Second Hand Smoke Increases Risk of Psychological Disorders
A study has found that exposure to second hand smoke causes more than physical health problems. It leads to psychological distress and raises the risk of future mental illness among otherwise healthy adults.
Nonsmokers exposed to second hand smoke showed a 50 percent greater likelihood of reporting psychological distress.
Smokers were also found to be at risk and both smokers and nonsmokers exposed to frequent second hand smoke showed a higher psychiatric hospital admission rate, in addition to greater distress and psychological problems. Animal studies have previously shown that smoke can raise negativity and is a cause of depression, which is in keeping with the conclusions of this study.
The new study was published online on June 7, 2010, ahead of print publication in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The full-text version of this study has been made available by the journal at: http://bit.ly/dt4Eun.
Green Tea & Depression
Green Tea May Combat Depression in Elderly
Drinking frequent cups of green tea is linked to a lower incidence of depressive symptoms in elderly people, say Japanese researchers.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition focused on 1,058 elderly Japanese individuals 70 years of age plus with the prevalence of mild and severe and severe depressive symptoms said the authors.
The authors maintain that only a few studies have investigated the relationship between green tea consumption and mental health, while there appear to be few studies assessing the relationship between green tea drinking and depressive symptoms.
According to the team led by Atsushi Hozawa, depression in the elderly is highly prevalent and can increase the risk of medical illnesses, worsen the outcome of other medical illnesses, and may increase mortality.
Growing problem
World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts that within 20 years more people will be affected by depression than any other health problem; it ranks depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, with around 120 million people affected.
Findings show that the occurrence of depressive symptoms was 44% lower for participants who drank 4+ cups of green tea/day compared to those who drank less than one, after results were adjusted for factors such as age, sex, disease history, BMI, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, diet, and other factors.
The authors state that their study is rather limited in scale and a larger population study that uses a standardized comprehensive structured diagnostic interview is required to confirm the effect of green tea consumption on depressive symptoms.
Mental stress
A previous study also led by the Hozawa found that drinking 5 cups of green tea/day may reduce the incidence of psychological distress by 20%.
Green tea consumption was said to improve psychological well-being in a study population of 42,093 Japanese individuals of which 6.6% suffered from psychological stress.
Relaxation benefits
The potential of green tea offers more than its well-known role as an antioxidant.
According to research from Unilever, green tea contains L-theanine, which is said to relax the brain.
Consumption of 50mg of L-theanine (equivalent of 2-3 cups of green tea) stimulates the alpha-brain waves associated with relaxation. By increasing the frequency of these brain waves, the beta-brain waves associated with tension are decreased.
Consumer awareness of the benefits of green tea and green tea extracts continues to rise with growing numbers of studies, from 430 papers in 2000 to almost 1500 in 2003, reporting benefits of the main compounds, catechins.
Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Published online ahead of print: doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.28216
Title: Green tea consumption is associated with depressive symptoms in the elderly
Authors: K Niu, A Hozawa, S Kuriyama, S Ebihara, H Guo, N Nakaya, K Matsuda, H Takahashi, Y Masamune, M Asada, S Sasaki, H Arai, S Awata, R Nagatomi, and I Tsuji