Category "Health"

Described in the early 1980s as “The Silent Epidemic,” dementia in the elderly will soon become a clarion call for public health experts worldwide. The epidemic is largely explained by the prevalence of dementia in persons 8- years of age or older. In most countries around the world, especially wealthy ones, this “old old” population will continue to grow, and since it accounts for the largest proportion of dementia cases, the dementia epidemic will grow worldwide. Eventually, we will have results of studies conducted over longer periods with presumably more definitive findings. But for now, the evidence supports the theory that better education and greater economic well-being enhance life expectancy and reduce the risk of late-life dementias in people who survive to old age. The results also suggest that controlling vascular and other risk factors during midlife and early old age has unexpected benefits. That is, individual risk-factor control may provide substantial public health benefits if it leads to lower rates of late-life dementias.

Read more at the New England Journal of Medicine.

Which twin is the heavy smoker?

Which twin is the heavy smoker?

We know that smoking is bad for you, and that it ages you prematurely. Now, a new study provides photographic evidence for this claim.

Scientists gathered health and lifestyle information on 79 pairs of identical adult twins who fit into one of three groups: a pair in which one was a smoker and the other had never smoked; a pair in which both were smokers; or a pair in which both were smokers but with at least a five-year difference in the duration of their smoking habit. The researchers photographed them and had independent judges rate the pictures side-by-side for wrinkles, crow’s feet, jowls, bags under the eyes, creases around the nose, lines around the lips and other evidence of aging skin.

The differences in some other factors that can age skin prematurely — alcohol consumption, sunscreen use and perceived stress at work — were statistically insignificant between twin pairs. But the judges’ decisions on which twin looked older coincided almost perfectly with their smoking histories.

“The purpose of this study was to offer scientific evidence that smoking changes not only longevity, but also quality of appearance,” said the senior author, Dr. Bahman Guyuron, chairman of the plastic surgery department at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. “It is harmful any way you look at it.”

Take the New York Times’ Well Quiz here.

 

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Diet soda may help or hinder attempts to lose weight. But it definitely can get you drunker. Because a drink made from alcohol and a diet mixer boosts breathalyzer readings higher than the same drink with a sugary mixer, according to a new study. The finding was published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. For the study, 16 casual drinkers knocked back one of three drinks: vodka mixed with sugary soda, vodka mixed with sugar-free soda, or a placebo beverage. Over three different sessions, each participant received each drink. After finishing the drink, the subjects were given breathalyzer tests and reaction time measurements. Participants also did a self-assessment in which they estimated their own drunkenness, tiredness and willingness to drive. When both men and women drank vodka with the diet mixer, their breath alcohol levels were on average 18 percent higher than when they consumed the alcohol with full-calorie soda mixers. And their reaction times were slower. Although a diet mixer impaired the subjects more, they rated themselves as not being any drunker. So if you’re watching your weight, be sure to watch out for what you drink.

Source: Scientific American

The herpes virus that produces cold sores during times of stress now has been linked to cognitive impairment throughout life, according to a new University of Michigan study that for the first time shows an impact on children ages 12-16. Researchers at the U-M School of Public Health study examined the association between two latent herpes viruses—Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 and cytomegalovirus (CMV)—and cognitive impairment among individuals across three age groups: 6-16, 20-59, and 60 and older. The researchers used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. HSV-1 is the oral herpes virus. Previous research has linked it with neurological disorders associated with aging, including Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, but few studies have examined whether these pathogens may influence cognition beginning early in life. “This study is a first step in establishing an association between these viruses and cognition across a range of ages in the U.S. population,” said Allison Aiello, associate professor of epidemiology at the U-M School of Public Health.

