Awareness of the toll has prompted more research into how to lessen it.
Gary McMane, 50, of Fontana, is convinced that his own depression has taken a toll on the three children he adores. "They're all good kids, and good in school, but I know it's had a terrible effect on them."
His 22-year-old daughter hangs on to her high school boyfriend as a security blanket, he says, and his 17-year-old son seems seriously depressed. Further, he adds, the 13-year-old boy is overly sensitive, feeling compelled to "rescue" anyone who is hurt. Granted, such perceptions are filtered through McMane's own feelings of guilt and responsibility - and his kids might not agree - but he's right to worry.
Although their father's depression may not be the cause of all these qualities, evidence is mounting that growing up with a depressed parent increases a child's risk for mental health problems, cognitive difficulties and troubled social relationships. The research on how a depressed parent affects kids has slowly accumulated for about 20 years, "but it's really taken off in the last few years," says Vanderbilt University psychologist Bruce Compas.
Health & Wellness
New HIV infections are increasing among homosexuals, drug users and prostitutes who don't seek help because of laws that criminalize these practices, the head of the U.N. AIDS agency said Monday.
Michel Sidibe, the head of UNAIDS, said "it is unacceptable" that 85 countries still have laws criminalizing same sex relations among adults, including seven that impose the death penalty for homosexual practices.
He called a proposed Ugandan law that would impose the death penalty for some gays "very unfortunate" and expressed hope it will never be approved.
At a time when UNAIDS is scaling up its program and seeking universal access to HIV treatment, Sidibe said he was "very scared" because bad laws are being introduced by countries making it impossible for these at risk groups to have access to services.
Michel Sidibe, the head of UNAIDS, said "it is unacceptable" that 85 countries still have laws criminalizing same sex relations among adults, including seven that impose the death penalty for homosexual practices.
He called a proposed Ugandan law that would impose the death penalty for some gays "very unfortunate" and expressed hope it will never be approved.
At a time when UNAIDS is scaling up its program and seeking universal access to HIV treatment, Sidibe said he was "very scared" because bad laws are being introduced by countries making it impossible for these at risk groups to have access to services.
© Todd Warnock/Getty Images
Trans fats are found in many cakes, biscuits, pies and chips.
Trans fats are found in many cakes, biscuits, pies and chips.
Trans-fats are derived from vegetable oils that have been chemically modified. They bear no nutritional value but are used by food manufacturers to bulk up foods and extend their shelf life. Typically labeled as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, these artificial fats are commonly found in processed baked goods and desserts, pastries, and fast foods as well as in margarine and shortening.
Worried?
You should be ...
We are exposed to 6 million pounds of mercury and the 2.5 billion pounds other toxic chemicals each year.
Eighty thousand toxic chemicals have been released into our environment since the dawn of the industrial revolution, and very few have been tested for their long-term impact on human health. And let me tell you, the results aren't pretty for those that have been tested ...
How can we not be affected by this massive amount of poison?
According to the nonprofit organization Environmental Working Group, the average newborn baby has 287 known toxins in his or her umbilical cord blood.
If a newborn is exposed to that many toxins, imagine how many you have been exposed to in your life...
Team 5 Investigates After Amesbury Pulls Sodium Fluoride From Water Supply
Amesbury, Massachusetts. -- Fluoride is added to the water most of us drink because the government believes it's a safe and inexpensive way to prevent tooth decay.
However, Team 5 Investigates found the Amesbury Water Department pulled fluoride from its system amid concerns about its supply from China.
Department of Public Works Director Rob Desmarais said after he mixes the white powder with water, 40 percent of it will not dissolve.
Amesbury, Massachusetts. -- Fluoride is added to the water most of us drink because the government believes it's a safe and inexpensive way to prevent tooth decay.
However, Team 5 Investigates found the Amesbury Water Department pulled fluoride from its system amid concerns about its supply from China.
Department of Public Works Director Rob Desmarais said after he mixes the white powder with water, 40 percent of it will not dissolve.
© unknown
In the middle of a nationwide outbreak of salmonella illness linked to black and red pepper -- and after 16 U.S. recalls since 2001 of tainted spices -- federal regulators met last week with the spice industry to figure out ways to make the supply safer.
Jeff Farrar, the FDA's associate commissioner for food safety, said the government wants the spice industry to do more to prevent contamination. That would include using one of three methods to rid spices of bacteria: irradiation, steam heating or fumigation with ethylene oxide, a pesticide.
In the United States, two common conditions caused by hospital-acquired infections killed 48,000 people and ramped up health care costs by $8.1 billion in 2006 alone, according to a recent study.
This is the largest nationally representative study of the toll taken by sepsis and pneumonia, two conditions often caused by deadly microbes, including the antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA.
Such infections can lead to longer hospital stays, serious complications and even death.
Researchers analyzed 69 million discharge records from hospitals in 40 states and identified two conditions caused by health care-associated infections: sepsis, a potentially lethal systemic response to infection and pneumonia, an infection of the lungs and respiratory tract.
