Psychiatric ills underdiagnosed in U.S. ERs
BATON ROUGE, La., Feb. 21 (UPI) -- A study suggests psychiatric illnesses are significantly under diagnosed in U.S. emergency departments, especially among African-American patients.
The study involved more than 33,000 Caucasian and African-American patients from three hospital ERs in the Midwest and South.
Psychologist Seth Kunen of the Earl Long Medical Center in Baton Rouge, La., observed a psychiatric rate of 5.27 percent among the emergency department patients -- a rate far below the national prevalence rate of 20 percent to 28 percent.
Researchers also found the odds of Caucasians having a psychiatric diagnosis were 1.85 times that of African-Americans.
The authors say it's possible African-Americans have fewer psychiatric disorders than Caucasians. But since a higher percentage of African-Americans live in poverty -- and there are strong correlations among variables such as poverty and illness -- it would be more reasonable to expect the rate of psychiatric disorders might be as high or higher than among Caucasians.
The study appears in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Migraine linked with risky heart health
BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 21 (UPI) -- A Dutch study suggests people who suffer from migraine headaches are more at risk for cardiovascular disease than those not experiencing such headaches.
The large population-based study, conducted among 5,755 participants in the Netherlands, identified 620 people with migraine in the group from 5,135 people without migraine.
The study created a cardiovascular risk profile of those with migraine attacks and those who suffer from migraine with aura -- a visual or other hallucination that precedes a migraine headache. One third of those with migraines experienced aura symptoms before a headache occurred.
"For reasons that are not yet clear, people with migraine -- particularly those with aura -- may be more likely to present with risk factors associated with cardiovascular conditions," said lead author Ann Scher of Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Md.
Those who suffered migraine were nearly four times as likely to report a history of either stroke or heart disease before the age of 45, researchers said.
The study appears in the journal Neurology.
Study: Air pollution thickens blood
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Air pollution, especially particulate matter, thickens blood and boosts inflammation, a Scottish study finds.
University of Edinburgh researchers tested the inflammatory and blood clotting responses of immune, umbilical cord and lung cells, six and 24 hours after exposure to particulate matter.
The study found clotting factors, which thicken the blood, were enhanced in almost all the cell types and exposure to the pollutants boosted inflammatory activity.
The authors suggest particulate matter has the ability to alter cell function so that it promotes thickening or coagulation of the blood.
The findings, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, might help explain why air pollution is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, and worsening respiratory problems.
Exercise might help cut Parkinson's risk
BOSTON, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- A Boston study suggests men who exercised regularly and vigorously early in their adult life might have a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease.
The Harvard School of Public Health researchers said men who were the most physically active at the start of the study cut their risk of developing Parkinson's disease by 50 percent, compared with male study participants who were the least physically active.
Among women in the study, strenuous activity during early adult years was also linked to a lower risk of Parkinson's, but the relationship was not statistically significant, and there was no clear relationship between physical activity later in life and Parkinson's risk.
"These are intriguing and promising findings that suggest that physical activity may contribute to the prevention of Parkinson's," said Alberto Ascherio, senior author and associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology.
The study appears in the journal Neurology.
