UF Health Podcasts

Which came first, doomscrolling or depression?

In the 17 years that smartphones have been around, and in the past decade in which they became ubiquitous, young people’s rates of depression have been on the rise.

But which came first? A never-ending parade of peers showing off their perfect boyfriends, vacations and physiques, leading young people to feel “less than?” Or was depression to blame, leaving the young with little energy to do more than snoop on others’ online lives?

A team of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center researchers aimed to find out.

In their study, 376 young Canadians, mostly women, were asked to complete three online questionnaires between May 2021 and January 2022.

At each point, the participants reported symptoms via a nine-item quiz used to measure depression. They also answered questions about social media use, time spent outdoors, physical activity, their bedtime and cannabis use.

The researchers learned that most of the study’s participants had at least mild symptoms of depression.

They found that participants who used social media more tended to be more depressed. And vice versa.

But they couldn’t find a causal link between depression and social media.

They did find that those feeling depressed who spent a lot of time on social media spent less time outdoors, smoked more cannabis, stayed up later and avoided exercise.

So, the behaviors they were engaging in weren’t helping them feel better.

Here’s the takeaway: If you’re feeling depressed, be careful about the time you spend online. Get outdoors. Exercise. Go to bed at a reasonable time and don’t smoke cannabis. You can thank us later.

When our ancient ancestors began eating meat, humans were getting more protein and nutrients than ever before. Scientists believe this development allowed human brains to grow bigger and smarter, laying the foundation for modern life.

Now, a mere 2.5 million years and a few technological leaps later, it might be time for humans to reconsider their habit of consuming animal products.

Researchers in Italy evaluated many existing studies covering a 20-year period and discovered that eating a vegan, vegetarian or lacto-ovo vegetarian diet greatly reduces the risk of developing cancer, heart disease and premature death. The analyses did not examine diets that included meat or fish.

The benefits noted from the vegetarian diets also include reduced risk of diabetes, inflammation and high blood pressure. The diets were found to significantly lower total cholesterol and C-reactive protein, an index associated with metabolic disease, which can include obesity, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and stroke.

In the past, it might have been a challenge for the average person to get enough appropriate nutrients from a strict vegetarian or vegan diet. But the availability of a diverse variety of foods and quality supplements today make a healthy vegetarian diet much more feasible.

Experts recommend that those attempting to adopt a vegan or vegetarian diet pay special attention to their nutritional intake to avoid deficiencies.

While a vegetarian diet has long been thought to have health benefits, we might just be at a point in our evolution where the negative health impacts of eating meat may outweigh the benefits.

Microplastics are trending. They’re seemingly everywhere, most notably in the news. Scientists are finding them almost anywhere they look.

The oceans. The Arctic. The air. In polar bears. In fish. In our bodies.

And now they’ve been confirmed in a place that will get the close attention of at least half of the population — in testicles.

University of New Mexico researchers recently published findings from a study in which they analyzed the testes of dogs and humans, discovering several kinds of plastics.

Could these hitchhikers impact fertility?

Researchers took samples from neutered dogs and human donors who had been autopsied.

The study found a mean total of 329 micrograms of microplastics in the human samples and 122 in the dogs. Surprisingly, the types of plastic found differed between the species.

The human polymers were mostly the type found in plastic bags and bottles. The dogs’ samples revealed more synthetic resin found in plumbing supplies like PVC piping.

In a disquieting finding, scientists noted the sperm count of the dog testes decreased as the level of microplastics increased. Sperm counts could not be measured in the human samples because they came from cadavers.

Even so, the study authors say this finding in dogs is a red flag worth a closer look. Some scientists have noted declining human sperm count, although its significance on fertility is unclear.

Nobody is sure how microplastics end up in testes. One thought is that they were accidentally ingested, fanning out to different parts of the body via fat particles.

As any reformed spendthrift can attest, plastic is better left in the wallet.

If your pet has breathing challenges, summer can be a particularly tough time. In fact, you might not even notice issues until the weather gets warm.

Respiratory problems can present in many ways, often involving panting, snorting or raspy breathing and coughing. Dogs might exhibit open-mouth breathing — which can be normal in warm weather — but it’s a much more serious sign in cats, requiring immediate veterinary attention.

