ALL ABOUT HEALTH -

15Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Lead Exposure Linked to Heart Disease Deaths in the U.S., UK

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Diet, exercise, and family history aren’t the only factors that determine heart disease risk.Lead exposure has contributed more to heart disease deaths in the U.S. compared with the United Kingdom, according to new research presented this week at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2022 in Chicago. Study findings also revealed that the U.S. fared better in terms of heart disease deaths linked to particulate matter — harmful particles in air pollution — when compared to the United Kingdom.The study has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.Researchers gathered data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study from both countries, which in total included more than 33 million deaths over 30 years. From the data, they were able to measure how many deaths could be linked to four environmental…

15Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Your ‘Healthy’ Diet May Not Be as Healthy as You Think, Study Finds

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When you’re trying to lose weight, any number of factors can weaken your resolve and get in the way of progress. But in many cases, the scale may refuse to budge, even if you’ve been sticking to your plan. Findings from a study show that part of the problem may lie in our dietary perceptions and misperceptions.Researchers found that people trying to lose weight often overestimated how healthy their diet was, a gap that could sabotage weight-loss efforts. The preliminary research will be presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2022, held in person in Chicago and virtually, November 5 to 7.“We found that while people generally know that fruits and vegetables are healthy, there may be a disconnect between what researchers and healthcare professionals consider to be a…

15Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

A Rocky Marriage Can Make It Harder to Recover From a Heart Attack

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The expression “love can break your heart” may be more literal than you think. Relationship problems can lead to high stress, which in turn can negatively affect heart health, including heart attack recovery, as the University of Rochester notes.Preliminary research to be presented November 6 at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2022 found that marital stress among younger adults — ages 18 to 55 — was linked to worse recovery after a heart attack. The study’s findings have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.“Healthcare professionals need to be aware of personal factors that may contribute to cardiac recovery and focus on guiding patients to resources that help manage and reduce their stress levels,” said the study’s lead author Cenjing Zhu, a PhD candidate in the department of chronic disease…

15Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Mediterranean Diet Linked to Lower Disability Risk in People With MS

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People with multiple sclerosis who followed a Mediterranean diet were more likely to experience less disability than people who did not, according to a new study, published October 13 in Multiple Sclerosis Journal.These findings add to the accumulating evidence that diet is important in MS, says the lead author, Ilana Katz Sand, MD, an associate professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine and a neurologist at Mount Sinai in New York City. “After rigorously controlling for demographic and health-related factors, we noted a significant association between Mediterranean diet score and objectively captured disability in people with MS,” she says.“This study does help confirm what we’ve suspected from previous literature — that a person’s particular level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet seems to matter for outcomes of MS,” says…

15Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Clorox Recalls 37 Million Pine-Sol Bottles Over Bacteria Concern

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Millions of bottles of the common household cleaner Pine-Sol have been recalled over concerns that they’re contaminated with potentially dangerous bacteria.The recall covers 37 million bottles of eight different types of Pine-Sol, which may contain a bacterial called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).“Pine-Sol is voluntarily recalling certain scented Pine-Sol cleaners as we learned that some products may contain bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa,” Clorox said in a statement. “People with weakened immune systems or external medical devices who are exposed to Pseudomonas aeruginosa face a risk of serious infection that may require medical treatment.”Pseudomonas aeruginosa can enter the body through inhalation, exposure to the eyes, or through a break in the skin, according to CSPC. While it doesn’t typically pose a risk to people with…

15Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Night Sweats and Hot Flashes Are Not the Same

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You may think that a night sweat is just a hot flash that occurs at night; both menopausal vasomotor symptoms cause uncomfortable flushing and sweating. However, new research presented at the 2022 Annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), held in Atlanta October 12 through 15, finds that they are actually two different things. And while both up the risk of depression, night sweats alone appear to be linked to more stress compared with hot flashes.Experiencing Vasomotor Symptoms in Midlife Is Very CommonAround 75 percent of perimenopausal women in the United States report experiencing hot flashes and night sweats, according to the North American Menopause Society (NAMS). “The mean duration of hot flashes and night sweats is seven to nine years, and about one-third of women will flash for…

15Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Study Shows No Link Between Antidepressants During Pregnancy and Later Risk of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children

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Good news for expectant mothers who take medication to treat depression during pregnancy: A recent large study has found no link between many common types of antidepressants and later risk of ADHD, autism, and other neurodevelopmental disorders in children.The research, published October 3 in JAMA Internal Medicine, followed more than 145,000 women and their children for as long as 14 years.“Most importantly, we do not see evidence that antidepressant exposure during pregnancy is resulting in an increase in risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children,” says the lead author, Elizabeth Suarez, PhD, MPH, a pharmacoepidemiologist and instructor at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research in New Brunswick, New Jersey. “I believe these results are reassuring for patients. Our study provides robust evidence that antidepressant use in pregnancy…

14Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Frequent Hot Flashes May Signal Higher Risk of Heart Problems

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Most women going through the menopausal transition will experience hot flashes, a type of “vasomotor symptom,” that involves a sudden feeling of intense heat that causes some to breakout in a sweat. Johns Hopkins Medicine estimates that about three-quarters of all women have these sudden and brief episodes, which can affect quality of life, disrupt sleep, heighten irritability, and cause depression. On average, hot flash symptoms last for more than seven years, according to the Mayo Clinic. But in some cases, they may persist for 10 years or longer.Reaching menopause means that heart risks increase because your body no longer produces enough estrogen to protect your heart. The American Heart Association notes that more than 1 in 3 women has some form of heart disease, and an overall increase in…

14Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Older Diabetes Drugs Tied to Lower Dementia Risk

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People with type 2 diabetes who use drugs known as glitazones to control their blood sugar levels may get another benefit — a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.A study published October 11 in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care examined data on about 559,000 adults age 60 and older with type 2 diabetes who used at least one of three different types of drugs to manage blood sugar: glitazones, sulfonylureas, or metformin.After an average follow-up period of almost seven years, patients who took glitazones for at least one year were 22 percent less likely to develop any form of dementia than people who took metformin. By contrast, sulfonylureas were associated with a 12 percent higher dementia risk than metformin.“Our findings provide additional information to aid clinicians' selection of…

14Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

More Than 1 in 3 U.S. Counties Are ‘Maternity Care Deserts,’ According to a New Report

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Access to maternity care is decreasing across the country, leaving nearly seven million women of childbearing age and an estimated 500,000 babies with limited or no access to maternity care services, according to a report released October 11 by the March of Dimes, a nonprofit focused on maternal and infant health.An estimated 36 percent of counties, mostly in the Midwest and South, are considered “maternity care deserts,” meaning they have no obstetric hospitals or birth centers and no obstetric providers. That’s a 2 percent increase from the 2020 report, which represents 15,933 women in more than 1,000 counties.The data underscore the fact that the United States is still among the most dangerous developed nations for childbirth, especially in rural areas and communities of color, according to the report. Black and Native…