Recession Raising Stress Levels in US Workers
Studies have shown that long periods of stress can lead to serious health problems. Transcript of radio broadcast:
23 March 2009
VOICE ONE:
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I’m Barbara Klein.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Bob Doughty. This week, we will tell about stress and its effects on human health. Stress is a condition resulting from mental or emotional tension. Studies have shown it can reduce the body’s ability to fight disease and lead to serious health problems.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Almost two-thirds of American workers say they are struggling or suffering because of stress from the current economic recession. That information comes from a recent opinion study by the Gallup Organization.
Another study found that almost half of American workers expressed concern about their ability to provide for immediate family needs. Not surprisingly, many workers say they are eating or drinking too much, and smoking more as they attempt to deal with money issues.
VOICE TWO:
Stress affects everybody, every day. Stress is how your body reacts to physical, chemical, emotional or environmental influences. Some stress is unavoidable and may even be good for us. Stress can keep our bodies and minds strong. It gives us the push we need to deal with an urgent situation.
But too much stress can be harmful. It may make an existing health problem worse. Or it can lead to sickness if a person is at risk for the condition.
For example, your body reacts to stressful situations by raising your blood pressure and making your heart work harder. This is dangerous if you already have heart disease or high blood pressure. Stress is more likely to be harmful if you feel helpless to deal with the problem or situation that causes the stress.
VOICE ONE:
Anything you see as a problem can cause stress. It can result from everyday situations or major problems. Stress results when something causes your body to act as if it were being attacked.
Causes of stress can be physical, such as injury or disease. Or they can be mental, such as problems involving your family, job, health or finances. Many visits to doctors are for conditions linked to stress.
The tension of stress can interfere with sleep or cause anger or sadness. A person may become more forgetful or find it harder to think clearly. Losing one’s sense of humor is another sign of an unhealthy amount of stress.
Stress can lead to other problems if people attempt to ease it by taking drugs, smoking, drinking alcohol or by eating more or less than normal.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Chronic stress lasts a long time or happens often. Chronic stress causes the body to produce too much of two hormones, cortisol and adrenalin. Cortisol is called the “worry” hormone. It is produced when we are afraid. Adrenalin prepares the body to react physically to a threat.
Persons suffering from chronic stress produce too much of these hormones for too long. Too much cortisol and adrenalin can result in physical problems and changes that lead to stress-related sickness.
Cortisol provides high levels of energy during important periods. However, scientists have become concerned about the hormone’s long-term effects on our health. Evidence shows that extended periods of cortisol in the body weakens bones, damages nerve cells in the brain and weakens the body’s defense system against disease. This makes it easier to get viral and bacterial infections.
VOICE ONE:
Chronic stress has been linked to high blood pressure and heart disease. Studies suggest that people who are easily stressed develop blockages in blood passageways faster than other people.
High stress levels have been found to cause asthma attacks that make it difficult to breathe. Stress is also linked to mental conditions like depression and anxiety disorders. Extended periods of stress have been linked to headaches, difficulty sleeping, stomach problems and skin disorders.
Studies also show that chronic stress reduces the levels of the hormone estrogen in women. This might put some women at greater risk for heart disease or the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis.
VOICE TWO:
A recent study found that emotional stress may put some older adults at risk of falls and broken bones. Swedish researchers studied one hundred thirty-seven older adults who suffered bone fractures after falling. The patients were questioned at two hospitals.
The study found that the patients’ risk of suffering a fall was higher for up to one hour after emotional stress. Sadness increased the risk nearly six percent compared to periods with no such feelings. For anger, there was an increased risk of more than twelve percent. And, stress increased the risk of falling by about twenty percent.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Mental and health experts believe personality is an important part in how we experience stress. Personality is the way a person acts, feels and thinks. Many things influence a person’s personality, including genetics and experience.
Some people, for example, are aggressive and always in a hurry. They often become angry when things do not happen the way they planned. They are called Type A personalities. Studies suggest that these people often get stress-related illnesses.
