fund to cover the medical expenses of the uninsured shooting victims it is treating.

For those who do have insurance, the hospital said it will waive all co-pays.

These three hospitals have treated 22 shooting victims. Some victims, many of them young, are uninsured and face mounting hospital bills.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Spanking increases odds of mental illness - study

WASHINGTON - People who were hit or spanked as children face higher odds of mental ailments as adults, including mood and anxiety disorders and problems with alcohol and drug abuse, researchers said Monday.

The study, led by Canadian researchers, is the first to examine the link between psychological problems and spanking, while excluding more severe physical or sexual abuse in order to better gauge the effect of corporal punishment alone.

Those who were spanked or hit as kids were between two and seven percent more likely to encounter mental issues later, said the research in the US journal Pediatrics, based on a retrospective survey of more than 600 US adults.

That figure may seem low, particularly since about half of the US population recalls being spanked in childhood, but nevertheless shows that physical punishment can raise the risk of problems later on, experts said.

"The study is valuable because it opens the conversation about parenting," said Victor Fornari, director of the division of child and adolescent psychiatry at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in New York.

The rate "is not dramatically higher, but it is higher, just to suggest that physical punishment is a risk factor for developing more mental disturbances as an adult," said Fornari, who was not involved in the study.

Previous research has repeatedly shown that children who were physically abused as youngsters suffer from more mental disturbances as adults, and are more likely to engage in aggressive behavior than kids who were not hit.

But these studies have typically included more serious abuse.

The current study excludes both sexual abuse and physical abuse that left bruises, marks, or caused injury.

Instead it focuses on "harsh physical punishment," defined as pushing, grabbing, shoving, slapping or hitting as a form of punishment from elders.

While 32 nations around the world have banned corporal punishment of kids, the United States and Canada are not among them.

Using a nationally representative survey sample of 653 Americans, they found that those who recalled experiencing harsh punishment as children faced higher odds of a range of mental problems.

Between two and five percent of disorders like depression, anxiety, bipolar, anorexia, or bulimia were attributable to physical punishment as a child, the study said.

From four to seven percent of more serious problems including personality disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and intellectual disabilities were associated with such punishments in childhood.

Researchers stressed that the study could not establish that spanking had actually caused these disorders in certain adults, only that there was a link between memories of such punishment and a higher incidence of mental problems.

The survey data came from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions collected between 2004 and 2005, and included adults over age 20.

Participants were asked: "As a child how often were you ever pushed, grabbed, shoved, slapped or hit by your parents or any adult living in your house?" Those who answered "sometimes" or greater were included in the analysis.

Roya Samuels, a pediatrician at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New York, said the parents' genes may influence both their response to raising an unruly child as well as their likelihood of passing down certain ailments.

"Parents who are resorting to mechanisms of corporal punishment might themselves be at risk for depression and mental disorders; therefore, there might be a hereditary factor going on in these families," she told AFP.

Future research could shed more light on the issue. In the meantime, the study offers a reminder that other disciplinary options such as positive reinforcement and removing rewards are viewed more favorably by doctors.

"The reality is, if 50 percent of the population has experienced being spanked in the past year, most kids are resilient. It is just that there are better ways for parents to discipline kids than spanking," Fornari said.

"And for some vulnerable kids, the spanking may increase their risk for the development of mental disturbances. So for those reasons it is important to really minimize or extinguish physical punishment."

The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes striking children for any cause and the Canadian Pediatric Society recommends that doctors strongly discourage the use of physical punishment.

source: interaksyon.com