Mental Health in the News

"Blood pressure control is key to a healthy heart," the Daily Express has reported. The newspaper said that keeping your blood pressure levels low before you turn 55 dramatically cuts your risk of cardiovascular disease.

On a sobering note during the festive period, the BBC today reported that homeless people "die 30 years younger" than the national average. The Daily Telegraph said that "homeless women die 'by age 43'" while The Guardian said that homeless people have a "life expectancy of just 47".

Many newspapers today reported details of a possible link between a French brand of breast implants and a rare form of cancer. It is thought that up to 50,000 British women have had the implants concerned, which are subject to a major investigation in France.

There has been a flurry of internet news over the bizarre case of a woman who had a pen removed from her stomach, 25 years after she swallowed it. Amazingly, the plastic pen still worked after over two decades lodged inside her.

A hormone pill "may help women through the menopause and give their sex lives a boost," according to the Daily Mail. The newspaper reported that the hormone pill, called DHEA, could become an alternative to the current Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for easing menopausal problems such as hot flushes and night sweats. DHEA is a steroid hormone naturally produced by the body's adrenal gland and used in the production of sex hormones, but the synthetic version is not currently licensed for use in menopause.