The Type B personality is calmer. These people are able to deal with all kinds of situations more easily. As a result, they are less affected by stress.
VOICE TWO:
Studies have shown that men and women deal with stress differently. Women usually have stronger social support systems to help them in times of trouble. These social supports may help explain why many women seem to be better able to deal with stress than men are. However, experts say women are three times more likely to develop depression in reaction to the stress in their lives.
VOICE ONE:
American writer John Gray became famous for his book, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.” The book explored the effect of biological differences between men and women on their personal relationships.
Mister Gray says one major difference is the way people react to the hormone testosterone. The body releases this hormone to deal with stressful situations. Mister Gray says studies have linked a rise in testosterone levels to reduced stress in men. But high testosterone levels have no such effect on women.
He notes that men and women have opposite ways of dealing with stress. For a man, the best way is to rest and forget about daily problems. But a woman suffering from stress needs to talk about her problems. Talking leads to the release of the brain hormone oxytocin, which lowers her stress levels.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Experts say there are several ways to deal with stress. They include deep breathing and a method of guided thought called meditation.
They also include exercise, eating healthy foods, getting enough rest and balancing the time spent working and playing. Doctors say people should limit the amounts of alcohol and caffeine in their diets. People who have many drinks with caffeine, like coffee, experience more stress and produce more stress hormones.
Experts say exercise is one of the most effective stress-reduction measures. Running, walking or playing sports causes physical changes that make you feel better. Exercise also improves the body’s defense system against disease. And studies have found that it helps protect against a decrease in mental ability.
VOICE ONE:
Doctors say deep, slow breathing is also helpful. And many medical studies have shown that clearing the mind through quiet meditation helps you become calm. This causes lower blood pressure, reduced muscle tension and decreased heart rate.
Experts also say keeping stress to yourself can make problems worse. Researchers have linked the failure to identify and express emotions to many health conditions. These include eating disorders, fear disorders and high blood pressure.
They say expressing emotions to friends or family members or writing down your feelings can help reduce stress. Experts say people should attempt to accept or change stressful situations whenever possible.
VOICE TWO:
Judith Orloff is a mental health expert at the University of California at Los Angeles. She wrote a book called “Emotional Freedom” that deals directly with Americans’ economic fears. Doctor Orloff advises workers not to worry about things they cannot control. Instead, she urges them to think about the one thing that most concerns them, and to deal with it.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by George Grow. Our producer was Brianna Blake. I’m Barbara Klein.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in VOA Special English.
Nations Take Steps to Prepare for Ever-Present Threat of Tsunamis
A new warning system for Indonesia may reduce loss of life from deadly waves. Transcript of radio broadcast:
16 March 2009
VOICE ONE:
Children in the Solomon Islands hunt for clothes after a tsunami hit their village of Titiana, where 15 people died, in April 2007
Children in the Solomon Islands hunt for clothes after a tsunami hit their village of Titiana, where 15 people died, in April 2007
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I’m Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Shirley Griffith. Our subject this week is tsunamis — the sea waves often caused by earthquakes.
VOICE ONE:
Our broadcast today begins a few years ago on a beautiful day in Thailand.
A British schoolgirl, Tilly Smith, was spending the day at Maikhao Beach in Phuket. Then Tilly saw that the water seemed to have disappeared from the beach. When she looked out to sea, the surface of the water looked strange.
The ten-year-old girl warned her parents. They warned others. People moved away from the water, saving themselves from almost sure drowning. Tilly had recognized the signs of a tsunami. She had studied tsunamis at school.
VOICE TWO:
A man talks on his phone near smashed cars along Patong Beach in Thailand
A man on his phone near smashed cars along Patong Beach in Thailand in 2004
The young girl had witnessed a part of the historic tsunami of December twenty-sixth, two thousand four. In Thailand, some waves were as high as many buildings. The walls of water also struck a number of other nations, and killed more than two hundred thirty thousand people.
