New Study Reveals Link Between Impulsivity And Superstitions In Cases Of Problem Gambling

In ludomania (Problem gambling) there seems to be a link between impulsive nature and erroneous reasoning. This has been shown in a research study led by the University of Cambridge. Affected individuals may strongly believe in superstitions and fortune.

While studying the behavior of compulsive gamblers on treatment at the National Problem Gambling Clinic, it was found that subjects who had a high level of impulsivity were more prone to errors in reasoning linked to gambling. Such subjects believed more on superstitions, like holding a lucky charm. They also had a tendency towards associating any losses in gambling to misfortune or 'cold' machines.

The results of this study appeared in the journal Psychological Medicine on June 29, 2011.

This research was conducted at the National Problem Gambling Clinic which started working in 2008 and is the only NIH funded institution for disordered gambling in the UK. It was sponsored by the Medical Research Council (MRC) which is a publicly-funded organization in the UK dedicated to improving human health.

Gambling has always remained a famous form of entertainment, but problem gambling or ludomania is a known psychiatric diagnosis affecting nearly 1% of the population in the UK. Symptoms of this disorder include uncontrolled gambling and withdrawal effects, such as irritability. The resultant social consequences include gambling debts and family difficulties.

Dr Luke Clark, from the Department of Experimental Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, states that the relation between impulsivity and gambling beliefs signify that a high level of impulsivity in a gambler predisposes towards multiple complex and irrational beliefs, such as superstitions. Dr. Clark explains that their research attempts to relate these two major causes of problem gambling which predisposes some gamblers to develop ludomania.

Scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London conducted a clinical trial with 30 gamblers on treatment and 30 non-gamblers taken as controls. In this study, assessment of impulsivity was made by asking questions involving financial trade-offs. For example, the subjects were asked about their preference regarding accepting £20 ($32) today or £35 ($55) in two weeks. Impulsivity is defined by psychologists as a preference for the immediate smaller rewards. In this study it was found that the gamblers opted more for the short term reward, thereby demonstrating their impulsive behavior. A questionnaire used in this study demonstrated that the impulsive behavior was more during high or low moods, which are frequent triggers for initiating gambling sprees.

Previous studies have identified an 'addictive personality' in ludomania, but this recent study has elucidated that high impulsivity also leads to errors in reasoning and more belief in superstitions and fortune. Ludomania has a male preponderance and is also associated with other mental health problems, such as alcoholism and depression.

Dr. Clark reassured that there are multiple treatment options available for problem gambling, such as psychotherapy and medications. He is hopeful that their research will bring in more insight into the problem and direct future treatments.

"Impulsivity and cognitive distortions in pathological gamblers attending the UK National Problem Gambling Clinic: a preliminary report" R. Michalczuka, H. Bowden-Jonesa, A. Verdejo-Garciaa and L. Clark

Psychological Medicine. Cambridge University Press 2011. doi:10.1017/S003329171100095X

Less Invasive Colon Surgery Results in Fewer Blood Clots: Study

Minimally invasive colon surgery reduces the risk of blood clots in the deep veins compared with traditional surgery, University of California, Irvine, researchers report.Deep vein blood clots, called venous thromboembolism (VTE), occur in about a quarter of patients who have colorectal surgery, the researchers said.

The benefits of less invasive laparoscopic surgery also include faster recovery time and a smaller scar, but these advantages may not be enough to bring about a widespread switch from traditional surgery.“From the cancer perspective, this does not appear to be a game changer,” said Dr. Durado Brooks, director of colorectal cancer at the American Cancer Society.

Brooks said that among cancer patients in the study, no significant difference in the risk of VTE was found between the two procedures.“In addition, cancer had been viewed as a contraindication for laparoscopic surgery,” Brooks said. “There needs to be a more focused study looking [exclusively] at the cancer population before anyone would promote laparoscopic surgery as the way to go for cancer patients.”The report was published in the June issue of the Archives of Surgery.

For the study, a team led by Dr. Brian Buchberg used information from the U.S. National Inpatient Sample database to look for the risk of deep vein blood clots among 149,304 patients who had colon surgery from 2002 through 2006. Of these patients, 5.3 percent had laparoscopic surgery.Buchberg’s group found such clots occurred in 1.4 percent of the patients — 65 laparoscopy patients and 2,036 who had traditional surgery.The risk of clots was almost twice as high among patients undergoing traditional surgery as for the laparoscopy patients, the researchers said.With both types of surgery, they found that cancer, obesity and congestive heart failure were significant risk factors for clotting.

Brooks thinks it’s worthwhile for patients to ask their doctor if laparoscopic surgery is an option, but he added that it’s not advisable for all patients.“The main issue with cancer is you want to make sure you get adequate cancer control,” Brooks said. “You can’t just look at whether you get an individual out of the hospital sooner.”Also, you can’t look at the likelihood of having a deep vein clot, he said. “You have to look at whether you are impacting their five-year survival favorably or unfavorably with laparoscopic surgery,” Brooks added.
SOURCES: Durado Brooks, M.D., M.P.H., director, colorectal cancer, American Cancer Society, Atlanta; June 2011 Archives of Surgery

CDC Cites Benefits of Expanded HIV Testing Program

A trial HIV testing program screened nearly 2.8 million Americans from 2007 to 2010 and identified 18,432 people infected with the AIDS-causing virus, federal health officials said Thursday.Seventy-five percent of those newly diagnosed with HIV were referred to health care, officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.“The goal is to test, to link to care and then to treat,” said Dr. Michael A. Kolber, director of the Comprehensive AIDS Program at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Testing is also important because once someone finds out they are infected with HIV they often change their behavior, he said.One of the main problems with testing is reaching those groups of people most at risk, including gay and bisexual men and African Americans, who make up the majority of new cases, the CDC said. The new report said blacks accounted for 60 percent of those tested and 70 percent of the new cases.
Due to the program’s success, the CDC has extended it. The agency said that of the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV, 20 percent don’t know they are infected.“Expanding testing is critical to help individuals receive life-extending treatment and protect the health of their partners,” the CDC said.More HIV testing, particularly in health-care settings, can help to identify more new cases. This, in turn, can lead to earlier treatment with life-extending drugs, fewer deaths and reduced transmission of the virus, the agency said.Said Kolber: “We know that getting people started on antiretroviral therapy has an impact on disease progression.”He believes HIV infection should be treated like any sexually transmitted disease.“If you are sexually active, you should be tested frequently,” he said. “If we did have it as a regular test, like any sexually transmitted disease test, we would probably pick up more people.
The only way to affect an epidemic such as this is to find everybody who has the disease and try to take care of them.”The new report is published in the June 24 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.More informationFor more on HIV/AIDS, visit AIDS.gov.SOURCES: Michael A. Kolber, M.D., professor of medicine and director, Comprehensive AIDS Program, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; June 24, 2011, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention