Obesity's impact on mortality risk increases with age

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 15 Aug 2013 - 13:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Obesity's impact on mortality risk increases with age

Researchers reviewed data from the National Health Interview Survey linked to the National Death Index to understand the association between obesity and early adult mortality. The sample included survey respondents between the ages of 40 and 84.9. The study uniquely accounted for not only the age of the respondent, but also the period in which they were observed and the birth cohort that they were a member of.

Results indicated that obesity accounts for more U.S. deaths in recent birth cohorts than for earlier ones. Furthermore, the impact of high body mass index on mortality risk was found to increase as individuals grew older.

"The large mortality burden we document suggests that current projections of U.S. life expectancy should be modified to account for the impact of rising obesity prevalence, especially among more recent birth cohorts. We believe that it is imperative for the U.S. public and those who construct policy for that public to recognize that population health and more than a century of steady gains in life expectancy are being jeopardized by the obesity epidemic," the study's authors conclude.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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“The Impact of Obesity on U.S. Mortality Levels: The Importance of Age and Cohort Factors in Population Estimates.”

Ryan K. Masters

American Journal of Public Health

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Contemplating reasons for not getting results of HIV tests increases likelihood of returning to doctor

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;  Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 31 Jul 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Contemplating reasons for not getting results of HIV tests increases likelihood of returning to doctor

Some studies of at-risk populations suggest that up to half of the people tested for HIV never return to the doctor's office to find out their test results. While many of these people may simply forget to return or deem the results unimportant, it is likely that a portion of people don't return because they don't want to know the results.

In three studies, Jennifer Howell and James Shepperd of the University of Florida investigated whether prompting people to contemplate their reasons for seeking and avoiding the health information would make them more willing to receive their medical results.

The results of these experiments are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Participants filled out a motives questionnaire intended to make them think thoroughly about the reasons underlying their decision to seek or avoid their results. Questions included: "Learning that I am at high risk for diabetes would be distressing," or "I would regret not learning my risk for diabetes."

All participants also filled out a diabetes risk calculator and received the opportunity to learn their risk. Those who filled out the motives questionnaire before deciding whether to learn their risk were more likely to choose to see their results than those who filled it out after deciding whether to learn their risk. The same trend emerged when participants generated their own reasons for seeking or avoiding their risk for cardiovascular disease. Together, these two studies suggest that prompting people to contemplate their reasons for seeking or avoiding health information makes them more likely to seek out information about their own health risks.

But it turns out that this effect was only applicable for conditions that are treatable. In the last experiment, some participants were told that TAA deficiency - a made-up condition - was treatable, and some were told it was not. Contemplation made participants more likely to seek out their test results when they thought the condition was treatable, but not when they thought it was an untreatable disease.

As medical treatments become more advanced, early detection and intervention will become increasingly important. Simply asking patients to contemplate the reasons they would seek or avoid their screening results may make them more likely to follow up with their doctor, thus reducing the public health burden.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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This article was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship awarded to J. L. Howell under Grant DGE-0802270; by an Intergovernmental Personnel Assignment Agreement between J. A. Shepperd and the National Cancer Institute; and by National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Grant U54DE019261-0, funded through the Southeast Center for Research to Reduce Disparities in Oral Health, to J. A. Shepperd.

Association for Psychological Science

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Binge eating with bipolar disorder likely increases psychiatric issues including suicidal thoughts, anxiety

Main Category: Bipolar
Also Included In: Eating Disorders;  Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 29 Jul 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Binge eating with bipolar disorder likely increases psychiatric issues including suicidal thoughts, anxiety

Bipolar disorder evolves differently in patients who also binge eat, a study by Mayo Clinic, the Lindner Center of HOPE and the University of Minnesota found. Binge eating and obesity often are present among bipolar patients, but the mood disorder appears to take a different path in those who binge eat than it does in obese bipolar patients who do not, the researchers discovered. The findings are published online in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Up to 4 percent of Americans have some form of bipolar illness, and of those, just under 10 percent also have binge eating disorder - a higher rate of binge eating than seen in the general population, says co-author Mark Frye, M.D., a psychiatrist and chair of the Department of Psychiatry/Psychology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) update released this spring recognizes binge eating disorder as a distinct condition, he noted.

Bipolar patients who binge eat are more likely to have other mental health issues such as suicidal thoughts, psychosis, anxiety disorders and substance abuse, the study found. People with bipolar disorder who are obese but do not binge eat are more likely to have serious physical problems such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

It was more common for women than men with bipolar disorder to binge eat or to be obese, the study showed.

"The illness is more complicated, and then by definition how you would conceptualize how best to individualize treatment is more complicated," Dr. Frye says. "It really underscores the importance of trying to stabilize mood, because we know when people are symptomatic of their bipolar illness their binge frequency is likely to increase. We want to work with treatments that can be helpful but not have weight gain as a significant side effect."

The researchers used the Mayo Clinic Bipolar Biobank, a collaborative effort by Mayo Clinic, the Lindner Center of HOPE, University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic Health System. More research is planned to see whether there is a genetic link to binge eating disorder in bipolar disease.

"Patients with bipolar disorder and binge eating disorder appear to represent a more severely ill population of bipolar patients. Identification of this subgroup of patients will help determine the underlying causes of bipolar disorder and lead to more effective and personalized treatments," says co-author Susan McElroy, M.D., chief research officer at the Lindner Center of HOPE.

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The study was funded by the Marriott family. Co-authors also include Scott Crow, M.D., University of Minnesota Medical School; Nicole Mori of the Lindner Center of HOPE; and Joanna Biernacka, Ph.D., Stacey Winham, Ph.D., Jennifer Geske, Alfredo Cuellar Barboza, M.D., Mikel Prieto, M.D., Mohit Chauhan, M.D., and Lisa Seymour of Mayo Clinic.

Mayo Clinic

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'Weightism' increases risk for becoming, staying obese

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 24 Jul 2013 - 14:00 PDT Current ratings for:
'Weightism' increases risk for becoming, staying obese

Weight discrimination may increase risk for obesity rather than motivating individuals to lose weight, according to research published July 24 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Angelina Sutin and Antonio Terracciano from the Florida State University College of Medicine.

The researchers compared the height and weight of over 6000 participants, measured in 2006 and 2010. They found that participants who experienced weight discrimination earlier were 2.5 times more likely to become obese by the follow-up assessment in 2010. Obese participants who perceived weight discrimination in 2006 were more likely to remain obese at the later time than those who had not experienced such discrimination. Discrimination based on other factors, such as sex or race, did not appear to have the same correlation with weight. The effect of 'weightism' also appeared independent of demographic factors like age, gender, ethnicity or education. The researchers conclude that weight discrimination has further implications for obesity than just poorer mental health outcomes.

Sutin adds, "In addition to the well-known emotional and economic costs, our results suggest that weight discrimination also increases risk of obesity. This could lead to a vicious cycle where individuals who are overweight and obese are more vulnerable to weight discrimination, and this discrimination may contribute to subsequent obesity and difficulties with weight management."

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Sutin AR, Terracciano A (2013) Perceived Weight Discrimination and Obesity. PLoS ONE 8(7): e70048. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0070048

PLOS ONE

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