Harvard Health Content API

Women in their 40s and 50s have a very low risk of stroke, but the risk doubles if they are depressed, a new study finds. The study included 10,547 women who had no history of stroke. Their ages ranged between 47 and 52 when the study began. Researchers had them fill out health surveys every 3 years for the next 12 years. In that time, 177 women had strokes. The stroke rate among women with depression was 2.4 times as high as for women without depression. Depressed women also were more likely to have other health factors, such as smoking, that increased their risk of stroke. After researchers accounted for those factors, depression alone almost doubled the women’s risk of stroke. Overall, about 1.5% of the women had strokes during the study. The journal Stroke published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it May 16.

Surgery to repair pelvic organ prolapse fails over time for many women, a new study concludes. Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when the tissues that support the uterus, bladder and cervix are damaged or relax over time. The organs may push down into the top of the vagina. This can cause pain, bleeding and urinary problems. The study included 215 women. All had an operation called sacrocolpopexy to support the organs with a synthetic material called surgical mesh. Half also had another procedure to stop problems with urine leakage. The rate of failure increased each year in both groups. For example, symptoms returned within 2 years for 14% of the women who had both procedures. The return of symptoms occurred in 21% after 4 years and 29% after 7 years. Treatment failures were slightly lower for those who had the single procedure.

An influential group of experts is recommending that primary care doctors screen all adults for alcohol problems. The advice comes from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. This independent group reviews medical evidence and offers advice to doctors on preventive care. The new report says there’s enough evidence to show that asking one question can help show which patients may have “risky” drinking patterns. The question is: “How many times in the past year have you had five or more drinks in a day (if you’re a man), or four or more drinks (if you’re a woman or older than 65)?” If the person says this has happened at least once, the doctor can ask more questions to assess the degree of risk. Risky drinking may be causing current problems or may just increase the risk of problems later. The journal Annals of Internal Medicine published the study.

The high sodium level of processed and restaurant foods is not getting much better, two new studies find. One study analyzed 685 meals from 19 sit-down, chain restaurants. The average meal had 2,269 milligrams (mg) of sodium. Most adults shouldn’t have any more than that in an entire day, U.S. government guidelines say. The guidelines recommend 2,300 mg a day or less for most people. Some groups are urged to stay under 1,500 mg a day. They include people over 50 and African Americans. People with high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease also are advised to stick to the lower level. The average American now consumes about 3,300 mg a day. Another new study found that recent efforts to reduce sodium in processed and restaurant foods have been “inconsistent and slow.” Researchers compared sodium levels in 402 processed foods from 2005 and 2011.