Health Blog Yankiki

Kids of women who had a bout of depression or anxiety during her pregnancy has a higher risk of having asthma according to a new study.

The study had 279 Hispanic and black women as subjects and the findings further confirms an earlier study involving white families that concluded kids are susceptible to risks linked to asthma prenatally.

Around 70% of mothers reported that they had depression or anxiety during their pregnancy and their kids had some wheezing even before the age of 5. The lead expert from New York City emphasized the importance of the findings as maternal depression affects the respiratory health of the child, and so necessary interventions may be implemented or recommended.

The team pointed to common symptoms of asthma as coughing especially at night, wheezing while breathing, difficulty breathing, and chest colds. If kids experience these symptoms regularly, parents should bring them to an allergist to be evaluated and properly treated.

Symptoms of asthma in kids may range from simple coughing lasting for a few days or may even last for weeks then a sudden respiratory emergency. Doctors can give the right treatment for this so kids can sleep well at night and also not miss school.

A recent study reveals that moms who work are less likely to suffer from depression compared to stay-at-home mommies.

Moms who work but keep unrealistic expectations about family and work expectatcions and do not cut themselves some slack are more likely to have worse bouts of depression compared to their more relaxed counterparts.

The survey involved 1,600 women in the US who are married who had children and are enlisted on a survey called National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

The women were asked for their opinions when they were between 22 thru 30 years old about outdated statements about family and work and how women balance their responsibilities. The level of depression among these women were measured when they reached forty years old.

The study revealed that women who worked part time or full time had lower risks to suffer from depression compared to moms who are stay-at-home parents. Some symptoms of depression includes lack of concentration, being sad and restless, loneliness, problem sleeping, or having difficulties starting the day.

The study drives at the mismatch of the expectations of women on their abilities to balance work and family. It also points out that women who work still manage most of the household chores and take care of their kids.

The study also points out that women who have realistic work-family goals and expectations are most likely to end up with husbands who will help them with the family responsibilities. The realistic expectations also help these women to be less depressed.

Having the supermom complex will not help address the issues but delegation of work and letting your family help will help ease the depression.

People suffering from depression for quite some time may actually benefit from receiving talk therapy when treatment like antidepressants is not working.

In the United States alone, 15 million people suffer from some form of depression every year according to the National Institute for Mental Health. Most of this patients are treated with drugs rather than being guided through talk therapies. About 50% of this population does not improve even with regular intake of anti-depressants.

Instead of the usual approach of switching to other anti-depressants if the first attempt does not work, the proponents of the study evaluated the effects of talk therapy to these people suffering from major depression.

A randomized trial was done with subjects randomly chosen to receive only anti-depressants and another group taking medicine in combination with talk therapy. The results reveal that talk therapy patients improved significantly compared to those who were only taking medicines.

The study also pointed out that not all people can get access to talk therapy because  of the price. Taking prescribed anti-depressants is a lot cheaper compared to receiving talk therapy. Monthly averages for fluoxetine only cost $19, sertraline goes for $26, while citalopram costs $35. In the short term, talk therapy would cost more. Another issue will be the lack of insurance coverage that does not have a tight belt on receiving sufficient help for a better mental health.

In the long-term, talk therapy is really worth the dollars. Talk therapies may only last for several months while those who benefit from anti-depressant drugs may need to take them for a life time.

As what is reported at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting in Chicago, depression makes it twice as possible for persons to develop cardiovascular diseases, as a result or a long-term study on twins.

There are a lot of clinical evidences that points out that depression makes a person more susceptible to cardiovascular diseases. Although there are studies that arrived with some facts that genes play a major role in making a person at risk for developing heart diseases.

The twins study had covered an approximately, or more than 1,200 middle-aged men, makes out a little conclusion of how genetic make-up can bring cardiovascular diseases, and this study also arrived to the fact that depression takes a major part in the pathophysiology of the disease.

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