Action Points
Researchers have discovered a new tick-borne illness, caused by Borrelia miyamotoi, whose symptoms are similar to that of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, but that does not respond to conventional doxycycline in the same way.
Patients with the new illness, due to Borrelia miyamotoi, presented much like the others, with patients complaining of acute febrile illness, with myalgia, headache, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and elevated hepatic aminotransferase levels.
Through a median of 13 years of follow-up, twins who had PTSD at baseline had a significantly higher rate of incident coronary heart disease compared with those without PTSD (22.6% versus 8.9%), according to Viola Vaccarino, MD, PhD, of Emory University in Atlanta, and colleagues.
The difference was not due to established risk factors, since the association remained significant after adjustment for sociodemographic factors, service in Southeast Asia, lifestyle factors, coronary heart disease risk factors, major depression, and other psychiatric diagnoses (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.1-3.9), the researchers reported online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Individuals who added more than half a serving a day of red meat to their diet saw a 48% increase in their risk of type 2 diabetes onset over the next 4 years compared with those who stayed at that level, An Pan, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health and National University of Singapore, and colleagues found.
Cutting intake by the same amount during the first 4 years of follow-up lowered that risk by 14% during the following 12 to 16 years, the researchers reported online in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Levels of free thyroxine at the higher end of the normal range are associated with all-cause mortality in older men who do not have thyroid disease, researchers found.
After adjustment for other risk factors, each 10% decrease in the lowest nocturnal oxygen saturation among adults undergoing a first-time polysomnogram for suspected sleep-disordered breathing was associated with a 14% greater risk of sudden cardiac death or resuscitated cardiac arrest (HR 1.14, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.27), according to Virend Somers, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues.
Sleep factors associated with a significantly greater likelihood of remaining free from sudden cardiac death or resuscitated cardiac arrest included an apnea-hypopnea index of less than 20 events per hour (HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.14-2.24), a mean nocturnal oxygen saturation of 93% or higher (HR 2.93, 95% CI 1.98-4.33), and a lowest nocturnal oxygen saturation of 78% or higher (HR 1.81, 95% CI 1.28-2.56), the researchers reported online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
via Apnea: ‘Sleeping Gun’ in Sudden Death
Yes. CPAP compliance matters.
Note that this large genetic analysis demonstrated that individuals with genes linked to lower vitamin D levels are more likely to have hypertension mediated by low vitamin D, strengthening the argument for a causal link.
Be aware that the absolute effect of vitamin D levels on blood pressure was negligible, even though statistically significant.
Conclusions – Compared with pravastatin, treatment with higher potency statins, especially atorvastatin and simvastatin, might be associated with an increased risk of new onset diabetes.
via Risk of incident diabetes among patients treated with statins: population based study | BMJ.
In a significant about-face, the American Urological Association (AUA) recently published clinical guidance that recommends against performing all routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer, as well as all screening in men older than 70, men younger than 40 and average-risk men ages 40-54.
via AUA Recommends Against Routine Prostate Cancer Screening — AAFP News Now — AAFP.
Life insurance companies will undoubtedly continue to run PSA tests. Think about how long it took us to stop ordering CXR’s.
Results: Of 217,755 persons newly reported, 107,209 (49.2%) were HCV antibody positive only, and 110,546 (50.8%) were reported with a positive HCV RNA result that confirmed current HCV infection. In both groups, persons were most likely to have been born during 1945–1965 (58.5% of those who were HCV antibody positive only; 67.2% of those who were HCV RNA positive). Among all persons newly reported for whom death data were available, 6,734 (3.4%) were known to have died; deaths were most likely among persons aged 50–59 years. In 2011, across all sites, the annual rate of persons newly reported with HCV infection (positive HCV antibody only and HCV RNA positive) was 84.7 per 100,000 population.
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