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Six questionnaires answered by over 1,200 people

Newswise — The researchers headed by Dr. Phillip Ozimek from the Faculty of Psychology at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, recruited 1,230 people for their online survey. In order to participate, respondents had to use at least one social media channel at least once a week. On average, the participants stated that they spent just over two hours a day on social media.

The research team used six different questionnaires to determine the extent to which the participants had a materialistic attitude and tended to compare themselves with others, whether they used social media more actively or passively, whether they were addicted to social media, how stressed and how satisfied they were with their lives. 

Downward spiral set in motion

“The data showed that a stronger materialistic approach goes hand in hand with a tendency to compare oneself with others,” points out Phillip Ozimek. This comparison is very easy to make on social media, primarily through passive use, i.e. by looking at the content posted by other users. Materialism and passive use were also linked to addictive use of social media. “By this we mean, for example, that users are constantly thinking about the respective channels and fear that they are missing out on something if they are not online,” explains Phillip Ozimek. This in turn leads to symptoms of poorer mental health, i.e. stress. The final link in the chain is reduced life satisfaction. “Social media is one of six stepping stones to unhappiness,” concludes Phillip Ozimek.

Social media attracts and breeds materialists

“Overall, the study provides further evidence that the use of social media is associated with risks, especially for people with a highly materialistic mindset,” says the psychologist. This is particularly worrying, because social media can trigger and increase materialistic values, for example through (influencer) marketing. At the same time, the platforms attract materialists anyway, as they are a perfect way to satisfy many materialistic needs.

“It’s definitely a good idea to be aware of the amount of time you spend on social media and to reduce it,” recommends Phillip Ozimek. He advises against giving up Social Media completely. “If you did, you’re likely to overcompensate.” The research team also suggests recording materialism and social media use in patients undergoing treatment for mental health disorders. “While these factors are often irrelevant, they can be a starting point for additional interventions that patients can try out at home.”

Tianeptine – a new, unregulated “dietary supplement” often found at convenience stores marketed as energy shots – is concerning health officials as the substance can mimic an opioid, is potentially addictive and can be fatal in rare instances. Daniel Lasoff, MD, emergency medicine physician with UC San Diego Health is available to discuss tianeptine and what consumers should know before purchasing it.

Biography :

Daniel Lasoff, MD, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician who treats patients of all ages, including those with life-threatening or critical conditions, at UC San Diego Health Emergency Departments in Hillcrest and La Jolla.

As an assistant professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine, Lasoff trains medical students, residents and fellows in the Department of Emergency Medicine, where he serves as medical director of the medical toxicology fellowship program. His research interests include drugs of abuse and resuscitation.

Newswise — A University of Granada (UGR) research team has shown for the first time that we are not “addicted” to mobile phones, but to the social interaction that these electronic devices provide. The study, published in the scientific journal Psicothema, is the first experimental scientific evidence of this theory, which was developed in 2018 by Professor Samuel P.L. Veissière, a researcher at McGill University in Montreal (Canada).

To conduct the experiment, the UGR scientists worked with a sample of 86 subjects who were divided into two groups. “In one of the groups (the social expectation group), we instructed each participant to send a message via WhatsApp to their most active contacts explaining that they were going to participate in an exciting task in a virtual reality universe (the same message in all cases),” explains Jorge López Puga, a researcher at the UGR’s Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment and lead author of the study.

The other group (control group) was not asked to send this “exciting” message to their contacts. “Next, we asked both groups of people to switch off their notifications and leave their mobile phones face down on the table while they engaged in an unusual activity immersed in a virtual reality environment. When the interaction with the virtual reality task was over, we left the participants idle and unable to use their phones. After this period of doing nothing, we allowed all participants to return to using WhatsApp,” the researcher notes.

Electrodermal activity

Throughout the process, the UGR scientists measured the electrodermal activity of the skin, a parameter taken as an indicator of the activity of our autonomic nervous system, i.e. a kind of physiological measure of anxiety.

“We observed that the social expectation group was more tense throughout the experiment. We also found that this group became more anxious when they were asked to stop using their mobile phones. Moreover, when they were allowed to use their phones again, this group experienced a much higher level of emotional arousal,” says López Puga.

The results show that mobile phones are not the cause of psychological problems, but rather that how and why the devices are used can better explain certain psychological problems.

