Category: news-perspectives

Having a high-stress job with little control over your work may increase your risk of a heart attack, a new study finds. The study assessed job stress for nearly 200,000 workers with no history of heart disease. People filled our surveys about their job demands, workload, time pressures and their freedom to make decisions. Then researchers kept track of them for an average of 7½ years. In that time, nearly 2,400 people had their first non-fatal heart attack. Heart attacks were 23% more common among people who had demanding jobs but little role in decision making. Researchers cautioned that the cause might not be the work stress itself. People could cope with stress partly by doing things that are bad for their health, such as smoking more. In any case, the effect of job stress was less than other risks, such as lack of exercise. The journal Lancet published the study.

For women from ages 50 to 69, getting a mammogram saves lives. That’s the conclusion of a new review of research. About 7 to 9 lives are saved for every 1,000 women who get mammograms every 2 years, the study found. That benefit outweighs potential harms, the authors concluded. Harms might include anxiety and treatments that some women don’t really need. The new analysis was based on studies in Europe and the actual experience of breast cancer screening programs there. It found that about 4 women for every 1,000 tested were “overdiagnosed.” This means the cancers found would not have been detected otherwise or caused any problems during their lives. Researchers also estimated other results for each group of 1,000 women tested. About 200 would have at least one recall visit and an extra test that showed they did not have cancer.

People who have to pay less for their medicines are more likely to take them, says a review of several earlier studies. The research review focused on a widespread problem. Studies show that about half of U.S. patients don’t take their medicines correctly for long-term conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Up to 30% of prescriptions are not even filled. All of this is estimated to contribute to 125,000 deaths each year. Researchers reviewed several dozen studies. Five studies found that people were more likely to take their medicines if their drug coverage improved or their out-of-pocket costs went down. Educating patients and trying to help with problems that were keeping them from taking their medicines also helped. So did personal contacts from a nurse for people with a high risk of not taking all medicines.

Taking fish oil pills doesn’t reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke or death, a new review of earlier research finds. The review combined results of 20 studies. They included nearly 69,000 people. Most had a prior heart attack, stroke or other form of heart and artery disease. In 18 studies, people were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group took pills containing omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil. The other group took placebo (fake) pills. Overall, rates of heart attack, heart-related death and sudden death were 9% to 13% lower than for people who got placebo pills. But those differences were small enough to be caused by chance. Rates of stroke and all deaths were similar in both groups. In 2 other studies, some people were urged to eat more fatty fish. One study found a benefit from this. The other did not.

Taking a common type of pain reliever may increase the risk of a second heart attack and death, a new study suggests. The study kept track of people for 5 years after a first heart attack. The higher risk applied to those who took any nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). These drugs include ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and others) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn and others). Prescription types include celecoxib (Celebrex). The study was done in Denmark. In that country, all NSAIDs except low-dose ibuprofen require a prescription. Researchers looked at records for almost 100,000 people who had a first heart attack. In the next 5 years, nearly half of them filled a prescription for an NSAID. People who took the painkillers had a 63% higher risk of death from any cause. They had a 41% higher risk of another heart attack.

Popular techniques that help babies fall asleep on their own don’t have any long-term impact on mental health, sleep quality or the parent-child relationship, a new study finds. The new study is a follow-up, done when children were 6 years old. The study included 225 children. It began when they were 7 months old and were having sleep problems. They were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group of parents received training in techniques called “controlled comforting” and “camping out.” With controlled comforting, parents put their babies down for sleep and leave the room. They let the babies cry for increasing amounts of time before comforting them, to encourage them to fall asleep on their own. Parents who camp out stay in the room, but gradually move farther away. People in the other study group did not receive training in these techniques.

Nearly one-third of U.S. adults have high blood pressure. But fewer than half of them have it under control, a new report says. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the report. It was based on a major national health survey. The survey found that 39% who had high blood pressure were not aware of it. About 16% knew they had the problem but were not taking medicine for it. About 45% were getting drug treatment. Overall, 67 million had high blood pressure. This means they measured high on a blood pressure test or were getting treatment for the condition. Nearly 36 million did not have their high blood pressure under control. Nearly 90% of the uncontrolled group had a regular source of health care, had insurance and had been seen by a doctor in the last year. Researchers said this showed missed opportunities to achieve lower blood pressure.

Former pro football players are much more likely than average to die from brain diseases, a study finds. The study was done by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). It was based on a 1994 study of 3,439 former NFL players. All had spent at least 5 seasons in the league. Researchers looked at death certificates for 334 players who died. They were 3 times as likely as the general public to die of diseases that damage the brain. Seven had Alzheimer’s disease. Seven had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, often called Lou Gehrig’s disease). Death rates from those 2 diseases were 4 times average. Death rates from Parkinson’s disease were average. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease long known to occur in boxers, has also been found recently in the brains of deceased NFL players. It is believed to be caused by repeated concussions.

Metabolic syndrome may undermine the brains of teens as well as their bodies, a small study suggests. Metabolic syndrome means having at least 3 of 5 unhealthy conditions. The conditions are high blood pressure, large waist, high triglycerides (a blood fat), low HDL (“good cholesterol”) and insulin resistance. Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease. The new study included 111 teenagers. Of this group, 49 had metabolic syndrome and 62 did not. Both groups were a similar mix of ages, family income, school grade, gender and ethnicity. Everyone took tests of ability in subjects such as spelling and math. They also took tests of brain function, such as memory and attention. Teens with metabolic syndrome had about 10% lower scores on the subject tests. They also scored lower on attention, but not memory. Each teen also had an MRI brain scan.

Organic foods have few, if any, health advantages over conventional foods, a research review finds. The researchers looked at thousands of prior studies. They focused on 237 that met their standards for how well the research was done. Only 17 studies compared how the foods affected people. The others focused on properties of the foods themselves. Nutrient levels varied greatly, with no clear patterns. Organic produce was 30% less likely to have pesticide residue than conventional produce. Children in 2 studies were less likely to have pesticides in urine if they ate organic diets. But researchers said the amounts were small and within safety limits. Bacteria levels were about the same in both kinds of meats. But the bacteria in the conventionally produced meats were more drug-resistant. They were 33% more likely to resist multiple antibiotics.