The incident produced a major effect on many countries. It has also led to actions to protect against future tsunamis.
VOICE ONE:
Some people say tsunamis are tidal waves. But tides are the ebb and flow of saltwater against the coast. Tsunamis are not normal tides. Instead, extreme events cause unnatural actions to form tsunamis. Scientists blame strong earthquakes for eighty to ninety percent of tsunamis. Other causes are landslides and underwater or nuclear explosions at sea. Still another is the crash of large asteroids, minor planets that fall to earth.
A tsunami is not just one wave, but a series of waves. Some of the waves can be huge.
VOICE TWO:
Some scientists say the earthquake that caused the great tsunami of two thousand four measured nine points in intensity. Others say it was nine point three. Whatever the force, it was among the strongest earthquakes many people could remember. The earthquake created a tsunami that killed people in eleven countries.
The earthquake of December twenty-sixth took place just east of the Sunda Trench. The trench is an extremely deep hole on the floor of the Indian Ocean. It stretches about two thousand six hundred kilometers along the island of Sumatra. A tsunami formed near the place where the earthquake began and traveled outward in all directions.
The water reached the northern edge of Sumatra about twenty minutes after the earthquake. In Aceh Province alone, up to one hundred seventy thousand unsuspecting people died in a short time. Pictures taken from the air after the tsunami also showed a shocking loss of land.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
People all over the world reacted to the killer tsunami. They gave large amounts of money to help the victims. But they also made plans to protect against other terrible waves.
They built or improved existing walls and floodgates to block the waves. And they worked to create or improve tsunami warning systems. Such a system contains sensing equipment that notes danger. The system also operates the processes for spreading warnings to threatened areas.
Some countries, like Japan, already had good warning systems. Earthquakes often strike Japan. Some earthquakes cause tsunamis. Japan has suffered hundreds of tsunami waves over the years. For example, the Great Tsunami in nineteen thirty three killed more than three thousand people. But some tsunami waves were small, and looked just like normal waves.
VOICE TWO:
The United Nations agency UNESCO created the Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission, or I.O.C., in nineteen sixty. This organization has tsunami warning systems in many places. It supervised creation of a system for nations on the edges of the Indian Ocean after the great earthquake and tsunami of two thousand four.
Twenty-five stations watch for possible earthquake activity. The stations provide information to many national tsunami information centers and several deep ocean sensors. The I.O.C. says its efforts are the beginning of a worldwide tsunami-warning program.
VOICE ONE:
Continuing disasters in the Indian Ocean made Indonesia decide it must have a warning system of its own. In two thousand five, almost one thousand people were killed in an earthquake near the island of Nias. But the earthquake did not create a tsunami. Still another tsunami took place after an earthquake near Java in two thousand six. That tsunami was not nearly as severe as the one in two thousand four. But it still killed hundreds of people.
Last year, a tsunami warning system began operating especially for Indonesia. The system probably will be completed by two thousand ten.
VOICE TWO:
The new system is called the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System, or GITEWS. It has been busy recording earthquakes that could produce huge waves. On February eleventh, GITEWS reported a seven point three earthquake in Indonesia’s Talaud Islands near Sulawesi. But no tsunami followed.
GITEWS is a joint project of Indonesia and the German government. Germany’s national research center for geosciences organized the project. Germany, Indonesia and other partners helped make it financially possible.
VOICE ONE:
The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres described new methods and technologies in the new warning system. The group says less time passes for an earthquake shock wave to reach a measuring instrument than in the past. But it is difficult to read and judge a wave when it is near.
To deal with that problem, the designers developed a special computer software program. They say the program can show the source, placement and size of several strong earthquakes within two minutes.
Another example of new methods in GITEWS involves how a tsunami behaves. A tsunami travels hundreds of kilometers per hour in deep water. But it slows down in water that is not deep. In coastal areas it can swell, or enlarge, to waves of up to thirty meters high.
