Each time I have come home which has only been twice throughout the whole semester, my mother has changed because she died her hair. I have heard that hair dye causes cancer but was never completely sure.

Hair dyes differentiate greatly in their chemical make-up. The three main types of hair dies all have different effects. According to The American Cancer Society there are three main types of hair dyes:

The concern about cancer risk is limited to two different dyes being semi-permanent and permanent dyes, darker dyes being the greatest concern. According to the American Cancer Society, Researchers have been studying the possible link between hair dye use and cancer for many years.

According to the American Cancer Society, researchers used two main types of studies to try and figure out if the substance causes cancer. In studies that have been done in a lab, animals are exposed to the substance to see if it causes tumors or other health problems. In these lab studies, researchers can control many of the other factors that might affect the results. However, even though studies such as this are done it is not clear because the results in the animals might not be the same in humans.

According to the National Cancer Institute, one case-control study examined hair dye used among 769 patients with adult acute leukemia and 623 people without leukemia in the United States and Canada. IT found that the risks of acute leukemia were higher among users of earlier formulations of both permanent and nonpermanent dyes than those who had not used dyes. However, the increases were not statistically significant. No risk increases were seen among users of more recent dye formulations. The greatest risk was among those who have used permanent dyes for longer durations, meaning at least 15 if not more years.

Between the two observations, it is evident that cancer can arise from the dying of hair. However, there could be third variables involved in the experiment cause it to be this way and especially because as the study concluded the results in the animals might and probably wouldn’t be the same in humans.

However, it would be interesting to do a study on different kinds of animals and how they react, and then the same with humans; different people with different characteristics would produce different results. A randomized control-trial would work perfect if each individual participant were chosen at random. This study shows the effect hair dye can have on cancer but doesn’t necessarily provide evidence that there is a correlation between dying hair and skin cancer.

Last night, my friend was leaving and when I asked her where she was going she said tanning. I simply said, “You know, tanning booths give you skin cancer.” She replied and said “don’t worry, it doesn’t matter.” So, I decided to take her up on her comment, and see if it’s really true!

According to Joshua M. Schulman and David E. Fisher, skin cancer is at higher risk than any other form of human malignancy and its root cause happens to be ultraviolet radiation. Studies from the past several years have shown a significant association between ever-use of an indoor tanning facility and an increased risk of melanoma. The association between indoor tanning and skin cancer is particularly likely among those who first used a tanning facility in early adulthood.

Additionally, a study done by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, evaluated the risk effect of tanning bed use on skin cancers among teenage and young adults. Researchers observed 73,494 female nurses for 20 years (1989-2009) in a large and well-characterized cohort in the United States and investigated whether frequency of tanning bed use during high school/college and at ages 25 to 35 years were associated with a risk of basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. Researchers used Cox proportional hazards models and carefully adjusted for host risk factors, ultraviolet index of residence, and sun exposure behaviors at a young age.

The study’s results showed 5,506 nurses were diagnosed with BCC, 403 with SCC, and 349 with melanoma. Compared with tanning bed use at ages 25 to 35 years, they found a significantly higher risk of BCC for use during high school and or college.

This study is valid and doesn’t suffer from the file drawer problem. Additionally, the study shows the correlation between tanning and skin cancer. It is interesting that the study shows the many different kinds of cancer that can come with tanning to prove that the risk is not limited to one result, but in fact many results. It would be interesting to take a sample of college students and study how much they tan, to get a more scientific insight into the affect it has on skin cancer.

Overall, it is evident that tanning has an overall affect on your health and cause damage to your skin, causing cancer. In the future, it would interesting to see more studies done on this topic for example to do a randomized control trial to see if the effect varies from age to age as these studies have said they do.

Seasonal Affective Disorder as mentioned in one of my earlier blogs causes symptoms in the winter that many just don’t like to feel. Antidepressants are used, and you fight until the long winter is finally over. As we sit in dorm rooms, with our blinds closed most of the time, we don’t feel that sun coming through the window. But, What about artificial light? Does it serve more benefits to you than natural light?

