Category: news-perspectives

Walking more can decrease the risk of heart attack, stroke and death among high-risk adults, a study finds. The study included 9,300 people with pre-diabetes. People with this condition have above-normal blood sugar. It’s not high enough to diagnose diabetes. But they have higher risks of type 2 diabetes, heart attack and stroke. Everyone in the study was in a program to help them exercise more, lose weight and improve their diets. At the start of the study, people were wore pedometers for a week to record how many steps they took daily. They did this again a year later. People who walked more when the study began were healthier during the 6-year follow-up period. For every 2,000 steps people took daily, they were 10% less likely to have a heart attack or stroke or die. These numbers were adjusted to account for other factors that affected people’s risk.

Women in a study who kept off excess weight for 2 years may have reduced their risk of heart disease and diabetes, researchers report. The study included 417 overweight or obese women. They were randomly assigned to follow either the Jenny Craig program or a self-directed diet program. They provided fasting blood samples before the study. Researchers checked blood samples again after 12 and 24 months. About 70% of all women had sustained weight loss after 2 years. Those who followed the commercial program had greater reductions. Women who lost at least 10% of their weight and kept it off for 2 years also showed signs of better health. They had improvements in factors that affect the risk of heart disease and diabetes. These included lower LDL (“bad cholesterol”) and triglycerides, another blood fat. They also had a drop in C-reactive protein, which indicates inflammation.

Long-awaited new guidelines allow slightly higher blood pressure for people over 60 and those with some conditions. These are the first new guidelines since 2003. An expert panel wrote them. Other experts reviewed them. For the first time, they are based as much as possible on randomized controlled trials. Such studies are considered the highest standard of evidence. They assign similar people to different treatments or a placebo (fake). If these studies were lacking, the guidelines relied on expert opinion. The new guidelines recommend treating blood pressure in people ages 60 and older if it is above 150/90. For people ages 30 through 59, the goal remains less than 140/90. For this group, only the goal for diastolic pressure (the second number, 90) is based on evidence. The systolic goal (the first number) is based on expert opinion.

Vigorous exercise can help keep those holiday cookies from harming your health, a new study shows. The study included 26 healthy young men. They were asked to limit their normal physical activity for a week. But half of the men were randomly assigned to run on a treadmill for 45 minutes a day. All of the men were asked to follow their normal diet but eat more for of it. Daily calories increased by 50% in the inactive group and 75% in the exercise group. This ensured that both groups had the same excess calorie intake, even though one group was exercising. After just a week of overeating, everyone had an increase in blood sugar. Tests showed that the men also had unhealthy changes to metabolism. But all of these effects were much reduced in the men who were exercising. The Journal of Physiology published the study December 15. HealthDay News wrote about it.

Raw milk is not safe for infants, children and pregnant women, a group of children’s doctors says. The American Academy of Pediatrics is urging parents not to let their children drink milk that is not pasteurized or eat most raw-milk cheeses. Pregnant women also should avoid these products, the group said. The doctors’ group also called for a ban on sale of raw milk. The reason is that raw milk can contain germs that cause human illness. Such illnesses were common before pasteurizing milk become widespread in the 1920s. Today, the movement toward local and natural foods has made raw milk more popular. But drinking raw milk has led to about 150 to 200 illnesses each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Most are stomach illnesses caused by bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella. Some cases lead to severe illness and even kidney failure.

Two-thirds of people over 65 need some kind of help with activities of daily living such as bathing and dressing, a new study finds. The study included more than 8,000 people over 65. All but 500 lived in their own homes. Researchers interviewed them. About 25% said they got help with daily activities from changes in the home, such as grab bars, or devices such as a cane. Another 18% used such devices but still had problems with some activities. About 6% cut back on daily activities because of such problems. And 21% needed help from another person. Only 31% were able to do all activities of daily living with no help. Age made a difference. About 45% of those ages 65 to 69 got by without help, compared with only 4% of those in their 90s. Nearly 90% could feed themselves without help, but half needed help with bathing.

A season of contact sports may affect memory and thinking, even if no concussion occurs, a new study suggests. The study included 80 college football and ice hockey players who did not have prior concussions. During a season of play in their sports, they wore helmets that recorded all blows to the head. These players were compared with 79 college athletes in non-contact sports such as track and crew. All players received brain scans and tests of memory and learning ability before and after the season. The 5 athletes who had concussions during the season were dropped from the study. Among the rest, about 20% of athletes in contact sports performed worse than expected on their tests after the season. About 11% of the non-contact athletes had such a result. Brain scans showed more abnormal areas among those who had lower test scores and more head impacts as recorded by their helmets.

People who take drugs to prevent acid reflux may have a higher risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, a new study finds. The study compared data on 2 groups of people. Nearly 26,000 had a vitamin B12 deficiency. The other 185,000 did not. About 12% of those with low vitamin B12 had taken drugs called proton pump inhibitors for more than 2 years. These are the most powerful drugs to prevent acid reflux. They include lansoprazole (Prevacid), esomeprazole (Nexium) and omeprazole (Prilosec). Among those with normal vitamin B12 levels, only 7.2% took these drugs. That means the long-term users of the medicines had a 65% higher risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. Risk was about 25% higher for people who took different anti-reflux drugs, known as H2 blockers. The study only shows a link between these drugs and low vitamin B12. It does not prove that one causes the other.

Popular films rated PG-13 may not be appropriate for teens, a new study says. Researchers studied almost 400 popular movies released between 1985 to 2010. They looked at violence in the movies, as well as other risky behaviors, like smoking, drinking and sex. The researchers found that violent characters often took part in these other risky behaviors. This occurred in R-rated films, which require an adult to be present with their teen. But it also occurred in PG-13 movies. These movies are technically considered okay for kids and teens to see. (Parental caution is strongly advised, however). The researchers urge further studies on the effect such movies can have on teenagers. The journal Pediatrics published the study online. HealthDay News reported on it December 9.