Therapist Unlimited Blog

According to a recent study, babies born to women suffering from depression are more likely to suffer sleeping problems.
Based on the research conducted by medical experts it was discovered that babies are more likely to have night walking at both 6 months and 12 months of age if they are born to women who suffered from anxiety or depression prior to the pregnancy.
The researchers said the result of the study indicate that preconceptional psychological distress - anxiety or depression - was a strong predictor of infant night waking, independent of the effects of postnatal depression, bedroom sharing and other confounding factors.
The team also found out that significant psychological distress prior to conception was associated with a 23-percent increased risk of infant night walking at 6 months of age and a  22-percent increased risk at 12 months of age.
The researchers revealed, frequent, disruptive night walking in the latter period of the first year of life are clinically relevant because they predict sleep problems at three years of age, which in turn are associated with behavioral problems.
They said during early childhood development, poor sleep quality also may affect learning abilities.
It was also discovered that infant night walking also disrupt a mother’s sleep, which predicts maternal mood, stress and fatigue.
The researchers gathered the data from 874 women between 20 and 34 years of age in the city of Southampton, U.K wherein before becoming pregnant the women completed the General Health Questionnaire, a 12-question screening instrument that detects depression and anxiety disorders.

Pregnant women need to avoid depression to avoid chances that their babies would suffer from sleeping problems.
 

Twenty-nine percent of the women were classified as having significant psychological distress.
When their baby was 6 months and 12 months of age, the women reported how often, their child had awakened on average between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. each night during the last two weeks. The percentage of children who woke at least once each night was higher among women with psychological distress prior to the pregnancy, both at 6 months of age (52 percent vs. 43 percent) and 12 months of age (46 percent vs. 36 percent).
Furthermore, the researchers said untreated infant sleep problems could become chronic, with implications for the mental health and well-being of both the child and the mother.
The researchers added the difficulties of mothers who are already vulnerable to anxiety and depression will be exacerbated if they also are deprived of sleep.
The team believe recognizing and treating psychological distress before, during and after pregnancy may promote improved infant sleep.

According to a latest medical finding, those preschool-aged children who snore have more symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as impairments in attention and language skills.
Based on the study conducted by the researchers lead by Eeva T. Aronen, M.D., Ph.D., of Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland it uncovered the fact that snoring is a possible risk factor for mood problems and cognitive impairment in children.
Aronen and her team studied 43 preschoolers who snored (at least once or twice a week, according to their parents) and 46 children who did not snore.
The researcher revealed the children, average age five years, were evaluated on standard tests of behaviour problems, cognitive (intellectual) function, and development.
The results showed a higher rate of mood problems especially symptoms of anxiety and depression among the children who snored.
The team of experts said overall, 22 percent of snoring children had mood disorder symptoms severe enough to warrant clinical evaluation, compared to 11 percent of the children who did not snore. Other types of problems, such as aggressive behaviour, were no more frequent among children who snored.
The team also found out that snoring children were more likely to have other sleep problems, such as nightmares, talking in their sleep, or difficulties going to bed.

Parents need to closely monitor the snoring habit of their children since it could be a sign that they are suffering from depression/anxiety symptoms.

The team added that cognitive tests also showed some significant differences, including decreased attention and language skills among children who snored.
It was learned that several recent studies have linked sleep problems to psychiatric symptoms and cognitive functions in children.
Snoring is a common symptom of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), which is caused by obstruction of the upper airway during sleep.
Previous studies of the mental health and cognitive impact of SDB in children have been limited to school-age children.
The new results provide evidence of similar links in younger children as well.
Furthermore, Aronen and her team explained knowing the mental health and developmental impact of SDB in preschool-aged children will help pediatricians and other professionals to recognize the underlying sleep problem.
Aronen said more research would be needed to evaluate effective treatments for young children with snoring, and whether they help to alleviate the impact on the children’s mood and cognitive functioning.

