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South Dakota researchers aim to improve tobacco-free policies in health-care facilities

Health-care facilities being tobacco-free seems like a natural fit, but it's far more complicated than it might seem.

18 Apr 2016

Researchers link alcohol, cocaine misuse with future suicide attempt

In a general sense, medical studies support the popular intuition -- a staple of movies and literature -- that suicidal behavior and substance misuse are linked. But the relationship between the two is not so simple. A new study of hundreds of suicidal emergency department (ED) patients from around the U.S. found that the significance of the link varied with age, gender and race. Across the board, however, the use of cocaine and alcohol together was a red flag.

11 Apr 2016

Monetary incentives aid smoking cessation among pregnant, post-partum women

Smoking during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of poor pregnancy outcomes. Studies further indicate that in-utero smoke exposure contributes to respiratory and cardiac illnesses later in life.

6 Apr 2016

Opioids could be dangerous, deadly at high doses

Most people know that heroin is a dangerous drug, but its cousins, the legal, pharmaceutical opioids, such as codeine or hydrocodone, must be safe, right?Not so fast.Opioids—which include the illegal drug heroin as well as prescription medications, including hydrocodone (such as Vicodin), oxycodone (such as OxyContin and Percocet), morphine and codeine—can be dangerous, even deadly, at high doses.

31 Mar 2016

CU receives $10 million pledge to establish new mental and behavioral health center in Colorado

Colorado's newest center dedicated to improving mental and behavioral health has been established with a $10 million five-year commitment from The Anschutz Foundation, one of the largest program pledges in the history of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

26 Mar 2016

Immediate treatment can benefit cannabis users who experience withdrawal symptoms

Heavy users of cannabis who experience withdrawal symptoms such as nervousness and cravings when they quit are likely to use again sooner than their peers, a new study finds.

24 Mar 2016

Intervention programme significantly decreases preschool children's disruptive behaviour

Training parents online and over the telephone significantly decreased preschool children's disruptive behaviour, shows the new Strongest Families study from the Research Centre for Child Psychiatry at the University of Turku.

18 Mar 2016

Bullied young children not at higher risk of substance abuse later in life

Being bullied can hurt young children in many ways, but a new UT Dallas study found that it does not lead to later substance abuse.The research by three criminologists in UT Dallas' School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences discovered that students who were bullied in third grade did not have a greater risk of using drugs or alcohol by ninth grade.

10 Mar 2016

Walking on two legs can be a challenging task even for young, healthy adults

"The most commonly cited statistic is that one in three older adults falls each year due to age-related changes in balance, and in this four-month study, more than half of the college students fell during daily activities," said Shirley Rietdyk, a professor of health and kinesiology, who only looked at young adults in this study. "The fall rate may be lower for older adults because they are more cautious due to the higher risk of serious, even fatal, injuries from falls. These findings also highlight that walking on two legs is a challenging task that is mechanically unstable, even for young, healthy adults."

10 Mar 2016

Early childhood intervention guide can help prevent substance use disorders

An online guide about interventions in early childhood that can help prevent drug use and other unhealthy behaviors was launched today by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health.

10 Mar 2016

New recommendations call for creating novel approach to health care

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, along with experts from across the country, have developed a set of policy recommendations that would improve the quality of behavioral health care patients receive in clinical settings.

7 Mar 2016

Researchers describe three kinds of behavioural problems in children with FASD

Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are affected by a range of problems, including anxiety, depression, aggression, delinquency and diminished learning capacity a new review of evidence reveals.

24 Feb 2016

Study: 94% of older adults in the U.S. have at least one sensory deficit

The first study to measure the full spectrum of age-related damage to all five senses found that 94 percent of older adults in the United States have at least one sensory deficit, 38 percent have two, and 28 percent have three, four or five.

18 Feb 2016

Transgender people serving in US military report few mental, physical health problems

A new study shows that transgender active-duty U.S. military personnel report few lifetime mental and physical health problems.

17 Feb 2016

$UMD investigators assess potential health hazards associated with fracking in Maryland$

UMD investigators assess potential health hazards associated with fracking in Maryland

Following their release of a state-commissioned study on the potential public health impacts of fracking in Western Maryland, University of Maryland researchers are helping to inform the conversation about the potential risks associated with unconventional natural gas development and production.

15 Feb 2016

Marijuana use among U.S. adults not as high as predicted before

Marijuana use is on the rise, with an estimated 12.5 percent of adults living in the United States reportedly using the drug at least once in 2013, according to a new study that looked at drug usage over the span of a decade.

12 Feb 2016

Study: People with schizophrenia more likely to attempt suicide

A new study by the University of Toronto, released today, found that those with schizophrenia who'd been physically abused during childhood were five times more likely to have attempted suicide.

11 Feb 2016

Better quality of care may reduce mortality risk in patients treated with opioid therapy for pain

Better quality of care may reduce the risk of death for patients who are prescribed opioid painkillers for chronic pain, say Yale researchers. Their study, published Feb. 4 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, offers evidence that supports recommendations from clinical practice guidelines encouraging physicians to engage patients with mental health services and substance abuse treatment, as well as to avoid co-prescriptions for sedatives.

5 Feb 2016

Study shows gambling among young teens associated with risk-taking behavior

Gambling among young teens may be associated with increased use of alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana according to a study that surveyed sixth- to eighth-graders in Italian schools. The research is reported in the February issue of the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

5 Feb 2016

People injured by police officers more likely to have mental illness

People hospitalized due to an encounter with a law enforcement officer are more likely to have a mental illness, have longer hospitalizations, more injuries to the back and spine, and greater need for extended care than those hospitalized due to altercations with other civilians.

31 Jan 2016