Environmental epidemiologists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of researchers at Oregon State University, Pacific Northwest National Labs, and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, report on the findings of a new study of air pollution exposures collected using personal wristband monitors worn by pregnant individuals in New York City matched with data from a questionnaire. Factors predictive of exposures to air pollution include income, time spent outdoors, maternal age, country of birth, transportation type, and season.

The researchers examined an unprecedented number of 61 air pollution compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and compared them to 75 questionnaire variables, making the study the most comprehensive analysis of its kind. PAHs are created by combustion and can be found in sources like automotive exhaust and tobacco smoke; exposure to these compounds has been linked to various adverse health effects, including those related to fetal growth and neurodevelopment. The study’s findings appear online in the Journal of Exposure Science And Environmental Epidemiology(link is external and opens in a new window).

Participants, 177 of whom were included in the final analysis, wore silicone wristbands for 48 hours during the third trimester of pregnancy to measure exposure to PAHs. They completed a questionnaire during the third trimester of their pregnancy, answering questions related to demographic and employment information, as well as their potential exposure sources, such as cooking, smoking, and transportation.

Julie Herbstman, PhD, director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health and senior author of the study, commented, “This study represents a significant advancement in our understanding of personal PAH exposure. By uncovering the variables that play a crucial role in exposure levels, we are better equipped to develop interventions aimed at reducing health risks.”

Previous studies have been restricted to a limited number of compounds or specific exposure scenarios (e.g. toll station workers or cooks). Compared to these studies, the new study demonstrated substantially improved predictability due to the use of a larger dataset, as well as the use of a regression tree analysis, which accounted for each PAH compound as well as combined exposure to all PAHs. This approach helps researchers to identify those variables that are most important and/or predictive of exposure to a compound in the context of all other variables.

Sarah McLarnan, MPH, a PhD candidate at Columbia Mailman and the study’s first author, adds, “This study underscored the utility of silicone wristbands in evaluating PAH exposures and associated health outcomes. By combining questionnaire data with a 48-hour wristband deployment, we were able to refine measurements of exposure sources in terms of time and space, enabling more accurate source characterization.”

The study uncovered complex interactions between demographics and behaviors that shape exposure to individual compounds in different ways. Insights it gleaned require further study to understand the pathways by which various factors are linked to PAH exposures. As one example, the researchers are interested to know how maternal age and income are associated with behaviors or residential characteristics that are protective from some exposure sources but were shown to have opposite effect for some of the individual compounds.

The authors note that the wristbands are unable to detect all exposures to PAHs, particularly exposures via food. And because the wristbands were worn only for 48 hours, the exposures might not fully reflect an individual’s average exposure over the course of pregnancy.

We all can reduce our exposure to PAHs by avoiding tobacco smoke and ensuring we have good indoor ventilation, especially when cooking; reduce our intake of smoked, grilled, and charbroiled foods; limit exposure to diesel fumes and wood smoke; use cedar shavings or blocks in place of mothballs for pest control; and wear gloves to avoid skin contact with soot or creosote-treated lumber, and wear a mask if cutting treated lumber.

Previous research by the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health has linked prenatal exposure to PAHs with numerous adverse outcomes in the child, including asthma, obesity, and developmental delays.

Additional co-authors include Lehyla Calero, Darrell Holmes, Elizabeth A. Gibson, and Haleigh M. Cavalier from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; Lisa M. Bramer and Katrina M. Waters from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Holly M. Dixon and Kim A. Anderson from Oregon State University; Diana Rohlman and Laurel Kincl from Oregon State University; and Rachel L. Miller from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

This research was supported by National Institute of Health grants UH3OD023290, 1R21ES024718, 4R33ES024718, P30ES030287, P42ES016465, T32 ES007322; TRANSFORM TL-1 Fellowship 5TL1TR001875-07. Anderson and Rohlman disclose a financial interest in MyExposome, Inc., which is marketing products related to the research being reported. The authors have no other relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Newswise — Hepatitis linked to alcohol, the most severe form of alcohol-associated liver disease, is increasingly prevalent, severe, and likely to involve emergency departments, according to a new analysis. The findings reflect increased drinking and alcohol-linked liver disease in the general population. Rising rates of alcohol-associated hepatitis, including among adults aged 25–44 years, are known to be causing greater disability, mortality, and health care and economic costs. The growing use of emergency departments for alcohol complications, rather than more cost-effective primary care services, further amplifies that burden. A better understanding of how patients with alcohol-associated conditions use emergency departments can potentially inform interventions. Although most hospitalized patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis are admitted from the emergency department, little is known about emergency department use by people seeking help with this condition. For the study in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research, investigators at the Cleveland Clinic aimed to evaluate the rate of emergency department visits for alcohol-associated hepatitis in addition to disease severity and its complications.

