Men: Can Counseling Save Your Life?

Why men die young; There's a reason women are healthier, and it's not entirely in their genes

TIME magazine. Sanjay Gupta, MD. May 22, 2003

Like most doctors, I'm painfully aware that women live longer than men — five years longer, on average. I used to accept the disparity, assuming it was part of our collective genetic inheritance, more nature than nurture. But a new study published in the current issue of the American Journal of Public Health suggests that men's behavior may also be to blame.

Phone therapy seen as anti-depression aid

For many of us, a phone call from a trusted friend can make the world feel a little more in our favor. Now research out of Seattle suggests that phone calls from a therapist can do the same thing for patients with depression.

The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first major look at treating depression with psychotherapy over the phone.

"This treatment adds significantly to the benefit of antidepressants," said Dr. Gregory Simon, the psychiatrist who led the research on 600 patients at Group Health Cooperative.

He reports 80 percent of patients who received phone therapy along with antidepressants said their depression was "much improved" six months later, compared to 55 percent of those who received the pills alone.