Medicine stuff from the week 9-15/7/12

'Contraception saves 250,000 lives each year'
"In 2008, 355,000 women died while giving birth or from illegal or dangerous abortions... But more than 250,000 deaths were averted that year because contraception reduced unwanted pregnancies"
This report speaks for itself. You'd have to be a prejudice-motivated superstitionist to argue against contraception -- and they are exactly the people who do.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-contraception-year.html

It's definitive!
At temperatures under 35C, electric fans seem okay, but above 35C, they have to be aimed directly into the face, or they will actually make the problem worse.
The mechanism behind this is that electric fans actually pump heat into the room. If the accelerated air isn't taking heat away from your body at a rate faster than you gain it from the increased room temperature, then the fans will actually make you hotter.
Remember that fans actually pump heat into the room at the power marked on the side. A 500W fan will pump heat into the room at 500 Joules per second.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-cochrane-reliable-evidence-effectiveness-electric.html

The weight gain subsequent to quitting smoking is larger than previously thought, but still nowhere near enough to outweigh the health benefits of stopping.
"the changes in body weight varied widely, with around 16% of quitters losing weight and 13% gaining more than 10 kg after 12 months."
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-weight-gain-higher-previously-thought.html

'Ready-meals are 'nutritionally chaotic' study finds'
"of the 67 ‘meals’ tested, almost half (32) did not contain enough calories to constitute a meal, while others (10) had over 700kcal."
I've said this before -- what we need is *better* choice - not more.
"The UK ready-meal market is worth more than £26 billion annually but regular consumption of convenience foods has been associated with less healthy diets, obesity and as well as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer."
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-ready-meals-nutritionally-chaotic.html

'My hearing is fine, thank you, but could you please speak up?'
"More than half of factory workers who thought they had excellent or good hearing actually suffered hearing loss and didn't even recognize the problem, a new study shows."
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-fine.html

University of Queensland researchers say that it is not the act of sleeping in the same bed as babies that is dangerous, but the behaviours that tend to go with are; for example, smoking, drug use, unsafe sleep activities.
Importantly, it must be remembered that falling asleep with a baby, on the sofa, is far more dangerous than sleeping with them in bed.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-uq-statement-co-sleeping-dangerous.html

Weak hearts produce a hormone called BNP, which suppresses appetite.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-weak-heart-poor-appetite.html

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Mental Health articles:

'Physical health problems bring mental health problems, demand for services'
The psychological impact of physical ailments can have its own medical impact on mental health, to the extent that people who suffer a serious physical health event are three times as likely to subsequently see a health care provider for mental health services and medication.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-physical-health-problems-mental-demand.html

Depression in diabetic people could be alleviated by amplification of adinopectin production.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-hormone-curbs-depressive-like-symptoms-stressed.html

Depiction of schizophrenia in the movies is frequently inaccurate, presenting a disproportionately high number of men, and being irrepresentatively violent. In reality, schizophrenia is usually more mundane in symptom, but does cause suicide, as depicted, and is more common in people of lower socio-economic condition, as depicted.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-schizophrenia-movies-dont.html

Women who were abused as children are left with permanent physiological scars -- they have raised blood pressure, raised blood sugar, larger waistlines, and poorer cholesterol levels -- this leaves them with higher susceptibility to diabetes and heart disease.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-middle-aged-women-child-abuse-victims.html

They also suffer from more unhealthy coping mechanisms such as smoking, abuse of other drugs, etc. Men tend to develop different coping mechanisms, but that are no less dangerous.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-childhood-trauma-linked-adult-girls.html

There have been various articles published, stating correlations between social media usage and depression, but (remember the Ocean Dilemma: see mini-essay) is this a consequence or causation or neither?
'Facebook use leads to depression? No, says Wisconsin study'
Thi study has come back with a negative result, suggesting that the correlation between social media site, such as Facebook, use and depression, is not real.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-facebook-depression-wisconsin.html