Food waste likely driven in part by ambiguous date labels on packages

Americans throw out a lot more food than they expect they will, food waste that is likely driven in part by ambiguous date labels on packages, a new study has found.
"People eat a lot less of their refrigerated food than they expect to, and they're likely throwing out perfectly good food because they misunderstand labels," said Brian Roe, the study's senior author and a professor agricultural, environmental and development economics at The Ohio State University.
This is the first study to offer a data-driven glimpse into the refrigerators of American homes, and provides an important framework for efforts to decrease food waste, Roe said. It was published online this month and will appear in the November print issue of the journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling.
Survey participants expected to eat 97 percent of the meat in their refrigerators but really finished only about half. They thought they'd eat 94 percent of their vegetables, but consumed just 44 percent. They projected they'd eat about 71 percent of the fruit and 84 percent of the dairy, but finished off just 40 percent and 42 percent, respectively.
Top drivers of discarding food included concerns about food safety - odor, appearance and dates on the labels.
"No one knows what 'use by' and 'best by' labels mean and people think they are a safety indicator when they are generally a quality indicator," Roe said, adding that there's a proposal currently before Congress to prescribe date labeling rules in an effort to provide some clarity.
Under the proposal, "Best if used by" would, as Roe puts it, translate to "Follow your nose," and "Use by" would translate to "Toss it."
Other findings from the new study:

• People who cleaned out their refrigerators more often wasted more food.
• Those who check nutrition labels frequently waste less food. Roe speculated that those consumers may be more engaged in food and therefore less likely to waste what they buy.
• Younger households were less likely to use up the items in their refrigerators while homes to those 65 and older were most likely to avoid waste.

Household food waste happens at the end of the line of a series of behaviors, said Megan Davenport, who led the study as a graduate student in Ohio State's Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics.
"There's the purchasing of food, the management of food within the home and the disposal, and these household routines ultimately increase or decrease waste. We wanted to better understand those relationships, and how individual products - including their labels - affect the amount of food waste in a home," Davenport said.
The web-based pilot study used data from the State of the American Refrigerator survey and included information about refrigerator contents and practices from 307 initial survey participants and 169 follow-up surveys.
The researchers asked about fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy - in particular how much was there and how much people expected to eat. Then they followed up about a week later to find out what really happened. The surveys also asked about a variety of factors that may have influenced decisions to toss food, including date labels, odor, appearance and cost.
An estimated 43 percent of food waste is due to in-home practices - as opposed to waste that happens in restaurants, grocery stores and on the farm - making individuals the biggest contributors. They're also the most complicated group in which to drive change, given that practices vary significantly from home to home, Roe said.
"We wanted to understand how people are using the refrigerator and if it is a destination where half-eaten food goes to die," he said.
"That's especially important because much of the advice that consumers hear regarding food waste is to refrigerate (and eat) leftovers, and to 'shop' the refrigerator first before ordering out or heading to the store."
Roughly one-third of the food produced worldwide for human consumption -- approximately 1.3 billion tons annually -- is lost or wasted, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The organization estimates the annual dollar value of that waste at $680 billion in industrialized countries and $310 billion in developing countries.
This study looked at refrigerated food because that's where most perishable foods are found in a household and where the bulk of efforts to encourage people to waste less food have been focused. In addition to better understanding food waste patterns, the researchers wanted to help identify opportunities to design policy or public messaging that will work in driving down waste.
"Our results suggest that strategies to reduce food waste in the U.S. should include limiting and standardizing the number of phrases used on date labels, and education campaigns to help consumers better understand the physical signs of food safety and quality," Davenport said.

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Danyi Qi of Louisiana State University also worked on the study.
CONTACTS:
Brian Roe, 614-688-5777; Roe.30@osu.edu
Megan Davenport, davenport.209@osu.edu
Written by Misti Crane, 614-292-5220; Crane.11@osu.edu

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

Marathoners, take your marks...and fluid and salt! S

IMAGE: A study of marathon runners led by Johns Hopkins Medicine and Yale University suggests that fluid volume and sweat sodium losses, rather than a rise in core body temperature, are... view more 

Credit: Image of runner courtesy of the US Air Force; image of kidneys courtesy of MedicalGraphics via Creative Commons

Legend states that after the Greek army defeated the invading Persian forces near the city of Marathon in 490 B.C.E., the courier Pheidippides ran to Athens to report the victory and then immediately dropped dead. The story -- and the distance Pheidippides covered -- inspired the modern marathon, a grueling 26.2-mile contest that attracts some 1.3 million runners annually to compete in the more than 800 races held worldwide.
While Pheidippides' demise was more likely brought about by a 300-mile run he reportedly made just prior to his "marathon," today's long-distance runners face a mostly short-term but still serious physical threat known as acute kidney injury, or AKI. Now, results of a new study of marathon runners led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and Yale University suggest that sweat (fluid) volume and sweat sodium losses, rather than a rise in core body temperature, are the key contributors to post-race AKI.
"We knew from a previous study that a large number of marathoners developed short-term AKI following a race, so we wanted more specifically to pin down the causes," says Chirag Parikh, Ph.D., director of the Division of Nephrology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and senior author of the new paper. "Our findings suggest that managing fluid volume and salt losses with a personalized regimen during the time period surrounding a marathon may help reduce the number or lessen the severity of AKI incidences afterward."
The researchers say they also found that runners with AKI following a marathon had increased levels of a blood serum protein known as copeptin. If the connection is confirmed with future studies, they say, copeptin could be valuable as a biomarker during training for predicting post-marathon susceptibility to AKI.
AKI, as described by the National Kidney Foundation, is a "sudden episode of kidney failure or kidney damage that happens within a few hours or a few days." It causes waste products to build up in the blood, making it hard for kidneys to maintain the correct balance of fluids in the body. Symptoms of AKI differ depending on the cause and may include: too little urine leaving the body; swelling in legs, ankles and around the eyes; fatigue; shortness of breath; confusion; nausea; chest pain; and in severe cases, seizures or coma. The disorder is most commonly seen in hospitalized patients whose kidneys are affected by medical and surgical stress and complications.
Similarly, a marathon subjects a runner to sustained physical stress, reduced blood flow to the kidneys and significant increases in the metabolic rate. Together, these events severely challenge the body's ability to keep fluid volume, electrolytes and temperature levels -- along with the regulatory responses to changes in all three -- in balance. The result, as seen in 82% of the runners evaluated by the same researchers in a 2017 Yale University study, was AKI that averaged two days in duration.
For the latest study, the goal was to better define the risk factors and mechanism for the problem by examining 23 runners, ages 22-63, who competed in the 2017 Hartford Marathon in Connecticut.
Participants were volunteers recruited through local running clubs and the marathon's registration process. Divided nearly equally between men and women, they were all experienced runners with a body mass index ranging between 18.5-24.9, and had completed at least four races longer than 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) within the previous three years.
Urine and blood samples were collected from the participants at three time points: 24 hours prior to the marathon, within 30 minutes of completing the race and 24 hours after. The researchers evaluated the samples for sodium levels; key biomolecules such as creatine phosphokinase, hemoglobin, urine protein and copeptin; and biomarkers associated with kidney injury such as interleukin-18 and kidney injury molecule-1.
Sweat collection patches were placed on the runners prior to the marathon and recovered at the 5-mile mark (because they became too saturated further in the race). Blood pressure, heart rate and weight were measured at all three time points, while a bioharness worn during the marathon continually recorded body temperature.
Twelve of the 23 runners (55%) developed AKI after the race, while 17 (74%) tested positive for markers indicating some injury to the renal tubules, the tiny portals in the kidneys where blood is filtered.
In the runners with post-race AKI, the researchers observed distinct sodium and fluid volume losses. The median salt loss was 2.3 grams, with some losing as much as 7 grams.
Fluid volume loss via sweat had a midpoint level of 2.5 liters (5.2 pints), up to a maximum of 6.8 liters (14.4 pints). For comparison, a 155-pound (70-kilogram) body contains about 42 liters (85 pints) of fluid.
Core body temperature, while significantly elevated throughout a marathon, was basically the same for all runners and therefore, was not considered a causal factor for AKI. However, the researchers say that the combination of high-body temperature along with fluid and salt losses may add to the development of kidney injury.
"Putting the sodium and fluid volume loss numbers into perspective, the median salt loss for the AKI runners was about 1 1/4 teaspoons, or the entire daily amount recommended by the American Heart Association," Parikh says. "Their median fluid volume loss was equivalent to sweating out slightly more than a 2-liter soda bottle. Beyond that, we had evidence that runners weren't adequately keeping up with those depletions."
In turn, Parikh says, that failure to balance the sodium and fluid losses during a marathon may account for the new study's other relevant finding: the higher levels of copeptin seen in runners with post-race AKI.
Copeptin is a precursor to the release of vasopressin, a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland in response to reduced blood volume. It tells our kidneys and blood vessels to hold on to water, preventing a sudden drop in blood pressure and physical collapse.
"In the runners who developed AKI, we found copeptin levels as much as 20 times higher than those who did not," Parikh says. "This is biological evidence that the AKI sufferers were severely volume down."
Because vasopressin reduces blood flow to the kidneys, and decreases renal filtration and urine output, he adds, it also may induce inflammation and injury to the kidney tissues if secreted for an extended period of time. This may explain why a large number of marathon runners get AKI while those competing at shorter distances do not.
Parikh says future studies, using larger samples, will need to evaluate whether optimizing fluid and salt volumes in marathon runners lowers rates or reduces the severity of post-race AKI. Additionally, he says, the researchers would like to follow runners who participate in multiple marathons to look for any cumulative kidney damage.
"The long-term goal will be to document an individual runner's metabolic and sweat profile to develop a fluid and salt replacement regimen just for him or her," he says. "Then, runners could consume this personalized drink during the race to better maintain fluid and salt balance."

