UF Health Podcasts

Those concerned about the effects of popular drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy on their mental health may soon find peace of mind.

A new study suggests GLP-1RA drugs, a class of glucose-lowering drugs that are used to treat Type 2 diabetes and obesity, may not cause increased suicidal thoughts and behaviors in older adults.

Researchers from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy wanted to study the potential association between these drugs and increased suicidal thoughts and self-harm. This came after the European Medicines Agency made a statement about its review of the glucose-lowering drugs following anecdotal evidence of negative mental health impacts.

The Florida researchers studied Medicare data from over 21,000 adults ages 66 and older with Type 2 diabetes, no history of suicidal thoughts, and a treatment plan consisting of either the popular glucose-lowering drugs or less-popular versions.

They then used data from Medicare claims to compare the occurrence of suicidal behaviors among patients taking the popular GLP-1RA medications with similar patients with a prescription for other glucose-lowering drugs.

The researchers found that the use of GLP-1RA drugs did not cause an increase in suicidal thoughts or behaviors.  Researchers found no difference in the risk of suicidal thoughts between those taking the popular glucose-lowering drugs and those taking less popular versions.

More research is needed to ensure the findings hold for younger populations, of course. But for now, it seems the popular weight-loss drugs aren’t the threat to mental health some believed them to be.

Want to add years to your life? Start by touching your toes — or at least give it a go.

New research suggests that increased flexibility might lower the risk of premature death among middle-aged adults.

Danish researchers studied over 3,000 adults between the ages of 46 and 65 who were part of an exercise study in Brazil. Researchers followed the participants for an average of 13 years and tracked their health and survival rates.

Participants were assigned a “Flexindex” [flex index] score based on their range of motion in 20 joint movements.

The researchers found that better flexibility had a significant positive impact on survival. Participants with higher Flexindex scores were less likely to die during the follow-up period compared with those who had lower scores, even after accounting for other factors, like age and body mass index.

The least flexible men in the study had a 21.2% chance of dying during the follow-up period, while that was true of just under 8% of the flexible men.

Women are more flexible, in general, the researchers noted. Those with lower flexibility scores had a 15.4% risk of dying during the study’s follow-up years, while that was true for just 2% of the most flexible women.

The researchers acknowledged their study doesn’t prove flexibility has a direct tie to longevity since poor flexibility could be linked to other health conditions.

Still, flexibility might be a helpful indicator, suggesting that flexibility training might be an important part of an exercise plan. So, the next time you hit the gym for some cardio or strength training, build in time for a good stretch after.

Grief after losing a loved one may have a significant impact on your body, not just your brain. Or your aching heart.

A new study from Columbia University suggests that loss accelerates biological aging, even starting as early as your 30s.

Put simply, biological age refers to the age of your cells and functionality of your organs. It can be used to estimate how many chronological years you have left to live and how likely you are to develop a terminal illness.

In their study, researchers analyzed data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to see what impact loss has on biological age. Nearly 4,000 participants were followed for 24 years from the time they were enrolled in 1994. Researchers studied reports of loss collected periodically from participant cohorts.

In the last phase of the study, participants’ blood samples were collected. Researchers assessed their biological age from blood DNA methylation levels using a variety of epigenetic clocks.

DNA methylation is a test used to detect chemical tags called methyl groups that attach to your DNA as you get older. Epigenetic clocks are tests that use methylation levels to measure biological age.

Results showed that 40% of the participants had experienced at least one loss of a close relative in adulthood. And those who experienced more losses consistently had a significantly higher biological age than those who did not.

Researchers said their findings highlight the need to ensure that vulnerable young people who experience great loss don’t suffer disproportionately.

In a nutshell: They want to separate a broken heart from a prematurely aging one.

Who knew a bunch of fat cats could teach us so much?

These chunky cats, however, might just help us shed the pounds.

Got an obese cat? You aren’t alone in overindulging your pet. Six out of 10 cats in the U.S. are overweight. Cats don’t know better. Their humans feed them, after all, and have their own problems walking by the food bowl without stopping.

Researchers at The Ohio State University recently found that dieting cats undergo a significant change in the populations of bacteria in their gut. In fact, it’s thought to be like what happens in their people.

Now, it’s important to understand that a cat just doesn’t step on a scale or look in the mirror and decide they need to trim down to fit into that old collar they wore during their lean, stray years.

No, researchers put a group of the overweight, wannabe tigers on a calorie-restriction diet.

The cats dieted in phases for 12 weeks. Investigators tested the kitty litter poop to find out what bacteria live in their gut.

They found increased levels of a short-chain fatty acid that, in other mammals, is known to regulate appetite and reduce fat. It also offers protection against diabetes and obesity. As levels of the fatty acid rose, so too did levels of a certain bacteria linked to weight loss.

This work suggests the human gut might also be altered with therapeutics in overweight individuals. One idea is that probiotics might be found to help. Scientists are studying the question.

Now, don’t be fooled. If your cat insists on extra treats in the name of science — she’s probably just pulling your paw.

Your body composition might predict your likelihood of experiencing cognitive decline later in life.

A new study suggests that fat and muscle distribution could be used to assess the risk of developing neurogenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The two neurodegenerative disease affect more than 60 million people.

Chinese researchers used data from the UK Biobank, one of the world’s largest health data sets, to study a range of body compositions and associated disease risk.

They followed more than 400,000 participants with no neurogenerative diseases for several years after they were recruited for the study.

After an average follow-up of nine years, more than 8,000 new cases of neurogenerative diseases were identified. Researchers said those with excess fat around the abdomen were at a greater risk for neurogenerative diseases.

Those with higher levels of belly fat were 13% more likely to develop conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s than those with lower levels. And higher arm fat made the risk 18% higher.

