Recent research: six studies on mindfulness, values & meaning
Originally added on Thu, 27/05/2010 - 14:08Last updated on Sun, 30/05/2010 - 14:26
Here are half a dozen recent research studies on mindfulness, values & meaning - fuller details, links and abstracts for all studies are listed further down this page. Hofmann and colleagues' meta-analysis on "The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression" found encouraging effect sizes for mindfulness training and concluded "These results suggest that mindfulness-based therapy is a promising intervention for treating anxiety and mood problems in clinical populations". Meanwhile Barnhofer & Chittka underlined the toxicity of ruminative brooding with their demonstration that the well-demonstrated link between neurotic temperament and depression is mediated by "Tendencies to respond to mild low mood with ruminative thinking". They conclude that "The results suggest that neuroticism predisposes individuals to depression by generally increasing the likelihood of ruminative responses to low mood&quo
Recent research: articles from March journals
Originally added on Thu, 01/04/2010 - 10:08Last updated on Mon, 19/04/2010 - 10:20
I read a lot of research. When I find an article of particular interest I download it to my bibliographic database - EndNote - which currently contains over 14,100 abstracts.
Recent research: six studies on eating habits, obesity, vitamin D, lifestyle & dementia
Originally added on Thu, 17/09/2009 - 20:37Last updated on Sun, 04/10/2009 - 20:47
Here are half a dozen studies on weight, bite size, vitamin D, dietary supplements, and ways of avoiding dementia. Andrew et al report on the "Incident cancer burden attributable to excess body mass index in 30 European countries" estimating that about 6% of cancers could be avoided if we could maintain healthier weights (abstracts & links for all six articles mentioned appear further down this page). Zijlstra and colleagues suggest a possible response! They randomized subjects to eating with different bite (mouthful) sizes and different chewing times. They found that " ... greater oral sensory exposure to a product, by eating with small bite sizes rather than with large bite sizes and increasing OPT (oral processing time), significantly decreases food intake." As Mum might put it "Don't wolf your food!"
Recent research: mind-body & body-mind effects for cancer, allergy, dementia, & mental health
Originally added on Thu, 18/12/2008 - 12:25Last updated on Thu, 26/02/2009 - 06:31
Here are five studies on the loose theme of how the mind affects the body, and the body affects the mind ... and that the distinction between mind and body is pretty arbitrary anyway. Using meta-analysis, Chida & colleagues highlight considerable evidence suggesting that stress-related psychosocial factors have an adverse effect on cancer incidence and survival. Andersen & colleagues report a randomized controlled trial to respond to this in women diagnosed with breast cancer. Women in the stress management arm of the study received an initial one-year, 26 session intervention in groups of 8 to 12 people. The aim was to reduce distress and improve quality of life, improve health behaviors (diet, exercise, smoking cessation), and facilitate cancer treatment compliance and medical follow-up.
Recent research: seven studies on diet, supplements & smoking
Originally added on Thu, 27/11/2008 - 06:58Last updated on Sun, 30/11/2008 - 06:48
Here are a couple of studies on smoking, a couple on B vitamins, a couple on vitamin D, and an intriguing study on iron. The smoking papers underline the varieties of damage this habit produces. So the Pasco et al study shows that, for women, being a smoker is associated with double the risk of developing subsequent major depression. The Strandberg research challenges any notion of "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die". This study of 1658 men reports that "During the 26-year follow-up of this socioeconomically homogeneous male cohort, HRQoL (quality of life) deteriorated with an increase in daily cigarettes smoked in a dose-dependent manner.
Recent research: fish and n-3 fatty acids
Originally added on Thu, 06/11/2008 - 09:26Last updated on Thu, 06/11/2008 - 09:36
Fish, fish oils, and n-3 fatty acids are often in the health news. Here are seven recent papers illustrating the breadth of fish oil relevance. The papers look at treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, the potential of flax as a dietary source of n-3 fatty acids, effects on indicators of cardiovascular disease, potential protection against dementia, reduction in mortality, and importance in pregnancy. The papers also illustrate the patchwork, three steps forward/one step back, meandering, spreading, accretion of scientific knowledge. As the proverb goes "One swallow doesn't make a summer". Similarly, a single research study is usually simply one brick in the gradual building of our knowledge. For more on fish and n-3 fatty acids, see other relevant blog posts I've written, articles in the linked Connotea database, and some recommended websites.
Recent research: exercise & mental function, mindfulness, smoking, fatigue, and lots on depression
Originally added on Mon, 23/06/2008 - 06:02Last updated on Tue, 01/07/2008 - 05:23
Here are some articles - mostly published in May - that I found particularly interesting:
Folic acid – should we take supplements?
Originally added on Sat, 19/04/2008 - 12:33Last updated on Wed, 02/07/2008 - 05:56
A GP friend recently asked me about taking folic acid supplements.
The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.- Frederick Buechner
Diagnosis of psychological disorders
Making a formal psychological diagnosis can be a mixed blessing. It has several potential advantages. If many of my symptoms can be accurately grouped under a specific psychological diagnosis, it may well help to understand what is happening, to clarify the likely time course of my symptoms, and to choose treatments that have the best chance of being effective. It's worth noting that often people suffer from more than one psychological disorder at the same time - this is called comorbidity and it is common.
Sometimes putting different individuals into the same diagnostic group can obscure the fact that we are all unique in so many important ways - our life histories, hopes, values, living situations, biochemistries, fears, understandings, and so on. Diagnosis is often helpful but should be seen as only part of a bigger picture. In this psychological section of "Good Knowledge", diagnostic criteria are taken from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals of Mental Disorders (DSM) version IV, published in 1994. The other major classification system which includes psychological disorders is the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) published by the World Health Organization. The ICD psychological diagnostic categories overlap very considerably with those of DSM-IV.