In Study 1, According to Christopher Bergland, researchers at the Interdepartmental Neuroscience program at Northwestern University in Chicago reported that the detrimental impact of being in a windowless environment is a universal phenomenon. According to a new study titled “Impact of Workplace Daylight Exposure on Sleep, Physical Activity, and Quality of Life,” concluded there is a strong relationship between workplace daylight exposure and office workers’ sleep, activity, and quality of life. The study group was comprised of 49 day-shift office workers-27 in windowless workplaces and 22 in workplaces with windows.
The study found that compared to workers in office without windows, those with windows in the workplace received 173 percent more white light exposure during work hours and slept an average of 46 more minutes per night. Workers without windows had lower scores, and had poorer outcomes in measures of overall sleep quality, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances and daytime dysfunction.
Therefore, in this study it concluded that natural light was better than having no light at all.

However, Study 2 took a different approach. After several years of research correlated weight gain with artificial light exposure. Researcher Kooijman and his team wanted to know more about what exactly caused this correlation, so they decided to look at the mechanism behind the weight gain. The researchers used mice for the study and exposed them to artificial light for 12, 16, or 24 hours for five weeks.

Kooijman and his research team came to the conclusion that mice exposed to the artificial light for 24 hours, compared to 12 hours had significantly higher fat composition despite consuming the exact same diet. A tissue called brown adipose tissues (BAT) plays a key role in energy expenditure by burning calories. The BAT activity was decreased by light exposure in this experiment. As mice were exposed to longer periods of light, conversion of fatty acids and glucose into heat was reduced, and the longer the light shined the more the fewer calories the mice burned.

It seemed weird to me that this study could reflect on humans, but the body’s circadian rhythms are uniquely attuned to variations in light and dark and disruption of the processes can have astonishing metabolic repercussions. This study definitely shows that maybe artificial light isn’t the way to go. Now, if working in a hospital all the time, one often confuses their body and causes the processes to slow down, so sometimes it can be hard to control in certain situations.

Between the two study’s, it seems that natural light provided better benefits for the human body. It didn’t slow down natural system processes, it helped sleep, helped activity and quality of life. However, in the study with the mice, there could always be third variables involved, which caused the results. But it is interesting to see how both types of light could have different effects on us as humans, no matter where you are in the workplace, in a cubicle, or at a hospital.

Overall, it would be interesting if there were a study done to see if there is a correlation between natural sunlight and the human body vs. artificial light. It would be interesting to see the findings between the two, and to see if there is any more mechanism’s behind what is actually going on with the human body when it comes to artificial and natural light.

You want it, and –even worse- you can’t have it. As we all begin to get sick with viruses such as the flu, we don’t think too much about it because we presume we will be fine to just go down to University Health Services and get antibiotics! But, that’s not the case.

At the presentation Andrew had us go to for extra credit, Pete Hudson talked to us for a majority of it about how the overuse of prescription antibiotics by doctors is out of control. He along with many others are trying to get physicians to stop giving out such an abundance of antibiotics to children and even more so students. His example was about our own University Health Services and how 50% of the time, a student leaves with antibiotics when in all reality, the antibiotics aren’t going to help them with their virus, and it’s something they must just overcome through sleep and hydration.

So the other day, it occurred to me, can we really be getting prescribed too many antibiotics, what’s harm of too many antibiotics, and why are doctors over prescribing them if so?

According to the BMJ, study researchers conducted an observational study on the efficiency of both hospital and general practitioners’ records of current drug treatment in consecutive patients who attended a general medical clinic. They found either the hospital or general practitioner’s records (which were obtained in a questionnaire), or both, were inaccurate for over 70% of 59 patients interviewed with their medicine. Most of the errors were due to patients taking drugs in addition to the one’s shown on their medical records, some of them being taken inappropriately, and seemed unnecessary for the condition they had. It appeared to the study researchers that neither the hospital doctors nor general practitioners were fully aware of the drugs their patients were taking, and this meant overprescribing. This study shows that people everywhere are being overprescribed medicine. While 70% is a significant percent, this is observational, which as we know from class isn’t as strong as experimental, and the study has a low sample size. It would be interesting to conduct an experiment to test our doctors, and see their reasoning behind the medicine they prescribe. Additionally, there doesn’t seem to be a known mechanism behind why doctors are overprescribing, and as Pete Hudson mentioned to us it is out of control. It comes as a risk to many if doctors don’t know patient history, because if the patient has pre-existing medical conditions, prescribing the patient with the medication could hurt them.

