Teens who drink heavily are more likely than their peers to have behavioural and attention problems and suffer from anxiety and depression, a team led by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has reported.

The team's study was based on a survey of nearly 9000 Norwegian teenagers aged 13-19 years and was published in the online journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health. Fully 80 per cent of the teenagers said they had tried alcohol, while 29 per cent said they had been drunk more than 10 times in their lives.

Boys who drank frequently were more likely to report conduct problems, while girls who drank frequently reported attention and conduct problems, along with depression and anxiety.

Forty-three per cent of students who reported behavioural or other problems also reported having been drunk more than 10 times in their lives, while only 27 per cent of students who reported few or no conduct problems had been drunk more than 10 times. But boys were only slightly more likely than girls to report drinking heavily.

Team leader Arve Strandheim, from NTNU's Department of Public Health and General Practice, said the findings could help parents and health workers focus their alcohol education efforts on teens at most risk for developing problems.

"It is important to give all teenagers and parents correct information to delay the age at which teens start drinking alcohol and binge drinking," Strandheim said. "However, it may be particularly important to focus on teens with attention and conduct problems and girls with anxiety and depression."

The data were drawn from a comprehensive, population based cross-sectional survey called Young HUNT. Ninety-one per cent of the youth population in one Norwegian county answered the drinking and behavioural questionnaire as a part of a larger comprehensive health survey of the entire county's population aged 13 and older.

Because the study was based on a one-time questionnaire, it does not show a cause-and-effect relationship, Strandheim cautioned. In fact, because conduct and attention problems tend to emerge early in childhood, it seems less likely that adolescent alcohol use itself causes these mental health problems. But the study does suggest that adolescents with attention and conduct problems are at high risk for developing alcohol problems.

Teenaged girls with depression or anxiety symptoms should also be considered at high risk of developing alcohol abuse, the researchers say. This is especially true for younger teen girls aged 13-16.

India has managed to reduce the rate of HIV transmission in some states through increased awareness, resources and legislation, according to a report released Monday by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Reuters reports.

According to the report, titled "Redefining AIDS in Asia: Crafting an Effective Response," about 440,000 people die annually of AIDS-related causes in Asia, and the rate is expected to rise to about 500,000 by 2020 if measures are not taken (Majumdar, Reuters, 6/30). The report -- conducted by a UNAIDS-supported independent group called the Commission of AIDS on Asia and the Pacific -- noted that $3.1 billion annually would be required to effectively respond to the epidemic on the continent, United News of India reports.

According to the report, India accounts for about half of the estimated five million HIV-positive people in Asia (United News of India, 6/30). The report warned that India must be extremely cautious because many people are still unaware about the benefits of condom use in preventing HIV transmission, especially among injection drug users and women in rural parts of the country. India's efforts are garnering positive results in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra in the west, according to the report.

Denis Broun, head of UNAIDS in India, said the country "has managed to slow down the epidemic in some states with more decisive planning." He added, "We have really worked a lot in mobilizing politicians and they have been able to visit around the country and understand the realities of AIDS and interact with people." Broun said that new HIV diagnoses are "dropping in Tamil Nadu and it has been successful in Maharashtra," and "[w]e are sure we are going to see success in Andhra Pradesh before a year".

Many people who discover that they have inherited a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's can cope with the news, especially if they receive the it through genetic counseling: they may experience depression or anxiety at first, but it does not last long, according to a new study from the US.

The study was the work of co-author Scott Roberts, now a researcher at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor, and colleagues, and is published in the New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM.

Roberts did the research while he was at Boston University. He is also co-principal investigator on the Risk Evaluation and Education for Alzheimer's Disease (REVEAL) study, a series of randomized clinical trials that are looking at the impact of a genetic susceptibility testing program for adult children of people with Alzheimer's.

The NEJM study addresses a debate that has been going on for some time, about whether being told they have an inherited predisposition to Alzheimer's disease causes psychological harm to people, especially if there is a history of it in the family.

People with a family history of Alzheimer's disease are already at higher risk. But the risk is even higher if they also carry a certain variant of the APOE gene (Apolipoprotein E).

Having a parent with Alzheimer's is thought to increase one's risk of developing the disease by age 85 to between 30 and 35 per cent, compared with a general population risk of 10 to 15 per cent, said the authors. If you also carry the APOE variant the risk is 50 per cent.

For the study Roberts and colleagues recruited 162 participants with at least one parent who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

The participants first took part in an education session about Alzheimer's and were then offered a genetic test that looked for presence of the APOE variant that conferred higher risk of Alzheimer's.

The participants that agreed to have the test were given their results by trained genetic counselors.

The researchers then followed them for about 12 months and assessed the psychological impact of the revelation. The participants completed tests for depression, anxiety and test-related distress before disclosure, and then 6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months after.

The results showed that for the participants who were told they had the risk-increasing gene, the test-related distress level was slightly higher at the 6 week point, but not at the 6 month or 12 month point.

