Contracting an acute illness means an abrupt turn from everyday life to intensive care where one’s life is at stake. Surrounding the illness is traditional knowledge derived from the natural sciences, yet for the affected it means experiences of an existential nature that health care personnel do not possess the knowledge to treat. This is shown in Sven-Tore Dreyer Fredriksen’s DrPH thesis at the Nordic Sch ...

Sufferers of serious psychological distress spend an average of $1,735 more on health care each year compared to those without the condition. However, recognizing psychological distress and treating it is often complicated for patients and their doctors. Two researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina have found those with serious psychological distress frequent their doctors more than those wit ...

An older individual who cares for a spouse with dementia may be at an increased risk of developing cognitive problems because of the lifestyle that was shared with the spouse and because of the stress of caring for a loved one who is ill. These findings, which are published today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, indicate that efforts are needed to help caregivers maintain their cognitive a ...

There is no doubt that undergoing infertility treatment is stressful with high rates of anxiety and depression reported by many patients. Mind-body therapies designed to help women reduce stress earlier in the treatment process result in higher pregnancy rates, but little is known specifically about the impact of these therapies on women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). ...

A study of older married couples that gives new meaning to the matrimonial adage "for better or worse" finds that spouses have a much greater impact on their partner's health than previously known. The study, published in the current issue of the American Psychological Association's journal Health Psychology, finds strong associations between the physical and emotional health of older married couples – and ...

Nurses in the emergency department at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital are pioneering techniques - including the use of iPads - to improve the patient experience by eliminating or minimizing pain. The Children's Comfort Program (CCP) has expedited assessment and treatment of pain and has implemented the use of innovative techniques, such as using an iPad, to minimize discomfort and an ...

Studies have shown that stress can affect the immune system and weaken the body's defense against infection and disease. In patients with cancer, this stress can also affect a tumor's ability to grow and spread. However, the biological mechanisms that underlie such associations are not well understood. Now, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center find that poor psychosocial functioning is associated with gre ...

Age, injury, poor posture, or diseases such as arthritis can lead to degeneration of the bones or joints of the cervical spine, causing disc herniation or bone spurs to form. Herniated discs or bone spurs may narrow the canal through which the spinal cord runs or narrow the small openings through which spinal nerve roots exit. Pressure on a nerve root from a herniated disc or bone spur may cause pain in the ...

According to a new study, severely obese adolescents are no more likely to be depressed than normal weight peers. The study, which has been released online in the Journal of Adolescent Health, did find that white adolescents may be somewhat more vulnerable to psychological effects of obesity. ...

Queen's University professor Kate Harkness has found that a history of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse in childhood substantially increases the risk of depression in adolescence by altering a person's neuroendocrine response to stress. Adolescents with a history of maltreatment and a mild level of depression were found to release much more of the stress hormone cortisol than is normal in response to ps ...