Pent-Up Stress Could Harm Health of Middle-Aged Women

Swedish study followed women since late 1960s

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- Many middle-aged women develop aches and pains and other physical symptoms as a result of chronic stress, according to a decades-long study.

Researchers in Sweden examined long-term data collected from about 1,500 women and found that about 20 percent of middle-aged women experienced constant or frequent stress during the previous five years. The highest rates of stress occurred among women aged 40 to 60 and those who were single or smokers (or both).

Among those who reported long-term stress, 40 percent said they suffered aches and pains in their muscles and joints, 28 percent experienced headaches or migraines and 28 percent reported gastrointestinal problems, according to the researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy of the University of Gothenburg.

The study appeared recently in the International Journal of Internal Medicine.

Even after adjusting for smoking, body weight and physical activity levels, there was a clear link between stress and an increased risk of physical symptoms, the researchers said.

The women in the study were followed since the late 1960s. Among those who experienced long-term stress but did not report any stress-related physical symptoms at the start of the study, 27 percent had new muscular and joint pain symptoms 12 years later, and about 15 percent reported new complaints in the form of headaches or gastrointestinal problems.

"Since 1968, women's lifestyles have changed in many ways," researcher Dominique Hange said in a university news release. "For example, many more women now work outside the home. Naturally, these changes can affect the experience of stress."

"Although we've used exactly the same question since 1968, we can't take it for granted that the term 'stress' has exactly the same meaning today," Hange added. "It might also be more socially accepted today to acknowledge one's experience of stress."

Hange said the "most important conclusion [from this study] is that single women, women who do not work outside the home and women who smoke are particularly vulnerable to stress. Here, we see a greater need for preventive measures from society."

The next step is to identify methods that doctors can use to help patients deal with stress-related physical complaints and illnesses, and to pinpoint ways to reduce stress at work, the researchers said.

View the original article here

Daily Sunscreen Helps Middle-Aged Skin Stay Young: Study

By Alan Mozes

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- In the never-ending search for the fountain of youth, scientists have looked everywhere under the sun. But a group of Australian researchers now report that the answer lies out of the sun.

Regular daily use of sunscreen appears to significantly slow the process of skin aging among middle-aged men and women, they say.

The finding stems from 4.5 years spent tracking sunscreen use and its ultimate impact on skin quality among more than 900 men and women under the age of 55.

"This has been one of those beauty tips you often hear quoted, but for the first time we can back it with science," said study co-author Adele Green, lab head and senior research fellow with the Queensland Institute of Medical Research at Royal Brisbane Hospital. "Protecting yourself from skin cancer by using sunscreen regularly has the added bonus of keeping you looking younger."

"And the study has shown that up to middle age, it's not too late to make a difference," added Green, who also suggested that sunscreen use is likely to similarly benefit those over 55, though her team did not specifically assess a potential benefit among older users.

The findings appear in the June 4 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Perhaps surprisingly, the authors point out that, to their knowledge, their current effort is the first rigorous scientific exploration of the potential protective effect of sunscreen on skin aging in people.

Green and her team looked at data collected in a study on skin cancer prevention conducted between 1992 and 1996 in Nambour, Australia.

The authors focused on 903 mostly fair-skinned men and women who were under the age of 55, under the assumption that skin aging in that age category would be brought on primarily by so-called "photoaging," as opposed to simply growing older.

Roughly half the participants worked primarily outdoors, while about four in 10 were regular smokers.

All the participants had been randomly assigned to two sunscreen groups. The first was specifically directed to use SPF 15 sunscreen on a daily basis, applying it to their head, neck, arms and hands every morning, and reapplying after bathing, heavy sweating or spending a few hours outside.

The second group was not told to avoid sunscreen, but rather to use it as they wished.

The study also assessed the potential impact of dietary antioxidants on skin quality. Each group of participants was further divided into half, in which one sub-group was given 30 milligrams of beta-carotene to take on a daily basis, while the other was given a sugar pill (placebo).

Using a process called "microtopography," the team then analyzed skin changes such as shifts in texture and roughness, by looking at the status of each participant's left hand.

View the original article here

Depression May Boost Stroke Risk in Middle-Aged Women, Too

Although risk is still low, Australian study found it nearly doubled for depressed women in their 40s and 50s

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) -- Women in their 40s and 50s who suffer from depression are almost twice as likely to have a stroke as women who aren't depressed, according to a large, long-running Australian study.

This is not the first study to link depression with an increased risk for stroke, in both men and women. Exactly how depression is associated with stroke is unclear, as is whether treating it reduces the risk, experts say.

"Although the absolute risk of stroke is low in mid-aged women, depression does appear to have a large adverse effect on stroke risk in this age group," said lead researcher Caroline Jackson, an epidemiologist in the School of Population Health at the University of Queensland.

"Our findings, however, suggest that depression may be a stronger risk factor for stroke in mid-aged women than was previously thought," she said.

Despite the growing body of evidence on depression and risk of stroke, depression is generally not included in guidelines for primary stroke prevention, which appears to be an important omission that should be addressed, Jackson noted.

The report was published May 16 in the journal Stroke.

One expert said this latest finding adds to the growing pile of evidence on the link.

"This large study among Australian women adds further evidence supporting the association between depression and stroke risk," said Dr. Ralph Sacco, chairman of neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Other studies have also demonstrated the effects of depression on stroke risk, he added. "Although we are not clear about the mechanisms, depression is frequent and needs to be more readily recognized and appropriately treated," Sacco said.

To see how much depression influenced the risk of stroke, Jackson and her colleague Gita Mishra, a professor of life course epidemiology at the University of Queensland, collected data on more than 10,000 women aged 47 to 52 who took part in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Women in the survey answered questions about both physical and mental health every three years from 1998 to 2010.

Among these women, about 24 percent said they suffered from depression. Over the study period 177 women had a stroke for the first time.

Analysis by Jackson and Mishra found depressed women were 2.4 times more likely to have a stroke than women who weren't depressed.

After eliminating some of the other factors that increase the risk of stroke, depressed women still were 1.9 times more likely to have a stroke, compared to women who were not depressed, they found.

Risk factors included: age; socioeconomic status; lifestyle habits such as smoking, alcohol and physical activity; and high blood pressure, heart disease, being overweight and diabetes.

View the original article here