A new global study has revealed that those persons who are addicted to drinking and to puffing cigarettes are most likely end up having bowel cancer in the future.
According to the data gathered by the George Institute, those persons who drink an average seven glasses of liquor a week face 60 percent risk of suffering from bowel cancer than those who are non-drinkers.
Lead researcher and Associate Professor Rachel Huxley of the George Institute revealed aside from drinking the team also found out in their study that smoking, obesity and diabetes were also associated with a 20% greater risk of developing bowel cancer, the same risk linked with consuming high intakes of red and processed meat.
Huxley said approximately one million new cases of bowel (colorectal) cancer is diagnosed worldwide each year, and more than half a million people die from this type of cancer.
She explained the strong, and largely, unknown association between high intakes of alcoholic beverages with risk of colorectal cancer.

Alcohol and cigarette addicts better stop their vices or end up suffering from bowel cancer.

She added most people probably know that being overweight and having poor dietary habits are risk factors for the disease, but most are probably unaware that other lifestyle risk factors such as alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and diabetes are also important culprits.
The lead researcher said to avoid suffering from bowel cancer, aside from avoiding the drinking habit; it would also help that individuals who cannot stop themselves from drinking will limit themselves to just two glasses everyday.
Moreover, Huxley said any form of physical activity could lower an individual’s risk of the disease.
Huxley added  that a large proportion of colorectal cancer cases could potentially be avoided by making relatively modest lifestyle adjustments such as drinking less, quitting smoking, eating healthily and being a little more active
She said such changes would also have huge benefits in terms of reducing an individuals’ risk of developing other major forms of illness including cardiovascular disease.

 

World-class athletes who have a competitive and perfectionist spirit have high tendency of being inflicted with an eating disorder.
This was disclosed by Kimberly Dennis, M.D., medical director at Timberline Knolls who revealed that since excellent athletes rely on precision and "perfect" execution of planned movements, behaviours, and training rituals in order to succeed and win, those predisposed genetic, familial, psychosocial predispositions for eating disorders are even more likely to develop the illness.
Dennis believes a number of famous athletes around the world could be suffering from eating disorders but they are just hiding it due to shame.
He suspect coaches and parents of successful athletes could have just overlooked the possibilities that their ward or children could be suffering from eating disorders due to the success of these people.
Furthermore, Dennis said to protect athletes from suffering from eating disorders their coaches and parents should closely monitor them.
The medical expert said athletes themselves should be open to reveal whatever eating disorder symptoms they have, despite their status since delaying their condition could worsen the medical condition.
Athletes need to realize that more than anything in this world, health is far more important than prestige and popularity.

Athletes need to monitor closely their health since their competitive and perfectionist spirit makes them prone to eating disorders.
 

Elderly around the world need to be careful, since a latest study revealed that old people within the range of 65 years old especially women are prone to eating disorders.
A recent research conducted by Remuda Ranch Programs for Eating and Anxiety Disorders it was discovered that a substantial number of old men and women suffering from eating disorders.
According to Edward Cumella, Ph.D., executive director of Remuda Ranch based on their study they uncovered that anorexia nervosa is the most common eating disorder that affects most elderly around the world.
Cumella explained many elderly suffer from eating disorders since the medical condition is not detected and cured early since most of them live alone.
The medical expert revealed those elderly living in  nursing care centers or assisted living facilities are more at risk for eating disorders since these people can easily refuse from eating by simply saying they are already full when in reality they are not.
He said those people who are tasked to manage these nursing care centers should be more vigilant in their jobs by making sure the elderly under their care get the much-needed sustenance that they seek.

Elderly around the world need to be careful since a latest study revealed they are prone to eating disorders.

Cumella said elderly who had problems on their eating habits need to be closely monitored since the gesture could mean bigger things like wanting to commit suicide due to hopelessness, despair and depression or it is a form of protest toward something like restricted activity or limited family visits.
Cumella added people assigned to care for the elderly should religious with their job since losing appetite is very common among these people so it is important to note if their refusal to eat could be caused by psychological issues, medical issues, or a combination of both.
The elderly holds a special place in the community, which is why they deserve to get all the care they need.

Those children who are born more than three months premature have double the expected rate of autism at age two as full-term children, according to a recent research.
In a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, it was observed that 26 percent of babies born extremely premature had cognitive impairment.
The researchers based on the report also discovered that about one in 10 of the extremely premature infants who did not have other health problems (including cerebral palsy, mental impairment, or vision or hearing problems) tested positive for autism at age two.
The researchers got their data by a survey of the behaviour dubbed the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT).
Accordingly based on the study, not all children who test positive definitely have the brain development disorder.
Autism spectrum disorders (which include a range of diagnoses, from mild to more severe autism) are not typically diagnosed until age three or older, and M-CHAT is not considered a definitive test.
The researchers hope the result of this study should serve as motivation to the parents of extremely premature infants to take good care more of their children to keep them away from chances of suffering from autism.
Parents around the world need to realize that although there is no cure for autism the treatment need to given early before things could get worse.

