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Vitamin D supplements might lower blood pressure in seniors who are obese, reducing their heart health risk, a new study says. But taking more than the recommended daily dose will not provide additional health benefits, researchers report in the Journal of the Endocrine Society. “Our study found vitamin D supplementation may decrease blood pressure in specific subgroups such older people, people with obesity and possibly those with low vitamin D levels,” said researcher Dr. Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan of the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon. Studies have linked vitamin D deficiency to an increased risk of high blood pressure, researchers said in background notes. However, there’s not solid evidence whether taking vitamin D supplements can help lower blood pressure. The recommended daily dose of vitamin D is 600 IU, or about 15 micrograms, researchers said. For the study, researchers tracked the health of 221 seniors with obesity who took either 600 IU or 3,750 IU of daily vitamin D supplements for a year. The supplements did lower their blood pressure, results show, but higher doses did not provide additional benefits. “High vitamin D doses compared to the Institutes of Medicine’s recommended daily dose did not provide additional health benefits,” El-Hajj Fuleihan said in a news release. More information The Endocrine Society has more on vitamin D for preventing disease. SOURCE: The Endocrine… read on > read on >

Grandchildren are a true blessing for seniors, helping them avoid loneliness and keeping them on their toes, a new poll reports. Overall, 72% of people with grandkids say they hardly ever feel isolated, compared with 62% of those without grandchildren, according to results from the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging. People without grandchildren also are more likely to say their mental health is only fair or poor — 13% compared to 9% with those who have grandkids. “For many older people, becoming a grandparent is a major milestone in their lives. Our findings show there are many dimensions to grandparenting, and possible positive effects of grandparenting, some of which may not be widely recognized,” researcher Kate Bauer, an associate professor of nutritional sciences in the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said in a news release. About 60% of adults 50 and older have at least one grandchild, including 27% who say they have five or more. Seniors older than 65 were more likely than those in their 50s and early 60s to say they have at least one grandchild, 76% versus 46% The survey also found that: About half (49%) of grandparents provide care at least once every few months for grandchildren under 18. About 18% of grandparents see a grandchild once a day or nearly every day, versus 23%… read on > read on >

Beta blockers are go-to meds for many people who’ve survived a heart attack. However, new Swedish research has found that they might not be needed for heart attack survivors whose hearts have retained a normal pumping ability. Using them in this group might even raise patients’ odds for depression, the data showed. “We found that beta blockers led to slightly higher levels of depression symptoms in patients who had had a heart attack but were not suffering from heart failure,” said study lead author Philip Leissner, a doctoral student in cardiac psychology at Uppsala University. “At the same time, beta blockers have no life-sustaining function for this group of patients,” he said in a university news release. His team published its findings recently in the European Heart Journal. Heart doctors have for decades relied on beta blocker medications to help heart patients — the drugs work by lowering the effects of adrenaline on the heart. But recent advances mean there are now more pharmaceutical options for cardiologists to pick from for people who’ve survived a heart attack, putting the use of beta-blockers into question. According to Leissner’s team, that’s especially true for folks who have survived a heart attack but whose cardiac pumping action has retained its efficacy. In a study published in April, the Swedish researchers found beta-blockers to be unnecessary for this… read on > read on >

Asthma is associated with memory problems in children, a new study has found. Further, the early onset of asthma might worsen potential memory deficits in kids, researchers found. This is the first study to make such a connection, researchers said. “This study underscores the importance of looking at asthma as a potential source of cognitive difficulty in children,” said senior researcher Simona Ghetti, a professor of psychology in the University of California-Davis Center for Mind and Brain. “We are becoming increasingly aware that chronic diseases, not only asthma but also diabetes, heart disease and others may place children at increased risk of cognitive difficulties,” Ghetti added in a news release. “We need to understand the factors that might exacerbate or protect against the risks.” For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 2,000 9- and 10-year-olds with asthma. In the U.S., roughly 4.6 million children have asthma. “Childhood is a period of rapid improvement in memory and, more generally, cognition. In children with asthma that improvement may be slower,” lead researcher Nicholas Christopher-Hayes, a doctoral candidate in psychology at UC Davis, said in a news release. His team found that children with asthma had lower scores in tests of episodic memory, the specific type of memory related to experiences and emotions. In a smaller sample of nearly 500 kids followed for two years, researchers… read on > read on >

