Teens With Mood Disorders at Risk for Heart Disease - http://clapway.com/2015/08/11/teens-with-mood-disorders-at-risk-for-heart-disease123/

A statement released by the American Heart Association calls for early monitoring of blood vessel and heart disease (cardiovascular disease) in teens with major depression and bipolar disorder. It is recommended that mood disorders be considered as an independent risk factor that could lead to early development of heart conditions such as thickening blood vessels in adolescents.

The Link Between Mood Disorders and Heart Disease

Major depression and bipolar disorder belong to a broad category of mood disorders that could affect adults and adolescents alike. They are the first and the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide, respectively. Bipolar disorder often manifests as mood alterations between bouts of elation, energy, irritability and spurts of depressive behavior including sadness and lack of involvement. Depression symptoms are similar to the depressive episodes of bipolar disorder, minus the periods of elation. About 10% of adolescents in the United States suffer from mood disorders, which is ten times the prevalence of all the moderate risk factors of heart disease combined.

The authors of the statement found, upon a thorough analysis of published literature, that teens with mood disorders are more likely than other teens to have many risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, type II diabetes, and the hardening of arteries. Though the exact cause for these associations remains unclear, studies suggest that biological processes controlling inflammation and oxidative stress could link the two. Additionally, depressed teens are more likely to have unhealthy habits such as alcohol and drug abuse, smoking and physical inactivity. Medications used to treat depression have side effects that might hasten heart disease, but neither lifestyle factors nor medications could independently account for the link between mood and heart disease.

The association between depression and heart disease in adults is well known. Adults with mood disorders are far more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease than adults with normal mental status. Both mood disorders and heart disease tend to run in families. In line with that, children of depressed parents could have good mental health and still show markers of early heart disease. Teens with mood disorders usually have a parental history of heart disease. Add to this the fact that most mood disorders that develop early are known to persist or even worsen in adulthood, and you realize the importance of early detection and management of warning signs in adolescents.

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Teens With Mood Disorders at Risk for Heart Disease

Heroin use results surprising and spooky. - http://clapway.com/2015/07/07/heroin-epidemic-use-of-drug-more-than-doubles-across-the-u-s-343/

A new federal report released Tuesday shows that heroin is basically everywhere. The use has increased across the U.S. among men and women, most age groups, and all income levels.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Rates (CDC) some of the most startling increase occurred in “demographic groups with historically low rates of heroin use”: women, the privately insured, and people with higher incomes.

Heroin use more than doubled

Data released by CDC show that between 2002 and 2013 heroin use more than doubled among young adults ages 18–25 in the past decade. More than 9 in 10 people who used heroin also used at least one other drug and 45% were also addicted to prescription opioid painkillers.

Furthermore, as the rate of abuse doubled among women, it also went up 50 percent among men during the same time period. With more people using – and abusing – prescription painkillers, heroin has turned into a cheap and more easily available alternative.

Link between prescription painkillers and increase of heroin use

Although the absolute numbers are still low — fewer than 1 percent of people abuse heroin – drug abuse overall is up.

“They are addicted to prescription opiates because they are essentially the same chemical with the same effect on the brain as heroin,” CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden said at a press conference. “Heroin costs roughly 5 times less than prescription opiates on the street.”

With an increase of heroin use, overdose-related deaths are also on the rise. Between 2002 and 2013, the rate nearly quadrupled, and more than 8,200 people died in 2013.

Who is most at risk of heroin addiction?

The people who are most at risk of heroin addiction have been identified as those addicted to other drugs or substances, those living in large metropolitan areas, people without insurance or enrolled in Medicals and youngsters between 18-25 years of age.

What can states do to fight against the heroin epidemic?

CDC urged states to address the strongest risk factor for heroin addiction: addiction to prescription opioid painkillers. Other preventive methods include increasing access to substance abuse treatment services and help local jurisdictions to put effective practices to work in communities where heroin addiction is particularly common.

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Heroin Epidemic: Use of Drug More Than Doubles Across the U.S.