Researchers who studied a survey of almost 700 older adults found that those who got along with their relatives, friends and neighbors were less likely to report health problems and physical limitations.

The findings don't prove a cause-and-effect relationship between social life and health. Still, "the take-home message is that conflict in your life may have important impacts on your physical health," said study lead author Jason T. Newsom, associate professor at the Portland State University School of Community Health in Oregon.

There's nothing really new about a supposed link between attitude and health, but Newsom said his study was unique, because it looked specifically at interactions between people.

Newsom and his colleagues looked at the results of a multi-year national survey of people aged 65 to 90. A total of 666 people completed the survey, in which researchers asked them questions about their lives and their health.

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A new drug can help alcoholics overcome their addiction by reducing stress-induced cravings, a study released Thursday has found.

There is already a drug on the market, Revia, which treats alcoholism by reducing the body's ability to enjoy its effects.

This new drug cuts cravings by taking the edge off of stressful situations which might push recovering alcoholics to pick up the bottle again.

Behavioral stress is a major factor in extending the "vicious cycle" of alcoholism, said lead author Markus Heilig, clinical director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

That's because alcohol deprivation causes depression and increased sensitivity to stressful situations such as an argument with a spouse or tension at work.

Peake made the comment during a Capitol Hill hearing in response to a question from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who expressed concern about VA research that found more than half of all veterans who committed suicide after returning from the recent wars were members of the National Guard or Reserves.

Findings of the research, which examined suicides among those who had been discharged from the military, was first reported Tuesday by The Associated Press.

"I know members of our Guard and Reserves oftentimes don't think of themselves as veterans, they see themselves as going back to their same jobs; they sort of disassociate themselves with the VA system," said Murray, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs committee.

Even though people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may be at increased risk for depression, the subject is rarely discussed with their doctors, says a U.S. study that included 200 RA patients at four rheumatology clinics.

The researchers, led by Betsy Sleath, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, assessed the patients' mental health and recorded patient/rheumatologist medical visits.

They found that 11 percent of the patients had moderately severe to severe symptoms of depression, which was significantly more likely to occur in patients whose activities were more restricted due to their disease.