Healio (9/18, Buzby) reports, “Higher levels of life satisfaction and well-being may portend lower rates of CVD due to the association between inflammatory markers and CV risk factors observed among individuals reporting lower well-being, researchers” found. Meanwhile, “lower well-being and life satisfaction was associated with higher BMI, drinking, sedentary behavior and less sleep compared with higher well-being.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Related Links:

— “High life satisfaction linked to less inflammation, risk factors for heart disease,”Scott Buzby , Healio, September 18, 2024

Psychiatric News (9/18) reports, “Adding menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) to antipsychotic medication can lower the risk of relapse or any psychiatric hospitalization in women between 40 and 62 years of age who have schizophrenia, according to” researchers who “analyzed data from 3,488 women.” Researchers wrote in AJP in Advance, “To maximize benefits and minimize risks of MHT, treatment should be individualized using the best available evidence, with periodic reevaluation of continuation.”

Related Links:

— “Hormone Therapy May Reduce Relapse Risk for Menopausal Age Women With Schizophrenia, Psychiatric News, September 18, 2024

Healio (9/17, Rhoades) says a survey of “1,020 physicians, 353 residents and 350 medical students” reveals “most physicians and residents report feelings of burnout, while stigma about receiving mental health care remains prevalent.” The findings “showed that six in 10 physicians often have feelings of burnout, up from four in 10 physicians in 2018. Similarly, six in 10 residents also reported feelings of burnout.” The Physicians Foundation published the findings (PDF) on its website.

Related Links:

— “Burnout, withdrawal remain ‘alarmingly high’ among physicians and residents,”Andrew (Drew) Rhoades, Healio, September 17, 2024

The New York Times (9/17, Isaac, Singer) reports Instagram on Tuesday said it would bolster its privacy protections for children. The social media firm “said the accounts of users younger than 18 will be made private by default in the coming weeks.” The Meta-owned company “also plans to stop notifications to minors from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. to promote sleep. In addition, Instagram will introduce more supervision tools for adults, including a feature that allows parents to see the accounts that their teenager recently messaged.”

The AP (9/17, Ortutay ) reports Instagram “says it will require” users “to verify their ages in more instances.” The company “also said it is building technology that proactively finds teen accounts that pretend to be grownups and automatically places them into the restricted teen accounts.”

According to ABC News (9/17, Kindelan ), “With the new accounts, teens will have the power to choose the age-appropriate topics they want to see more of on Instagram, like sports or art, and parents will also be able to see the topics their teens choose.”

Related Links:

— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

According to Axios (9/16, Reed ), patients increasingly are “joining online communities to learn how to make pirated versions” of medications like “GLP-1s and other prescription drugs and medical treatments.” Some patients also are organizing “into online communities and sharing what they find.” Meanwhile, “These patients are essentially reformulating or mixing their own drugs and potentially putting themselves at a great risk for harm and even death on the advice of people they’ve never met, Bruce A. Scott, MD, president of the American Medical Association, told Axios.” Dr. Scott remarked, “I don’t think I can overemphasize the fact that this is scary stuff, and that patients should consult their physicians.”

Related Links:

— “DIY medicine draws frustrated patients to online forums,”Tina Reed, Axios , September 16, 2024