Study 2, done by Donald R. Miller, and Avron Spiro III, evaluated 1,648 in a longitudinal study of male veterans. The study was an analysis of self-reported questionnaire data. The participants listed each of their medications with indication, missed doses, adverse reactions, and whether their amount of medication was “too much, the right amount, or too little.” The questionnaire also included questions about medication adherence, problems with medications, common symptoms, and screening questions for a number of chronic conditions. Of the 1,256 participants and their responses, 80% of them had taken medication within 4 weeks and 40% of them state they were taking too much. This study concluded patient perception of overmedication does in fact correlate with the self-report of decreased compliance. This meaning overall, these veterans were being prescribed too much medicine, and for all we know they could have been prescribed the wrong medicine as well. Additionally, as we talked about in class, we must consider whether this is generalizable to the public at large.

Moreover, as we continue to get prescribed antibiotics when not needed, our body starts to build a resistance to them, time and time again. Our physician thinks we need the antibiotic to make our sickness go away but in all reality the antibiotic doesn’t get rid of the virus. According to the CDC, antibiotic resistance occurs when germs outsmart drugs. The CDC has also found that widespread overuse and incorrect prescribing practices are a significant part of what is fueling this antibiotic resistance. The CDC recommends healthcare providers similar to UHS to prescribe antibiotics correctly and what they mean by this is get cultures, start the right drug at the right dose for the right duration for the patient. They also recommend that healthcare providers stay aware of antibiotic resistance patterns in their own facilities. The want for the drug in the patient doesn’t necessarily express the need for it by the physician, and this is important.

Lastly, the risk of overuse of a drug isn’t worth the cost. According to the American College of Physicians, studies in hospitals show that more than half of the antibiotics inappropriately used account for 19-34% of the hospitals overall pharmacy budget. Therefore, to be giving out these drugs when they aren’t needed, it seems risky for not only the patient but the hospital too.

Overall, it is important as college students for us to understand that we don’t need antibiotics every time we come down with a cold, because the fact of the matter is, most of the time antibiotics won’t cure the virus like Pete Hudson said, and our body will only continue to build resistance to it. So Next time you go to University Health Services, take a step back and think about it when your doctor tells you, you don’t need medicine. Because as much as you want it~ you can’t have it~ and you don’t need it.

It’s a Monday morning and your feeling even more sluggish that you usually do. You have two exams you just aren’t prepared to take, and you are stressed out. So, as overwhelmed students, we begin to stress, some begin to eat, and some begin to stop eating, but exercise never crosses anybody’s mind. Why?

Extensive research has been done on humans that suggest exercise could have benefits for one’s overall health and cognitive function, especially later in life.

According to the American Psychological Association, we know that there’s preliminary evidence suggests a possible link between exercise and brain chemicals associated with stress, anxiety, and depression.

After doing research, they found work in animals since the late 1980’s has proved exercise increases brain concentrations of norepinephrine in brain region’s that control the body’s response to stress. Additionally, they found information stating Psychologists deem exercise enhances the body’s ability to respond to stress, and biologically it forces the body’s psychological systems to communicate more than usual.

While I was writing this blog, I really wanted to find a study that showed the correlation between exercise and stress, how it really “increases brain concentrations” as, stated above.

Jennifer Thome and Dorothy L. Espelage did an observational study through a questionnaire amongst college students that evaluated the role of exercise as both a coping mechanism and as a health behavior in relation to eating pathology and other measures of psychological health in a nonclinical university population such as stress. Female and Male undergraduate (# Unknown) students completed the questionnaire and the results ended up being very different between males and females. For example, results showed exercise was relate to positive psychological health in males, where as exercise in a female was associated with both positive and negative psychological health. This study suggests that exercise might be differentially associated with mental health based on gender. Although the study was observational, and didn’t have a specific controlled group of participants, it had a positive outcome by allowing these students to see where exercise helped them and in what categories.

This study found exercise not only improves physical health but also decreases anxiety, stress, improves mood state, self-esteem, and body image, which are all important aspects when being a college student. Little is known about why the relationship between exercise and mental health/well-being exists. It also doesn’t have specific intensity, type, or duration of an exercise to give to students to manage daily stress. However, it is important as college students we cope with our stress, because it is fundamental to our physical and mental health. Additionally, this applies for years to come, as stress doesn’t stop, it has only just begun. As it becomes more to handle, it becomes almost a consequence not to deal with it by doing activities such as exercise. Stress is linked closely with poor sleeping habits, bad eating habits, and bad posture, which puts you at risk for diseases, as you get older. Stress reduction is a crucial part of life especially at a young age when we have time to figure out how to manage it.

According to The Journal of the American Medical Association, after conducting a randomized control trial of 134 patients (92 males and 42 female) aged 40-84 years with a stable ischemic heart disease, they found exercise and stress management training reduced emotional distress and improved markers of cardiovascular risk more than the usual medical care alone. Throughout the trial, they did routine medical care, usual care plus supervised aerobic exercise training for 35 minutes 3 times per week, and usual care plus weekly 1.5 hour stress management training for 16 weeks. The patients had lower BDI scores, and it reduced stress.

This study was interesting to me because it showed me there is a point to exercising, especially during the winter when all I want to do is sit around and watch Netflix all day. The patients in the study above were recruited through the newspaper, television, and radio advertisements so those tested may not have all had the same exact characteristics but they all had the disease. Again, this may not be 100% accurate, but the randomized-control trial definitely had good results. More studies done in the future would most definitely improve the results of exercise on stress management.

But until then, we must maintain our health and do what is needed to get rid of the stress which exercising, doing yoga, aerobics, but more than sitting around and watching Netflix, because as much as we convince ourselves that is the cure, it won’t work forever.

As the days get darker earlier, and the nights become colder, many begin to experience S.A.D……or Seasonal Affective Disorder. This meaning a whole season can put a person into a serious depression? How can that be? The causes behind S.A.D. are still unknown, but the symptoms of which come along with it are the same as those that come along with depression. According to Live Science, SAD 1 to 10 percent of the population each year.

Studies have been done on Seasonal Affective Disorder and it is interesting to note the findings.

A study done by Am J Psychiatry observed four Canadian centers over three winter seasons. Patients who were chosen for the study had major depressive disorder with a winter pattern and had > or = 23 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. The patients were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of a double-blind treatment with different lux light treatment, one being 10,000-lux light with a placebo capsule, or one with 100-lux light treatment with 20mg/day of fluoxetine. The treatment was applied for 30 minutes each day in the morning. A totally of 96 patients were assigned to a random treatment condition. There was no difference between the treatments over time. Post hoc testing found that light-treated patients had better improvement at one week but not at other time points where as Fluoxetine treatment had a greater treatment as far as agitation, sleep disturbance, and palpitation. However, both came to the conclusion there were no significant differences between light therapy and anti-depressant medication, and since it was limited by a double-blind condition, as we know from class, it makes the study’s conclusions more reliable.

This study definitely shows the symptoms of SAD. Researchers found that there is no difference between this medication and fluorescent lights. However, there is also a chance there could be other meds that could work. The study is missing a key piece of information because it never addresses what kind of light therapy is being used. It would be interesting if there was a study done in comparison to light where researchers analyzed the difference between sunlight and artificial light. This would tell the researchers whether artificial light could work as substitute for sunlight during the winter months. Therefore, the theory that both these treatments work is weakened, as we don’t know if there could be better methods to deal with the symptoms of sad.

While it’s suggested that light therapy and anti-depressant medication would work, there is nothing firm saying either of these methods are going to cure the disorder. As many suffer from sad, they begin a pill craze where they take as many anti-depressants as they can. According to WebMD, about 1 in 10 Americans takes an antidepressant. It would be interesting to do a study on what antidepressant medications are so popular and why.