Married people are less likely to experience dementia as they age

Dementia and marital status could be linked, according to a new Michigan State University study that found married people are less likely to experience dementia as they age.

On the other hand, divorcees are about twice as likely as married people to develop dementia, the study indicated, with divorced men showing a greater disadvantage than divorced women.
In one of the first studies of its kind, Hui Liu, professor of sociology, and colleagues analyzed four groups of unmarried individuals: divorced or separated; widowed; never married; and cohabiters. Among them, the divorced had the highest risk of dementia.

The study, published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, comes at a time when 5.8 million people in the U.S. are living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, costing $290 billion, according to the Alzheimer's Association. It's a serious public health concern, Liu said.

"This research is important because the number of unmarried older adults in the United States continues to grow, as people live longer and their marital histories become more complex," Liu said. "Marital status is an important but overlooked social risk/protective factor for dementia."

Liu and her follow researchers analyzed nationally representative data from the Health and Retirement Study, from 2000 to 2014. The sample included more than 15,000 respondents ages 52 and older in 2000, measuring their cognitive function every two years, in person or via telephone.

The researchers also found differing economic resources only partly account for higher dementia risk among divorced, widowed and never-married respondents, but couldn't account for higher risk in cohabiters. In addition, health-related factors, such as behaviors and chronic conditions, slightly influenced risk among the divorced and married, but didn't seem to affect other marital statuses.

Waist size, not body mass index, may be more predictive of coronary artery disease

For years, women have been told that weight gain could lead to heart disease. A new study indicates that it is the location of the fat that matters most, with abdominal fat representing the greatest harm and not overall body mass index (BMI) when assessing risk for coronary artery disease (CAD). Results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).
Because CAD remains the leading cause of death worldwide, there is tremendous attention given to its modifiable risk factors. Estrogen protects women's cardiovascular systems before menopause, which helps explain why the incidence of CAD in premenopausal women is lower than in men. However, as women's estrogen levels decline during and after menopause, the incidence of CAD in postmenopausal women outpaces similarly aged men.
Obesity has long been known as a risk factor for CAD because it causes endothelial cell dysfunction, insulin resistance, and coronary atherosclerosis, among other problems. It also is often accompanied by other cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension and diabetes. In the past, it has been suggested that overall obesity (which is often defined by BMI) is a primary risk factor. Few studies have attempted to compare the effect of overall obesity versus central obesity, which is typically described by waist circumference and/or waist-to-hip ratio.
The results of this new study of nearly 700 Korean women, however, demonstrated that the presence of obstructive CAD was significantly higher in women with central obesity. No significant difference was identified based on BMI, indicating that overall obesity was not a risk factor for obstructive CAD. These results are especially relevant for postmenopausal women because menopause causes a change in body fat distribution, especially in the abdominal area.
Findings were published in the article "Association between obesity type and obstructive cardiovascular disease in stable symptomatic postmenopausal women: data from the KoRean wOmen'S chest pain rEgistry (KoROSE).
"The findings of this study are consistent with what we know about the detrimental effects of central obesity. Not all fat is the same, and central obesity is particularly dangerous because it is associated with risk for heart disease, the number one killer of women. Identifying women with excess abdominal fat, even with a normal BMI, is important so that lifestyle interventions can be implemented," says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, NAMS medical director.

Probiotic use can lead to major economic and health savings related to flu-like illnesses

A study published on August 27 in Frontiers in Pharmacology found that general probiotic use in the U.S. could save the health care payer and the economy around $1.4 billion in medical bills and lost productivity due to acute respiratory tract infections (RTIs).
RTIs include influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) with symptoms ranging from mild cold to the more serious flu. Although most acute RTI episodes resolve on their own, RTIs result in a high number of doctor visits and pose a heavy burden on society and the health care system.
The systematic reviews by York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC) and Cochrane Collaborative reported probiotics use was associated with reduced number and duration of ILIs, antibiotic courses used and days absent from work.
"We wanted to assess how much the use of probiotics in the management of common acute RTIs could contribute to savings in healthcare costs in the U.S.," said Daniel Tancredi, co-author on the study, an associate professor at the Department of Pediatrics and a researcher at the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research at UC Davis.
An economic model simulating general probiotics use by the U.S. population
The authors developed an economic model to estimate the cost savings of general use of probiotics in the U.S. They created a simulation (1:1000 scale) reproducing a population representative of the national demographics. They tailored the model to account for age, vaccination status, smoking status and time spent in shared indoor environments, such as daycare for children or shared offices for adult workers.
They estimated the number of ILI cases, the duration of illness, the costs associated with doctor visits and the number of days missed from school or work. For these estimates, they used the 2017-18 Influenza Season of FluView from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other national databases.
The researchers modeled the illness experience for the simulated population under two scenarios: one where everyone uses probiotics and one where no one does. They did a simulated model based on the Cochrane Collaborative review and another based on the YHEC review. The Cochrane review accounted for reductions both in number of episodes of RTIs and disease duration, allowing for the estimation of the cost savings associated with fewer doctor visits. The YHEC review could only quantify savings associated with fewer sick days due to RTI.
Cost savings
"Although flu-like illnesses usually resolve on their own after one or two weeks, there is great benefit in reducing ILI incidence and duration," said Irene Lenoir-Wijnkoop, first author on the study and senior scientist in public health nutrition at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. "Less sickness means reduced suffering and significant cost savings from health care expenses and sick absences."
In the Cochrane scenario, the analysis showed that if everyone in the U.S. took probiotics, health care payers would save $373 million in RTI-associated medical bills in one year. These savings include the cost of more than two million courses of antibiotic prescriptions averted and correspond to a decrease of 54.5 million sick days. When counting the savings from reduced productivity loss of 4.2 million workdays, the total savings for society would amount to $1.4 billion.
In the YHEC scenario, generalized probiotic use could save $784 million per year for averted productivity loss related to absence from work due to illness.
"Because both reviews included studies from different strains of probiotics, including both effective and ineffective ones, our results are based on an estimated average effect," said Tancredi of UC Davis. "With more evidence on which probiotics are effective in protecting against RTIs, it would be possible generate more definitive estimates of the potential cost savings associated with their use."

Healthy foods more important than type of diet to reduce heart disease risk

Everyone knows that achieving or maintaining a healthy body weight is one key to preventing cardiovascular disease. But even experts don't agree on the best way to achieve that goal, with some recommending eliminating carbohydrates and others emphasizing reducing fats to lose weight. Few studies have investigated the effects of these specific macronutrients on cardiovascular health.
In a study published online in the International Journal of Cardiology, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) examined the effects of three healthy diets emphasizing different macronutrients - carbohydrates, proteins, or unsaturated fats - on a biomarker that directly reflects heart injury. Using highly specific tests, the team found that all three diets reduced heart cell damage and inflammation, consistent with improved heart health.
"It's possible that macronutrients matter less than simply eating healthy foods," said corresponding author Stephen Juraschek, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at BIDMC and Harvard Medical School. "Our findings support flexibility in food selection for people attempting to eat a healthier diet and should make it easier. With the average American eating fewer than two servings of fruit and vegetables a day, the typical American diet is quite different from any of these diets, which all included at least four to six servings of fruits and vegetables a day."
Juraschek and colleagues analyzed stored blood samples from 150 participants of the Optimal MacroNutrient Intake Trial to Prevent Heart Disease (OmniHeart) trial, a two-center, inpatient feeding study conducted in Boston and Baltimore between April 2003 and June 2005. The average age among the study participants was 53.6 years, while 55 percent were African American and 45 percent were women. The participants - all of whom had elevated blood pressure, but were not yet taking medications to control hypertension or cholesterol - were fed each of three diets - emphasizing carbohydrates, protein, or unsaturated fat - for six weeks with feeding periods separated by a washout period.
The diets were: a carbohydrate-rich diet similar to the well-known DASH diet, with sugars, grains and starches accounting for more than half of its calories; a protein-rich diet with 10 percent of calories from carbohydrates replaced by protein; and an unsaturated fat-rich diet with 10 percent of calories from carbohydrates replaced by the healthy fats found in avocados, fish and nuts. All three diets were low in unhealthy saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium, while providing other nutrients at recommended dietary levels. The research team looked at the effects of each diet on biomarkers measured at the end of each dietary period compared to baseline and compared between diets.
All three healthy diets reduced heart injury and inflammation and acted quickly within a 6-week period. However, changing the macronutrients of the diet did not provide extra benefits. This is important for two reasons: First, the effects of diet on heart injury are rapid and cardiac injury can be reduced soon after adopting a healthy diet. Second, it is not the type of diet that matters for cardiac injury (high or low fat, high or low carb), but rather the overall healthfulness of the diet.
"There are multiple debates about dietary carbs and fat, but the message from our data is clear: eating a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and high in fiber that is restricted in red meats, sugary beverages, and sweets, will not only improve cardiovascular risk factors, but also reduce direct injury to the heart," said Juraschek. "Hopefully, these findings will resonate with adults as they shop in grocery stores and with health practitioners providing counsel in clinics throughout the country."

