Lesbians at higher risk for obesity: study
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Lesbians are twice as likely as heterosexual women to be overweight or obese, which puts them at greater risk for obesity-related health problems and death, U.S. researchers said.
The report, published in the American Journal of Public Health, is one of the first large studies to look at obesity among lesbians.
Emotional health often strong after breast cancer
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Most older women who survive breast cancer maintain their emotional well-being, though some are at greater risk of a change for the worse, a new study suggests.
Researchers found among a large group of older women they followed for 5 years after breast cancer surgery that the majority showed little change in various measures of emotional health. Some, however, were more likely to suffer a decline—including women who’d initially believed they wouldn’t be cured.
Aspirin doesn’t preserve older women’s memory
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Among healthy older women, low-dose aspirin does little to prevent or delay mental decline over the following decade, according to analysis of data from the Women’s Health Study.
“Because aspirin protects cardiovascular health, we thought it would also protect against cognitive decline,” Dr. Jae Hee Kang from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital told Reuters Health. But trials to establish this association have yielded inconsistent results.
Rheumatoid arthritis and the impact of genetic factors on mortality
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Study associates DRB1 shared epitope genotypes with increased risk of death from heart disease or cancer in rheumatoid arthritis patients
A chronic autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is marked by inflammation that takes a progressive toll on not only the joints, but also various organs and the whole body. RA sufferers, as many studies have shown, tend to face a high risk for early death, increasing with the severity of their symptoms. The most prevalent cause of death among RA patients is cardiovascular disease. As in the general population, classic factors such as age, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking have been implicated in the RA death rate. Little is known, however, about the specific influence of genetic factors on mortality.
Help comes in the mail for drinkers
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Mailing a simple information pamphlet to interested drinkers in the general population reduced binge drinking by 10 per cent, and is a promising public health approach to reduce the health and social problems associated with heavy drinking, shows a new study led by the University of Alberta.
Brief interventions to help people change their alcohol use have long been recognized as a potentially useful strategy, but past research in this area has focused on college students, problem drinkers screened in clinics and hospitals or people seeking specialized counselling and alcohol rehabilitation treatment.
Report Identifies Schizophrenia Patients Likely to Receive Depot Medication
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A report in the April 2007 issue of Psychiatric Services has identified a unique subgroup of schizophrenia patients in the United States who tend to receive depot antipsychotic medications.
The study, “Characteristics and Use Patterns of Patients Taking First-Generation Depot Antipsychotic or Oral Antipsychotic for Schizophrenia,” led by Lizheng Shi, professor of health systems management at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, examined data from a large randomized study on the treatment of 2,327 schizophrenia patients in the United States between July 1997 and Sept. 2003.
Young Children with Epilepsy Seizures Could Benefit from Animal Model of Disease
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Researchers have developed an animal model of infantile spasms, improving the likelihood of finding new treatments for the thousands of young children who suffer from these catastrophic epilepsy seizures, according to research to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 28 – May 5, 2007.
Infantile spasms are a specific type of epilepsy seizure seen in infancy and early childhood. The disorder involves a sudden bending forward and stiffening of the body, arms, and legs. The seizures typically last one to five seconds and occur in clusters, ranging from two to 100 spasms at a time. There are few available treatments.
Heart disease risk should be assessed early
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Young adults who have several risk factors for heart disease may start to show problems in their arteries by the time they’re in their 40s, a new study shows.
Researchers found that among more than 3,000 African American and white men and women, those with more heart disease risk factors in their 20s were two to three times more likely to have calcium build-up in their arteries 15 years later.
Fear affects emergency care for child with asthma
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Parents’ psychological responses to asthma attacks are among the strongest motivators of seeking accident and emergency (A&E) services for their child, according to a study conducted in London.
In contrast, characteristics of the home environment, such as dampness, overcrowding, or living with a smoker, have little effect on use of emergency departments.
Mother-child therapy best after domestic violence
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Therapy to help children recover from domestic violence is more likely to be successful if the mothers get help as well, new research suggests.
In a study of 181 children between the ages of 6 and 12 who were exposed to domestic violence in the previous year, researchers found that group therapy was effective at improving the children’s behavioral and emotional difficulties. It was more effective, however, when their mothers also received help with their parenting skills.
Knee alignment doesn’t affect osteoarthritis risk
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Malalignment of the knee does not predict the development of osteoarthritis, but it may be an indication of disease severity or progression in individuals who already have the disease, according to a study conducted by Massachusetts-based researchers.
“We would posit, based on the findings in this study, that abnormalities in frontal plane knee alignment are typically a consequence and not a primary cause of osteoarthritis,” Dr. David J. Hunter from Boston University School of Medicine and colleagues write in the current issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism.
TV ads double obese children’s food intake in UK
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Overweight children who watch television advertisements for food are likely to double their intake and the fattest children are most likely to choose the least healthy foods, a study published on Tuesday showed. The study by the University of Liverpool of 60 British children aged 9-11 years, published at the European Congress on Obesity in Budapest, showed the more overweight a child was, the more it would eat when exposed to adverts followed by a cartoon.
Obese children increased food intake by 134 percent and normal weight children by 84 percent, the study said. Obese children consistently chose the highest fat product available in the research, chocolate.
Migraine linked to heart attacks in men
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Men with migraine headaches are more likely than non-migraineurs to experience a heart attack, according to data from the Physicians’ Health Study.
The Physicians’ Health Study is a large study that enrolled men ages 40 to 84 years between 1981 and 1984. The subjects, who had no history of heart disease, cancer or other major illnesses at enrollment, complete questionnaires annually regarding health issues.
Study finds major depression connection to diabetes
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Elderly people who are depressed are more likely to become diabetic than those who are not, according to a study that suggests depression may play a role in causing the most common form of diabetes.
Writing on Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the researchers said people with a high number of symptoms of depression were about 60 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, formerly called adult-onset diabetes, than people who are not depressed.
Fish oil may preserve thinking ability in elderly
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High blood levels of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids, which are found in fish oil, may help preserve thinking ability in the elderly, according to the findings of two studies published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The results were particularly striking among subjects with high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels.
Accumulating evidence suggests that diets that include omega-3 fatty acids, specifically, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), protect against the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, according to a Dutch research team. However, the effect of EPA+DHA consumption on thinking ability, or “cognitive function,” has received less scrutiny.
