Research update: CrossCurrents Winter 2002/03
CrossCurrents
Good health of wine drinkers may be due to lifestyle
The good health of wine drinkers may be due not to wine consumption, but to contributing lifestyle factors, according to researchers
at Duke University Medical Center. Results of the study, which examined 4,400 middle-aged men and women, suggest that research
conducted in recent years linking alcohol and in particular wine consumption with better health may have failed to fully examine
the attendant health-conscious lifestyles of moderate wine drinkers. The researchers found that moderate wine drinkers reported
lower saturated fat and higher fibre intakes, including more servings of fruit and vegetables and fewer servings of red or
fried meats. They also exercised more and were less likely to smoke than individuals who preferred drinking beer or spirits
or who abstained from alcohol altogether. Thus, the researchers conclude that the apparent health benefits of wine may be
a result of dietary habits and other lifestyle factors.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, August 2002, v. 76 (2): 466-472. John C. Barefoot, et al, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University
Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
Poor prognosis for elderly people with depression
The natural history of late-life depression in the community appears to be poor, say researchers, with elderly individuals
representing the group with the worst prognosis. This is the conclusion reached by researchers at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam,
the Netherlands. The six-year study involved interviews with 277 elderly participants of the Longitudinal Aging Study who
had previously been diagnosed with mild-to-severe depression. Theirs is the first study of its kind to use repeated measurements
over an extended period within a rigorous design. Symptoms of depression were short-lived in only 14 per cent of participants;
there were remissions in 44 per cent and 32 per cent reported chronic depression. While participants with subthreshold depression
had the best outcome, compared with those with major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder and double depression, the prognosis
for these individuals was still unfavourable in most cases. These individuals were also at high risk of developing affective
disorders. The researchers indicate that previous community studies of the elderly seem to have underestimated the severity
of the prognosis for late-life depression. They state that designing and testing interventions should have a high priority,
especially in the area of non-major depression.
Archives of General Psychiatry, July 2002,v. 59 (7): 605-611. Aartjan T.F. Beehman et al, Department of Psychiatry and the Institute of Extramural Medicine,
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Smokers prone to panic attacks may share neurotic traits
There may be a link between cigarette smoking, panic attacks and neuroticism, according to research conducted at the New York
State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University. The study, conducted on 3,000 adults throughout the United States, measured
the level of neuroticism among participants through such factors as moodiness, worrying, nervousness and lack of calm. Of
the 146 participants who experienced panic attacks, 81 per cent said they were once regular smokers. In addition, participants
who were defined as being neurotic were more likely than others to report former or current smoking and a history of panic
attacks. Consistent with previous findings, the results suggest that panic attacks are associated with greater risk of smoking
but provide new evidence that neuroticism may play an essential role in this relationship. The researchers conclude that neuroticism
may reflect an underlying shared vulnerability to the co-occurrence of cigarette smoking and panic attacks; however, the mechanism
for the observed association is not yet known.
American Journal of Psychiatry, July 2002, v. 159 (7): 1208-1213. Renee Goodwin and Steven P. Hamilton, Department of Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric
Institute and Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Schizophrenia may be linked to two genes
Two separate studies, undertaken in Ireland and Iceland, have each pointed to a specific gene that may contribute to the onset
of schizophrenia. Since 1983, genetic data was gathered from 270 Irish families, each with several members with schizophrenia,
by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University. Data for Icelandic participants was collected by Decode Genetics, an Icelandic
company that researches disease-causing genes. Schizophrenia is a challenge to researchers, as many different mutated genes
contribute to it, and it is not inherited in a traceable pattern. Both the Irish and Icelandic teams analyzed small runs of
DNA known as markers along the genome, or total DNA, of participants. Analysis of various markers showed certain gene variations
are significantly more common in family members with schizophrenia than in unaffected relatives. In the Irish study, mutations
in the dysbindin gene (which is involved in the operation of synapses) were found to be more common in individuals with schizophrenia.
The Icelandic study found another common gene - neuregulin-1 - involved in synapse activity, whose mutation could result in
"miswiring" in the brain's neuronal circuitry. The researchers caution that further research is required to confirm and extend
the findings of an association between these two genes and schizophrenia.
American Journal of Human Genetics, July 2002, v. 71 (2): 337-348. Richard E. Straub, et al, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.
Centre for Addiction