This is the largest nationally representative study of the toll taken by sepsis and pneumonia, two conditions often caused by deadly microbes, including the antibiotic-resistant bacteria MRSA.
Such infections can lead to longer hospital stays, serious complications and even death.
Researchers analyzed 69 million discharge records from hospitals in 40 states and identified two conditions caused by health care-associated infections: sepsis, a potentially lethal systemic response to infection and pneumonia, an infection of the lungs and respiratory tract.
© James Nielsen/ AFP - Getty Images
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, who is serving 24 years in jail for his role in the energy giant's 2001 bankruptcy in one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history, has appealed his conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court. His lawyers are challenging a 1988 federal law that makes corporate bosses liable to prosecution for depriving shareholders of "honest services."
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, who is serving 24 years in jail for his role in the energy giant's 2001 bankruptcy in one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history, has appealed his conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court. His lawyers are challenging a 1988 federal law that makes corporate bosses liable to prosecution for depriving shareholders of "honest services."
New York Gov. David Paterson is embroiled in a scandal over whether he used his power and influence to intimidate a woman pursuing a domestic violence case against one of his top aides. As a result, the governor said last month that he would not seek a second term, and his communications director quit earlier this month citing "integrity" issues.
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, who went to prison after the spectacular collapse of the company, is appealing to the Supreme Court his 2006 conviction on 19 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying.
His lawyers argue that he didn't get a fair trial and that Skilling's conduct, "even if wrongful in some way," was not illegal because he was not looking out for his personal interests "apart from his normal compensation incentives."
The issue of integrity is at the heart of the predicaments these powerful men find themselves in. An organization's health often hinges on the trustworthiness of its leaders, ethics experts say.
Los Angeles - It seemed like a good idea. Diabetics are at an unusually high risk of heart disease, heart attacks and strokes, so treating them intensively to sharply reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugars should be highly beneficial. But a decade of studies in thousands of patients shows that is not the case.
Two new reports from a major nationwide trial called ACCORD released yesterday show that lowering either blood pressure or cholesterol below current guidelines does not provide additional benefit and, in fact, increases the risk of side effects. A third arm of the study, released two years ago, showed that lowering blood sugars excessively actually increases the risk of heart disease.
The results are disappointing, researchers say, because they suggest that clinicians might have reached the limit of what they can do for diabetic patients.
The good news is that the findings "reduce the cost and potential side effects of drug therapy," and patients will not have to work as hard at reducing blood sugars, lipids and blood pressure, said Dr. Denise Simons-Morton of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which funded the trial.
Diabetes has become a tremendous problem in the United States: At least 21 million people are afflicted with Type 2 diabetes, and millions more are at risk because of obesity. Most diabetics also have high blood pressure and a high cholesterol level; those factors raise their risk of heart attack and stroke to the same level as that of people who have had a heart attack.
Two new reports from a major nationwide trial called ACCORD released yesterday show that lowering either blood pressure or cholesterol below current guidelines does not provide additional benefit and, in fact, increases the risk of side effects. A third arm of the study, released two years ago, showed that lowering blood sugars excessively actually increases the risk of heart disease.
The results are disappointing, researchers say, because they suggest that clinicians might have reached the limit of what they can do for diabetic patients.
The good news is that the findings "reduce the cost and potential side effects of drug therapy," and patients will not have to work as hard at reducing blood sugars, lipids and blood pressure, said Dr. Denise Simons-Morton of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which funded the trial.
Diabetes has become a tremendous problem in the United States: At least 21 million people are afflicted with Type 2 diabetes, and millions more are at risk because of obesity. Most diabetics also have high blood pressure and a high cholesterol level; those factors raise their risk of heart attack and stroke to the same level as that of people who have had a heart attack.
After my recent blog on mercury, I'm sure many of you are depressed and discouraged about mercury and its toxic effects. The bad news is today I am going to review more of mercury's toxic effects and expand on what I learned at the medical conference on mercury I mentioned in my last blog ...
But the good news is I will provide you with a clear, three-step plan to help your body detoxify from mercury and other heavy metals and recover your health. I have used this same plan successfully and safely with hundreds and hundreds of patients over the last 10 years - and it's the same process I used myself to overcome mercury toxicity!
But first, let's look at the data presented at "The Impact of Mercury on Human Health and the Environment" conference.
But the good news is I will provide you with a clear, three-step plan to help your body detoxify from mercury and other heavy metals and recover your health. I have used this same plan successfully and safely with hundreds and hundreds of patients over the last 10 years - and it's the same process I used myself to overcome mercury toxicity!
But first, let's look at the data presented at "The Impact of Mercury on Human Health and the Environment" conference.
Comment: To learn more about Detoxing read the following forum threads:
Detoxification: Heavy Metals, Mercury and how to get rid of them
Anti-Candida, Inflammation, Heavy Metals Detox and Diet