Whole-Head Normalization Using Live Z-Scores For Connectivity Training (Part 2)
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Scientists have long thought that social networks, which features many distant connections, or “long ties,” produces large-scale changes most quickly. But in a new study, Damon Centola, an assistant professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, has reached a different conclusion: Individuals are more likely to acquire new health practices while living in networks with dense clusters of connections – that is, when in close contact with people they already know well. Included in this report is a video interview with researcher, Damon Centola.
A majority of adults in California are obese or overweight, and more than 2 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Both conditions – which are related to each other as well as to heart disease – increased significantly in just six years, with the prevalence of diabetes alone jumping nearly 26 percent between 2001 and 2007.
Although the whole population can benefit from a physically active lifestyle, in part through reduced obesity risk, a new study shows that individuals with a genetic predisposition to obesity can benefit even more. The research, carried out by Dr. Ruth Loos from the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and colleagues, published in this week’s PLoS Medicine suggests that the genetic predisposition to obesity can be reduced by an average of 40% through increased physical activity. Check the end of the report to download the freely available open-access study.
People want to be informed and asked for consent before deciding whether to let researchers share their genetic information in a federal database. This is according to a team of investigators at Group Health Research Institute and the University of Washington (UW). The team’s report, called “Glad You Asked,” is in the September 2010 Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics.
The first for-profit insurance company approved to offer government-subsidized coverage under Massachusetts’ health reform has dangerously restricted access to primary care, according to data reported in Thursday’s (Aug. 5) New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers say the findings raise troubling concerns about the Obama administration’s new health law, which is modeled after the Massachusetts plan.
While some teenagers may puff on cigarettes to ‘self-medicate’ against the blues, scientists at the University of Toronto and the University of Montreal have found that smoking may actually increase depressive symptoms in some adolescents. Published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, the findings are part of the long-term Nicotine Dependence in Teens (NDIT) study based at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre.
Transforming the U.S. health care system from paper-based to electronic-based may improve health care quality and reduce costs, but a new study by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) suggests that goal is far off. The adoption of basic or comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) by U.S. hospitals increased modestly from 8.7% in 2008 to 11.9% in 2009, but only 2% of hospitals met the federal “meaningful use” standard needed to qualify for government financial incentives.
As you know, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its proposed rule on the 2011 Medicare fee schedule – and there is a lot at stake for practicing psychologists. As we [American Psychological Association Practice Organization - APAPO] have mentioned previously, in addition to reflecting an expected cut to all services as a result of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and changes to the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) payments, the rule would have a significantly negative impact on psychological and other mental health services due to revisions to the medical economic index (MEI).
A group of “professional couch potatoes,” as one researcher described them, has proven that even moderate exercise – in this case walking at one’s own pace for 40 minutes three times a week – can enhance the connectivity of important brain circuits, combat declines in brain function associated with aging and increase performance on cognitive tasks.
While moderate drinking – one to less than three drinks per day – is linked to a decrease in mortality in middle-aged and older adults, there is also concern that the health benefits of moderate drinking have been overestimated. A new study of the association between drinking and mortality during a 20-year period, which controlled for confounding factors such as previous problem drinking, confirms an association of moderate drinking and reduced mortality among older adults.
With children going back to school, parents are concerned that their youngsters are staying fit and eating right, especially those who dine in a school cafeteria. New research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture finds that children who eat school lunches that are part of the federal government’s National School Lunch Program are more likely to become overweight.
A new fact sheet from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research provides detailed county-by-county estimates of the number of California residents who have lost health insurance during the economic downturn. Check the end of this report for a link to the UCLA “California’s Uninsured by County” fact sheet..
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