Investigators drew from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample dataset for 2016–2019; this included visits that did and did not lead to hospital admission across 1,000 emergency departments in 40 US states and DC. They analyzed the visits of patients aged 18 years and older who were recorded as having primary alcohol-associated hepatitis (the principal diagnosis) or secondary alcohol-associated hepatitis (if the visit was likely linked to that condition); this terminology did not necessarily reflect disease severity. They used statistical analysis to explore trends in emergency department use by these patients.

Over the three-year study period, emergency department visits remained steady. Overall, alcohol-associated hepatitis accounted for one-tenth of 1 percent of visits; 85% of those patients required hospitalization. However, the number of visits attributed to this disease increased from 99,000 in 2016 to 125,000 in 2019. These patients had an average age of 47 years. Those aged 45–64 years had the highest rate of emergency department visits; this decreased during the study period. Meanwhile, the rate increased among those aged 25­–44 years. Two out of three presenting patients were male—even though women are more susceptible to liver disease linked to alcohol—perhaps in part because of greater high-risk binge drinking in men. Most patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis had underlying cirrhosis. The other most frequent liver complications were ascites, acute kidney injury, and pancreatitis. The rate of secondary hepatitis (more common in older patients) increased more than the rate of primary hepatitis (more common among younger patients). Patients with secondary alcohol-associated hepatitis had increased rates of complications involving co-occurring liver conditions, higher emergency department use, and a higher death rate during their visit or hospital admission compared to those with primary hepatitis. Medicaid and private insurance were the most common payors.

The findings point to more patients presenting at emergency departments with advanced disease and related severe complications. The increasing emergency department use for alcohol-associated hepatitis, more patients requiring hospitalization, and more younger patients presenting with this condition may reflect rising binge drinking, targeted alcohol marketing, and increased rates of certain co-occurring conditions. Notably, the rise in emergency department visits for alcohol-associated hepatitis occurred before the COVID-19 pandemic, which further drove up the prevalence of this disease.

Emergency services utilization by patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis: an analysis of national trends. S. Sengupta, A. Anand, R. Lopez, J. Weleff, P. Wang, A. Bellar, A. Attaway, N. Welch, S. Dasarathy. (pp xx)

ACER-23-5768.R1

Newswise — College students with social anxiety may be driven by social motives to ‘pre-game,’ meaning drink prior to a party or event. Simultaneously, students with co-occurring social anxiety and depression also experience more negative consequences, like blackouts, from their alcohol use, according to a study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. The study authors recommend efforts to help students address mental health issues and their motivations for drinking before social events to prevent the harms associated with pregaming.

Pregaming, sometimes called frontloading or pre-partying, is common among college students and involves drinking prior to a social event, typically where more drinking will take place. It often leads to heavier drinking on days when students pre-game and puts students at a higher risk of academic and interpersonal problems, injury, sexual or physical assault, driving while intoxicated, and blacking out. 

For this study, researchers examined how college students’ mental health and motivations for pre-gaming were associated with pre-gaming drinking behaviors and related negative consequences, including blackouts. Five hundred college students completed self-assessments of social anxiety, depression, and motivations for pre-gaming, which included to meet new friends, “hook up,” control the kind of alcohol they drink, and because they may not be able to drink at the subsequent event. Based on their responses, they were grouped into one of four profiles. Fifty-nine percent of participants were categorized as having mild to moderate social anxiety and depression symptoms and moderately motivated to pregame, 13 percent were categorized as having minimal social anxiety and depression symptoms and low pregaming motivations, 16 percent had subclinical/elevated social anxiety and depression symptoms and high pregaming motives, and 12 percent had clinically-elevated social anxiety and depression symptoms with moderate motives.