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Alternate-day fasting a safe alternative to caloric restriction

IMAGE: This visual abstract reflects the finds of Stekovic et al., who show in the clinic that alternate day fasting (ADF) is a simple alternative to calorie restriction and provokes similar... view more 

Credit: Stekovic et al./Cell Metabolsim

In recent years there has been a surge in studies looking at the biologic effects of different kinds of fasting diets in both animal models and humans. These diets include continuous calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, and alternate-day fasting (ADF). Now the largest study of its kind to look at the effects of strict ADF in healthy people has shown a number of health benefits. The participants alternated 36 hours of zero-calorie intake with 12 hours of unlimited eating. The findings are reported August 27 in the journal Cell Metabolism.
"Strict ADF is one of the most extreme diet interventions, and it has not been sufficiently investigated within randomized controlled trials," says Frank Madeo, a professor of the Institute of Molecular Biosciences at Karl-Franzens University of Graz in Austria. "In this study, we aimed to explore a broad range of parameters, from physiological to molecular measures. If ADF and other dietary interventions differ in their physiological and molecular effects, complex studies are needed in humans that compare different diets."
In this randomized controlled trial, 60 participants were enrolled for four weeks and randomized to either an ADF or an ad libitum control group, the latter of which could eat as much as they wanted. Participants in both groups were all of normal weight and were healthy. To ensure that the people in the ADF group did not take in any calories during fast days, they underwent continuous glucose monitoring. They were also asked to fill in diaries documenting their fasting days. Periodically, the participants had to go to a research facility, where they were instructed on whether to follow ADF or their usual diet, but other than that they lived their normal, everyday lives.
Additionally, the researchers studied a group of 30 people who had already practiced more than six months of strict ADF previous to the study enrollment. They compared them to normal, healthy controls who had no fasting experience. For this ADF cohort, the main focus was to examine the long-term safety of the intervention.
"We found that on average, during the 12 hours when they could eat normally, the participants in the ADF group compensated for some of the calories lost from the fasting, but not all," says Harald Sourij, a professor at the Medical University of Graz. "Overall, they reached a mean calorie restriction of about 35% and lost an average of 3.5 kg [7.7 lb] during four weeks of ADF."
The investigators found several biological effects in the ADF group:
* The participants had fluctuating downregulation of amino acids, in particular the amino acid methionine. Amino acid restriction has been shown to cause lifespan extension in rodents.

• They had continuous upregulation of ketone bodies, even on nonfasting days. This has been shown to promote health in various contexts.
• They had reduced levels of sICAM-1, a marker linked to age-associated disease and inflammation.
• They had lowered levels of triiodothyronine without impaired thyroid gland function. Previously, lowered levels of this hormone have been linked to longevity in humans.
• They had lowered levels of cholesterol.
• They had a reduction of lipotoxic android trunk fat mass--commonly known as belly fat.

"Why exactly calorie restriction and fasting induce so many beneficial effects is not fully clear yet," says Thomas Pieber, head of endocrinology at the Medical University of Graz. "The elegant thing about strict ADF is that it doesn't require participants to count their meals and calories: they just don't eat anything for one day."
The investigators point to other benefits that ADF may have, compared with continuous calorie restriction. Previous studies have suggested calorie-restrictive diets can result in malnutrition and a decrease in immune function. In contrast, even after six months of ADF, the immune function in the participants appeared to be stable.
"The reason might be due to evolutionary biology," Madeo explains. "Our physiology is familiar with periods of starvation followed by food excesses. It might also be that continuous low-calorie intake hinders the induction of the age-protective autophagy program, which is switched on during fasting breaks."
Despite the benefits, the researchers say they do not recommend ADF as a general nutrition scheme for everybody. "We feel that it is a good regime for some months for obese people to cut weight, or it might even be a useful clinical intervention in diseases driven by inflammation," Madeo says. "However, further research is needed before it can be applied in daily practice. Additionally, we advise people not to fast if they have a viral infection, because the immune system probably requires immediate energy to fight viruses. Hence, it is important to consult a doctor before any harsh dietary regime is undertaken."

Excess body fat increases the risk of depression

Carrying ten kilograms of excess body fat increases the risk of depression by seventeen per cent. The more fat, the greater the probability of developing depression. This is the main conclusion of a new study carried out by researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark.
"Our study also indicated that the location of the fat on the body makes no difference to the risk of depression. This suggests that it is the psychological consequences of being overweight or obese which lead to the increased risk of depression, and not the direct biological effect of the fat. If the opposite was true we would have seen that fat located centrally on the body increased the risk the most, as it has the most damaging effect in biological terms," says the study's last author Dr. Søren Dinesen Østergaard.
He is professor at the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University and affiliated with the Department of Affective Disorders at Aarhus University Hospital.
Prior studies in the field have predominantly used Body Mass Index (BMI) to measure obesity. BMI is calculated solely on the basis of body weight and height and is therefore a fairly crude measure, that does not, for example, take build and muscle mass into account.
"BMI is an inaccurate way of measuring overweight and obesity. Many elite athletes with a large muscle mass and a low body fat mass will have a BMI above 25, which is classified as overweight according to the common definition. This obviously doesn't make much sense. Therefore, one of the strengths of our study is that we've been able to zoom in and look at the specific relationship between the amount of body fat and the risk of depression," explains Dr. Østergaard.
In the study, which has been published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, the researchers have analysed data from two large genetic data sets: the UK Biobank, which contains data on the correlation between genetic variants and physical measurements (including body fat mass distributed around parts of the body); and the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, which contains information on the correlation between genetic variants and depression.
Dr. Østergaard also highlights his research group's choice of the 'Mendelian randomization' method as the main reason why the study was successful. He also emphasises that the findings are particularly significant in light of the fact that almost 40 per cent of the world's adult population is overweight.
"In addition to the known physical consequences of obesity such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, there is also a significant and now well-documented psychological component, which needs to be dealt with as well. This is yet another argument for resolving the obesity epidemic," he says, before emphasising that it is important to have a balanced approach to the issue:
"As it appears to be the psychological consequences of obesity, such as a negative body image and low self-esteem that is the main driving force behind the increased risk of depression, society's efforts to combat obesity must not stigmatise, as this will probably increase the risk of depression even further. It is important to bear this in mind so we can avoid doing more harm than good in the effort to curb the obesity epidemic," says Dr. Østergaard.

Optimists live longer

After decades of research, a new study links optimism and prolonged life.
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, have found that individuals with greater optimism are more likely to live longer and to achieve "exceptional longevity," that is, living to age 85 or older.
Optimism refers to a general expectation that good things will happen, or believing that the future will be favorable because we can control important outcomes. Whereas research has identified many risk factors that increase the likelihood of diseases and premature death, much less is known about positive psychosocial factors that can promote healthy aging.
The study was based on 69,744 women and 1,429 men. Both groups completed survey measures to assess their level of optimism, as well as their overall health and health habits such as diet, smoking and alcohol use. Women were followed for 10 years, while the men were followed for 30 years. When individuals were compared based on their initial levels of optimism, the researchers found that the most optimistic men and women demonstrated, on average, an 11 to 15 percent longer lifespan, and had 50-70 percent greater odds of reaching 85 years old compared to the least optimistic groups. The results were maintained after accounting for age, demographic factors such as educational attainment, chronic diseases, depression and also health behaviors, such as alcohol use, exercise, diet and primary care visits.
"While research has identified many risk factors for diseases and premature death, we know relatively less about positive psychosocial factors that can promote healthy aging," explained corresponding author Lewina Lee, PhD, clinical research psychologist at the National Center for PTSD at VA Boston and assistant professor of psychiatry at BUSM. "This study has strong public health relevance because it suggests that optimism is one such psychosocial asset that has the potential to extend the human lifespan. Interestingly, optimism may be modifiable using relatively simple techniques or therapies."
It is unclear how exactly optimism helps people attain longer life. "Other research suggests that more optimistic people may be able to regulate emotions and behavior as well as bounce back from stressors and difficulties more effectively," said senior author Laura Kubzansky, PhD, MPH, Lee Kum Kee Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences and co-director, Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers also consider that more optimistic people tend to have healthier habits, such as being more likely to engage in more exercise and less likely to smoke, which could extend lifespan. "Research on the reason why optimism matters so much remains to be done, but the link between optimism and health is becoming more evident," noted senior author Fran Grodstein, ScD, professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and professor of medicine at the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
"Our study contributes to scientific knowledge on health assets that may protect against mortality risk and promote resilient aging. We hope that our findings will inspire further research on interventions to enhance positive health assets that may improve the public's health with aging," added Lee.

