In Brief
n Professional football players are twice
as likely to get concussions on colder
game days, according to a study out of
the University of Toronto. The researchers
analyzed injury reports from the National
Football League’s 2012–13 and 2013–14
seasons. They found that NFL players
were twice as likely to suffer concussions
on days colder than 50 degrees than they
were on days warmer than 70 degrees.
The researchers say more work needs to
be done to examine the reasons for the
association (Orthopaedic Journal of Sports
Medicine, March).
n Teenagers who take part in cultural
activities with their parents are more
likely than those who don’t to pursue
further education, finds a study by
a University of Warwick scientist.
She analyzed responses from more
than 10,000 adolescents in the United
Kingdom about family emotional
closeness, bullying, friendships,
homework, extracurricular activities and
perception of parental interest in the
child’s education. Even compared with
teens who attended homework clubs or
participated in extracurricular activities,
those who went to museums, galleries
and concerts with their parents were
more likely to believe in the importance
of going to college (Journal of Youth
Studies, online Feb. 19).
n Being married may help prolong
survival in patients with cancer,
according to research by scientists
at Stanford University and other
institutions. They assessed information
on nearly 800,000 adults in California
who were diagnosed with invasive cancer
between 2000 and 2009, and followed
them through 2012. Results showed that
unmarried cancer patients had higher
death rates than married patients. For
unmarried males, the death rate was
27 percent higher, while for unmarried
females it was 19 percent higher. These
patterns were only partially accounted
for by greater economic resources
among married patients, including
having private health insurance and
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Among young adults, depression is more
common among the highest users of social
media, according to work by researchers at
the University of Pittsburgh. The researchers
surveyed 1,787 young adults ages 19 to 32
about their use of social media — including
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and
others — and administered a depression
assessment. Participants who reported the
most social media use throughout their day
were 1. 7 times more likely to be depressed
compared with those who reported the
least use. The researchers say that the study
does not identify cause and effect — it could
be that social media use contributes to
depression, or that people who are already
depressed turn to social media more often,
or some combination of the two (Depression
and Anxiety, online Jan. 19).
