Health News Update

Drinking and Depression Connection

A recent study published has found a connection between drinking and depression in women. This health news update comes from the Globe and Mail site. However, this no doubt applies to both men and women. Alcohol is actually a depressant rather than a stimulant and doctors, when inquiring about a person’s feelings of depression, should also ask about their drinking habits. Although there is a definite link between the two for women especially.

“If you’re treating a person for depression, especially if it’s a woman who’s suffering from major depression, it would be a good idea to look at their drinking pattern — and especially looking at how much they drink per occasion,” said lead author Kathryn Graham, a senior scientist for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health .
Dr. Graham, an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Western Ontario, said the 14-month study found that a pattern of frequent but low-quantity drinking was not associated with depression. “In fact, those who usually drink less than two drinks per occasion and never drink as much as five drinks are less depressed … than former drinkers.”

The study, published in the January issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, involved lengthy telephone surveys of more than 6,000 men and 8,000 women aged 18 to 76, randomly chosen from across Canada between January, 2004, and March, 2005.

Participants were asked about their behaviour in the previous year and in the week before the study: how often they drank alcohol; how much they drank per occasion; how often they downed five drinks or more; and what their maximum number of drinks was at any one time.

The researchers also asked respondents about episodes of depression during the previous year and in the week prior to the survey: whether they had experienced recent periods of “the blues” or suffered serious bouts that lasted a minimum of two weeks. Professor Sharon Wilsnack of the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences called the research “an important study” because it looks at the link between depression and alcohol use separately for women and men.

“It is clear from the study’s results that it is a mistake to analyze relationships between depression and alcohol consumption without specifying which manifestations of depression are linked to which drinking patterns,” Dr. Wilsnack said in a statement.

“This pattern of associations is more consistent with women and depression using alcohol to counteract depression — by high-quantity drinking and intoxication — than with chronic alcohol consumption tending to make women depressed,” Dr. Wilsnack said. “However, a vicious circle could possibly begin with drinking in response to depression.”

Still, some link does seem to exist: It’s known that among people treated for alcohol problems, the rate of depression goes down when they abstain from drinking and, conversely, feelings of depression can occur when someone has a hangover, she said.

“For sure, drinking four or five drinks or more on an occasion is not going to help depression and it may actually be contributing to depression,” particularly in women, Dr. Graham speculated. “That would be a drinking pattern that should be avoided.”

Menopause and Mood

Menopause affects mood and this tragic health news update underlines the effect of the loss of hormones, especially in women.  Menopause can cause irritability, depression and mood.  It is now known that hormones must be replaced and it is much preferable that hormones be replaced with a bioidentical hormone replacement therapy because they are safer than synthetic hormones.  Bioidentical hormones will remove the worst symptoms of menopause including hot flashes, sleep problems and mood issues.  Bioidentical hormones can be prescribed by doctors who have special training in monitoring hormone levels at menopause.

This story comes from the BBC health news site.

Woman’s death blamed on menopause

A woman who refused to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) died while suffering from a menopausal episode, an inquest has heard.

Margaret Drew from Hayle in Cornwall was killed when she walked out of her family home on to nearby railway line and was hit by a train.

The Truro inquest was told the 55-year-old had no history of depression or suicidal behaviour.
Cornwall Coroner Dr Emma Carlyon recorded an open verdict.  The former secretary’s husband, Clifford Drew, said his wife had suffered from menopausal problems, including hot flushes and mood swings, for about five years.

Mr Drew said 99% of the time she was an “absolutely delightful, lovely and friendly lady”, but she would become depressed and angry during the mood swings, sometimes for a few days.
“When my wife was in one of those bad moods she was totally irrational and the only way to get over it was to give each other space,” he said.

He suggested his wife try HRT or homeopathic remedies, but she refused to have any treatment.
Mr Drew told the inquest when he returned from shopping on Friday 3 July, his wife was “clearly angry about something”.
He went into another room and, unknown to him, his wife left their home and wandered on to the railway tracks opposite Chapel Lane.
Train driver Stuart Bilby told the inquest Mrs Drew she was about 50ft in front of him when he saw her on the tracks.
She was looking down and walking along the sleepers, he said.
‘Nature’s way’
Mr Bilby said when he sounded the horn and applied the engine brake, Mrs Drew appeared “startled” and seemed to step out of the way. “I then heard a heavy, dull thud and I knew I had hit her,” he said.

The court heard Mrs Drew’s GP was unable to shed any light on her death as she had never attended surgery.
Mr Drew, a retired railway station manager, said he and his wife had discussed suicides on several occasions, because he had come across many instances in his long career.
“She always expressed the view that it was a selfish thing to do,” he said.

Recording an open verdict, Dr Carlyon said: “There’s often no reason for the menopause, it’s just the way nature doles it out really.”

The coroner said although it was “strange” Mrs Drew was on the railway line, the facts did not point to anything in particular.
“There is no trigger to this at all, except the hormones making her do things that she normally wouldn’t do,” Dr Carlyon concluded.

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