New study suggests exercise is good for the aging brain

Exercise seems to endow a wealth of benefits, from the release of happiness-inducing hormones to higher physical fitness. New research shows it may provide a boost to the mind too.
University of Iowa researchers have found that a single bout of exercise improves cognitive functions and working memory in some older people. In experiments that included physical activity, brain scans, and working memory tests, the researchers also found that participants experienced the same cognitive benefits and improved memory from a single exercise session as they did from longer, regular exercise.
"One implication of this study is you could think of the benefits day by day," says Michelle Voss, assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the study's corresponding author. "In terms of behavioral change and cognitive benefits from physical activity, you can say, 'I'm just going to be active today. I'll get a benefit.' So, you don't need to think of it like you're going to train for a marathon to get some sort of optimal peak of performance. You just could work at it day by day to gain those benefits."
Previous research has shown exercise can confer a mental boost. But the benefits vary: One person may improve cognitively and have improved memory, while another person may show little to no gain.
Limited research has been done on how a single bout of physical activity may affect cognition and working memory specifically in older populations, despite evidence that some brain functions slip as people age.
Voss wanted to tease out how a single session of exercise may affect older individuals. Her team enrolled 34 adults between 60 and 80 years of age who were healthy but not regularly active. Each participant rode a stationary bike on two separate occasions--with light and then more strenuous resistance when pedaling--for 20 minutes. Before and after each exercise session, each participant underwent a brain scan and completed a memory test.
In the brain scan, the researchers examined bursts of activity in regions known to be involved in the collection and sharing of memories. In the working memory tests, each participant used a computer screen to look at a set of eight young adult faces that rotated every three seconds--flashcard style--and had to decide when a face seen two "cards" previously matched the one they were currently viewing.
After a single exercise session, the researchers found in some individuals increased connectivity between the medial temporal (which surrounds the brain's memory center, the hippocampus) and the parietal cortex and prefrontal cortex, two regions involved in cognition and memory. Those same individuals also performed better on the memory tests. Other individuals showed little to no gain.
The boost in cognition and memory from a single exercise session lasted only a short while for those who showed gains, the researchers found.
"The benefits can be there a lot more quickly than people think," Voss says. "The hope is that a lot of people will then keep it up because those benefits to the brain are temporary. Understanding exactly how long the benefits last after a single session, and why some benefit more than others, are exciting directions for future research."
The participants also engaged in regular exercise, pedaling on a stationary bike for 50 minutes three times a week for three months. One group engaged in moderate-intensity pedaling, while another group had a mostly lighter workout in which the bike pedals moved for them.
Most individuals in the moderate and lighter-intensity groups showed mental benefits, judging by the brain scans and working memory tests given at the beginning and at the end of the three-month exercise period. But the brain gains were no greater than the improvements from when they had exercised a single time.
"The result that a single session of aerobic exercise mimics the effects of 12 weeks of training on performance has important implications both practically and theoretically," the authors write.
The researchers note their study had a small participant pool, with a homogenous population that excluded anyone with chronic health conditions or who were taking beta-blockers.
To address those limitations, Voss has expanded her participant pool in a current, five-year study to confirm the initial findings and learn more about how exercise alters older people's brains. The participants are healthy older individuals who are not physically active, similar to the participants' profile in the study's results reported here.

Washing Raw Poultry Increases Contamination Elsewhere

A new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that washing poultry increases contamination risk.

While washing poultry has long been perceived as a typical and even a necessary part of cooking and meal preparation, an observational study showed that bacteria is more easily spread when contact surfaces are not properly sanitized. Even when consumers think they are effectively cleaning after washing poultry, this study shows that bacteria can easily spread to other surfaces and foods. The best practice is not to wash poultry.

That’s right - ultimately, the best practice is to avoid washing poultry in the first place. If you choose to do so, the USDA recommends considering the following three options:

• 1. Reduce your risk by preparing foods that will not be cooked, such as vegetables and salads, prior to handling and preparing raw meat and poultry. The study showed that 60 percent of participants had bacteria in the sink after washing or rinsing poultry. Concerningly, after attempting to clean the sink, 14 percent still had bacteria.
• 2. Properly clean and sanitize any and all surfaces that potentially came into contact with raw poultry or juices. This includes washing your hands with hot water and soap and lathering for 20 seconds.
• 3. Be sure to cook all raw poultry to a safe temperature that destroys bacteria. The best way to ensure proper temperature is to test the meat with a food thermometer: beef, pork lamb and veal are safe to eat at 145 degrees, ground meats are safe to eat at 160 degrees and poultry is safe to eat at 165 degrees.

Increasing evidence shows age-related diseases--rather than age itself--may be the key cause of cognitive decline

Declining mental sharpness "just comes with age," right? Not so fast, say geriatrics researchers and clinicians gathered at a prestigious 2018 conference hosted by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) with support from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). In a report published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS), attendees of a conference for the NIA's Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists Transition into Aging Research (GEMSSTAR) program describe how increasing evidence shows age-related diseases--rather than age itself--may be the key cause of cognitive decline. And while old age remains a primary risk factor for cognitive impairment, researchers believe future research--and sustained funding--could illuminate more complex, nuanced connections between cognitive health, overall health, and how we approach age.

"We've long been taught that cognitive issues are 'just part of aging,'" explains Christopher R. Carpenter, MD, MSc, who helped coordinate the conference. "But contemporary medical research shows how bodily changes that lead to diseases like dementia appear long before the symptoms we associate with 'old age.' This begs the question: Is it really age that causes cognitive decline, or is it ultimately the diseases we now associate with age--in large part because we see them with increasing frequency now that we live longer? That's what we wanted to tackle coming together for this meeting."

Hosted by the AGS and NIA in 2018 as the third conference in a three-part series for GEMSSTAR scholars, the NIA "U13" conference brought together NIA experts and more than 100 scholars, researchers, and leaders representing 13 medical specialties to explore experiences with cognitive impairment across health care. Conference findings, published in JAGS (DOI: 10.1111/jgs.16093), detail early thinking on the two-way relationship between cognitive health and the health of other organ systems, as well as opportunities for moving science and practice forward.
According to attendees, several themes emerged:

• Researchers and clinicians from across health care noted the critical relationship between two of their top concerns: Dementia and delirium (the medical term for abrupt, rapid-onset confusion or an altered mental state, which affects millions of older adults annually). Research now suggests delirium and dementia are mutually inclusive risk factors, with cases of one prompting risks for the other. Thus, prevention of delirium may offer the unprecedented opportunity to prevent or lessen future cognitive decline.
• Still, as one of the conference attendees noted, "[T]he brain is not an island." Because the conference focused on the impact of cognitive impairment across specialties, a critical focal point for scholars was the complex, bi-directional relationship between cognition and the rest of the body. Cognitive impairments can serve as indicators or influencers in the course of other diseases and conditions. For example, cognitive impairment is perhaps "the strongest independent predictor" of hospital readmission and mortality for older people living with heart failure.
• As the field progresses, however, a major barrier remains: A dearth of research owing to the exclusion of potential study participants who are cognitively impaired. Though obtaining informed consent (the term used to describe a person's willingness to participate in a study after confirming they understand all the possible risks and benefits) remains challenging, researchers pointed to data that willingness to participate remains high. Coupled with suggestions for tailoring consent safeguards to the types of studies and potential participants thus holds promise for protecting against exploitation while continuing to move cutting-edge care principles forward.

As the GEMSSTAR conference attendees concluded, "The aging of the U.S. population and the growing burden of dementia make this an area of critical research focus...[U]nderstanding and addressing cognitive health and its relationship with the health of other organ systems will require multidisciplinary team science...[and new] study designs..."

Cannabis flower is an effective medication for pain

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Using the largest database of real-time recordings of the effects of common and commercially available cannabis products in the United States (U.S.), researchers at The University of New Mexico (UNM) found strong evidence that cannabis can significantly alleviate pain, with the average user experiencing a three-point drop in pain suffering on a 0-10 point scale immediately following cannabis consumption.

With a mounting opioid epidemic at full force and relatively few alternative pain medications available to the general public, scientists found conclusive support that cannabis is very effective at reducing pain caused by different types of health conditions, with relatively minimal negative side effects.
Chronic pain afflicts more than 20 percent of adults and is the most financially burdensome health condition that the U.S faces; exceeding, for example, the combined costs of treating heart disease and cancer.
"Our country has been flooded with an over-prescription of opioids medications, which then often leads to non-prescription opioid and heroin use for many people. This man-made disaster is killing our families and friends, regardless of socio-economic status, skin tone, and other superficial human differences" said Jacob Miguel Vigil, one of the lead investigators of the study, titled "The Effectiveness of Self-Directed Medical Cannabis Treatment for Pain," published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine.
Vigil explains, "Cannabis offers the average patient an effective alternative to using opioids for general use in the treatment of pain with very minimal negative side effects for most people."
The researchers relied on information collected with Releaf App, a mobile software program developed by co-authors Franco Brockelman, Keenan Keeling and Branden Hall. The app. enables cannabis users to monitor the real-time effects of the breadth of available cannabis-based products, which are always variable, of course, given the complexity of the Cannabis plant from which these products are obtained.
Since its release in 2016, the commercially developed Releaf App has been the only publicly available, incentive-free app for educating patients on how different types of products (e.g., flower or concentrate), combustion methods, cannabis subspecies (Indica, Sativa, and hybrid), and major cannabinoid contents (THC and CBD) affect their symptom severity levels, providing the user invaluable feedback on their health status, medication choices, and the clinical outcomes of those choices as measured by symptom relief and side effects.
Scientifically, software like the Releaf App enables researchers to overcome the inherent limitations of government-funded clinical trials on the real-time effects of Cannabis, which are rare in general, but also often limited by onerous federal regulations, including its Schedule I status (no accepted medical use and a high abuse potential) and the mandate that investigators use the notoriously poor quality and low potency cannabis products supplied by the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
"Even just rescheduling cannabis just from Schedule I to Schedule II, i.e., classifying it with fentanyl, oxycodone, and cocaine rather than heroin and ecstasy, could dramatically improve our ability to conduct research and only would require that the DEA recognizes that accepted medical uses for cannabis exist, as clearly evidenced by our results and the flourishing medical cannabis programs in the majority of U.S. states," pointed out co-author Sarah Stith.
Among the study's findings the greatest analgesic responses were reported by people that used whole dried cannabis flower, or 'buds,' and particularly cannabis with relatively high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, otherwise known as THC. The more recently popularized cannabinoid, cannabidiol or CBD, in contrast, showed little association with the momentary changes in pain intensity, based on the massive database explored in the study.
"Cannabis likely has numerous constituents that possess analgesic properties beyond THC, including terpenes and flavonoids, which likely act synergistically for people that use whole dried cannabis flower," said Vigil, "Our results confirm that cannabis use is a relatively safe and effective medication for alleviating pain, and that is the most important message to learn from our results. It can only benefit the public for people to be able to responsibly weigh the true risks and benefits of their pain medication choices, and when given this opportunity, I've seen numerous chronic pain patients substitute away from opioid use, among many other classes of medications, in favor of medical cannabis."
"Perhaps the most surprising result is just how widespread relief was with symptom relief reported in about 95 percent of cannabis administration sessions and across a wide variety of different types of pain," added lead author of the study, Xiaoxue Li.
The authors do caution that cannabis use does carry the risks of addiction and short-term impairments in cognitive and behavioral functioning, and may not be effective for everyone. However, there are multiple mechanisms by which cannabis alleviates pain suffering. In addition to its anti-inflammatory properties, cannabis activates receptors that are colocalized with opioid receptors in the brain. "Cannabis with high THC also causes mood elevation and adjusts attentional demands, likely distracting patients from the aversive sensations that people refer to "pain," explains Vigil.
"When compared to the negative health risks associated with opioid use, which currently takes the lives of over 115 Americans a day, cannabis may be an obvious value to patients. Chronic opioid use is associated with poorer quality of life, social isolation, lower immune functioning and early morbidity. In contrast, my own ongoing research increasingly suggests that cannabis use is associated with a reversal of each of these potential outcomes," said Vigil

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Physical activity at any intensity linked to lower risk of early death

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But being sedentary for several hours a day linked to increased risk

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Clear evidence that higher levels of physical activity -- regardless of intensity -- are associated with a lower risk of early death in middle aged and older people, is published by The BMJ today.

The findings also show that being sedentary, for example sitting still, for 9.5 hours or more a day (excluding sleeping time) is associated with an increased risk of death.
Previous studies have repeatedly suggested that sedentary behaviour is bad and physical activity is good for health and long life.
Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity each week, but are based mainly on self reported activity, which is often imprecise. So exactly how much activity (and at what intensity) is needed to protect health remains unclear.
To explore this further, researchers led by Professor Ulf Ekelund at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo analysed observational studies assessing physical activity and sedentary time with death ("all cause mortality").
Studies used accelerometers (a wearable device that tracks the volume and intensity of activity during waking hours) to measure total activity in counts per minute (cpm) of wear time. Intensity is usually separated into light, moderate and vigorous -- and the time in these intensities is then estimated.
Examples of light intensity activity includes walking slowly or light tasks such as cooking or washing dishes. Moderate activity includes brisk walking, vacuuming or mowing the lawn, while vigorous activity includes jogging, carrying heavy loads or digging.
Data from eight high quality studies involving 36,383 adults aged at least 40 years (average age 62) were included. Activity levels were categorised into quarters, from least to most active, and participants were tracked for an average of 5.8 years.
During follow-up, 2149 (5.9%) participants died. After adjusting for potentially influential factors, the researchers found that any level of physical activity, regardless of intensity, was associated with a substantially lower risk of death.
Deaths fell steeply as total activity increased up to a plateau at 300 cpm, similar to the average activity levels in a population-based sample of US men and about 10-15% lower than that observed in Scandinavian men and women.
A similarly steep decrease in deaths occurred with increasing duration of light physical activity up to a plateau of about 300 minutes (5 hours) per day and of moderate intensity physical activity of about 24 minutes per day.
The largest reduction in risk of death (about 60-70%) was between the first quarter (least active) and the fourth quarter (most active), with approximately five times more deaths in those being inactive compared with those most active. This strengthens the view that any physical activity is beneficial and likely achievable for large segments of the population say the researchers.
In contrast, spending 9.5 hours or more each day sedentary was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of death.
The researchers point to some limitations. For example, all studies were conducted in the US and western Europe, and included adults who were at least 40 years old, so findings may not apply to other populations or to younger people.
Nevertheless, they say the large sample size and device based measures of sedentary time and physical activity provide more precise results than previous studies.
As such, they say their results provide important data for informing public health recommendations, and suggest that the public health message might simply be "sit less and move more and more often."
These findings are important and easy to interpret, say researchers in a linked editorial. However, questions remain, particularly over whether the effect of physical activity continues above a certain threshold.
They acknowledge that increasing activity at the population level is challenging, but say walking is one promising target for intervention, as it is simple, affordable (free), achievable even for older adults, and rarely contraindicated.
"Developing ways to limit sedentary time and increase activity at any level could considerably improve health and reduce mortality," they conclude.

Lower levels of dietary vitamins and antioxidants are linked to frailty in older adults

Researchers from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) at Trinity College Dublin have shown in the largest study to date that lower levels of specific dietary vitamins and antioxidants are associated with frailty.
Frailty is a common chronic syndrome which affects up to 25% of adults over 65 years and over half of adults over 80. Frailty is characterised by an overall decline in physical function and a loss of ability to bounce back after experiencing a stressful event such as infection, a fall or surgery. It is associated with poor health, disability and death. The TILDA study examined the association of vitamin B12, folate, vitamin D, lutein and zeaxanthin levels with frailty.
The B vitamins (B12 and folate) are important for several cellular processes throughout the body including DNA repair and energy metabolism. Vitamin D is essential for bone metabolism, muscle strength and mood. Lutein and zeaxanthin have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties important in eye health and brain health. Low levels of all of these vitamins and antioxidants is common among Irish adults.
In this new research lower levels of lutein, zeaxanthin, and vitamin D were consistently associated with not only frailty but also earlier stages of 'pre-frailty' (a subclinical precursor of frailty). Low levels of B vitamins were associated with pre-frailty. Furthermore, the accumulation of micronutrient insufficiencies - having low levels of more than one micronutrient - was progressively associated with severity stages of frailty.
This data raises the question of the role of dietary supplementation and contributes to the ongoing policy discussions regarding fortification.
Lead author of the study and Senior Research Fellow at TILDA, Dr Aisling O'Halloran, said: "We have presented evidence in the largest study to date that lower levels of specific vitamins and antioxidants - and having low levels of more than one micronutrient - is consistently and progressively associated with the most commonly used methods for measuring frailty. Our data suggest that low micronutrient status may act as an easily modified marker and intervention target for frailty among adults aged 50 years and over".
Principal Investigator of TILDA, Professor Rose-Anne Kenny said:
"Frailty occurs when a number of systems in the body lose reserve capacity and therefore the ability to 'bounce back' after even trivial illnesses. It is an important and challenging state; commonly associated with ageing but also common in patients of any age who have major surgery, cancer treatments and severe infections. The hall mark of frailty is muscle weakness. If it is recognised in its early stages, it can be reversed. However, the longer it is present, the more difficult is it to 'bounce back' and generalised weakness and fatigue become progressively worse. This research suggests new potential treatments for a common and important condition."
Co-author of the study Dr Eamon Laird said "Again we see that micronutrients (including vitamin D) are associated with better health outcomes in older adults. However we still lack a food fortification policy in Ireland and whilst this continues, we miss the opportunity of a cost-effective strategy to prevent and intervene in the progression of these conditions. As of yet there is no sign that the Irish government or the FSAI (Food Safety Authority Ireland) intend to advise or implement on such a strategy".

