Women and men doctors have some divergent views about women and depression, according to a recent survey conducted by the Society for Women’s Health Research, a Washington, D.C., based advocacy organization.

Women doctors are more likely than their male counterparts to believe that women are specifically susceptible to depression during two key times of hormonal transition in a woman’s life: puberty (67.5 percent to 48.2 percent) and perimonpause (92.8 percent to 67.5 percent). There was no difference in the beliefs of male and female doctors about the risk of depression in the postpartum or post menopause periods.

When asked what the major symptoms of depression are, female doctors were significantly more likely to mention lack of motivation or giving up easily and being unable to concentrate. Trouble sleeping, lack of energy or fatigue, not feeling well, feeling sad, crying, changes in appetite, and a loss of interest in friends, activities or social life were the leading responses for both sexes.

“The beliefs of female and male doctors about women and depression are pretty consistent,” said Jo Parrish, vice president of communications for the Society, “but our survey does reveal a few areas where female doctors may be more in tune with the changes women undergo and the feelings they experience, which is not unexpected.

“The survey findings are a good reminder for all of us, both patients and doctors, to communicate carefully and clearly with one another about health so that we can get the right diagnosis and the right treatment for each patient, regardless of sex. It is easy to fall into the lull of thinking that our doctors have all the information and know everything they need to know, when in fact what we tell them and how well that information is received has a tremendous impact on our health and health care outcomes.”

On the topic of risk factors for postpartum depression, female doctors were considerably more likely to mention difficult or complicated pregnancies or deliveries; lack of support or help with the baby; and difficulty dealing with a newborn, including sickness. In general, female doctors were more likely to attribute a woman’s sense of being overwhelmed as a source of postpartum depression.

“Women doctors, many of whom are mothers themselves, are likely more sensitive to the immense burden that new mothers can place on themselves for the health and care of their new baby,” Parrish said. “When things go wrong, women can blame themselves, which can lead to sadness or feelings of guilt and contribute to depression. It is an issue about which women need to talk openly and doctors need to be mindful.”

The survey did find consensus among male and female doctors on several issues. Almost identical percentages of women and men doctors, about 84 percent, agree that women are at higher risk than men of ever having major depression. Strong majorities of women and men doctors also believe it is safe for women to take medication for depression in the postpartum period and under the right circumstances during pregnancy, opinions not as strongly shared by women in the general population.

Saturday can be the worst enemy for our waistlines, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

They found that people on strict diet and exercise programs tend to lose weight more slowly than expected because they eat more on weekends than during the week.

Past research had confirmed that people tend to gain weight during the holidays, particularly between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, but this is the first study to carefully monitor daily body weight, calorie intake and calorie expenditure for several weeks throughout a year, and to demonstrate that increased caloric intake isn’t just a problem during the holidays. It also happens on most weekends.

“We thought weekends would present a problem for some people attempting to lose weight, but the consistency of our finding before and during the interventions was surprising,” says Susan B. Racette, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical therapy and of medicine. “Subjects in the diet group lost weight during the week, but over the weekend, they stopped losing weight because they were eating more.”

People have social events, parties to attend, and if they have children who play sports, they might be at fields all day long, relying on concession stands for food.”

“Planning ahead can’t be emphasized enough,” Racette says. She recommends packing healthy food if you’re running errands, eating a little something so you aren’t starving when you arrive at a party, even packing a light lunch before going to the kids’ ballgames so that you have a choice other than junk food at a concession stand.

“In addition, she says, “paying closer attention to portion sizes can enable a person to enjoy the weekend without sabotaging weight-control efforts.”

Thanks to George Carlin we know there are seven dirty words you can never say on TV. There are also seven dirty words about heart disease that everyone should know:

• Diet – fat, sugar and foods high in cholesterol are known to contribute to heart disease; diabetes (also diet related) also damages the heart and blood vessels.
• Genetics – African Americans, Hispanics, native Americans all have higher rates of high blood pressure and heart disease
• Stress – working too much, dramatic personal lives, worrying, depression; also feeding stress with too much alcohol and other drugs (Carlin reportedly went through drug and alcohol rehab in 2004)
• Smoking – constricts blood vessels and strains the heart and lungs
• Inactivity – the heart is a muscle that needs to be exercised; even moderate activity is helpful, and losing 10 pounds can reduce your cardiac risk
• High blood pressure – leads to undue stress on a variety of organs, including the heart; combined with other risk factors it increases the chance of a heart attack many times
• Denial – saying “it won’t happen to me,” without changing your lifestyle, guarantees you won’t see a decrease in your risk

“Advances in heart research and changes in the way physicians manage heart disease have made heart disease a chronic illness. Modern therapies, such as statins and the simple drug aspirin, together with our knowledge of prevention, have prolonged the lives of many people who, just 30 years ago, would have died much earlier,” according to Dr. Cam Patterson, chief of the Division of Cardiology and director of the Carolina Cardiovascular Biology Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

Heart Disease remains the number one killer of women.