The subclinical/elevated social anxiety and depression symptoms profile reported the highest frequency of pregaming and the highest number of past-month drinking-related consequences. They reported an average of three and a half alcohol-induced blackouts in the prior 30 days, significantly more than any other group. This group also reported more motivations for pregaming than any group, particularly for social motivations. The group assessed to have minimal social anxiety and depression symptoms had significantly lower calculated blood alcohol levels and reported the fewest alcohol-related consequences of all the groups. This profile still attained risky blood alcohol levels and reported five drinking-related consequences in the past month. The group with clinically elevated social anxiety and depression symptoms reported the second fewest consequences of the four groups.

Participants in the mobile phone-based study were full-time undergraduate students at a single, large, private U.S. university who had reported pre-gaming at least once a week for the prior month. The sample was predominantly white, cisgender, and female. Participants reported high levels of alcohol use, were primarily a socially motivated sample, and thus were likely not fully representative of students with clinically high levels of social anxiety and depression.

The researchers suggest that social anxiety and social motivation put students at greater risk from pregaming and recommend the exploration of mental health and drinking motivations as targets for intervention in heavy drinking populations.

A latent profile analysis of social anxiety, depression, and pregaming motives among heavy-drinking college students. R. Fitzke, T. Atieh, J. Davis, L. Canning, Liv; D. Tran, K. Buch, J. Hummer, E. Pedersen

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mount Sinai Study Shows That Human Beliefs About Drugs Could Have Dose-Dependent Effects on the Brain

Newswise — New York, NY (January 3, 2024) – Mount Sinai researchers have shown for the first time that a person’s beliefs related to drugs can influence their own brain activity and behavioral responses in a way comparable to the dose-dependent effects of pharmacology.

The implications of the study, which directly focused on beliefs about nicotine, are profound. They range from elucidating how the neural mechanisms underlying beliefs may play a key role in addiction, to optimizing pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments by leveraging the power of human beliefs. The study was published in the journal Nature Mental Health.

“Beliefs can have a powerful influence on our behavior, yet their effects are considered imprecise and rarely examined by quantitative neuroscience methods,” says Xiaosi Gu, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, and Neuroscience, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and senior author of the study. “We set out to investigate if human beliefs can modulate brain activities in a dose-dependent manner similar to what drugs do, and found a high level of precision in how beliefs can influence the human brain. This finding could be crucial for advancing our knowledge about the role of beliefs in addiction as well as a broad range of disorders and their treatments.”

To explore this dynamic, the Mount Sinai team, led by Ofer Perl, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Gu’s lab when the study was conducted, instructed nicotine-dependent study participants to believe that an electronic cigarette they were about to vape contained either low, medium, or high strengths of nicotine, when in fact the level remained constant. Participants then underwent functional neuroimaging (fMRI) while performing a decision-making task known to engage neural circuits activated by nicotine.

The scientists found that the thalamus, an important binding site for nicotine in the brain, showed a dose-dependent response to the subject’s beliefs about nicotine strength, providing compelling evidence to support the relationship between subjective beliefs and biological substrates in the human brain. This effect was previously thought to apply only to pharmacologic agents. A similar dose-dependent effect of beliefs was also found in the functional connectivity between the thalamus and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a brain region that is considered important for decision-making and belief states.

“Our findings provide a mechanistic explanation for the well-known variations in individual responses to drugs,” notes Dr. Gu, “and suggest that subjective beliefs could be a direct target for the treatment of substance use disorders. They could also advance our understanding of how cognitive interventions, such as psychotherapy, work at the neurobiological level in general for a wide range of psychiatric conditions beyond addiction.”

Dr. Gu, who is one of the world’s foremost researchers in the emerging field of computational psychiatry, cites another way in which her team’s research could inform clinical care. “The finding that human beliefs about drugs play such a pivotal role suggests that we could potentially enhance patients’ responses to pharmacological treatments by leveraging these beliefs,” she explains.  

Significantly, the work of the Mount Sinai team can also be viewed in a much broader context:  harnessing beliefs in a systematic manner to better serve mental health treatment and research in general.

“We’re interested in testing the effects of beliefs on drugs beyond nicotine to include addictive substances like cannabis and alcohol, and therapeutic agents like antidepressants and psychedelics,” says Dr. Gu. “It would be fascinating to examine, for example, how the potency of a drug might impact the effect of drug-related beliefs on the brain and behavior, and how long-lasting the impact of those beliefs might be. Our findings could potentially revolutionize how we view drugs and therapy in a much broader context of health.”

About the Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it. Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 7,400 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report‘s® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2023-2024. 

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