News Snippets

It's official- too much information can damage your health. Consumers are becoming so confused by constantly changing messages about diet and health, they are turning away from the advice and eating less healthily, a new study claims.

Researchers at the American Cancer Research Centre found that the more confused people felt about dietary recommendations, the more likely they were to eat a fatty diet with little or no fruit and vegetables.

More than 1,700 people took part in the cancer-risk behaviour study. Around 40% of respondents said they were tired of hearing about what foods they should and should not eat. While a quarter of those questioned stated that eating low-fat foods takes the pleasure out of eating.

The results of the study can be found in the 'Journal of the American Dietetic Association'.

Over 40% of women who have overcome breast cancer believe that stress was a key factor in them developing the illness, a new study suggests.

Almost 400 women who had been clear of breast cancer for an average of nine years were asked what they thought had caused the illness and what had prevented its recurrence. Over 40% believed that stress had been one of the key factors in them developing cancer, with genetics being the second most common factor at 27%.

Almost two-thirds said that a positive attitude had helped to keep the cancer from returning, while 50% felt diet had played an important role. A quarter of the participants felt that prayers had helped them.

Over 11% of the women felt complementary therapies had helped to prevent the cancer from returning.

Breast cancer is currently the most common cancer found in Irish women after skin cancer. Around 600 women die of the disease every year and the Irish mortality rate is higher than the European average.

The results of this study can be found in the medical journal 'Psycho-Oncology'.

New Haven, CT August 14, 2000 -- Acupuncture is an effective treatment for those addicted to cocaine, Yale researchers found.

A study published in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine reports that patients who received therapeutic acupuncture treatments, along with counseling, were more likely to have cocaine-negative tests than those who didn't.

``Our study shows that that alternative therapies can be combined with the arsenal of Western treatments for fighting addiction,'' said Yale Medical School researcher Arthur Margolin.

Of the patients studied, 53.8 percent of those receiving the acupuncture technique tested free of cocaine during the last week of the treatment, compared with 23.5 percent and 9.1 percent in the two control groups.

Those who completed the acupuncture treatment also had longer periods of sustained abstinence than participants in either control group.

The eight-week study involved 82 participants who were addicted to heroin and cocaine. They received methadone for their heroin addiction, but no medication for their cocaine addiction.

All participants received individual and group counseling. They were divided into three groups.

One group received auricular acupuncture, in which needles are inserted into specific places in the outer ear thought to be associated with addiction.

A second control group received acupuncture in other points along the outer ear believed to have no treatment effect.

The third group was shown videotapes depicting relaxing images, such as nature scenes.

While the scientific basis for acupuncture is unknown, the results are indisputable, said Daniel Iead, clinical coordinator for the Grant Street Partnership, a New Haven addiction services agency.

``We've been doing it here for years and it works,'' said Iead. ``The results are fantastic. Some of our most difficult cases have turned their lives around because of it.''

Margolin said the findings also were encouraging because acupuncture has fewer side effects and is relatively low-cost. He said the results suggest the need for increased study of acupuncture and other forms of alternative medicine.

``Controlled clinical research of acupuncture is in its infancy, and while our positive findings are gratifying, further research is needed to replicate the results and to better understand how to combine acupuncture with existing treatments for addiction,'' Margolin said.

Stress in the workplace is as harmful to health as smoking or lack of exercise, according to a new survey.

The report published by the British Medical Journal says people without control over their working conditions and those who have heavy demands put on them pay a heavy price with their health.

Researchers at the Harvard Centre for Society and Health studied 21,000 American nurses over four years.

They say solutions to the problem like relaxation therapy do not work because "they tend to deal with the symptoms rather than the causes".

Ichiro Kawachi, director of the centre said: "Healthier employees are more likely to remain working whereas those with health problems may shift to jobs with lower strain or quit work altogether."

The study follows findings by the UK's Health and Safety Executive which said nearly two-thirds of workers suffer occupational stress - accounting for more sick days than the common cold.

Sheelagh Brewer, of the Royal College of Nursing, said: "This confirms earlier research which suggests that high workload, stress, low influence and poor recognition all take their toll on nurses' health."

Hugh Robertson of public service union Unison said: "What this survey shows is that stress not only devastates lives, it kills.

"Stress is rapidly becoming an epidemic as serious as tobacco and alcohol which will have massive effects on the NHS and the wider economy."

The Government could improve the health and well-being of teachers if it provided them with face-to-face counselling, according to a new report.

Access to "employee assistance" where they could receive advice on work, personal, financial and health matters, would be a sound investment, according to Teacherline: First Report, produced by the Teachers' Benevolent Fund (TBF).

An estimated 200,000 teachers reported experiencing stress caused at school due to excessive workload in the last two years. And half of teachers say they are likely to leave the profession in the next five years.

Teachers are four times more likely to experience stress at work than people in other professions, according to evidence from comparable counselling services.

Most company executives suffer from stress-related problems such as excessive tiredness, loss of temper or lowered sex drive, according to a new report.

A poll of 800 managers found that three out of four believed stress affected their performance at work as well as their homelives.

