Harvard Health Content API

Low-risk prostate cancer may need a new name to encourage more men to avoid treatment they may not need, an expert panel says. More research also is needed on the best way to monitor these men, the panel says. The U.S. National Institutes of Health appointed the panel of experts. The panel released its report December 7. It found that more than half of the prostate cancers diagnosed today fall into the low-risk category. Long-term follow-ups show that only about 5% of men with low-risk prostate cancer die from it. Treatments for prostate cancer can lead to problems with urine control and sexual function. But more than 90% of men with low-risk prostate cancer decide to get treated right away. Many of these men might be better off with “active surveillance,” the panel said. This means having regular prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests and perhaps prostate biopsies as well.

Newer drugs used to treat depression work about equally well, says a study that analyzed previous research. But side effects can differ, the study noted. Researchers looked at 234 studies. Each included more than 1,000 people. They focused on “second-generation” drugs for depression. They include fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft) and several others. No drug worked better than any other. But some, such as Remeron (mirtazapine), started working faster. Bupropion (Wellbutrin and other brands) was less likely to cause sexual side effects. Some were more likely to cause insomnia, and others weight gain. Some had lower costs or needed to be taken less often. These factors can help doctors decide which drug to try first for each patient. The journal Annals of Internal Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it December 5.

Maintaining or improving fitness can help you live longer, whether you lose weight or not, a new study concludes. The research included more than 14,000 middle-aged men. They were given treadmill tests to measure fitness at the start of the study and about 6 years later. Fitness was measured in metabolic equivalents (METs). In all, researchers kept track of the men for 11 years. In that time, men who became more fit had a 40% lower death rate from heart disease and from all causes than those who became less fit. Just staying at the same fitness level reduced death rates by 30%. Every 1-MET increase in fitness was linked to a 19% decrease in death rates from heart disease and stroke. The risk of death from any cause was 15% lower for each increase in METs. But a reduction in body mass index, a measurement of weight linked to height, did not change death rates.

Mothers multitask more than fathers, and they feel more stressed out about it. So says a new study in the American Sociological Review. Researchers used data from a 12-year-old study of mostly college-educated parents. Most of them were professionals who worked longer than average hours. The 368 mothers and 241 fathers in the study wore special wristwatches that beeped several times during the day. They were supposed to write down whatever they were doing at that moment. They also wrote down what they were thinking and feeling. Mothers spent 48 hours of their week multitasking. Fathers spent 39 hours. For mothers, 53% of the multitasking involved household chores, compared with 42% for fathers. Mothers spent 36% of their multitasking time on child care. Fathers spent 28%. Men’s multitasking was more likely to include tasks for work or self-care.