September 09, 2008
Health Highlights: Sept. 9, 2008
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Women as Likely as Men to Cheat on Partner: Studies
There's a 40 percent to 76 percent chance that someone will cheat in a relationship, and women are as likely as men to step out on their partner, according to a University of Montreal researcher.
"Contrary to popular belief, infidelity isn't more prevalent in men," Genevieve Beaulieu-Pelletier said in a news release, United Press International reported.
One study of 145 students, average age 23, found that 68 percent had thought about cheating and 41 percent had actually cheated. A second study of 270 adults, average age 27, found that 54 percent had thought about cheating and 39 percent had actually cheated.
In both studies, people with an "avoidant attachment style" were more likely to cheat. People with avoidant attachment styles are uncomfortable with intimacy, UPI reported.
"The emotional attachment we have with others is modeled on the type of parenting received during childhood," Beaulieu-Pelletier said.
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States Should Raise Driving Age: Insurance Institute
In order to reduce crashes and save lives, states should raise the driving age to 17 or even 18, suggests the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group funded by the auto insurance industry.
The idea may prove a "tough sell," but car crashes are the leading cause of death among American teenagers, said institute President Adrian Lund, who plans to present the proposal Tuesday at the annual conference of the Governors Highway Safety Association. Each year, more than 5,000 U.S. teens die in car crashes.
"The bottom line is that when we look at the research, raising the driving age saves lives," Lund told the Associated Press.
New Jersey is the only state that issues licenses at age 17. The overall rate of New Jersey teens killed in car crashes has been consistently lower than in some nearby states, according to data compiled by institute researchers.
Many countries in Europe and elsewhere issue licenses at ages 17 or 18, the AP reported.
In the United States, the rate of fatal and nonfatal crashes per mile driven for 16-year-old drivers is nearly 10 times higher than the rate for drivers ages 30 to 59, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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Expert Urges More Internet Addiction Research
More research needs to be done on Internet addiction to better understand how it develops and how to treat it, says the director of a new addiction institute at the University of Montreal.
Louise Nadeau noted that there's plenty of data on compulsive gambling and alcoholism, but virtually no reliable study or clinical data on Internet addiction, United Press International reported.
"The problem isn't widespread but we know of serious cases in which teenagers don't leave the house, don't have interpersonal relationships, and have been isolated in front of their computer screen for the past two or three years, and only speak in the language of the characters they play with in network video games," Nadeau said in a university news release.
"In a few years we'll have couples in therapy because the Internet will have become their main occupation," she predicted, UPI reported.
A Quebec survey found that hundreds of patients have consulted a professional about Internet addiction. Nadeau and fellow researchers want to develop a clinical definition of Internet addiction, determine how the disorder evolves, and identify treatment strategies.
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Exercise Decreases Risk of Pregnancy-Related Depression
Exercising and remaining upbeat about their changing shapes may reduce the risk of depression among pregnant women, say U.S. researchers who surveyed 230 women in Pennsylvania throughout their pregnancy and into the postpartum period.
The women were asked about their exercise habits, feelings about weight, appearance and other body image aspects, and about symptoms of depression, United Press International reported.
Women who did more exercise prior to pregnancy were more satisfied with their bodies during the second and third trimesters, and had fewer depressive symptoms in the second trimester than other women.
"Our study supports the psychological benefits of exercise to improve body image and lessen depressive symptoms," lead researcher Danielle Downs, of Pennsylvania State University, said in a news release, UPI reported.
The study appears in the August issue of the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
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Lap-and-Shoulder Belts Equal to Child Safety Seats in Injury Prevention
Among children ages 2 to 6, lap-and-shoulder safety belts are as effective as child safety seats in preventing serious injuries in traffic crashes, says a study by researchers at the University of Chicago and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
But their analysis of three large representative samples of crashes and related hospital data did show that child safety seats are 25 percent more effective at reducing less serious injuries, United Press International reported.
Lap belts alone aren't as effective as child safety seats or lap-and-shoulder seat belts, but are far better than riding unrestrained, the researchers said.
The study appears in the journal Economic Inquiry.
All states require the use of child safety seats and the minimum age and weight requirements for children's use of seat belts has been increasing over time, UPI reported.
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