Medical News

Walking to Work Cuts Obesity, Diabetes Risk

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Active modes of traveling to work, such as walking or biking, were associated with a lower likelihood of obesity and diabetes, U.K. researchers found.

Compared with using driving a car or taking a taxi, walking to work was associated with a 20% reduced risk of being obese and a 40% reduced risk of diabetes, according to Anthony Laverty, MSc, of the Imperial College London, and colleagues. Those who cycled to work had a 37% lower risk of obesity and a 50% lower risk of diabetes.

via Walking to Work Cuts Obesity, Diabetes Risk.

One of the downsides of working from home.  So I suppose having my office down the hall from my bedroom increases my risk of obesity and diabetes.

Great.  Pass the chocolate please.

More Chocolate Please – Cocoa May Boost Brain Function in Seniors

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Older people who had impaired neurovascular coupling at baseline and drank two cups of cocoa a day for a month had significant improvement in cognitive function and blood flow in the brain.

via Cocoa May Boost Brain Function in Seniors.

Now I don’t feel so bad about eating a bunch of dark chocolate covered walnuts on Saturday evening.

Standardizing ABI Measurements & Interpretations | Physician’s Weekly

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When the ankle-brachial index (ABI) emerged in 1950, it was initially proposed for use as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for lower-extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD). Since then, studies have shown that the ABI is an indicator of atherosclerosis at other vascular sites, making it a useful prognostic marker for cardiovascular events and functional impairment, even in the absence of symptoms of PAD.

via Standardizing ABI Measurements & Interpretations | Physician’s Weekly.

Race Has Role in Vitamin D Link to Heart Risk

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A 10-ng/mL decrease in 25(OH)D levels was associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease events in whites (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.06-1.49) and those with Chinese ancestry (HR 1.67, 95% CI 1.07-2.61), according to Ian de Boer, MD, of the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues.

But a similar relationship was not seen among blacks (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.73-1.20) and Hispanics (HR 1.01, 95% CI 0.77-1.33), the investigators reported in the July 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

via Race Has Role in Vitamin D Link to Heart Risk.

A couple of years ago I asked my primary care physician to check my Vitamin D level.  We were both surprised to discover the fact I was Vitamin D deficient.  Since then I’ve been on daily Vitamin D supplementation of 5000iu.

Simple blood test.  Just do it.

The researchers advised caution in interpreting the results in the Chinese and Hispanic participants because of the low sample sizes.

I’m still going to take my supplement.

Large Study Affirms Safety of Statins

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The study included information from 135 randomized trials — 55 with a placebo control and 80 with an active comparator — that included a total of 246,955 participants with or without cardiovascular disease. The study initially included trials of atorvastatin, fluvastatin, simvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, and rosuvastatin (Crestor); trials of pitavastatin (Livalo) were added post hoc because the protocol was already being finalized at the time the drug was approved.

via Large Study Affirms Safety of Statins.

Afib Linked to Silent Stroke

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MRI indicated silent cerebral ischemia lesions in 89% patients with paroxysmal Afib and 92% with persistent Afib compared with 46% of controls, which wasn’t significantly different between the two types of Afib but was for both versus controls (P<0.01).

The number of these lesions averaged 41 in persistent Afib, 33 in paroxysmal Afib, and 12 in controls, which was significantly different for all three groups.

The high prevalence of these lesions in the control group compared with what has been reported in the general population may have reflected the moderate to high cardiovascular risk among these patients referred for cardiovascular prevention or treatment, the researchers suggested.

The lesions can have either ischemic and embolic origins, but the peculiar “spotted” distribution of “small sharply demarcated lesions, often in cluster, with bilateral distribution, prevalently in the frontal lobe” seen in 50% and 67% of the paroxysmal and persistent Afib patients, respectively, strongly supported an embolic mechanism, they noted.

via Afib Linked to Silent Stroke.

If these findings are replicated in future studies, the question for underwriters is should any Afib risk be Standard mortality?

Vital Signs: Overdoses of Prescription Opioid Pain Relievers and Other Drugs Among Women — United States, 1999–2010

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Between 1999 and 2010, OPR overdose deaths increased more than fivefold among women (a total of 47,935 OPR overdose deaths during that period).

via Vital Signs: Overdoses of Prescription Opioid Pain Relievers and Other Drugs Among Women — United States, 1999–2010.

This story was covered by all of the mainstream media outlets.  Read the source article from MMWR to grasp the significance of this health issue.  Scary stuff.