RISK
OF HEART ATTACK PREDICTABLE: Two most important
indicators are:
MUNICH (Reuters) - Virtually the
entire risk of heart attack can be predicted and the impact of
factors causing attacks is the same whether you live in a rich
country or a poor one, a global study released Sunday showed.
Results of the study of more than 29,000 people in 52 countries,
released at a meeting of the European Cardiology Society, showed
that two factors alone -- an abnormal ratio
of bad to good cholesterol and smoking -- were responsible for two
thirds of the global risk of heart attack.
Other risk factors were high blood pressure, diabetes, abdominal
obesity, stress, a lack of daily consumption of fruits and
vegetables, and lack of daily exercise.
Drinking small amounts of alcohol regularly was found to reduce risk
slightly.
"This convincingly shows that 90 percent of the global risk of heart
disease is predictable," researcher Salim Yusuf, a professor of
medicine at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, told a news
conference.
"This is good news. It means we can do something about it."
The findings contradict current thinking that suggests that only
around half of the risk of heart disease is accounted for by known
factors. They also imply that creating awareness of heart-attack
risk factors may be easier than earlier thought.
"The impact of risk factors is the same in every ethnic group and
every region of the world," Yusuf said, adding that this means the
message of preventing heart disease could be quite simple and fairly
uniform across the world.
The study showed that smokers had a threefold
risk of heart attack compared to non-smokers.
Non-smokers
who ate fruits and vegetables regularly, exercised three times a
week and drank a little alcohol cut their risk by more than 80
percent.
Obesity in children
- Parents, if you allow your child to become overweight, they will
most likely have a life-long weight problem - a dreadful,
preventable affliction.
New results from a National
Health Study suggest that girls as young as age 9 who are
overweight are at increased risk for short-term and long-term
problems that increase the chances of developing heart and blood
vessel disease. In addition, girls who were overweight during
childhood were 11 to 30 times more likely than non-overweight girls
to be obese in young adulthood (ages 21 to 23).
The Framingham Osteoporosis
study (2006) confirms that:
Intake of cola, but not of other
carbonated soft drinks, is associated with low Bone
Mineral Density in women, especially in the hip. (http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/84/4/936).
Thinness, weight loss in the interim, smoking and excessive alcohol
use are also factors. Surprisingly, bone loss was not affected by
caffeine, physical activity, vitamin D and calcium intake.
Heart attack in men
already with already low risk lifestyles (Body mass index less that
25, daily exercise, diet containing fruit and salads,
non-smoking) was found to be even lower with the equivalent of two
alcoholic drinks per day.
Red Meat Intake Ups Breast
Cancer Risk
A recent study out of Harvard
reported that premenopausal women who eat more than 1.5 servings of
red meat per day may double their risk of breast cancer compared to
those who consume fewer than three servings of red meat per week.
The research looked at the effects of red meat intake on the
incidence of breast cancer among the 90,659 premenopausal women
enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study. Participants were given food
frequency questionnaires in 1991, 1995 and 1999, and then monitored
until 2003.
Each year, more than 1 million
women worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer, with the
highest incidences in the U.S. and the Netherlands. The National
Cancer Institute estimates that 13 percent of American women will
develop breast cancer during their lives.
The findings of the Harvard study
are bad news for strict "meat and potatoes" types, but the good news
is, among the many risk factors for breast cancer, diet is one
factor that can be modified easily. Supplementing red meat with lean
poultry and plant-based proteins, such as whole grains and legumes,
may be an adjustment, but your health is well worth the effort!
Reference:
Cho
E, Chen WY, et al. Red meat intake and risk of breast cancer among
premenopausal women. Arch Intern Med 2006;166:2253-2259.
Two Australian medical researchers
won the Nobel prize for 2005 for discovering that many bowel
illnesses are caused by a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori. Their
medical colleagues were so skeptical (medical tradition having it
that the diseases were psychological or caused by chronic illness)
that researcher Dr Robin Warren infected himself to convince them.
However, the Nobel committee were rather more objective, giving them
the 1.1 million euro prize.
Foth and Thompson of the
University of Saskatchewan found that mental declines related
to aging normally affect different parts of our cognitive capacities
to varying degrees. A person may forget names, but working with
figures remains normal.
Foth said mental declines are
pathological for about 10 per cent of the general population over
the age of 65 (eg. Alzheimer's disease), and not much can be done,
but for the other 90 per cent of the population, cognitive decline
need not be inevitable.
"And we found it is never too late
to start. With a little effort, even people in their 70s and 80s can
see dramatic improvements in their cognitive skills."
Examples of "ecologically valid"
activities that can improve mental capacity include reading,
traveling, memorizing poetry, playing card and other games (eg
chess), doing crossword puzzles, learning how to play a musical
instrument, taking continuing education courses and surfing the Web.
New research helps explain how the
fatty acid
DHA protects against Alzheimer's, a benefit noted in several
studies. Large amounts of DHA are found in fish oils (omega
3), Flaxseed, rapeseed (canola) and soya beans and tofu.
~~~
According to a recent report in
the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, folate, a B
vitamin found in foods like leafy green vegetables and citrus
fruit, may protect against cognitive decline in older adults.
~~~
A study released today squashes
the common belief that light smokers escape the serious
health consequences faced by heavier smokers. According to the study
in the journal Tobacco Control, smoking just one to four cigarettes
per day nearly triples the risk of dying from heart disease or lung
cancer.
~~~
People who exercise
regularly experience 25% less muscle and joint pain in their old age
than people who are less active. Research published in Arthritis
Research & Therapy reveals that people who regularly participate in
brisk aerobic exercise, such as running or cycling, experience less
pain than non-runners even though they are more likely to suffer
from pain from injuries.
~~~
The U.S. Department of Health and
Human Resources stated that on average 17.14% of the 700 000
physicians caused one accidental death per year.
