(February 17, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

From New York – People who suffer from chronic migraines have worse general health and are more depressed than those who suffer migraines episodically, according to a report published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.  Researchers studied nearly 12,000 episodic and chronic migraine patients, finding that chronic migraine sufferers were 2x more likely to be depressed and experience chronic pain, 40% more likely to develop heart disease and 70% more likely to suffer stroke.

From Connecticut – According to a report published in Injury Prevention, alcohol has been connected to the increasing amount of fatal car crashes among women in the US.  Reviewing US data on fatal car crashes from 1995-2007, researchers found that 3.2% of women involved in a fatal crash had a positive blood alcohol test, compared with only 1.2% of men.

And finally, back to New York –  According to a report published in the European Heart Journal, people who are normally content, happy and joyful may have a decreased risk of heart disease. Researchers studied nearly 1,800 adults, measuring their levels of depression and anxiety, as well as the extent of ‘positive affect’—a host of emotions including joy, happiness, contentment, and enthusiasm. After controlling for age, gender and heart disease risk, results showed that the less positive affect a person had, the more likely they were to suffer heart disease.