DEPRESSION INCREASES RISK OF FATAL STROKE
Middle-aged men who have symptoms of psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety, are more than three times as likely to have a fatal stroke than middle-aged men who don't, according to a report in Stroke. However, psychological distress did not significantly increase the risk for non-fatal stroke, says study author Margaret May, MSc. The findings are from the latest report of an on-going study of middle-aged men who live in South Wales, in the United Kingdom. The latest report is based on phase II of the study and includes 2,124 men aged 49 to 64 who were recruited between 1979 and 1988. Each man underwent heart testing with an electrocardiogram. The men were then followed for 14 years, during which the researchers collected data on the incidence of stroke. May found that the men who had strokes also showed a tendency to report more symptoms of anxiety and depression. "There also was a graded association so that as depression and anxiety worsened, the risk for fatal stroke increased," says May. More studies are needed to pinpoint the mechanism by which mood contributes to cardiovascular health, says Robert M. Carney, Ph.D., of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "Depressed people often don't take medicines as prescribed so some of the men may not be taking medicines for high blood pressure, thereby increasing their risk for stroke."
CONTRACEPTIVE TO BLOCK 'SPERM AND GERMS'
A gel, known by the brand name "BufferGel," jointly developed by researchers at The Johns Hopkins University and the private firm, ReProtect LLC, is first contraceptive gel that is also designed to protect against sexually transmitted infections. It will begin clinical efficacy trials at the National Institutes of Health's Contraceptive Clinical Trials Network, says Richard Cone, of Hopkins' Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. The new trial will test whether women using BufferGel and a diaphragm can reduce the risk of pregnancy as effectively as women using a conventional spermicidal detergent and a diaphragm. BufferGel is applied vaginally before sex, like conventional spermicides. Unlike these spermicides, which use detergents to kill sperm, BufferGel contains no soaps. Developers deliberately avoided including soaps or detergents because they can irritate the vaginal lining after frequent use, says Cone. "BufferGel simply reinforces the mild acidity that occurs in the vagina naturally," he says. "The normal acidity levels in the vagina can readily kill sperm and many of the germs that cause sexually transmitted infections." Semen eliminates vaginal acidity for several hours to allow sperm to leave the vagina and enter the uterus and this makes it possible for germs to infect the sexual partner.
EDUCATION LINKED TO LENGTH OF LIFE
The lack of a high school education is a powerful predictor of death in the United States, concludes a study published in the British Medical Journal. Using census statistics for the years 1989 and 1990 for all U.S. states, Andreas Muller tested whether the relationship between income inequality and probability of dying in the United States was because of different levels of formal education. He found that a 20 percent increase in people aged 18 years or over without a high school diploma was associated with an increase of 2.1 deaths per 1,000 population. "Despite some study limitations, the finding suggests that lack of high school education accounts for the income inequality effect and is a powerful predictor of variation in death rates among U.S. states," says Muller. A lack of a high school education was related to lack of health insurance, belonging to economically depressed minority groups, working in jobs with high risk of injury, and smoking, the author says. These results suggest that lack of material resources, risk of occupational injury, and learnt risk behavior might be reflected in the large education-mortality effect, Muller concludes.
REAR SEATBELT USE REDUCES DRIVER DEATHS
Car drivers wearing seatbelts are five times more likely to die in a crash if their back-seat passengers are unrestrained, New Scientist reports. Masao Ichikawa, of the University of Tokyo, analyzed data on about 100,000 car crashes between 1995 and 1999 in Japan, where rear seatbelt use is not compulsory. He looked at crashes involving cars in which the driver was wearing a seatbelt, had at least two rear-seat passengers and where all the occupants were injured. During an impact, rear-seat passengers can be thrown forwards with great force and cause severe injuries to those in the front. The researchers conclude that the number of deaths in the studied accidents could have been reduced by 79 per cent, if the rear seat passengers had also used belts. Overall, deaths and severe injuries could be reduced by nearly a half, according to Ichikawa. "Our findings provide a basis for making rear seatbelt use compulsory," he says. "Most deaths and severe injuries of front-seat occupants of cars would potentially be averted by rear seatbelt use."
(EDITOR: For more information, about EDUCATION, call 44-20-7383-6529; about DEPRESSION, call 214 706-1279; about CONTRACEPTIVE, call 410 516-7906.)
