Showing posts with label Mood Disorders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mood Disorders. Show all posts

Friday, 27 July 2012

1 in 5 Women Will Experience a Mood or Anxiety Disorder While Pregnant or After Giving Birth (PPD)

CHICAGO, June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Up to 1 out of every 5 pregnant and new mothers will experience prenatal or postpartum depression (PPD) and anxiety. Most women are undiagnosed and inadequately treated, if treated at all. This can have devastating effects on women and families.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (Pediatrics 2010; 126;1032-1039), untreated postpartum depression (PPD) and prenatal depression can lead to increased medical costs, inappropriate medical care, discontinuation of breastfeeding, child abuse, and neglect.

Support groups can be an effective way to help prevent these negative consequences (Am J Psychiatry 2001; 158:638-640). Unfortunately, women with postpartum depression (PPD) and other maternal mood disorders frequently struggle to find a group that overcomes barriers of geographical location, traffic, timing, and childcare.

Wednesday, 23 May 2012

Night Owls More Likely to Experience Nightmares

Roxanne Khamsi, Scientific American 


Like to stay up late? The downside may be more bad dreams, research suggests.
CREDIT: Dreamstime
Night owls might think staying up late is a real hoot, but a new study hints that delayed sleep might have a sinister side. People who hit the sack late might have a greater risk of experiencing nightmares, according to scientists, although they add that follow-up research is needed to confirm the link.

"It's a very interesting preliminary study, and we desperately need more research in this area," says Jessica Payne, director of the Sleep, Stress and Memory Lab at the University of Notre Dame, commenting on the new findings.

Wednesday, 15 February 2012

Lead in Lipstick: 10 Worst Brands, Better Alternatives


The FDA pushed back in its latest report stating that: "Lipstick, as a product intended for topical use with limited absorption, is ingested only in very small quantities. We do not consider the lead levels we found in the lipsticks to be a safety concern." However, Stacy Malkan, of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics disagrees. "We know that ingestion of lipstick happens," she told Reuters. She also points out that lead accumulates in the body over time.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is particularly concerned about lead exposure for children and pregnant women. The CDC's Advisory Committee for Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention recently stated that there is no safe lead level for children. Lead poisoning causes a wide range of problems from low IQ and slowed grown in children to memory loss, mood disorders, and miscarriage in adults.
The FDA found the highest levels in lipsticks made by Procter & Gamble (Cover Girl brand), L'Oreal (L'Oreal, Body Shop and Maybelline brands), and Revlon. The lipsticks containing the most lead (measured in parts per million) are:
1. Maybelline Color Sensational, Pink Petal (7.9 ppm)
2. L'Oreal Colour Riche, Volcanic, (7.0 ppm)
3. NARS Semi-Matte, Red Lizard (4.93 ppm)
4. Cover Girl Queen Collection, Ruby Remix, (4.92 ppm)
5. Nars Semi-Matte, Funny Face (4.89 ppm)
6. L'Oreal Colour Riche, Tickled Pink (4.45 ppm)
7. L'Oreal Intensely Moisturizing Lipcolor, Heroic (4.41 ppm)
8. Cover Girl Continuous Color, Warm Brick (4.28 ppm)
9. Maybelline Color Sensational, Mauve Me (4.23 ppm)
10. Stargazer Lipstick, #103 (4.12 ppm)
California, which has the nation's most stringent laws about lead in consumer products, has imposed a safety limit of 5.0 ppm for lipstick. If you are concerned about contaminants in your lipstick or other cosmetics, the Environmental Working Group rates over 1000 cosmetic lip products on its searchable database. Because there are thousands of lipsticks on the market, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics says its impossible to test every one and the best thing you can do is support an outright ban on lead. However, here are 11 products they have found to be lead-free.