Latest news with #physicalhealth
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
How does air pollution affect mental health? New study aimed to find out
What happens to your mental and physical health when you move to an area with worse air pollution? That's the subject of a fascinating new UK-based study. Prof Rosie McEachan, the director of NHS Born in Bradford, asked: 'Do already unhealthy communities, who are often poorer members of our society, end up in unhealthier environments because no one else wants to live there; or is it the places themselves that are making people ill?' The researchers used information from the Connected Bradford database. This contains the health records of more than 800,000 people who have lived in Bradford, West Yorkshire, since 1970 that can be studied in an anonymised way. Specifically, the researchers looked at 14,800 people who relocated within the city during early 2021. With increasing evidence that air pollution affects mental health, the researchers focused on prescriptions for drugs for common mental health problems including depression and anxiety. Before moving, 2,100 people were taking these drugs. The researchers then checked for prescriptions a year later. People without a prescription at the start of the study who relocated to an area with more particle air pollution had an 11% greater risk of developing a new mental health problem, compared with the other movers. Dr Mikel Subiza-Pérez, the lead author of the study, said: 'We took account of the socioeconomic characteristics of each area, including income deprivation, employment deprivation, education, health deprivation, disability and crime.' Moving to an area with increased green space, as measured by satellite photographs, led to reductions in prescriptions for mental health drugs, but this depended on the quality of the local green space. Subiza-Pérez said: 'It appears that living close to poor quality green spaces can worsen mental health. That makes sense if there is nothing for you in that space, or if you do not feel welcome or safe there because of current design and equipment. Many green spaces are not sufficiently equipped for people to use them comfortably, we need benches, shades and other stuff for people of all ages.' The study also revealed some of the difficulties faced by people with mental health problems. McEachan explained: 'Our study clearly shows that people experiencing mental health problems tend to move more often and to areas with worse environmental quality, which, in turn, may impact their ability to recover.' The effects of moving to an area with worse air pollution are not confined to mental health. A 10-year study in southern California also showed that lung growth improved for children that moved to areas with less particle pollution. The opposite occurred in those who moved to more polluted places. A study of more than 10 million older people in the US showed that relocating to an area with different air pollution affected how long they lived. McEachan summarised the main message from the Bradford study: 'If we want to make our cities healthier and happier places to live for all communities then we need to target investment in areas with greatest need. Policy makers should be considering initiatives to reduce pollution and improve the quality public realm space in inner-city areas via investment in regeneration, public transport and traffic reduction.'
Medscape
27-05-2025
- Business
- Medscape
Maternal Mental Health Declines Sharply Over 8 Years
Self-reported mental health deemed 'excellent' declined from 38.4% to 25.8% between 2016 and 2023 in mothers in the United States, while 'fair/poor' mental health increased from 5.5% to 8.5%. Physical health changes were less dramatic, with reports of 'excellent' physical health decreasing from 28.0% to 23.9%. METHODOLOGY: A pooled, cross-sectional analysis of the National Survey of Children's Health examined self-reported mental and physical health of 198,417 female biological or adoptive parents of children aged 0-17 years from 2016 to 2023. Researchers measured maternal physical and mental health using a four-point Likert scale (excellent, very good, good, fair/poor), with regression models estimating trends and sociodemographic disparities. Analysis included mothers with a mean age of 39.0 years (SD, 0.04), representing 42,130,370 individuals nationally in the weighted sample. TAKEAWAY: After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, excellent mental health decreased by 12.4 percentage points (95% CI, −14.0 to −0.7), while fair/poor mental health increased by 3.5 percentage points (95% CI, 2.6-4.4) over the 8-year period. Mental health declines occurred broadly across socioeconomic groups, with significantly poorer status among US-born mothers, single parents, less educated individuals, and those with publicly insured or uninsured children. Excellent physical health showed a smaller decline of 4.2 percentage points (95% CI, −5.7 to −2.8), with good physical health increasing by 4.4 percentage points (95% CI, 2.9-6.0). According to the researchers, shifts in mental and physical health originated prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, though the pandemic was associated with increased prevalence of fair/poor mental health. IN PRACTICE: 'Investments are needed to investigate and address the underlying causes of mental health decline among US mothers, especially those of low socioeconomic status,' the authors of the study wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Jamie R. Daw, PhD, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. It was published online in JAMA Internal Medicine . LIMITATIONS: Health measures were limited to two single-item Likert response questions, which, while strong predictors of subsequent medical care and mortality, show known reporting heterogeneity across sociodemographic groups, particularly by sex and age. The researchers noted that low self-reported health ratings do not translate into clinically meaningful diagnoses and may have reflected more permanent aspects of health rather than acute conditions. DISCLOSURES: This study received support through a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (R01HS029159).
