The Real Cost of Physician Burnout

July 1, 2019

In recent years, leading health care organizations have declared physician burnout, or the state of physical and mental exhaustion associated with job stress, a public health crisis. The problem is so pervasive that burnout was added to the list of medical conditions by the World Health Organization in May of this year. Compared to average American workers, physicians are experiencing twice as much burnout, which may lead to high turnover, lower-quality care, and suboptimal patient outcomes. In addition to raising significant ethical concerns, overworked and unhappy physicians are taxing on the U.S. economy, costing the nation $4.6 billion per year, according to new research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

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Sleep Disorders, Breathing, and Age Acceleration

June 27, 2019

Exercise, nutrition, and smoking are the primary modifiable risk factors for a host of health conditions; sleep and increasingly common sleep disorders are often overlooked. The most common type of sleep-disordered breathing– obstructive sleep apnea – affects nearly 30 million adults within the United States and results in oxidative stress as well as inflammation. While previous studies have linked sleep disorders to a multitude of health complications such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and depression, recent research suggests sleep-disordered breathing may cause age acceleration. 

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Brain Awareness Month: Probiotics for Mood and Cognitive Function

June 15, 2019

June marks the beginning of Brain Awareness Month, a global campaign to raise public awareness of Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Increased recognition of neurological disorders has led to further clinical research and the discovery of important mechanisms of action, risk factors, and indicators of declining cognitive function. More recently, the medical community has focused its efforts on better understanding the gut-brain axis, or the connection between the human microbiome and mental health.  Discoveries continue to implicate the crucial role of the gut in promoting and maintaining cognitive function, mental clarity, and a stable mood.

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