Source: University of Michigan

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A new UCSF-led study of nearly 3,000 individuals links obesity to the development of kidney disease. The work also shows that, when properly measured, declines in kidney function are detectable long before the emergence of other obesity-related diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Healthy kidneys are vital to the proper functioning of the heart and brain, as well as the skeletal and immune systems, and the research adds additional urgency to the call for doctors to intervene early in life with obese patients, the researchers said. “We’re getting larger and larger at younger and younger ages, so the problems we will see that are directly related to obesity are going to become more common and they’re going to start earlier in life,” said Vanessa Grubbs, MD, UCSF assistant adjunct professor of medicine and first author of the new study. “Even before the level at which we can diagnose illnesses, decline in kidney function is happening. Is it reversible? We’re not sure. Preventable? It stands to reason that it would be.”

Source: University of California- San Francisco

Nearly half of the United States is reporting widespread influenza activity, most of it attributed to the H1N1 virus that caused a worldwide pandemic in 2009. Thousands of people die every year from flu, which peaks in the United States between October and March. The flu is spreading quickly this season, with 25 states already reporting cases. “We are seeing a big uptick in disease in the past couple of weeks. The virus is all around the United States right now,” said Dr. Joe Bresee, chief of Epidemiology and Prevention in the CDC’s Influenza Division. In 2009-2010, the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, spread from Central Mexico to 74 other countries, killing an estimated 284,000 people. While younger people were more susceptible to H1N1 in 2009, Bresee said it is too early to tell whether the same will be true this year. This season’s virus has killed six children in the United States, according to CDC data. The agency does not track adult deaths, but dozens have been reported around the country. “There is still a lot of season to come. If folks haven’t been vaccinated, we recommend they do it now,” Bresee said. Texas has been one of the harder hit states, where at least 25 people have died this season from the flu. The Texas Department of State Health Services issued an “influenza health alert” on December 20, advising clinicians to consider antiviral treatment, even if an initial rapid-flu test comes back negative. Texas health officials also encouraged people to get a flu shot. “The flu is considered widespread in Texas,” a spokeswoman for the state’s health department said.

Source: Reuters

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Vitamin-D deficiency is much more strongly linked to fatal than nonfatal CV events, results of a large prospective study suggest. “Although our results were able to confirm an approximately 27% increased total CV risk in subjects with vitamin D deficiency, they indicate that the risk is much stronger for (and possibly even confined to) fatal CVD events,” write the researchers. Previous observational and randomized trials linking serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations with increased CVD risk have typically used only a single vitamin-D measurement and did not separately examine fatal and nonfatal outcomes, they note. The current population-based cohort study enrolled 9949 adults aged 50 to 74 years recruited during regular health checkups at primary-care practices in 2000 to 2002. There were more women than men (59% vs 41%); most participants (59%) had inadequate vitamin-D levels (<50 nmol/L). Blood samples were collected at baseline, 5, and 8 years. Mean follow-up was 9.2 years for mortality and 6.5 years for the end points of CVD, CHD, and stroke. A total of 854 patients had a nonfatal CVD event, 176 had a fatal CVD event, 460 had a nonfatal CHD event, 79 had a fatal CHD event, 313 had a nonfatal stroke, and 41 had a fatal stroke. Overall, the proportion of individuals who had no events was significantly lower among those with vitamin-D deficiency. The association continued after adjustment for age, sex, and season of blood drawn, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.46 for total CVD to 1.58 for total stroke.