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NEDHSA research to be published in BMC Primary Care Journal
MONROE, La., May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Northeast Delta Human Services Authority's research article, "The Assessment of Mental and Physical Health Outcomes Over Time in An Integrated Care Setting," will be published in BMC Primary Care Journal. The study presents encouraging findings on integrated care models that combine behavioral and physical health services. The results demonstrate that individuals with mental health challenges experienced notable improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms over time, while maintaining stable physical health indicators such as systolic blood pressure and glycated hemoglobin. These findings underscore the value of integrated care in addressing the complex needs of patients, particularly in underserved communities. Original Article Listing by BMC Primary Care NEDHSA Executive Director Dr. Monteic A. Sizer said, "This report's publication in the BMC Primary Care Journal validates our empirical focus and overall population health improvement desires in Louisiana's Delta. We are honored to have our research featured in such a prestigious journal." Dr. Sizer said NEDHSA is committed to publishing outcome-based research on the effectiveness of the agency's integrated behavioral and primary health care model. "I established our analytics department to better help us measure the outcomes and efficiencies of our internal operations and also be able to know more about the social, environmental, psychological and primary health-care needs of the thousands of vulnerable patients we serve regionally," Dr. Sizer said. "With this data focus and our commitment to continuous improvement, we are well on our way to further transforming our region and the lives of those we serve." Dr. Dependra Bhatta, NEDHSA's Director of Behavioral and Primary Health Analytics, said, "Our study examined the impact of integrating primary care into a behavioral health setting, offering a more coordinated approach for individuals living with mental health conditions. We observed improvements in mental health outcomes and stability in key physical health indicators, such as blood pressure and blood glucose levels." Dr. Bhatta said the findings are significant because they show that when care is better coordinated, especially in communities where access to comprehensive services is limited, patients can make meaningful progress. "It speaks to the value of treating the whole person, not just individual conditions," Dr. Bhatta said. Consistent with NEDHSA's outcomes focus on behalf of vulnerable people and populations, Dr. Sizer will be establishing an evidence to practice research center to inform much-needed research around maternal health, trauma, mental illness, addiction and negative social determinants of health. "We are positioned to add significant insights into how you really understand, prevent and treat some of today's most challenging social and medical challenges," Dr. Sizer said. "With our evidence to practice center, we will be drawing down significant research and development dollars, helping to position Louisiana as a national leader in mitigating negative health outcomes associated with maternal health, mental health and addiction prevention and treatment, and the many negative social determinants of health that cause so many in our great state not to thrive and prosper." View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Northeast Delta Human Services Authority Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Japan Times
14-05-2025
- Health
- Japan Times
Japan ranks 14th in UNICEF child well-being survey
Japan came 14th among 36 developed countries in a new child well-being survey, up from 20th in the previous survey released in 2020, a report by a UNICEF research institute showed Wednesday. The UNICEF Innocenti report comprehensively evaluated children's mental well-being, physical health and skills. In the latest rankings, based on data as of 2022, Japan topped the list of surveyed countries, mostly member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in the physical health category, unchanged from the previous rankings. Japan ranked 32nd in the mental well-being category, up from 37th, and 12th in the category of skills, up from 27th. Aya Abe, head of Tokyo Metropolitan University's Research Center for Child and Adolescent Poverty, attributed the improvements to the short period of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and the improved economic situations of households with children. Top positions in the latest overall rankings were held by the Netherlands, Denmark and other European countries. The United States and Australia were excluded from the rankings due to a lack of data. Life satisfaction among 15-year-olds declined in most surveyed countries. Few countries saw improvements, with only three countries seeing an increase in the share of students with basic academic skills. An official of the UNICEF research institute suggested that long-term school closures due to the pandemic have had a major impact on children's lives.