Abnormal signs may point to a primary respiratory problem, but they might be symptomatic of problems in other body systems. That’s why it’s important to schedule a veterinary visit as soon as possible, so that examination and diagnostic tests can zero in on the source. In the meantime, keep your pet cool and cut back on exercise.

Summer may seem carefree, but it’s no time for pooch parents to let down their guard. That’s when dogs are most at risk of so-called blue-green algae poisoning.

The culprit is actually a toxin-producing cyanobacteria [sigh-an-oh-back-TEAR-ee-ah] that can be found in ponds, lakes and slow-moving rivers. Exposure to the most serious of these toxins can cause liver or neurologic damage and since there’s no antidote, cyanobacterial toxicity can rapidly be fatal. If a poisoned dog makes it to a veterinary clinic, her survival depends on intensive care.

Tell-tale blue-green algal blooms develop in stagnant water, especially during warm dry periods. If you think your dog has been exposed, rinse him with fresh water and bring him to a veterinary hospital right away.

In the U.S. alone, nearly 12 million dogs and cats are diagnosed with cancer each year. Along with pain and discomfort, cancer and its treatment often result in decreased appetite and malnutrition, which can lower treatment responses, hasten remissions and lessen a pet’s quality of life.

About six years ago, researchers began developing diets for dogs and cats with cancer that are calorie-dense, nutritious and tasty. In dogs with cancer — who were studied first — many enthusiastically accepted the food, ate significantly more and increased their calorie intake, which increased their body weight and boosted their quality of life.

If your dog or cat is living with cancer, ask your veterinarian about available prescription diets to help your buddy thrive.

The cranial cruciate [CREW-she-ut] ligament, or CCL, is one of several ligaments that stabilize a dog’s knee. When one of these ligaments breaks down — and it’s often the CCL — it makes for a painful, unstable joint.

Dogs with an acutely ruptured CCL are normally in such pain that they’re unable to bear weight on the injured leg. That may improve over a week or so, but the knee will remain swollen and quickly develop degenerative changes, resulting in chronic lameness and pain.

Studies show that surgical repair of a ruptured CCL results in significantly less lameness and need for long-term pain relief than nonsurgical treatment.

You may not be able to prevent your dog from rupturing a CCL, but you might be able to choose the most effective treatment out there.

Does your dog love to spend the day at the beach? If so, remember that a day of fun can quickly go south if your dog drinks too much seawater.

A five-pound dog only needs to ingest 1 teaspoon of salt to develop severe salt toxicity — about the amount in just two-thirds of a cup of seawater.

Salt toxicity can result in serious kidney and neurologic symptoms within about 3 hours of a dog consuming too much salt. Without immediate veterinary care, the condition can be fatal.

Besides seawater, other items to avoid include rock salt, homemade play dough, paintballs, and salt dough used to make ornaments.

It’s just another case of preventing a problem that can cause a world of hurt for your pooch.

You’ve found a great pet sitter, so now you’re planning a vacation without your beasty buddy. But how can you help the sitter act as your agent in an emergency if you can’t be reached?

Along with your feeding, medicating and other care instructions, consider creating a pet care emergency authorization document, which states your veterinary care preferences. Then give a signed copy to your pet sitter and veterinarian.

That way, if you or your travelling companions can’t be reached, the document will state your financial and ethical concerns regarding emergency care.

Also, be sure you and your pet sitter have agreed on how expenses will be handled while you’re gone — whether that involves reimbursement or providing a form of payment.

Grizzly bears eat all sorts of things, including many types of mammals and plants — even mushrooms and dirt. But one of their most crucial food sources may surprise you.

Every summer in the Rocky Mountain West, grizzlies gorge on army cutworm moths. Chock full of fat, the moths provide a key source of energy before the bears hibernate.

The thought of a bear eating up to 40,000 moths a day has prompted tourists to come see it for themselves. Sadly, they scare many bears away, depriving them of up to 20,000 calories per day — just when they need them the most.

Grizzly bear populations have come back from dangerously low levels, thanks in large part to the Endangered Species Act, but they remain vulnerable. Let’s do all we can to help them survive.