Hidden Health Risks For Left-Handed People

August 13 is celebrated as International Left Handed Day. International Left-Handed Day is observed to raise awareness of people who are left-handed. There are 10-12% left-handed people from the total population in the world. In left-handed people, the right brain function develops better and is more dominant than the left brain, so that the left side of the body becomes more dominant.

Despite the uniqueness of left-handers, there are hidden health risks for them. The following are hidden health risks for left-handers.

1. Risk for mental health problems
A 2013 study by Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas found that left-handers were at greater risk of mental disorders. This is based on a survey of 107 mental health clinic patients, those with schizophrenia had a 40% rate of left-handedness, and those with mood disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder had an 11% left-handedness.
2. Breast cancer risk
A 2007 British Journal of Cancer study found that left-handed women were twice as likely to develop breast cancer as right-handed ones, and that it was after menopause.
3. Stress risk
This is presumably because left-handed people try to adapt everything that is designed for right-handed people, so that it can cause anxiety, stress, and feelings of depression.
4. Negative emotions
In the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, says that left-handed people are more prone to have negative emotions and seem to have a harder time processing feelings. This is thought to be related to the brain-hand connection and an imbalance of activity between the left and right hemispheres of the brain when trying to process moodiness.
5. PTSD Risk
A study showed that left-handed people tend to show symptoms of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and experience more negative emotions. This is because left-handed people's unusual brain function affects how the brain works to produce fear and anger.
6. Risk of premature death
A study in The New England Journal of Medicine found that left-handed people have a five times greater risk of accidents than those who are not. This is due to their adaptation to using objects and methods of right-handed design, such as the steering wheel, throttle position, and driving style.
7. Autoimmune risk
Professor of psychology at the University of Texas-Austin, Ronald Yeo, PhD, in the book The Puzzle of Left-Handedness, Rik Smits says left-handedness can be a risk factor for autoimmune disorders. A 2001 study found that left-handers were twice as likely to suffer from intestinal problems as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis than right-handed people.
8. Sleep disturbance risk
Researchers found that 94 percent of left-handed people have periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), which makes it difficult to sleep. PLMD is a sleep disorder with symptoms in the form of repetitive leg movements in the legs while sleeping.

Those are some of the hidden health risks of lefties. However, if you experience health problems, whether left-handed or not, immediately consult an expert. You can consult both offline and online with trusted doctors through the mDoc application.