New report finds 100% juice helps improve children's diet quality

The Juice Products Association

A new report published in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition by pediatrician Dr. Robert D. Murray supports existing scientific data maintaining juice as part of a healthy diet. The report reinforces that claims that 100% juice may be associated with childhood weight gain or negative health outcomes have not been supported by recent scientific research including a number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
"Juice has recently been cast in a negative light without scientific evidence to support these claims," said Dr. Robert Murray, pediatric nutritionist and immediate past president of the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "This report encourages parents and other consumers to look at a child's total diet before judging foods or beverages "good" or "bad." Foods should be judged not on individual attributes such as fat or sugar but on their contributions to the diet as a whole."
"Drinking 100% fruit juice has many positive attributes that improve overall diet quality," Dr. Murray stated, "When juice is eliminated from a child's diet, it can have unintended negative nutritional consequences, especially for low-income populations."
National surveys show many Americans have poor quality diets. The report notes that while juices do lack fiber, they retain the majority of the same health-promoting nutrients, bioactives and phytochemicals found in whole fruit. Fruit juice drinkers also have better quality diets, consume more whole fruit, less added sugar and saturated fat and greater amounts of vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and fiber than non-juice drinkers.
"Over the past three decades, fruit juice consumption has fallen substantially yet the gap has not been filled by the consumption of whole fruit. A combination of whole fruit and juice is the best way for children and adults to meet their daily-recommended fruit servings and improve their overall diet," said Dr. Murray. "Young children are typically the biggest juice drinkers. They are also the only age group in the United States consuming enough servings of fruit."

Gastroesophageal reflux associated with chronic pain in temporomandibular joint

Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) is associated with chronic, painful temporomandibular disorder -- pain in the temporomandibular joint -- and anxiety and poor sleep contribute to this association, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.181535. Pain from temporomandibular disorder (TMD) affects about 13% of Canada's population. Reflux is an uncomfortable condition in which stomach contents are regurgitated into the throat. Evidence indicates that anxiety, somatization and depression are linked to GERD.
Researchers from China and the United States looked at data on 1522 patients with chronic TMD, of whom 69% (1048) were women, to understand the relationship between chronic TMD and GERD and to determine if anxiety, somatization and depression influence the association. They found symptomatic GERD was a risk factor for TMD, and people with a longer history of GERD had a higher risk of TMD than those with a shorter history.
"The interactions between chronic musculoskeletal diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, mental disorders and sleep problems are complicated," writes Dr. Jihua Chen, The Dental College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia, and The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China, with coauthors. "There is evidence to support the bidirectional nature of the associations among these comorbidities, and patients may be stuck in a cycle in which undermined sleep, somatization and anxiety exacerbate the pain, with the pain also leading to sleep problems and mental disorders."
The authors suggest physicians need to be aware of the association and consider multidisciplinary management programs to help patients with TMD and chronic pain.
"Physicians and patients may overlook the association between chronic musculoskeletal disease and gastrointestinal symptoms," write the authors. "Patients with both chronic TMD and reflux symptoms may be underdiagnosed, resulting in deferred effective treatment and a prolonged disease course."
"Associations among gastroesophageal reflux disease, mental disorders, sleep and chronic temporomandibular disorder: a case-control study" is published August 19, 2019.

Insomnia tied to higher risk of heart disease and stroke

People suffering from insomnia may have an increased risk of coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.
Previous observational studies have found an association between insomnia, which affects up to 30% of the general population, and an increased risk of developing heart disease and stroke. These observational studies were unable to determine whether insomnia is a cause, or if it is just associated with them, explained Susanna Larsson, Ph.D., lead study author and associate professor of cardiovascular and nutritional epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.
In this first-of-its-kind study on insomnia, Larsson and a colleague applied Mendelian randomization, a technique that uses genetic variants known to be connected with a potential risk factor, such as insomnia, to reduce bias in the results. The 1.3 million participants with or without heart disease and stroke were drawn from four major public studies and groups.
Researchers found genetic variants for insomnia were associated with significantly higher odds of coronary artery disease, heart failure and ischemic stroke - particularly large artery stroke, but not atrial fibrillation.
"It's important to identify the underlying reason for insomnia and treat it," Larsson said. "Sleep is a behavior that can be changed by new habits and stress management."
A limitation to this study is that the results represent a genetic variant link to insomnia rather than insomnia itself. According to Larsson, it was not possible to determine whether or not the individuals with cardiovascular disease had insomnia.

Prescription omega-3 fatty acid medications effectively lower high triglycerides

Prescription omega-3 fatty acid medication reduces triglyceride levels by 20-30% among the majority of people who require treatment for high triglyceride levels, according to a science advisory from the American Heart Association.
"From our review of the evidence from 17 randomized, controlled clinical trials on high triglyceride levels, we concluded that treatment with 4 grams daily of any of the available prescription choices is effective and can be used safely in conjunction with statin medicines that lower cholesterol," said Ann Skulas-Ray, Ph.D., an author of the new science advisory published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
There are two prescription omega-3 fatty acid medications available. One combines two types of fatty acids, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). The other medication provides EPA only. Since there have been no head-to-head comparisons of the two different formulations at prescription dosing, the advisory does not recommend one over the other.
Triglycerides are fats that circulate in the blood. Some studies have shown that elevated levels of triglycerides (above 200 mg/dL) can lead to atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries) which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. In addition to cardiovascular risk, very high levels of triglycerides (above 500 mg/dL) can also cause pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas.
Skulas-Ray points out that people with high triglyceride levels should not try to treat the condition themselves with non-prescription, omega-3 fatty acid fish oil supplements.
"Dietary supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids are not regulated by the FDA. They should not be used in place of prescription medication for the long-term management of high triglycerides," said Skulas-Ray, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson. In a 2017 science advisory, the American Heart Association noted that there is a lack of scientific research to support clinical use of omega-3 fatty acid supplements to prevent heart disease in the general population.
The effective dose for prescription omega-3 fatty acids is four grams per day taken with food. Currently, the FDA has approved prescription omega-3 fatty acid medications only for treating very high triglyceride levels above 500 mg/dL.
Healthy lifestyle choices, such as getting regular physical activity, losing weight, avoiding sugar and refined carbohydrates, limiting alcohol as well as choosing healthier fats from plants in place of saturated fats can help reduce triglycerides. It is also important to treat or eliminate conditions such as poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, hypothyroidism and obesity that may contribute to high triglyceride levels before turning to medication.
Fish is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, and the American Heart Association recommends eating fatty fish - such as salmon, mackerel, herring and albacore tuna - at least two times per week.
In analyzing the current scientific data, the advisory panel found:

• For most people with high triglycerides (200 to 499 mg/dL), prescription doses of omega-3 fatty acids using drugs with either EPA+DHA or EPA alone can reduce triglyceride by 20 to 30%.
• Contrary to common perception, the formula that contains both EPA and DHA does not increase the "bad" form of cholesterol (LDL-C) among most people with high triglyceride levels (200-499 mg/dL). However, when the drug is given to people with very high triglyceride levels at 500 mg/dL or greater, LDL-C may increase.
• The panel's review found that the prescription omega-3 drugs are effective in reducing triglyceride levels regardless of whether people are on statin therapy.
• In a recent large, randomized placebo-controlled study called REDUCE-IT, researchers found that the EPA-only medication combined with statin medication resulted in a 25% reduction in major cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death) among people with high triglycerides.

Elevated triglycerides are relatively common among people in the United States, and the prevalence is increasing due to growing rates of obesity and diabetes. Both of those conditions raise triglyceride levels. About 25% of adults in the U.S. have a triglyceride level above 150 mg/dL, which is considered borderline high.

Brain game exercises can enable people in their 70s and even 80s to multitask cognitively

A University of California, Irvine-led study has found that online brain game exercises can enable people in their 70s and even 80s to multitask cognitively as well as individuals 50 years their junior. This is an increasingly valuable skill, given today's daily information onslaught, which can divide attention and be particularly taxing for older adults.
"The brain is not a muscle, but like our bodies, if we work out and train it, we can improve our mental performance," said lead author Mark Steyvers, a UCI professor of cognitive sciences. "We discovered that people in the upper age ranges who completed specific training tasks were able to beef up their brain's ability to switch between tasks in the game at a level similar to untrained 20- and 30-year-olds."
The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, underscore the cognitive cost of multitasking, which dilutes function by splitting focus, as well as the ways in which people across the lifespan can overcome the brain drain brought on by both the increasingly cluttered multimedia environment and the natural aging process.
For the study, Steyvers and his colleagues partnered with Lumosity, an online platform that offers a variety of daily brain training games. They focused on data from "Ebb and Flow" - a task-switching game that challenges the brain's ability to shift between cognitive processes interpreting shapes and movement. Of the millions of people who played the game between 2012 and 2017, researchers randomly sampled the performance of about 1,000 users within two categories: those who ranged in age from 21 to 80 and had completed fewer than 60 training sessions; and adults 71 to 80 who had logged at least 1,000 sessions.
They found that the majority of older and highly practiced players were able to match or exceed the performance of younger users who had not played very much. Any lead seniors had, though, significantly declined after the 21- to 30-year-olds had completed more than 10 practice sessions.
"Medical advances and improved lifestyles are allowing us to live longer," Steyvers said. "It's important to factor brain health into that equation. We show that with consistent upkeep, cognitive youth can be retained well into our golden years."