Source: MedScape

The CDC has received a number of reports of severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults, many of whom were infected with influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 (pH1N1) virus. Multiple pH1N1-associated hospitalizations, including many requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and some fatalities have been reported.  While it is not possible to predict which influenza viruses will predominate during the entire 2013-14 influenza season, pH1N1 has been the predominant circulating virus so far.  For the 2013-14 season, if pH1N1 virus continues to circulate widely, illness that disproportionately affects young and middle-aged adults may occur. In the 2012-13 influenza season, CDC estimates that there were approximately 380,000 influenza-associated hospitalizations. Although influenza activity nationally is currently at low levels, some areas of the United States are already experiencing high activity, and influenza activity is expected to increase during the next few weeks. The spectrum of illness observed thus far in the 2013-14 season has ranged from mild to severe and is consistent with that of other influenza seasons. While CDC has not detected any significant changes in pH1N1 viruses that would suggest increased virulence or transmissibility, the agency is continuing to monitor for antigenic and genetic changes in circulating viruses. CDC recommends annual influenza vaccination for everyone 6 months and older. Anyone who has not yet been vaccinated this season should get an influenza vaccine now. While annual vaccination is the best tool for prevention of influenza and its complications, treatment with antiviral drugs (oral oseltamivir and inhaled zanamivir) is an important second line of defense for those who become ill to reduce morbidity and mortality. Antiviral treatment is recommended as early as possible for any patient with confirmed or suspected influenza who is hospitalized; has severe, complicated, or progressive illness; or is at higher risk for influenza complications.

Read more here.

As if the fiery rash and painful blisters of shingles were not punishment enough, the average patient who suffers a resurgence of the dormant chickenpox virus known as herpes zoster — or shingles — has a higher risk of heart attack or mild stroke two decades or more after the blisters and rash recede, says a new study. Writing in the journal Neurology, the British authors of the latest report say the findings strengthen the suspicion that once unleashed as shingles, the herpes zoster virus may plant seeds of destruction in some of the body’s blood vessels which could take years to wreak havoc. That would be a particularly sneaky trick for a virus already known for lying in wait for years to attack. The findings raise the possibility that getting the shingles vaccine could for many head off a slide toward cardiovascular disease. But other studies will be needed to test that proposition. In the meantime, they suggested, the shingles vaccine could be offered to any patients that are at risk of cardiovascular disease in a bid to reduce their risk factors. And patients who’ve had shingles before age 40 might be treated more aggressively to drive down heart attack and stroke risk, and urged to live a heart-healthy lifestyle.

Source: Los Angeles Times

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Older men who spend a lot of time sitting around are more likely to face heart failure down the road, a new study shows. The research included more than 82,000 men between the ages of 45 and 69. Those who spent more time being sedentary outside of work hours, even if they exercised, had a higher risk for heart failure. “Men with low levels of physical activity were 52 percent more likely to develop heart failure than men with higher levels of physical activity,” said study author Deborah Rohm Young, a senior scientist at Kaiser Permanente in Pasadena, Calif. Young said those who spent at least five hours per day sitting were 34 percent more likely to develop heart failure than those who spent less than two hours a day sitting. The scientists used data from a large study called the California Men’s Health Study. None of the men had heart failure at the start of the study. “We looked at baseline information on a questionnaire about physical activity and sitting time outside of work,” said Young, who noted that the men were followed for up to a decade. Their exercise levels were calculated in a way that tallied how much energy the body uses. The researchers also tracked how many hours a day the men were sedentary. “Those who had low physical activity — who sat a lot and got little exercise — were more than twice as likely to have heart failure compared to those who were active and had not very much sitting time outside of work,” Young explained. Heart failure is the inability of the heart muscle to effectively pump blood throughout the body, said Young. It affects 5.7 million Americans — mostly older people. Approximately 20 percent of adults will be diagnosed with it during their lifetime, according to the American Heart Association. “It affects a lot of people. Of those who have heart failure, about half will die within five years of being diagnosed,” Young said, noting that transplants are rare and most with the condition manage it through medication. “But it is associated with a reduced quality of life.” Young said that even when she and her colleagues looked at people who developed heart disease or high blood pressure during the study, they found that being more active was still good. “It was more likely to protect against heart failure for those who had those conditions.” For those with heart issues who want to increase their exercise, it’s not too late, she said, although, “obviously they have to get a clearance from their physicians before changing their physical activity.” The take-home message is simple, Young said: Sit less, move more. “It doesn’t even require joining a gym,” she said. “Walking is the best exercise for the majority of people. Brisk walking. Thirty minutes a day is wonderful.”

Source: HealthDay

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