Hot MedFax

Two new depressing studies: racism may make you die sooner, and kids who move out of their poverty-stricken neighborhoods and upwards don't fare as well, healthwise, as kids who don't. Maybe the Jeffersons shouldn't have moved on up. latina.com reports that, " According to  Fusion , medical studies have shown that racial bias can lead to chronic stress problems for the victim, which can lead to a change in how our brains function and respond to germs."  In addition, reports have found that racism can also bring on anxiety, depression and cardiovascular health issues. It's long been known that Hispanics and blacks have more health complications, and shorter lives, than Caucasians.  Theories abound but again, it's most likely the chronic stress that many live under. On the same sad subject, Gregory E. Miller, Edith Chen and Gene H. Brody write that upward mobility may cause some to slide backwards.  In The New York Times, they say, " Those who...

Did you know where you live may predict how long you live? According to Jathan Sadowski at slate.com, referencing the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study, “Just a few metro stops can mean the difference between an extra five to ten years added to your lifespan.  “Where we live, learn, work and play can have a greater impact on our health than we realize.” We all know that the richer you are, the more likely it is you will live longer, and conversely, the poorer you are, sadly, also predicts longevity.  Sadowski gives as an example two parts of New Orleans, the French Quarter, where more poor people live, and the "much more gentrified Lower Garden District a few miles away." The average lifespan of someone who lives in the French Quarter?  You won't believe this.  It's 55 years. Our national average lifespan just rose to 78.2 years!  But if you live near highway 610, or the Fairgrounds, you'll live till your 80s. Even more shocking, the study shows...

It's been out there for some time but more and more studies are pointing to the decreasing life expectancy of women who are white and don't have much education. At first it was thought that cigarettes were the culprit, as many in this population smoke. But now a new study has found that joblessness also shortens lifespans for women. No one is quite sure why this should be, but as someone who has fought unemployment as a freelance writer for long stretches of my life (thank God, often followed by long stretches of work), I know how depressing and life-draining it can be. I get my identity from my work (when I first became a mother, I thought I had lost myself), and when I'm not working, or writing, I start to shrink.  I feel like everyone is looking at me and thinking I'm a failure (in reality, no one cares!), but the worst part is, I feel like a failure.  I don't know where this comes from as I grew up in a traditional Italian family, where my bigger failu...

Saddest city in the U.S.?  A Gallup poll just named Michigan, mostly because of all the troubles plaguing Detroit.  Violent crime spreading virally, home prices at the bottom of the bucket, decreasing by 35%, according to a story at forbes.com.  And people just plain sick and tired of being poor, cold, and without hope for the future. On Tuesday, Kurt Badenhausen writes, the city was in danger of being taken over by the state. The happiest city?  You probably guessed it.  Hawaii.  Who couldn't beat depression with warm breezes, surf and sun?  (Although when I went there years ago on a vacation, I had five days out of seven of rain. Still, I managed to get sun poisoning on the one day I could go to the beach!  And on top of it all, I'd reluctantly agreed to see a former boyfriend, who was stationed there. Not my favorite vacation.) http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2013/02/21/detroit-tops-2013-list-of-americas-m...