Physical activity in adolescence and later life reduces risk

The effects of more than 60 minutes of moderate daily physical exercise, such as walking, accumulate throughout life and are associated with a 39% reduction in the risk of advanced adenomatous polyps, a precursor of colorectal cancer, the third most frequent type of cancer in Brazil.
This is the main finding of an epidemiological study published in the British Journal of Cancer. The study was conducted by researchers in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of São Paulo's Medical School (FM-USP) in Brazil and colleagues elsewhere, specifically Harvard University in the United States. It was supported by a Research Internship Abroad Scholarship (BEPE) from FAPESP.
"The links between physical activity, adenomas and colorectal cancer are well understood, but this is the first study to demonstrate the cumulative effects of physical activity starting in adolescence on the incidence of colorectal adenoma," said Leandro Rezende, a researcher at FM-USP and one of the authors of the study.
The authors analyzed the data of 28,250 women included in the Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II), one of the largest investigations into risk factors for major chronic diseases ever conducted. The sample population included women aged 25-42 years who were employed as nurses and medical residents in the United States. It was one of a series of prospective cohort studies conducted to examine the etiology of chronic diseases and the long-term effects of physical activity, nutrition, hormones and the environment, among other factors, on health and disease development.
The study published this year in the British Journal of Cancer analyzed the association between physical activity during adolescence and risk of adenoma later in life and adjusted for such known risk factors as smoking, diet, alcohol intake, and family history of colorectal cancer.
The results of the analysis showed that physical activity in adolescence (12-22) reduced the risk of adenoma by 7% compared with little or no physical activity (less than 60 minutes per day). Physical activity in only adulthood (23-64) reduced the risk by 9%. Physical activity in both adolescence and adulthood reduced the risk by 24%.
According to Rezende, the small difference between the impact of physical activity in adolescence alone and in adulthood alone reflects the different lengths of the two periods. "The reduction is actually similar in each case," he said. "This tendency suggests that there is a cumulative effect of physical activity as life goes on. Whether it's during adolescence or adulthood, the more physical activity we get, the lower the risk of developing adenoma in adulthood becomes."
The finding that most surprised the researchers, however, was that adequate physical activity in both adolescence and adulthood reduced the risk of advanced adenoma by 39%. "This increased level of risk reduction correlated with villous adenomas, which are aggressive polyps with a diameter of more than 1 cm and are the most likely to evolve into colorectal cancer," Rezende said.
According to the researchers, physical activity may reduce the risk of carcinogenesis by decreasing body fat, inflammation and insulin levels.
Wealth of data For José Eluf Neto, Full Professor at FM-USP and Rezende's PhD thesis adviser, the results of the study confirm the importance of policies to encourage physical activity as a public health priority.
"Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of cancer, and the science shows that physical activity alone is a key factor in reducing the risk of adenoma. However, it should be kept in mind that an adenoma is not cancer. In other words, we've shown that physical activity helps prevent the disease from even occurring because it reduces the risk of developing a precursor," Eluf Neto told.
Sedentary behavior in adolescence has been a major concern, especially in connection with colorectal cancer, he added. "Although in most cases the disease appears after the age of 60, the number of patients under 50 is rising. We don't know if this is because more people are being diagnosed or undergoing colonoscopies, or whether early exposure to risk factors such as a sedentary lifestyle may be driving the earlier incidence of colorectal adenoma or cancer," he said.
The Nurses' Health Study II began in the late 1980s, with a target population of nurses between 25 and 42 years of age. Each set of two-year cohort members received a follow-up questionnaire with questions about diseases and health-related topics, including smoking, hormone use, pregnancy history, and menopausal status. The 1997 questionnaire was the first to include items relating to physical activity, diet and obesity during adolescence (when they were between 12 and 22 years of age).
"They answered questions on home-school commute times and methods, and on moderate physical activity such as walking as well as more intense exercise such as gym classes, swimming and other sports. This enabled us to estimate the level of physical activity during their adolescence," Rezende said.
Follow-up continued until 2011, when the questionnaire included further items on lifestyle habits between the ages of 23 and 64 - a period in which the nurses responded the questionnaire every two years. To participate in the study, the nurses had to have undergone at least one sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy, since polyps and adenomas are asymptomatic.

Latest Health Research - Diet, etc

 

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Latest Health Research Report - Aging

 

Key take-aways: Good - Apples, especially organic; tea, dark chocolate, plant-based foods, mindfulness meditation, probiotics, rye, blueberries. Bad: more than 2 caffienated drinks a day, lavender oil

 

Diet

An apple carries about 100 million bacteria -- good luck washing them off

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 18 hours ago

 

To the heroes among you who eat the whole apple: besides extra fiber, flavonoids and flavor, you're also quaffing 10 times as many bacteria per fruit as your core-discarding counterparts. Is this a good thing? Probably. But it might depend on how your apples were grown. Published in *Frontiers in Microbiology*, a new study shows that organic apples harbor a more diverse and balanced bacterial community -- which could make them healthier and tastier than conventional apples, as well as better for the environment. *You are w... more »

People who eat dark chocolate less likely to be depressed

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 18 hours ago

Eating dark chocolate may positively affect mood and relieve depressive symptoms, finds a new UCL-led study looking at whether different types of chocolate are associated with mood disorders. The study, published in *Depression and Anxiety*, is the first to examine the association with depression according to the type of chocolate consumed. Researchers from UCL worked in collaboration with scientists from the University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services Canada and assessed data from 13,626 adults from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants' chocolat... more »

 

Apples, tea and moderation -- the 3 ingredients for a long life

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 days ago

Consuming flavonoid-rich items such as apples and tea protects against cancer and heart disease, particularly for smokers and heavy drinkers, according to new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU). Researchers from ECU's School of Medical and Health Sciences analysed data from the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health cohort that assessed the diets of 53,048 Danes over 23 years. They found that people who habitually consumed moderate to high amounts of foods rich in flavonoids, compounds found in plant-based foods and drinks, were less likely to die from cancer or heart disease. *No q... more »

1-2 caffeinated drinks not linked with higher risk of migraines; 3+ may trigger them

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 6 days ago

Afflicting more than one billion adults worldwide, migraine is the third most prevalent illness in the world. In addition to severe headache, symptoms of migraine can include nausea, changes in mood, sensitivity to light and sound, as well as visual and auditory hallucinations. People who suffer from migraine report that weather patterns, sleep disturbances, hormonal changes, stress, medications and certain foods or beverages can bring on migraine attacks. However, few studies have evaluated the immediate effects of these suspected triggers. In a study published today in the *Amer... more »

Eating more plant-based foods may be linked to better heart health --

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

Eating mostly plant-based foods and fewer animal-based foods may be linked to better heart health and a lower risk of dying from a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular disease according to new research published in the *Journal of the American Heart Association*, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. "While you don't have to give up foods derived from animals completely, our study does suggest that eating a larger proportion of plant-based foods and a smaller proportion of animal-based foods may help reduce your risk of havin... more »

 

Substituting poultry for red meat may reduce breast cancer risk

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

Results from a new study suggest that red meat consumption may increase the risk of breast cancer, whereas poultry consumption may be protective against breast cancer risk. The findings are published in the *International Journal of Cancer*. For the study, investigators analyzed information on consumption of different types of meat and meat cooking practices from 42,012 women who were followed for an average of 7.6 years. During follow-up, 1,536 invasive breast cancers were diagnosed. Increasing consumption of red meat was associated with increased risk of invasive breast cancer: ... more »

Dietary choline associates with reduced risk of dementia

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

A new study by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland is the first to observe that dietary intake of phosphatidylcholine is associated with a reduced risk of dementia. Phosphatidylcholine was also linked to enhanced cognitive performance. The main dietary sources of phosphatidylcholine were eggs and meat. The findings were published in the *American Journal of Clinical Nutrition*. Choline is an essential nutrient, usually occurring in food in various compounds. Choline is also necessary for the formation of acetylcholine, which is a neurotransmitter. Earlier studies have l... more »

Eating rye comes with a variety of health benefits

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

A new study from the University of Eastern Finland now shows that both lactic acid bacteria and gut bacteria contribute to the health benefits of rye. Published in *Microbiome*, the study used a metabolomics approach to analyse metabolites found in food and the human body. Rye sourdough used for the baking of rye bread is rich in lactic acid bacteria. In addition to fermenting the dough, these bacteria also modify bioactive compounds found in rye. They produce branched-chain amino acids and amino acid-containing small peptides, which are known to have an impact on insulin metabolism... more »

Sesame allergy is more common than previously known

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

Sesame allergy affects more than 1 million children and adults in the U.S., more than previously known, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. But sesame labeling is currently not required by law as are the other top eight allergens like peanut and milk, and is often labeled in a potentially confusing manner, such as tahini. This increases the risk of accidental ingestion. The new study provides the first up-to-date estimates on the current prevalence of sesame allergy among U.S. children and adults in all 50 states. "Our study shows sesame allergy is prevalent in the U.S. in... more » »

 

Diets rich in blueberries yield diverse benefits

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 weeks ago

A collection of new studies in *The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences* further quantifies how blueberry consumption can contribute to healthy aging. "Since the 1990s, research on the health benefits of blueberries has grown exponentially," wrote guest editor Donald K. Ingram, PhD, FGSA, in an opening editorial. "Studies have documented that this fruit ranks highest in antioxidant activity compared to many other popular fruits. Moreover, other mechanisms for the health benefits of blueberries, such as their anti-inflammatory properties, have ... more »

 

 