To save lives, a tsunami must be recognized as such before it can reach land. GITEWS provides nine new measuring stations in the Indian Ocean. That means Indonesia is not the only nation to receive the information. The system also can help other countries.
Technical and mechanical systems are also responsible for getting the news of huge waves to threatened areas. Local officials are responsible for broadcasting warnings as fast as they can, by any method they can.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
The Indian Ocean tsunami of two thousand four was among the worst that ever happened. But the Pacific Ocean area has experienced more of the deadly waves. Experts estimate sixty percent of tsunamis take place there. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center watches for earthquake activity that could cause tsunamis.
America’s National Weather Service is an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. Its experts serve as part of the Pacific Tsunami Warning System. They also keep watch on the American state of Hawaii from an operations center near Honolulu.
Hawaii suffered major tsunamis during the twentieth century. In nineteen sixty, the Great Chilean Earthquake caused waves that took many lives. That tsunami almost completely destroyed the city of Hilo.
VOICE ONE:
Last month, eighteen South Pacific countries sent representatives to a tsunami meeting in Samoa. Many expert observers also attended. Those taking part discussed the results of an exercise throughout the Pacific area last October. The exercise tested warning and emergency communications and national and local readiness.
NOAA’s National Weather Service center in Palmer, Alaska supervises a warning station for the United States mainland and Canada.
In January of two thousand seven, Canada increased its protection. It opened the Canadian Atlantic Tsunami Warning System. The system was designed to especially protect the nation’s Atlantic Ocean coast and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Canada’s national government, five easternmost provinces and NOAA cooperated in the project.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jerilyn Watson. Brianna Blake was our producer. I’m Shirley Griffith.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
A New Treatment for Those Who Have Lost an Arm
Also: How spending months in space could be bad for your health. Transcript of radio broadcast:
09 March 2009
VOICE ONE:
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I’m Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
Jesse Sullivan was an electrical worker who loved fishing and camping, but he lost both of his arms while working on power lines
Jesse Sullivan was an electrical worker who lost both of his arms while working on power lines
And I’m Barbara Klein. This week, we will tell about an American study of media use and mental health. We will also tell about a new treatment for people who have lost an arm. And we will tell how spending months in space could be bad for your health.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
A new study suggests that the more young people watch television, the more likely they are to develop depression as young adults. But how much TV may or may not be to blame is a question that the study leaves unanswered.
American researchers used a national long-term survey of adolescent health to investigate the link between media use and depression. They based their findings on more than four thousand adolescents who were not depressed when the survey began in nineteen ninety-five.
VOICE TWO:
As part of the study, the young men and women were asked how many hours of television or videos they watched daily. They were also asked how often they played computer games and listened to the radio.
On average, each adolescent reported using some kind of media five and one-half hours a day. More than two hours of that was spent watching TV.
Seven years later, more than seven percent of the young people had signs of depression. The average age at that time was twenty-one.
VOICE ONE:
The results of the survey were published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The lead writer was Brian Primack of the University of Pittsburgh medical school. He says every extra hour of television meant an eight percent increase in the chances of developing signs of depression.
The researchers say they did not find any such link with the use of other media such as movies, radio or video games. But the study did find that young men were more likely than young women to develop depression given the same amount of media use.
VOICE TWO:
Doctor Primack says the study did not explore if watching TV causes depression. But one possibility, he says, is that it may take time away from sports or other activities that could help prevent depression. It might also interfere with sleep, he says, and that could have an influence.
In December, the publication Social Indicators Research reported on a study of activities that help lead to happy lives. Sociologists from the University of Maryland found that people who describe themselves as happy spend less time watching television than unhappy people. The study found that happy people are more likely to be socially active, read, vote and attend religious services.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
You are listening to the VOA Special English program SCIENCE IN THE NEWS. With Barbara Klein, I’m Bob Doughty in Washington.
