Public Health Clinic

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• Work hard depresses
• Mental activity protects against Alzheimer’s
• Nicotine patches and gum lose its long-term effect

Work hard depresses Posted: 27 Jan 2012 01:42 AM PST The popular proverb shows once again his wisdom: “What good, if brief, twice good. ‘ New data show that too long working hours are associated with an increased risk of depressive episodes . The conclusions of previous studies that linked working hours with psychological and sleep, decreased cognitive function or depressive and anxiety problems, data from the last article published in the journal ‘PLoS ONE’ depression also added . After analyzing the working conditions and personal circumstances of 2,000 British civil servants aged 35 to 55 years, the authors conclude how to work 11 hours or more increased by more than double the likelihood of depressive disorders . The study is led by Marianna Virtanen, Finnish member of the Institute of Occupational Health at University College London. “We followed the evolution of these workers through interviews for about six years and the data are clear. Those days had 11 hours or more overtime or made ​​(total, 16% of those tested) ranged from 2.5 to 2.3 more likely to develop depressive episodes and anxiety when compared with those whose time was limited to seven or eight hours (54%), “says Virtanen. The work took into account data such as socioeconomic status or lifestyle of the participants not ‘contaminate’ the results. Thus, the study provides a ‘sketch’ of those most at risk of depression: men married or living with a partner, who holds a position of high responsibility and active or jobs where there is a significant burden of pressure, and who consume alcohol moderately. “The data are important and worrisome,” said Virtanen. “Keep in mind that the World Health Organization (WHO) believes that depressive disorders are the leading cause of illness in 2030 and, today, in addition to the personal living conditions, these episodes mental carry a substantial deterioration in productivity at work, not to mention lost working days , “says the author

Mental activity protects against Alzheimer’s Posted: 26 Jan 2012 08:37 PM PST If you have cultivated your mind throughout life, and is still doing, know that will be rewarded. Data from a new study in brain imaging studies show that cognitive activities (reading, writing …) can delay the onset or even prevent Alzheimer’s disease . Susan Landau, University of California (Berkeley, USA), is the author of the new research that has seen the light in the latest Archives of Neurology . “Our work shows that engaging in activities requiring cognitive activity is associated with a lower risk of accumulating in the brain beta-amyloid protein “, the main component of the plates that make up Alzheimer ELMUNDO.es Landau says. In his words, his team has managed to demonstrate a direct relationship between a life-habit of regularly cognitive activity and the accumulation of these harmful plaques in the brain. And they have achieved thanks to advances in imaging techniques. For nearly a decade, the [11C] PiB, a radiopharmaceutical used in PET imaging test (Positron Emission Tomography) are analyzed extensively in various studies due to its diagnostic accuracy for detecting the characteristic plaques Alhzeimer’s disease . In fact, as the researchers explain in the medical journal, its development has made ​​it possible to ‘see’ the protein beta-amyloid and its accumulation in the brain. Based on this achievement, the Landau team conducted a trial of 65 volunteers whose average age was about 76 years, 10 patients with AD (74 years on average) and 11 healthy young (24 years), they did a control group. All subjects underwent a series of questionnaires on cognitive activities (reading, writing or playing games) and physical activity (walks, cycling …) throughout his life (at 6, 12 18 & 40 years). In addition, all neuropsychological tests conducted assessed memory, and finally each of the participants were subjected to a PET radiopharmaceutical with [11C] PiB to check the status of their brains. The test results showed that participation in cognitively stimulating activities was associated with a lower accumulation of beta-amyloid protein. Moreover, according to the researchers in the medical journal, this relationship was not affected by variables such as age, years of education, gender or memory capacity. In fact, according to their data, “older people with higher cognitive activity of the protein levels were similar to the youth of the study, while the brain scans of those with lower mental activity were comparable to those of Alzheimer’s patients.” “This suggests that people who work the hardest your mind may reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s by preventing the accumulation of beta-amyloid in their brains, “says Landau. Although they have not been able to determine the mechanisms that explain this relationship, the scientists suggest that the key might be that the brains ‘active’ act in a much more effective . “People who remains active throughout his life would neural processes much more efficient, leading to a lower accumulation of amyloid plaque,” he says. In their work, researchers remember, however, that “it is unlikely that our results reflect a single cause of Alzheimer’s, as it is a complex disease with many potential pathogenic processes involved.” “Carrying out activities of cognitive stimulation is probably related to participation in a variety of lifestyle practices that have been associated in other studies with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s, “they insist. Therefore, for scientific Landau and his team is “important to conduct more research in this field.”

Nicotine patches and gum lose its long-term effect Posted: 26 Jan 2012 01:30 PM PST Have you considered to welcome 2012 without a cigarette between your fingers? If you marked this year as the year you finally quit smoking and was armed with patches, gum, inhalers or nasal sprays that will make it more bearable ‘mono’ of the cigar, not the time to be disappointed by this news. Only reaffirms something you need to know: for there is much outside help in the long run the only truly effective method to quit a bad habit is the very strength of will . This is the advice that is extracted from the new study published in ‘Tobacco Control’ , where researchers from the School of Public Health at Harvard and the University of Massachusetts have been monitoring about 800 former U.S. smokers in three periods between 2001 to 2006. All these people-who had less than two years away from the bad fumes, asked if they used smoking cessation therapies in the form of gum, patches, inhalers or nasal sprays , and how long they had been used. The result was described by the authors as “amazing” it was noted that in each period analyzed, almost 35% of respondents had returned to enjoy a cigarette . Furthermore, the results did not show significant differences between former smokers who combined these treatments with professional advice or not, or among those who had been a heavy smokers or, conversely, much more moderate. “What we showed in this study is that the use of therapeutic nicotine replacement therapy is more effective in helping you quit smoking long term if a person decides to leave the snuff alone , without help, “explains Dr. Hillel Alpert, director of the study. So no longer serve? With these results, the authors of the research are choosing to ‘a warning’ to the health authorities at the time of financing smoking cessation treatments, “so that only receive this money therapies prove effective also long term, “said Hillel Alpert. But, it’s easy to fall into doubt, are these methods a fraud? “No” sharply replied Victor Lopez, former president of the National Committee for Smoking Prevention. “Patches, gum, and others are only a support to quit smoking, but not a magic bullet, should be viewed in perspective , “says the specialist. “Between 50 to 60% of those who try to quit smoking using this type of treatment that in the short term, many studies have shown to be effective,” said Victor Lopez. “These patches are used for therapy of two or three months, what happens next? If you really want to quit there is only one option: be willing to do so , since there is no drug or therapy can eliminate the desire of smoking alone, “he says. As all experts agree is the need for more studies examining the benefits of these drugs: “The truth is that this is not like when you have a typical disease, that you take a pill, and control. Smoking is a much more complicated and there are few studies with large samples and strong results that help make plans better smoking than we currently have, “says Dr. Lopez. “Although there are encouraging figures indicate that many people have decided to shelve the cigar, still it is estimated that more than 1,300 billion smokers worldwide and six million people die each year due to this habit . It is, therefore, a serious issue to consider effective measures needed to combat it, “concludes Dr. Alpert.

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