But fewer than one in three said their employer took their health seriously, the Institute of Management/PPP Healthcare survey showed.

Fewer than one in 10 firms have carried out a stress audit of their staff in the past year, it found.

"Unhealthy people are unhealthy for business," said Christine Hayhurst, the institute's director of public affairs.

"Companies need to respond to employees' requests for help in dealing with stress."

City of London workers have been urged to take regular breaks from their desks and to relax more after a new survey showed two out of three were suffering from stress.

Most of those surveyed believed the City had become a more stressful place to work, usually because of increasing workloads.

They complained that stress damaged their health, often leaving them exhausted, depressed and reliant on alcohol.

City recruitment firm Jonathan Wren, which conducted the survey, said firms should be helping workers cope with stress.

Three out of four young people in the UK do not confide in their parents about the stress of waiting for exam results, a survey shows.

About half of those polled by internet website Pupiline.net say they try to ignore their anxieties, hoping they will go away.

But, with A-level results out this week and GCSEs the week after, 99% of those who responded say they feel stressed by the wait for results, while half say they are under a great deal of pressure.

Fear of failure concerns boys the most while girls are more worried about missing out on a place at their first choice university.

Pupiline.net features editor Chris Marrable said: "The pressure to get the right university place and the fear of failure are clearly the main fears but I think the most interesting finding in the survey is how youngsters simply to try to ignore their fears."

Pupiline.net was set up earlier this year by 16-year-old Colchester schoolboy Oliver Watts as a site for victims of bullying aged 11 to 18.

The youngster created it after he was forced out of a school in Suffolk by pupils who made his life a misery.

In April, Tony Blair wrote him a personal letter of congratulation and the site now has commercial backing including sponsorship from Burger King.

The survey, involving a sample of 250 responses, was carried out over the last two weeks.

A former bank worker in the UK has been awarded more than £100,000 in an out-of-court settlement after suffering 'intolerable' stress at work.

His solicitor has warned the banking industry to expect further claims for workplace stress following the pay-out.

Tony Hall, head of clinical negligence at Birmingham-based law firm Anthony Collins, says the case of Leslie North, 51, should act as a warning to banks to improve their management and training structures.

Mr North, a former financial adviser who has been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress, had claimed he was put under intolerable pressure by bosses at the then Lloyds Bank.

Mr Hall says the father-of-three, who worked at two branches in Warwickshire, suffered a nervous breakdown in the mid-1990s and had psychiatric treatment after being asked to meet sales targets as well as carry out day-to-day branch duties.

The solicitor added: "The changes that are going on in the banks generally, including the closure of small branches, could have quite an impact on those in the banking profession.

"This is the first post-traumatic stress syndrome case that I'm aware of involving the banking industry, but bearing in mind the rationalisations which have taken place in the last decade with the scaling down of manpower, there may be many other similar cases."

A spokeswoman for Lloyds TSB said: "With this settlement there is no admission of liability. This was obviously a very sad case and we were keen not to cause further distress to Mr North and his family.

"We take stress in the workplace very seriously and already have a programme of staff support in place to ensure staff welfare."

The settlement was agreed shortly before a hearing scheduled at Birmingham County Court.

Psychiatrists say they now know why exams make us forget all the facts we have just learned.

A new study has found that our minds go blank the moment we see a test paper because of a chemical released by the body during stress.

The hormone cortisol has been named as the culprit and is even responsible for jamming the memory in situations such as job interviews.

According to Nature Neuroscience Journal, researchers at Zurich University asked 36 volunteers to memorise 60 nouns and recall them a day later.

A separate group was asked to do the same thing but these were given high-cortisol cortisone tablets to find out what effect the chemical would have on their memories.

Although none of the second batch reported feeling any more stressed than the first, their results were as poor as if they had been suffering exam nerves.

Psychiatrists say the chemical will affect the way that we recall facts memorised in the 24 hours before cortisol enters the body.

Employers have been urged to adopt more family-friendly working conditions for fathers or face difficulties in recruiting men to high-powered jobs.

Fathers Direct says employers are missing out on greater productivity, increased staff loyalty and improved health for men by failing to introduce father-friendly conditions.

The group has launched a six-point "father-friendly charter" calling on employers to introduce more flexible conditions for dads, including encouraging working from home.

It wants firms to introduce paid parental leave, with men who use it highlighted in company newsletters.

Employers should also introduce a "dad's day" at work and develop a working fathers' forum to give support to men.

Jack O'Sullivan, a spokesman for Fathers Direct, said British employers are lagging behind Australia and the US in introducing flexible hours for men.

He said "daddy stress", as it is known in the US, is leading to men turning down high-powered jobs because they are inflexible and incompatible with family life.

"Men are finding it very difficult to ask for father-friendly work because they are afraid they will be treated as wimps.

"There are now more opportunities for women to change and improve their working conditions. There is not that culture yet for men."

Duncan Fisher, general manager of Fathers Direct, added: "Business is suffering, dads are losing out and, most important of all, children are missing vital parenting because employers in Britain have failed to modernise by offering father-friendly work.