Tag Archives: Health Studies

Boomers Health: Fasting Before Blood Tests For Cholesterol Is Not Necessary Study Finds

From a Harvard Heart Health online article:

Non Fasting Blood Testing for ChloresterolFor the study, nearly 8,300 people at risk for heart disease had fasting and nonfasting lipid profile tests done at least four weeks apart. (Fasting means they had nothing to eat or drink except water for at least eight hours before the test.) The differences in their total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol values were negligible. Triglyceride levels were modestly higher in the nonfasting samples.

Don’t want to skip breakfast before your cholesterol test? You probably don’t need to. A study published online May 28 by JAMA Internal Medicine adds to the evidence that fasting isn’t necessary before this common blood test, often referred to as a lipid profile.

To read more click on following link: https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/farewell-to-fasting-before-a-cholesterol-test

Health Studies: Vitamin D Deficiency Can Increase Lower Back Pain, With Lower Muscle Strength

From a U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health release:

Vitamin D CapsulesIn people having lack of Vitamin D, the muscle strength of waist, back, neck decreases. Decreased muscle strength can cause herniated disc and cervical discal hernia. All of this is reflected in the patient’s pain. We wanted to pay attention to the necessity of considering the lack of Vitamin D in low back pain (LBP) which is one of the common complaints of our patients.

LBP and lack of vitamins are the most common health problems in our country and all over the world. The synthesis of >90% of Vitamin D in the body occurs under the influence of sunlight. Vitamin D, taken with foods, does not have a significant contribution, especially after a supplement is not taken. Seasonal and geographical changes are inevitable in the synthesis of Vitamin D in the derailment as the primary source is sunlight.[,,] The average prevalence in Vitamin D deficiency prevalence studies in the USA is reported as 41.6%, which is 82.1% in Black people and 69.2% in Hispanics.[] Hovsepian et al.[] reported a 50.8% prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in the young adult population.

To read more click on the following link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6157211/

Drug Studies: Ibuprofen & Anti-Inflammatories “Enhance Spread Of Antibiotic Resistance

From a BioRxiv.com online news release:

Antiobiotic Resistance IllustrationAntibiotic resistance is a global threat for public health. It is widely acknowledged that antibiotics at sub-inhibitory concentrations are important in disseminating antibiotic resistance via horizontal gene transfer. While there is high use of non-antibiotic human-targeted pharmaceuticals in our societies, the potential contribution of these on the spread of antibiotic resistance has been overlooked so far. Here, we report that commonly consumed non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac), a lipid-lowering drug (gemfibrozil), and a β-blocker (propanolol), at clinically and environmentally relevant concentrations, significantly accelerated the conjugation of plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance genes.

To read more click on following link: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/724500v1.full

Boomers Health: New Study Confirms Superior Weight Loss Benefits Of Morning Exercise

From an International Journal of Obesity July 2019 study:

Early Morning ExerciseThis study, combined with the results of previous studies, supports the hypothesis that engaging in morning exercise may result in more weight loss compared to engaging in a similar amount of exercise later in the day. Furthermore, we observed individuals who performed most of their exercise sessions in the afternoon or evening tended to have slightly higher levels of EI and reduced NEPA and NEEx, suggesting that there are potentially important differences in the components of energy balance based on time of day exercise is performed.

Background/objectives

Circadian physiology has been linked to body weight regulation and obesity. To date, few studies have assessed the association between exercise timing and weight related outcomes. The aim of this secondary analysis was to explore the impact of exercise timing (i.e., 24 h clock time of exercise session) on weight loss and components of energy balance.

To read more click on following link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41366-019-0409-x

Research: UC Berkeley Announces First Large Scale Study Of Healthy Lifestyle On Aging Brains

From a Berkeley News online article:

UC Berkeley Helen Wills Neuroscience“A healthy diet and lifestyle are generally recognized as good for health, but this study is the first large randomized controlled trial to look at whether lifestyle changes actually influence Alzheimer’s disease-related brain changes,” said Susan Landau, a research neuroscientist at Berkeley’s Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, and principal investigator of the add-on study.

UC Berkeley was awarded a five-year grant expected to total $47 million from the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA) to incorporate advanced brain imaging into an Alzheimer’s Association-led study to explore whether lifestyle changes can protect memory in those at risk of developing dementia.

The expanded study will be the first large-scale investigation of how lifestyle interventions, which include exercise, diet, cognitive stimulation and health coaching, affect well-known biological markers of Alzheimer’s and dementia in the brain.

To read more click on following link: https://news.berkeley.edu/2019/07/29/47-million-grant-to-explore-how-a-healthy-lifestyle-changes-the-aging-brain/

New Health Studies: Alzheimer’s Disease Rates Are Higher For Women Than Men Ages 45 And 65

From and NPR Health News article:

Estimated Lifetime Risk for Alzheimer's Dementia by Sex Ages 45 and 65Scientists are beginning to understand why Alzheimer’s disease affects more women than men and why the disease seems to progress more quickly in women’s brains.

The explanation appears to involve social, biological and genetic differences, researchers reported Tuesday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles.

One study looked at sex differences involving a toxic protein called tau, which tends to spread like an infection through the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.

To read more click on following link: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/07/17/742372403/researchers-search-for-reasons-why-womens-alzheimer-s-risk-is-higher-than-men-s

Figures below are from “2019 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures Report”:

National Costs for Long Term Care

To read full report click on following link: https://www.alz.org/media/Documents/alzheimers-facts-and-figures-2019-r.pdf

New Health Study: Partial Knee Replacements Should Be “Treatment Of Choice” For Older Patients (The Lancet)

From “The Lancet” published July 17, 2019:

Partial Knee Replacements“Knee replacement is increasing in frequency, and it has an associated substantial cost implication to any health-care provider. It is also essential that patients receive the most efficacious operation for this condition. Before our study, and despite several cohort-based reports, knowledge of whether one operation type is superior, remained uncertain. Our 5-year study has indicated that both TKR and PKR are beneficial interventions but, based on our combined clinical and cost-effectiveness data and providing the operation is performed by those with adequate experience, we recommend that PKR should be offered as the treatment of choice for late-stage isolated medial compartment osteoarthritis of the knee.

The Lancet Logo

To read entire study click on link below:

https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2819%2931281-4

Health Studies: Healthy Lifestyle Can Reduce High Genetic Risk Of Dementia By 32% (Univ. Of Exeter)

 

Univ of Exeter Genetic Risk of Dementia benefited by exercise“Living a healthy lifestyle may help offset a person’s genetic risk of dementia, according to new research.

The study was led by the University of Exeter – simultaneously published today in JAMA and presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2019 in Los Angeles. The research found that the risk of dementia was 32 per cent lower in people with a high genetic risk if they had followed a healthy lifestyle, compared to those who had an unhealthy lifestyle.

Participants with high genetic risk and an unfavourable lifestyle were almost three times more likely to develop dementia compared to those with a low genetic risk and favourable lifestyle.”

To read more click on link below:

http://www.exeter.ac.uk/dementia/news/articles/healthylifestylemayoffset.html