Research Roundup

Mindfulness may promote health

In the April issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, University researchers report that individuals who are mindful are more attuned to their emotions and act in ways that are compatible with their values and interests. Mindfulness, which is an enhanced attention to and awareness of the present, can be linked to a better mood, higher self-esteem, increased life satisfaction, and optimism--all signs, experts say, of psychological health.

Coauthors Kirk Warren Brown, visiting assistant professor of clinical and social psychology, and Richard Ryan, professor of clinical and social psychology, researched the phenomenon of mindfulness and tracked indicators of psychological well-being. They designed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale to measure this quality of consciousness. Higher scores on the scale predicted better mood states on a day-to-day basis in both college students and working adults.

"We've shown that mindfulness can be reliably and validly measured and has a significant role to play in mental health," says Brown. "It does appear to make a meaningful difference in how happy people are."

Effects of lead reexamined

A team of researchers from four organizations, including the Medical Center, have concluded that the current "safe" lead level of 10 micrograms per deciliter endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization is not safe, and, in fact, significant damage is caused to children with lead blood levels below 10 micrograms.

Experts say the findings, published in the April 17 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, underscore the importance of lead exposure prevention and suggest that more U.S. children may be adversely affected by environmental lead than previously estimated.

"The major message here is that kids who are exposed to lead sustain the most damage early on in their exposure, so that in effect, there is no safe lead exposure level," says Deborah Cory-Slechta, director of the University's Environmental Health Sciences Center.

Study links dental disease, smoking

Children who are exposed to passive smoking may be at an increased risk for developing cavities, according to a study by University researchers published in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

C. Andrew Aligne, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics, and colleagues examined the association between passive smoking and dental caries by using data collected in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

"Reduction of passive smoking is important not only for the prevention of many medical problems, but also for the promotion of children's dental health," say the authors, who did the work in conjunction with the Center for Child Health Research.

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