Sick All Over

Not only is the ailing economy taking a toll on our real estate market and consumer confidence, but it’s hurting our mental health as well. In a study of 250 Philadelphia-area homeowners going through foreclosure proceedings, approximately half indicated that they’d experienced symptoms of depression—and 37% met medical criteria for the disorder. (Signs include difficulty sleeping, irritability, fatigue and thoughts of suicide.) “The foreclosure crisis is also a health crisis,” says study author Craig E. Pollack, M.D., an internist at the University of Pennsylvania. “We need to do more to ensure that if people lose their homes, they don’t also lose their health.”

Pollack and his team also found that money troubles exacerbated medical issues tied to mental health. In fact, nearly 60% of respondents said that they’d skipped or delayed meals, and 48% had declined to refill a prescription because of financial concerns. And, of course, due to layoffs, many Americans are losing their health insurance as well.

Use Your Judgment
Last August marked the debut of the new Smart Choices Program in the United States. Although it aims to make the process of parsing out healthy food options easier for consumers, it has drawn attention from the government. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture informed the Smart Choices Program that they would be monitoring the system.

The points of contention arise from the fact that a number of processed foods—such as mayonnaise, popsicles and sugary breakfast cereals—have received Smart Choice labels while some healthier options such as eggs don’t qualify. (In that specific case, their cholesterol levels are too high.) Additionally, only those foods produced by the participating companies are eligible, so many fruits and vegetables grown on farms won’t get the healthy seal of approval.

Tea Times 10
Day spa treatments may get a boost from study results published in a recent edition of the academic journal Crystal Growth & Design. German scientists Andrei P. Sommer and Dan Zhu examined the use of high-intensity LEDs on aging skin, but with one twist—they combined them with the antioxidant power of green tea in a topical lotion.

When the LEDs were applied to volunteers on a daily basis, several months of exposure visibly smoothed their skin. However, the researchers noted that such treatment could also result in the formation of free radicals. On the other hand, when the study authors used light therapy in conjunction with epigallocatechin gallate—the antioxidant in green tea—the treatment showed results in one-tenth of the time it took for LEDs to produce the same effects. (And the antioxidant helped counteract the free radicals!) The scientists described the effects as “less pronounced wrinkle levels, shorter wrinkle valleys and [a] juvenile complexion.”

Red Alert
Rosacea sufferers have another weapon in their skincare arsenal, thanks to results published in a recent issue of Journal of Drugs in Dermatology. During a 12-week study, PyratineXR, which contains .125% furfuryl tetrahydropyranyladenine, showed improved skin-barrier function and a reduced appearance of the redness (erythema) and lesions associated with rosacea.

Data indicated that 80% of study subjects advanced for the better in their overall rosacea symptoms. Barrier function received a boost, with a 22% drop in transepidermal water loss, and a 41% mean improvement in skin dryness. “Current treatments for rosacea, such as oral and topical antibiotics, possess long-term tolerability and other health concerns that affect the more than 14 million Americans suffering from it,” said trial investigator Arisa Ortiz, M.D. “The study data are promising for rosacea sufferers and definitely warrant further research.”

Snuff It Out
Many states have enacted smoking bans in various forms. In fact, some such as California don’t permit lighting up within a certain distance from building entrances even while outside. Proponents of such measures now have science on their side: Results of a newly released study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology show that smoking bans across the United States (where 32 states have them) and Europe have led to a 17% drop in heart attack risk.

The greatest gains were seen among nonsmokers and the young. This is particularly relevant given that passive smoking, or inhaling secondhand smoke, can boost someone’s chance of a heart attack by 30%.

See previous article, Healthy Snacking