Body compositions with more muscle strength showed opposite results. Participants with greater muscle strength were 26% less likely to develop neurogenerative diseases than others.

Even after adjustments for other disease factors like diabetes and high blood pressure were made, the results held.

Perhaps it’s time to renew that gym membership, since the findings suggest improved body composition might be key to reducing neurogenerative disease risk. Stay fit to maintain your balance and preserve your memory?

Pardon the pun, but that seems like a no-brainer.

Public dog parks aren’t the best places for every dog — like pooches who react fearfully or aggressively toward others. Now there may be other options for dogs to feel their oats while still feeling safe.

Doctors can rest easy, with the knowledge that artificial intelligence hasn’t replaced them yet.

A new study suggests that humans prefer medical advice from real people over AI, even if the advice is exactly the same.

German researchers conducted two studies to determine if feelings about digital medical advice changed, depending on its perceived source.

Both studies presented over 1,000 participants with case reports that addressed four medical topics: smoking cessation, colonoscopy, agoraphobia, and reflux disease.

Each report included a question with an appropriate response, simulating a scenario that might play out in a chat interface online. Responses were generated using ChatGPT and evaluated for accuracy by a certified physician, and included supplemental information.

Some participants were told the responses came from a human doctor. Some were told they were generated by AI. Others were told the responses were generated by AI but reviewed by a human doctor. The responses were identical across all groups.

Still, participants found the content they believed to be human-generated more reliable and more empathetic compared with the responses labeled as AI-generated, or AI-generated and human-approved.

Participants were also less likely to follow digital medical advice when they believed AI was involved in its creation.

The results show that while health care systems look for ways to care for more patients amid resource shortages, a level of distrust remains.

For now, it looks like while AI might be taking the world by storm, many people aren’t yet ready to trust it with their health.

The face is the touchstone of our emotional world. A person’s collection of facial features helps define their identity and make a first impression.

In the future, it also might define health status.

Our mugs are not a uniform temperature where a nose or a cheek and jowl or lower lip are all similarly warm or cold. Instead, our faces emit patterns of heat, invisible to the world without a thermal scan.

A recent study by Chinese researchers used thermal facial scans of 2,800 people and found that heat distribution changes as we age. For example, the nose and cheeks cool as we get older. Meantime, the forehead and the skin around the eyes might warm up.

Scientists can use this heat map to estimate someone’s age. That isn’t really a big deal. We’ve got driver’s licenses and birth certificates for that. The more significant insight comes when a visage’s temperatures doesn’t match someone’s real age.

If a 40-year-old’s scan reveals a pattern resembling what would be expected in a 65-year-old’s countenance, that could spell trouble.

The researchers say the thermal scan could accurately predict some diseases with high accuracy. Their scanning model, which they call ThermoFace, has an excellent record of spotting diabetes, hypertension, and fatty liver disease. And it is often faster than other diagnostic techniques.

The researchers envision a day when the scans might be routine at a doctor’s visit, the way thermometers are today. Scans would be especially useful in remote areas where medical testing equipment is lacking.

So, not feeling well?

The diagnosis might be in your face.

When your child is upset and on the verge of making a scene in the cereal aisle, it can be easy to fill their hands with a smartphone or tablet so you can keep filling your cart.

A new study, however, says this quick fix may hinder your child’s emotional development.

Canadian and Hungarian researchers followed 265 Canadian families with preschool-aged children for a year, looking at three aspects of self-regulation, a skill children develop in early childhood.

The researchers looked at anger management, or how a child handles feelings of anger and frustration; effortful control, the ability to focus and regulate behavior; and impulsivity, which is how quickly they act without thinking.

The families completed a questionnaire that assessed their media use, child behavior, and parenting stress at the start of the study and again a year later.

The results showed that greater use of devices as digital pacifiers had a negative effect on children’s self-regulation skills and prevented them from dealing with emotions on their own.

Parents who frequently used digital devices as a calming tool reported having children who struggled to manage their anger and exhibited less ability to focus and self-regulate.

Children with poor anger-management skills at the start of the study were more likely to have parents who were reliant on digital devices a year later, suggesting a cycle that further harms children’s long-term development.

In short: the next time your toddler throws a tantrum, think twice about handing them a device, unless you want to deal with an extra moody teen down the road. The grocery store will still be there tomorrow.

Aside from the debt, getting a new car is loads of fun. Learning all its features. Feeling fancy when you drive it. And of course, delighting in that new-car aroma.

Its time-limited bouquet hits every time you buckle up, fooling you into thinking you absolutely will go years never sullying your ride with so much as a single wayward French fry.

New research may take away your zest for that new-car essence, however.

A study by researchers at Harvard and in Beijing finds that the volatile organic compounds, or VOCs [V-O-Cs], that create the new-car smell may pose significant health risks.

The scientists analyzed VOC emissions in a new car during summer. VOCs are gases emitted from products or processes. In cars, they come from materials like plastics, leather, and synthetic fibers.

Some are harmless, but others can cause health issues like headaches or irritated eyes, or more serious damage, like lung disease.

The study found that formaldehyde, which can cause cancer with repeated exposure, was the most prevalent VOC in the new car’s cabin. More than one-third of the readings exceeded China’s air-quality standards for car interiors.

Part of the problem lies not with the air, but with the temperature of the car’s interior surfaces. That’s why the new-car smell can be extra potent on a hot day.

Americans spend an average of 5.5% of our lives in our vehicles. So it’s helpful to understand the air-quality dangers lurking in this classic fragrance. The hope is that automakers can one day give us the aroma minus the toxins.

The new-car smell, after all, helps us forget a malodorous byproduct of the dealership experience: the new-car loan.