Latest news with #SocialScienceandMedicine
Euronews
4 days ago
- Health
- Euronews
Want to keep your brain sharp in old age? Helping others could be key
'What goes around comes around' may be just an expression, but helping others could have significant benefits for our brains as we age, a new study has found. Middle-aged and older adults who regularly help people they do not live with experience considerably slower cognitive decline than those who do not help others, according to the study, which was published in the journal Social Science and Medicine. Researchers analysed data from more than 30,000 adults aged 51 or older in the United States whose brain health was tracked from 1998 to 2020. Scientists explored how both formal helping, such as volunteering in an organisation, and informal helping, like assisting a neighbour or a friend outside the house, affect cognitive wellbeing and health over time. The study found that both formal and informal helping were associated with higher levels of cognitive function and a slower cognitive decline later in life, whereas withdrawing from these activities was linked to poorer cognitive ability. 'Informal helping is sometimes assumed to offer fewer health benefits due to its lack of social recognition,' Sae Hwang Han, an assistant professor of human development and family sciences at the University of Texas and one of the study's authors, said in a statement. 'It was a pleasant surprise to find that it provides cognitive benefits comparable to formal volunteering,' he added. According to the study, older adults did not need to commit much time to helping others to see the cognitive benefits. Even moderate engagement of two to four hours per week was linked to substantial advantages for brain health. 'The cognitive benefits of helping others weren't just short-term boosts but cumulative over time with sustained engagement,' Han said. However, the study also has some limitations. It did not provide details on the exact ways that people volunteered, relied on self-reported data, and cannot claim with certainty a cause-and-effect relationship between volunteering and brain health. Even so, the results are in line with previous findings. Earlier research has suggested a positive link between cognitive performance and volunteering, with some studies even highlighting that the benefits are particularly significant for women. Notably, however, volunteering opportunities often target young people. In the European Union, official regional programmes like the European Solidarity Corps are open to those aged 18 to 30 to contribute to social projects across the bloc. No such programme exists for middle-aged and older adults. In 2021, the European Commission recommended that older adults volunteer in its Green Paper on Ageing, but the focus was on intergenerational cooperation and enhanced self-esteem, not cognitive health. Han said the latest findings suggest older adults should stay active members of their communities as long as possible, for their own sake as much as others'. 'This suggests the importance of keeping older adults engaged in some form of helping for as long as possible, with appropriate supports and accommodations in place,' he said.
Hans India
05-07-2025
- Health
- Hans India
Women's health more hit than men's during Covid pandemic: Study
New Delhi: Women's mental and physical health took a severe toll than men during the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, finds a study. The study, published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, showed that psychological distress increased for both women and men during the pandemic, with women experiencing a greater rise. The link between health behaviours and mental health weakened for women during the pandemic, with a healthy lifestyle no longer showing a significant connection to mental health. In contrast, these relationships remained consistent for men. Before the pandemic, health behaviours offered greater protective benefits for women's mental health, but during the pandemic, this protective effect became stronger for men, revealed researchers from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. "We found that women reported poorer overall changes in health behaviours than men during the pandemic. Specifically, women reported fewer days of fruit consumption and smaller reductions in alcohol intake. We also found that psychological distress increased for both women and men during the pandemic, with women experiencing a greater rise," said Professor Paul McNamee, who led the research at the University of Aberdeen. To understand whether the pandemic had differing effects on the health behaviours of women and men, the team analysed national data from January 2015 to March 2023 to compare results pre- and post-pandemic. They found that women were more negatively affected by the pandemic than their male counterparts. "The adverse changes in women's health behaviours compared to men persist through to May 2023, suggesting longer-term effects were likely worsened by financial pressures during this period. It's important we keep tracking these trends," said Dr. Karen Arulsamy from Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, who was also part of the study. The research called for targeted interventions as during times of heightened stress, women from lower socio-economic backgrounds with caregiving responsibilities have limited ability to maintain levels of social engagement and face more challenges in engaging in healthier behaviours.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New research links gun violence exposure to higher rates of depression and suicidal ideation
For decades, politicians and gun lobbying organizations have perpetuated the notion that mental health issues drive mass violence. A new study is challenging that narrative, though, showing that, rather than causing acts of violence, exposure to gun violence increased rates of depression among respondents and led to higher use of mental health services, The Trace reports. The study, led by researchers at the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center, surveyed 8,009 respondents across the country, assessing both their exposure to gun violence and their mental health over time. It found that a greater frequency of gun violence exposure was associated with higher depression scores, greater odds of mental health service use, and, perhaps most significantly, greater odds of suicidal ideation compared to having no exposure. It's the first time, using a national representative survey, that researchers have found a correlation between people exposed to gun violence and higher rates of suicidal ideation. The research is an integral step in what experts call a public health approach to gun violence, helping to lay out the empirical foundation for future prevention efforts. "Until we understand the true scope of what gun violence means for our health and our well-being … we are not going to tackle it in a way that fully addresses the issue with all the resources required," said Daniel Semenza, director of research at the center and the lead author of the study. The study, published in the journal Social Science and Medicine in February, found that 40 percent of the respondents had heard gunshots multiple times in their lives. Another 12 percent had cumulative exposure, meaning they were exposed to five or more forms of gun violence, including witnessing a shooting or being threatened with a gun, in their lifetimes. Exposure to firearm suicide more than once and being shot multiple times were found to be associated with increased depression and suicide risks. This recent analysis expands on Semenza's study from last year that found that preparation for a suicide attempt was nearly four times higher among Black Americans who had been shot. "This study is vital to be able to talk about what gun violence does to the mental health of America as a whole, and what it means for our collective well-being," Semenza said. "But the conversation doesn't have to stop there. Exposure to gun violence is fundamentally unequal, and it impacts those who are most marginalized throughout the country." The recent findings hit close to home for Aswad Thomas, a gun violence survivor and the vice president of the Alliance for Safety and Justice, a national organization that provides resources to trauma recovery centers, specialized facilities that support victims of crime. "When I got shot, I remember during the discharge process that my doctors and nurses told me about the physical challenges, but they never mentioned anything about the psychological effects," Thomas said. "I've lost about 40 friends to gun violence throughout my life, and the topic as it relates to 'how do we heal and cope' has just been nonexistent." Research has consistently found that people suffering from severe mental health issues are more likely to be victims of gun violence rather than perpetrators. A 10-year study in San Francisco showed the primary need for gun violence victims was mental health services, and hospital violence intervention program screening in Philadelphia found 75 percent of participants suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Experts working in those care settings have long reported on the effects of interpersonal violence on marginalized communities, but continue to face financial challenges in sustaining their research. "We are seeing the highest rates of suicide among Black adolescents that we've ever seen," said Fatimah Loren Dreier, the executive director of the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention, a national organization of hospital-based violence intervention programs. "This study may unlock some of the mechanisms that are making that so, given the increased concentration of violence in communities of color and the distress that comes from that exposure." Semenza said the study expands on the groundwork that programs like the trauma recovery centers have sustained by highlighting the connection between mental health services and gun violence victims. This support, through mechanisms like grief counseling, transportation, and financial assistance, is the core of the work trauma recovery centers do to help those affected by gun violence, Thomas noted. "It's not that most people, especially survivors, don't want to get mental health services, but it's really an issue about access," Thomas said. "There needs to be more public understanding of these issues, and there needs to be more investments into those type of program services, like the trauma recovery model." This story was produced by The Trace and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