Scientific progress improves the lives of people around the world every day. One of the latest developments is a new kind of surgery. It holds promise to greatly improve the abilities of people who have lost both arms. The operation could help double arm amputees move their manufactured arms with greater ease and control.
Arm amputees commonly use devices joined to their shoulders to operate man-made arms or wrists. These devices use rope-like material to carry movement from the shoulder to the prosthetic arm. Yet, the movement is limited, and requires the person to tighten muscles in the back or arms.
VOICE TWO:
Now, researchers with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago are working on another method called TMR, or targeted muscle reinnervation. It uses the remaining nerves of arm amputees that would otherwise be lost because of injuries.
TMR surgically connects the remaining nerves to chest muscles. Electric devices are then placed near those muscles. The idea is to activate the remaining arm nerves to make electrical signals to operate prosthetic devices.
To move an arm, the brain sends a message that causes the chest muscles to tighten. An electrical signal is then sent to the prosthetic arm, telling it to move. The process takes place without any more effort than in a person without prosthetics.
VOICE ONE:
The researchers completed a study involving five volunteers who had lost their arms, but had the TMR surgery. They were asked to perform ten different movements, including moving the wrist in a circular motion and moving their elbows.
A group of volunteers who had not lost their arms performed the same test. The times for both groups were similar, but the non-amputees were able to perform the movements faster. For example, the TMR patients completed elbow and wrist movements in an average of one-point-two-nine seconds. The non-amputee volunteers did the movements in one-point-zero-eight seconds.
VOICE TWO:
Todd Kuiken of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago led the study. His team has found that even more complex movements can be performed by TMR patients with improved kinds of prosthetic devices. The results of the study were reported last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
About thirty people have already had the TMR surgery. Doctor Kuiken says the devices used in the study need more work before they will be widely available. However, he says they will make it possible for patients to simply think of the action they wish to perform and do it with prosthetics.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Recently, American researchers studied a health risk faced by astronauts traveling on the International Space Station. They found that people who spend months in space lose bone strength at a faster rate than experts had thought. The study found this loss of bone strength increases the risk of broken bones later in life.
The researchers studied thirteen astronauts — twelve men and one woman. Each person had spent four to six months on the Space Station.
VOICE TWO:
Joyce Keyak led the study. She is a professor of biomedical engineering and orthopedic surgery at the University of California in Irvine.
Her team used a computer program she developed to identify the risk of broken hipbones in people with the bone disease osteoporosis. The team used the same computer program to study images of the hipbones of the thirteen astronauts.
The study found their hipbone strength decreased by an average of fourteen percent. Three astronauts showed losses of twenty to thirty percent. These rates are similar to those seen in older women with osteoporosis.
VOICE ONE:
The astronauts’ decrease in bone strength measured from point six percent to five percent for each month spent on the space station.
Professor Keyak says the measurement is much greater than monthly reductions in bone mineral density of point four percent and one point eight percent. Those measurements were observed in earlier studies on the same individuals.
VOICE TWO:
The study is said to be the first to examine in detail measurements of bone strength instead of bone density. The American space agency provided financial support for the study.
The results were reported in the online version of the publication Bone.
Researchers studying the effects of long-term spaceflight often examine the hipbone or backbone. The hip is believed to have the greatest rate of bone loss in space.
VOICE ONE:
For many years, researchers have studied why the space environment weakens bones. They have found that lack of gravity has a severe effect on bones. Weightlessness does not let bones do their normal work of supporting the body.
Professor Keyak says astronauts need to take preventative measures to keep their bones strong. If not, she says, they may be at increased risk for age-related broken bones years after their visits to space.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake, Lawan Davis and Caty Weaver. Brianna Blake also was our producer. I’m Barbara Klein.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Bob Doughty. We would like to hear from you. Write to us at Special English, Voice of America, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A. Or send your e-mails to special@voanews.com. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
