Blame for Childhood Cancer
A team of researchers has thrown light on the community beliefs about what causes cancer in children, an area which remains understudied, finds a latest research. “Few childhood cancers are attributed to genetics or environmental factors, so when children are diagnosed with cancer, families often wonder ‘Why me/why us'?” said lead author Janine Vetsch, postdoctoral research candidate from UNSW Sydney in Australia. For the study, the team examined the beliefs of more than 600 participants about the causes of childhood cancer, and compared them with beliefs of 510 members of the general population. Findings, published in Acta Oncologica, revealed that more than seven out of 10 childhood cancer survivors and survivors' parents believed that chance or bad luck caused the cancer. This led to most parents and survivors seem to understand that there is nothing they could have done to prevent the cancer, according to Vetsch.
GP sessions and mental disorders
Patients with mental health conditions who missed general practitioner (GP) appointments repeatedly are at higher risk for mortality than those with physical disorders, finds a new study. One possible mechanism mediating the relationship involves conditions associated with cognitive impairment such as dementia or alcohol and drug use. The study found that the more long-term conditions (LTC) a person had, the more likely they were to miss appointments. LTC is a condition that cannot be cured at present but can be controlled by medication and other therapies. For the study, the researchers included 824,374 patients. Findings published showed that mental-health-based LTCs were associated with a higher risk of missing appointments than physical LTCs.
IBD ups risk of mental illness?
Women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at greater risk of developing mental illness after giving birth compared to the overall female population, a recent study suggests. As part of the study, researchers found that more than one-fifth of pregnant women with IBD had a new-onset mental health diagnosis. The research found that for every 43 pregnancies, there is one extra case of mental illness in a woman with IBD, compared to other women. Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, is a group of chronic gastrointestinal disorders in which people have ulceration, inflammation, and bleeding of their gastrointestinal tract, and are at risk for complications in other parts of the body. People with IBD have an elevated risk of mental illness, especially anxiety and depression, potentially related to the inflammation in the gut affecting their brain, the study suggested.