Anxiety and depression levels remained stable, said Roberts, who told the press that while some people might say they were thinking a lot about the test result, "it didn't translate into long-term depression or anxiety".

However, the results did show that:

"Persons with high levels of emotional distress before undergoing genetic testing were more likely to have emotional difficulties after disclosure," wrote the authors.

"The findings show if you do (disclose this genetic information) genetic counseling may be an important component to ensure that most people do not respond with significant distress," said Roberts.

Genetic counseling puts the test results in context and helps people understand the meaning and limits of the results, he added, citing the example of a person with a 55 per cent lifetime risk being reminded that this also meant there was a 45 per cent risk that they would not get the disease.

The study's results are timely because as more and more private firms offer genetic testing, it raises the question of whether people should know about genetic risks outside of a clinical context.

Roberts said some might argue that it is "paternalistic" to decide for others what they can and cannot know about their own genes.

He said that after the initial education session, only 20 per cent of the participants refused to go ahead with the test, which meant the majority wanted to know.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about two-thirds of people over the age of 65 have high blood pressure. What's more, they report that if you haven't had it by the time you reach age 55, there is a 90 percent chance you will end up with it during your lifetime. It is something that almost all of us will encounter in our lifetime. But the good news is that watching what you eat can go a long way toward helping you avoid high blood pressure and get the problem under control.

"Having high blood pressure is common and it can be quite dangerous," explains Enzo Febbraro, the co-owner and executive chef of D'Acqua Ristorante, located in Washington, D.C. "Making some simple changes to our diet can have a big impact on helping us avoid getting high blood pressure, or even lowering it if we already have it."

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a consistent blood pressure of over 140/90 mmHg. Those with readings between 120/80 and 139/89 are considered to have prehypertension, and are likely to develop hypertension if changes are not made to avoid it. Our blood pressure normally rises and lowers throughout the day, but it's when it stays elevated that it becomes dangerous. According to the NIH, high blood pressure can lead to atherosclerosis, heart disease, kidney disease and even blindness.

Along with being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight, what you eat has a big impact on high blood pressure. Healthy eating can help you avoid getting it and if you already have it, can reduce it.

Keep these tips in mind when you eat, to help keep blood pressure under control:

- Eat healthy. You have heard it before, but it is important to eat healthy each day in order to keep a healthy body. Get plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein.

- Go low-fat. Look for no fat or low fat options of foods, such as when you buy dairy or dairy alternative products. Cut back on the amount of butter or margarine you use.

- Keep it whole. Try to eliminate or reduce the amount of processed foods that you eat, especially foods like frozen meals, lunch meats, bacon, and chips, which are all high in sodium.

- Dark chocolate. Research has found that eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate, not milk chocolate, can be beneficial to lowering blood pressure.

- Skip the salt. Avoid salting foods, instead opt for spices to give food more flavor.

- Make it gradual. Trying to make the changes overnight may be difficult. But if you stick with making gradual changes you will find success and improve your health.

- Limit alcohol. If you drink, you should consider cutting back to help improve your blood pressure. Also, try to avoid smoking or being around second-hand smoke, which can raise blood pressure.

"Changing the way we eat seems hard to do at first," adds Febbraro. "But if you make some small, gradual changes you are going to see results. And that is well worth the effort. This is a serious condition that we have to be mindful of and keep in check."

A new research study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine and led by noted men's health researcher Dr. Paul Turek has a powerful conclusion: that men diagnosed with infertility suffer intense negative sexual, personal and social strains that might be considered typical for other medical illnesses, including cancer.

Traditionally viewed as a "silent disease" in men, the psychological toll infertility takes on men's health was previously not well known by medical researchers. Researchers at the University of California San Francisco, in collaboration with Dr. Turek, a nationally recognized urologist, male infertility specialist and founder of the renowned Turek Clinic in San Francisco, conducted the study.

"Since male infertility is such a common problem, it is important to understand the real impact it has on male health and relationships," Dr. Turek said. "This study makes clear, for the first time, that male infertility is a 'disease' like any other, silent or not, and can have a serious effect on the overall well-being of the individual, the couple, and the family."

The study shows that the diagnosis of infertility increases social strain in male partners of infertile couples. Male partners in couples with perceived, isolated male factor infertility have a lower sexual and personal quality of life compared to male partners of couples without perceived male factor infertility.

About one in eight couples - around 7.3 million Americans - has trouble conceiving. Half of those cases have male infertility issues - often easily treatable ones. Male infertility affects 10% to 15% of reproductive aged couples worldwide and is treatable in many cases.

The goal of the research was to measure the personal, social, sexual and marital impact of a diagnosis of male factor infertility among men in couples evaluated for infertility. Among the 357 men studied, no male factor was reported in 47%, isolated male factor was present in 12%, combined male and female factors were present in 16%, and unexplained infertility was present in 25% of couples. The research involved cross-sectional analysis of 357 men in infertile couples from eight academic and community-based fertility clinics.