Violent Video Games May Numb Players to Brutality, Study Finds

THURSDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- Teenage boys who play violent video games for hours on end may become desensitized to the brutality, a small new study finds.

The research focused on 30 boys, aged 13 to 15, who were divided into two groups. One group typically played violent video games for three or more hours a day (high exposure) while the other group played such games for no more than an hour a day (low exposure).

The researchers monitored the boys' reactions after playing a violent game ("Manhunt") and a nonviolent cartoon game ("Animaniacs"). They played each game for two hours on different evenings.

Differences between the boys' reactions emerged later in the night after gaming. During sleep, the boys in the low-exposure group who played the violent game had faster heart rates and poorer quality of sleep than those in the high-exposure group. The boys in the low-exposure group also reported increased feelings of sadness after playing the violent game.

Both groups of boys had higher stress and anxiety levels after playing the violent game, according to the study, which was published in the May issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine.

"The violent game seems to have elicited more stress at bedtime in both groups, and it also seems as if the violent game in general caused some kind of exhaustion," wrote Malena Ivarsson, of the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University in Sweden, and colleagues. "However, the exhaustion didn't seem to be of the kind that normally promotes good sleep, but rather as a stressful factor that can impair sleep quality."

The differences between the two groups' physical and mental responses suggest that frequent exposure to violent video games may have a desensitizing effect, the researchers said. The study, however, didn't prove a cause-and-effect relationship, and it's possible that boys with certain traits may be attracted to violent games, the researchers said.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE; Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, news release, May 3, 2013

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College Sports Could Raise Players' Risk for Depression, Study Finds

Compared with former college athletes, those still in school had doubled odds, possibly due to stress, researchers say

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News) -- Current college athletes are twice as likely to be depressed as former athletes, researchers have found.

The findings suggest the need for further research to learn more about depression among college athletes, the Georgetown University investigators said.

For the study, they examined questionnaires completed by 117 current and 163 former college athletes who had participated in Division I NCAA-sponsored sports. The current athletes played in 10 different sports and the former athletes had played in 15 different sports.

Nearly 17 percent of current athletes had questionnaire scores consistent with depression, compared with 8 percent of former athletes, according to the study published online recently in the journal Sports Health.

"We expected to see a significant increase in depression once athletes graduated, but by comparison it appears the stress of intercollegiate athletics may be more significant than we and others anticipated," senior investigator Dr. Daniel Merenstein, an associate professor of family medicine and human science at Georgetown University Medical Center, said in a university news release.

These stressors include things such as overtraining, injury, pressure to perform, lack of free time, or trying to juggle athletics and schoolwork.

"College in general is a potentially stressful time for many students. The additional stress of playing high-level sports appears to add to that stress," Merenstein said.

He advised parents, friends and coaches to pay attention to changes in behavior, weight and sleep of college athletes, and of all students.

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College Sports Could Raise Players' Risk for Depression, Study Finds

Compared with former college athletes, those still in school had doubled odds, possibly due to stress, researchers say

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News) -- Current college athletes are twice as likely to be depressed as former athletes, researchers have found.

The findings suggest the need for further research to learn more about depression among college athletes, the Georgetown University investigators said.

For the study, they examined questionnaires completed by 117 current and 163 former college athletes who had participated in Division I NCAA-sponsored sports. The current athletes played in 10 different sports and the former athletes had played in 15 different sports.

Nearly 17 percent of current athletes had questionnaire scores consistent with depression, compared with 8 percent of former athletes, according to the study published online recently in the journal Sports Health.

"We expected to see a significant increase in depression once athletes graduated, but by comparison it appears the stress of intercollegiate athletics may be more significant than we and others anticipated," senior investigator Dr. Daniel Merenstein, an associate professor of family medicine and human science at Georgetown University Medical Center, said in a university news release.

These stressors include things such as overtraining, injury, pressure to perform, lack of free time, or trying to juggle athletics and schoolwork.

"College in general is a potentially stressful time for many students. The additional stress of playing high-level sports appears to add to that stress," Merenstein said.

He advised parents, friends and coaches to pay attention to changes in behavior, weight and sleep of college athletes, and of all students.

View the original article here

College Sports Could Raise Players' Risk for Depression, Study Finds

Title: College Sports Could Raise Players' Risk for Depression, Study Finds
Category: Health News
Created: 4/5/2013 10:35:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/5/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Football Players and Concussions: Prevention, Effects, and More

What's being done to protect football players from concussions and their effects.

When a football player suffers a concussion during a game or in practice, whether they're a pro or a student, it's serious business. And the sport is taking it seriously.

Doctors, coaches, and researchers are focused on the damage concussions can do to football players’ brains as a result of the many tackles they endure.

What should be done when a football player (or any other athlete) has a suspected concussion? Read expert advice on immediate treatment and when the player can return to training and competition. 

Football Concussions: What to Do

© 2011 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

Research shows that athletes who have repeated concussions are more likely to get long-term brain damage, including a condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease that mimics dementia.

Former NFL players who have had CTE include the late Junior Seau, Chris Henry, and Dave Duerson.

In a concussion, the brain shakes so forcefully that it hits the inside of the skull. That injures the brain.

Symptoms of a concussion can include:

loss of consciousnessdrowsinessconfusionheadachenausea or vomitingblurred visionloss of memory of events surrounding the injury.

If a concussion leaves someone unconscious for more than a few minutes, the concussion is clearly serious. But sometimes even seemingly mild concussions can do damage.

"A minor hit on the field can take a long time to recover," says Mark Lovell, PhD, founding director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Sports Medicine Concussion Program.

How many concussions are too many? That may be the wrong question.

"It's not as simple as how many concussions someone's had -- it's total brain trauma" that matters, says Boston University neurosurgery professor Robert Cantu, MD, who is a senior advisor to the NFL's Head, Neck, and Spine Committee.

"Linemen who've had almost no concussions have the majority of cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, because on every play they get their brains rattled, trying to block with their head," Cantu says.

In 2011, the NFL set rules to determine whether an athlete who’s taken a powerful hit and sustained a concussion will be benched or sent back into the game.

The guidelines include checking the player's symptoms, attention, memory, and balance, starting immediately, on the sidelines.

"It incorporates the most important aspects of a focused exam, so that injury is identified, and athletes with concussion and more serious head and spine injury can be removed from play," says Margot Putukian, MD, chair of the return-to-play subcommittee of the NFL's head, neck, and spine committee.

No athlete should be allowed to participate in sports if he or she is still experiencing symptoms from a concussion, according to the American Academy of Neurology. And before they go back to play, they should first see a doctor who's had proper training to make sure they're ready.

That often doesn't happen, though. Many concussions go unreported. Athletes are often eager to get back in the game. They may think they feel fine, or at least good enough.

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