Supplements

Probiotics benefit vaginal health

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 15 hours ago

Researchers have shown that three genes from a probiotic Lactobacillus species, used in some commercial probiotic vaginal capsules, are almost certainly involved in mediating adhesion to the vaginal epithelium. This is likely critical to how this species benefits vaginal health. "These results could help us screen for better probiotic candidates in the future," said principal investigator Harold Marcotte, PhD. The research is published this week in *Applied and Environmental Microbiology*, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. "An imbalance of the normal microbiota, a... more »

Testosterone supplements made people more sensitive to moral norm

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago

Although some studies have linked high levels of testosterone to immoral behavior, a new study published in *Nature Human Behaviour* finds testosterone supplements actually made people more sensitive to moral norms, suggesting that testosterone's influence on behavior is more complicated than previously thought. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin took a deeper look at the hormonal underpinnings of moral reasoning. Previous research has investigated moral judgment on the basis of behavioral responses and brain activity, but the current study goes beyond this to analyze... more »

Lavender oil may contribute to abnormal breast growth in young girls

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago

Abnormal breast growth in young girls is linked to lavender oil exposure, according to a recent study published in the Endocrine Society's *Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism*. Previous research has associated breast growth in boys with lavender-containing fragrances. This study, "Lavender Products Associated With Premature Thelarche and Prepubertal Gynecomastia: Case Reports and EDC Activities," is the first to report abnormal breast growth in young girls. The researchers found that breast growth in young girls and boys resolved after discontinuing lavender-containing f... more »

Dietary choline associates with reduced risk of dementia

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

A new study by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland is the first to observe that dietary intake of phosphatidylcholine is associated with a reduced risk of dementia. Phosphatidylcholine was also linked to enhanced cognitive performance. The main dietary sources of phosphatidylcholine were eggs and meat. The findings were published in the *American Journal of Clinical Nutrition*. Choline is also available as a supplement. Choline is an essential nutrient, usually occurring in food in various compounds. Choline is also necessary for the formation of acetylcholine, which is a neurotransmitter. Earlier studies have l... more »

Higher vitamin A intake linked to lower skin cancer risk

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 weeks ago

 

People whose diets included high levels of vitamin A had a 17 percent reduction in risk for getting the second-most-common type of skin cancer, as compared to those who ate modest amounts of foods and supplements rich in vitamin A. That's according to researchers from Brown University, who unearthed that finding after analyzing data from two long-term observational studies. Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is the second-most-common type of skin cancer among people with fair skin. Vitamin A is known to be essential for the healthy growth and maturation of skin cells, but prior studi... more »

 

Medicine

 

Osteoporosis drugs linked to reduced risk of premature death

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 days ago

Two studies led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have revealed that nitrogen-bisphosphonates, drugs commonly prescribed for osteoporosis, reduced the risk of premature mortality by 34% in a cohort of over 6,000 individuals. This reduction in early mortality risk was significantly associated with a reduction in bone loss compared with no treatment. The findings present new advice of the significant benefits of taking approved osteoporosis medicine for those at risk of osteoporosis, and their health care professional. After the age of 50, 40% of women and 25% of men will s... more »

ADHD medication may affect brain development in children

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 days ago

A drug used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appears to affect the development of the brain's signal-carrying white matter in children with the disorder, according to a study published in the journal *Radiology*. The same effects were not found in adults with ADHD. Methylphenidate (MPH), sold under trade names including Ritalin and Concerta, is a commonly prescribed treatment for ADHD that is effective in up to 80 percent of patients. However, not much is known about its effect on the development of the brain, including the brain's white matter, which is imp... more »

Statins, cholesterol and glaucoma risk

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 days ago

Statins, the gold standard for high cholesterol treatment, may be associated with a lower risk of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) when used over time, per new research into cholesterol's interplay with glaucoma. "This is another study that supports statin use being associated with a reduced risk of the development of glaucoma. What is not clear is the reason why." Published online in *JAMA Ophthalmology*, the study found a 21% *lower* risk of POAG among adults using statins for five or more years and, conversely, a 7% *greater* risk of POAG for every 20 mg/dL increase in total ... more »

Pain medications linked to higher cardiovascular risks in patients with osteoarthritis

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can help to control the pain and inflammation in individuals with osteoarthritis (OA), but a new *Arthritis & Rheumatology* study suggests that NSAIDs contribute to cardiovascular side effects in these patients. The study matched 7,743 OA patients with 23,229 non-OA controls. The risk of developing cardiovascular disease among people with OA was 23% higher compared with people without OA. Among secondary outcomes assessed in the study, the risk of congestive heart failure was 42% higher among people with OA compared with people without O... more »

 

New data indicate rise in opioid use for migraine treatment

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

- Nearly 1 in 5 people with migraine use opioids to treat their headaches, up from 16 percent in 2009. - People who experienced more frequent headaches were even more likely to use opioids to treat migraine, with more than half of them taking opioids at least one time to treat migraine. - Clinical guidelines discourage the use of opioids for treatment of migraine symptoms, except in rare cases. An increasing number of Americans are using opioids to treat their migraine headaches, despite the fact that opioids are not the recommended first-line therapy for mi... more »

 

Doctors more likely to recommend antihistamines rather than cough & cold medicine for kids

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 weeks ago

For respiratory infections in children under 12, physicians are increasingly more likely to recommend antihistamines and less likely to recommend cough and cold medicines, a Rutgers study found. Antihistamines are widely used over-the-counter to treat various allergic conditions. However, these medicines have little known benefit for children with colds, and some older antihistamines cause sedation and occasionally agitation in children. The study, in *JAMA Pediatrics*, found a sharp decline in cough and cold medicine recommendations for children under 2 after 2008, when the Food ... more »

 

Sleep

Links between glaucoma and sleep

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 days ago

A recent study reports that abnormal sleep patterns may be risk factors for or consequences of glaucoma. "Whether sleep dysfunction is a byproduct of glaucoma or a risk factor for it still needs to be resolved, but this study addresses some interesting questions." In the recent cross-sectional study, "Association Between Sleep Parameters and Glaucoma in the United States Population: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey," researchers reviewed data from the survey's nearly 6,800 patients over 40 years of age who responded to the sleep questionnaire between 2005 and 2008.... more »

Optimistic people sleep better, longer

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

People who are the most optimistic tend to be better sleepers, a study of young and middle-aged adults found. More than 3,500 people ages 32-51 were included in the study sample. The participants included people in Birmingham, Alabama; Oakland, California; Chicago; and Minneapolis. The research was led by Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois. "Results from this study revealed significant associations between optimism and various characteristics of self-reported sleep after adjusting for a wide array of variables, including socio-demographic cha... more »

 

Evening use of alcohol or nicotine sabotage sleep, caffeine doesn't

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

Between 50 to 70 million Americans have a sleep disorder. Sleepless nights are associated with a number of adverse health outcomes including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and certain cancers. Evening use of alcohol, caffeine and nicotine are believed to sabotage sleep. Yet, studies examining their effects on sleep are limited by small sample sizes that don't represent racial and ethnic diversity or objective measures of sleep. Furthermore, these investigations have been conducted in laboratory or observatory settings. Considering the pu... more »

1 in 300 thrives on very-early-to-bed, very-early-to-rise routine

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

A quirk of the body clock that lures some people to sleep at 8 p.m., enabling them to greet the new day as early as 4 a.m., may be significantly more common than previously believed. So-called advanced sleep phase -- previously believed to be very rare -- may affect at least one in 300 adults, according to a study led by UC San Francisco and publishing in the journal *SLEEP* on Aug. 6, 2019. Advanced sleep phase means that the body's clock, or circadian rhythm, operates on a schedule hours earlier than most people's, with a premature release of the sleep hormone melatonin and shift ... more »

 

 

 

Exercise

 

Exercises to ward off weight gain despite 'obesity genes'

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *This is an image depicting a female running on a treadmill. Running increases the heart rate and acts as good cardiovascular exercise. The treadmill is shown surrounded by plants and... view more For people who inherited genes that increase their chance of becoming obese, there is hope for keeping the weight off. A study by Wan-Yu Lin of National Taiwan University and colleagues, published 1st August in PLOS Genetics, identified the types of exercise that are especially effective at combatting genetic effects that contribute to obesity. Worldwide, obesity i... more »

 

General Health

 

 

Accidental infant deaths in bed tripled from 1999 to 2016 in the US

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 18 hours ago

While the number of babies who die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has been on the decline, a study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine and collaborators shows that infant deaths from accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed have more than tripled between 1999 and 2016 in the United States with increases in racial inequalities. Findings from the study, published in the *Maternal and Child Health Journal*, reveal similar risk factor profiles for non-Hispanic black infants and non-Hispanic white infants, though in every instan... more »

Strong evidence for causal link between obesity and multiple diseases

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

A new study, led by Professor Elina Hyppönen from UniSA's Australian Centre for Precision Health, presents the strongest evidence yet of a causal relationship between obesity and a wide range of serious conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and neurological, musculoskeletal and respiratory afflictions. The study, published in *Lancet Digital Health*, draws data from the UK Biobank - a research database holding health and genetic information from half a million volunteers - to analyse associations between body mass index (BMI) and a range of disease outcome... more »