Parents of extremely premature infants need to be more careful since their babies are at risk of suffering from autism.

According to a latest study those people who are regular users of shabu or Methamphetamine, a form of street drug are prone to memory loss.
Based on the study conducted by Julie Henry from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and Peter Rendell from Australian Catholic University on 20 adults, they discovered that majority of them are suffering from memory years for using shabu in an of average four years.
Rendell said previous research has found that that Methamphetamine may cause problems in social reasoning. As two of the most important aspects of social thinking are recognising emotion on people’s faces and understanding that, others think about things differently to you known as Theory of Mind.
He explained when compared with a group of people with no history of drug use, the group who had used shabu showed significant deficits on both the facial emotion recognition task and a Theory of Mind task, which involved naming the feelings expressed in photos of people’s eyes.
The researcher said the study has shown that constant shabu use has psychological consequences, and, potentially, consequences for these individuals’ social functioning.
He said the size of these social reasoning deficits was comparable to the memory problems that have also been found in users of shabu, consistent with other evidence showing that shabu is a dangerous drug, which can do lasting harm.
To avoid chances of suffering from memory loss, it would be best to avoid using shabu
To those who are already using it is time to stop this kind of act now.

The public should avoid using shabu since it could cause memory loss.

Those children who have higher intelligence quotient have almost 100 percent chance of becoming a drunkard in the next 20 years of his or her life.
This was the result of a study conducted by the University of Glasgow in Scotland on children age 10 years old wherein they found out that those who have a high score in mental test became addicted to liquor in their adult life.
Based on the study which was also posted in the American Journal of Public Health it was also uncovered that majority  of the intelligent children who end up facing drinking addiction in the future are women.
Dr. David Batty, a member of the research team of University of Glasglow revealed unfortunately in the study they conducted they did not categorically found out what causes why kids with high IQ became addicted to liquor in their adult life.
The result of this study is an eye opener to all that children who have great minds to be always careful or they end up having drinking problem in the future.
The parents for their part should closely monitor their kids who have high IQ so that they end up successful and not a drunkard as the study suggest.
Having a high IQ is a gift so it should be treasured and taken cared off properly so that during adult life your life will be successful and away from menace of alcohol.

A recent study has shown that children who have high IQ has strong tendency to become alcohol addict in adult life.

Here is a badnews to women inflicted with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) since these people have strong chances of suffering from eating disorders.
The recent research conducted by the University of Virginia has shown that women who have ADHD are likely to dislike their body that drove them to commit binge eating and purging behaviours that are common in bulimia nervosa.
According to studies, ADHD is a disorder that affects about 5 percent of school-age children, and three times more boys than girls.
Symptoms include a short attention span, poor organization, excessive talking, disruptive and aggressive behaviour, restlessness and irritability.
Many children with ADHD suffer through a range of problems, from poor grades to poor relations with parents and teachers, and more than half have serious problems making friends.
Amori Yee Mikami, University of Virginia psychologist who spearheaded the study explained that girls with ADHD might be more at risk of developing eating problems as adolescents because they already have impulsive behaviours that can set them apart from their peers.
Mikami said as these girls get older, their impulsivity may make it difficult for them to maintain healthy eating and a healthy weight, resulting in self-consciousness about their body image and  the binging and purging symptoms.
She added that because ADHD is more common in boys, many girls with the disorder might go undiagnosed and untreated.
Further, she disclosed an alarming concern that stimulant medications used to treat ADHD have a side effect of appetite suppression, creating a risk that overweight girls could abuse these medicines to encourage weight loss.
This medical finding should serve as warning to parents of persons suffering from ADHD to closely monitor their children so that they would not suffer from eating disorders.
Parents and families of those inflicted with ADHD should also offer unconditional love and support to the patients so that they could recover easily from ADHD and not are inflicted with an eating disorder.

Women with ADHD need to be careful since their medical condition is prone to eating disorders.