Tomorrow’s Health: HIV & mental health, asthma & sleep, statins & muscle pain

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - A new study looks at the connection between sleep and asthma, plus the toll an HIV diagnosis may take on a person’s mental health.

HIV & mental health

People living with HIV are three times more likely to develop depression and 10 times more likely to die by suicide in the first two years after diagnosis.

That’s according to a new study out of Denmark. Researchers recommend more focus on the mental health — as well as the physical health — of that population.

Asthma & sleep

A large study in the United Kingdom finds people who are already at the highest genetic risk for asthma are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with the condition if they also have poor sleep patterns.

Conversely, researchers found that a healthy sleep pattern might reduce the risk by more than one-third.

Statins & muscle pain

Many people who take cholesterol-lowering statins also experience muscle pain and weakness but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t exercise.

A new study from Mount Sinai in New York found statins did not make muscle symptoms worse after moderate-intensity physical activity such as walking.

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