Renters are More Likely to Have Poor Health than Home Owners
Homes play vital roles in our lives. Home is the place where we rest, spend time with family and friends and the place where we can be ourselves. The house or apartment where we live should feel like a home.
When you consider how important a role our home has in our lives, it is not surprising that researchers have found a link between the homes we live in and our overall health. Recent research explored a connection between housing and health by using an objective indicator: C-reactive protein level (CRP) which is a marker found in blood connected to stress and infections. Researchers found that private renters have higher levels of CRP in their blood indicating that they have poorer health compared to homeowners.
However, the poorer health of renters may reflect the lower quality of their homes. If the private renters were paying more for their homes they are more likely to be healthier which is a strong link between home quality and overall health. Most renters are not ready to pay too much for a home if it is not necessary simply because they are aware that this is not a long-term solution. That is the main reason why most renters do not live in fully equipped homes.
Plus, there is a stress typical for home renters while those who own property are less likely to experience stress linked to housing. Owning a house is a big milestone in everyone’s life while renters feel they are just not there yet.
Skin and Mental Health
Does Your Skin Affect Your Mental Health?
Almost every bottle of oral acne medication comes with a large warning about the risks it might have on our mental health. Brand name Accutane has a label with a statement:
“Accutane may cause depression, psychosis and, rarely, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, suicide, and aggressive and/or violent behaviors.”
This is not just a myth, there have been a number of high-profile suicides related to acne medicine isotretinoin such as the death of Seamus Todd, the son of the actor Richard Todd, who committed suicide.
Some studies have proved there is a link between the use of isotretinoin and depression and suicidal thoughts, it is still not clear whether mental health issues are caused by the drug or the severe acne condition, especially since acne can temporarily get worse after using the medicine. Recent researchers contradict that the medicine itself could lead to suicide and depression. Dermatologists and psychiatrists are paying close attention to any link that can be found between acne and depression especially among young people. The field called psychodermatology investigates how the mind affects our skin and vice versa, if skin conditions can affect our mind.
However, the nature of skin and mind connection is far from clear. It is very difficult to study any potential link between a person’s physical and mental health. Some researchers have found the link between stress and skin conditions, but we are far from completely understanding the link between our skin and mental health.
Mental Health Crisis Among Soldiers
New figures have shown that mental health emergencies account for one in ten air evacuation of military personnel. Among many other issues, soldiers often struggle with PTSD, depression, stress, and anxiety. The mental health issue is the second most common reason for medical evacuation among military personnel, right after limb injuries. More soldiers were evacuated for mental health issues than spinal injuries or heart problems.
Evacuations can take place due to emergency treatment which often prevents servicemen and women from carrying out their military duties. Often after treatment in their country, they can return to operations abroad or stay home.
The servicemen and women are often under a high risk of self-harm due to their mental health conditions.
We often don’t pay too much attention to mental health issues in the army. In the UK, a Ministry of Defense spokesman said:
“We are committed to the mental health of our service personnel and have increased funding in this area by £20 million. We have also launched an emergency mental health hotline and are working with experts and charities to tackle any perceived stigma around talking about mental health.”
Let’s not forget that soldiers do need all the help they can get to adjust to a new life when they come back from countries devastated by war.