And now, you are still left with a compelling question of why do some experience this then? And as of now we don’t know. The scientific explanation as to why just hasn’t been found yet. But, hopefully it will be soon.

http://www.medlt.com/EN/menu/obesity-treatment

As college students, we understand that weight gain freshman year is always something we are trying to control. We often wonder, how we can gain so much weight in such a short span of time. I personally was wondering this myself, how can we gain so much weight in a span on 6-8 months, and are there a lot of us who are overweight/obese in general? Weight gain happens when you take in more than you expend. How much weight a person gains also had a lot to do with the individual’s metabolism, (i.e. the process by which the bodies cells convert the calories from food into energy for bodily functions.

According to livescience.com, although this is true, metabolism differs from person to person. As a person, due to the wearing down of cells in the body, their metabolism tends to slow down. Therefore, if the person continues to eat the same number of calories they will gain weight because the calories or energy is not being used as quickly. Today this is a huge problem in the U.S. As of 2014, more than one-third or 78.6 million of U.S. adults are obese. This is out of control. There could also be third variables that cause one to gain weight. Whether it is their body makeup, allergies to certain foods, or addictions. Food is an addiction, whether we like it or not, it is an addiction. We cannot rule out third variables in this case because there is so many that could be affecting someone’s overall body weight.

Additionally, we now chose to focus on childhood obesity because as they grow older, it only gets worse. According to a meta-analysis on childhood obesity, data from the 2007-08 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey stated that 17% of U.S. children and adolescents (ages 2-19 years) were obese, and 30% of them were either overweight or obese. This is staggering. The meta-analysis was focused on a study of an intervention effect on the prominent issue of overweight and obesity. The p-value for the overall study was 0.05; meaning to study was definitely effective, and not just based on false information, or a randomized control trial. The analysis focused on four studies, and overall it showed a reduction in the favor of the intervention method. This meaning school-based, home-based, primary care-based, childcare-based, and community-based interventions were not favorable, meaning many thought it wasn’t effective, and in the end we found out the intervention method as a whole wasn’t effective.

This meta-analysis was important because it showed, this one method wasn’t effective, it wasn’t going to help anyone or change their diet, change the way they live, etc. It is also important, because it shows people not to trust this method, because it doesn’t work. As someone who is overweight or obese and trying to figure out the right way to lose weight, it is important to have access to information like this knowing it doesn’t work.

As a college student, none of us are obese, yet at least. However, we all have heard of the freshman fifteen. It is important for us to have access to information such as this meta-analysis when we are trying to understand approaches we can take to lose weight while at college, or maintain a certain body weight. Overall, information like this could be helpful, and it is eye opening to know how many children and adolescents are overweight and or obese.

Hi! My name is Cathy Mott and I am from Warren, New Jersey. I am a freshman here at Penn state and I am currently in the Division of Undergraduate Studies but I am planning to major in Security Risk Analysis.

I have never enjoyed science. It was my worst subject in high school and I didn’t plan to take it in college. However, I saw this course and within the description, it said “science for non scientists” which made me feel like it would be a good course for me to take because it would be different. It was also going to be my Natural Science (GN) for the semester. I am not majoring in science because I am more interested in protecting information systems, and assets of companies and government organizations. I envy those who do major in science because although it is interesting, it has never seemed to be a well-rounded fit for me.

Aside from science, I am a huge fan of basketball and hockey. I enjoy having season tickets to watch the New Jersey Devils play 20 minutes from home so not having that this year will definitely be a change. Although they have not been excelling the past two seasons, there is still room for change and improvement, which I will miss greatly on the ice this year. The men’s ice hockey team at Penn State will have to make up for that. The Prudential Center Arena will be missed through this long cold winter, as it is one of the best places to be, when you can actually get there.

More basic information about me, I love to binge watch TV Shows on Netflix…a lot…. always… even though you will most likely find me watching One Tree Hill, Scandal, Gossip Girl, or Grey’s Anatomy. I love to run and listen to music. My favorite song as of now is definitely My Way by Fetty Wap because it is fun to dance to with my new roommate while we are doing homework.