Americans’ well-being varies widely between different regions of the nation, a new study reports. People in the southern U.S., Appalachia and the Rust Belt states score lowest on the Human Development Index (HDI), a composite measure that includes a population’s life expectancy, education and income, researchers report in The Lancet. The highest levels of well-being occur among people living in parts of Colorado, Maryland, New York, California, Virginia and Washington, D.C., researchers said. “As a new federal administration prepares to take actions aimed at solving the most pressing economic, social, and health issues the US population faces, this study underscores the urgent need for action by policymakers, educators, and public health experts,” senior researcher Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle, said in a news release. “IHME’s findings further emphasize the critical need to develop highly targeted social programs to dismantle deep-rooted structural inequalities in the US,” Murray added. The United Nations Development Program created the HDI as a measure to help track well-being between nations, researchers said in background notes. For this study, U.S. researchers adapted the HDI to gauge well-being based on years of education, household income and life expectancy estimates. Overall, the average U.S. HDI increased gradually from 2008 to 2019, then declined in 2020 due to decreases in lifespan linked… read on > read on >

The weight-loss drug Ozempic can help reduce stroke patients’ risk of a heart attack or death, a new study says. GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic or SGLT2 diabetes medications like Jardiance or Farxiga both helped protect the health of people following a stroke, researchers found. Patients taking either a GLP-1 or SGLT2 drug had a 74% lower risk of death and an 84% lower risk of a heart attack within an average three years after their stroke, results show. SGLT2 drugs also were associated with a 67% lower risk of a second stroke, researchers report. “Unfortunately, a quarter of people who survive a stroke will have another stroke, and they are also at risk for other cardiovascular events such as a heart attack since many of the risk factors of a stroke are also associated with other forms of heart disease,” said lead researcher Dr. Ali Sheffeh, an internal medicine physician and research scholar at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “Managing these risks, as well as looking at novel approaches to help lower the chances of another stroke, heart attack or death among this population are all critical steps in increasing stroke survival and improving the quality of life for people who have had a stroke,” Sheffeh added in a news release. For the study, researchers reviewed medical records for more than 7,000 adults… read on > read on >

People with both type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease face a heart health double-whammy, a new study says. Men with both diabetes and kidney disease will develop heart health problems 28 years earlier than those without either condition, researchers reported today at an American Heart Association meeting in Chicago. Women with diabetes and kidney disease will develop heart problems 26 years earlier, results show. “Our findings help to interpret the combination of risk factors that will lead to a high predicted cardiovascular disease risk and at what age they have an impact on risk,” lead study author Vaishnavi Krishnan, a researcher at Northwestern University in Chicago and a medical student at Boston University School of Medicine, said in a news release. “For example, if someone has borderline-elevated levels of blood pressure, glucose and/or impaired kidney function, but they don’t yet have hypertension or diabetes or chronic kidney disease, their risk may not be recognized,” Krishan said. For the study, researchers used federal health survey data from 2011 to 2020 to create heart risk profiles for people who have type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, or both. Kidney disease and type 2 diabetes are two of the four components of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome (CKM), which the heart association defines as the overall health risk that arises from the interplay of heart disease, kidney problems, diabetes and obesity.… read on > read on >

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder can influence a child’s weight in ways that will shape their long-term health, a new study says. Kids with ADHD tend to have lower birth weight, which increases their risk of developmental delays and health problems, researchers in the U.K. found. But these kids also are more likely to develop obesity after age 5, a weight swing that can place even more risk upon their health in adulthood, researchers said. “Children with increased ADHD symptoms are typically lighter at birth than their peers but are later more likely to have obesity,” researcher Claire Reed of the University of Southampton said in a news release. “Research into the ‘when and why’ regarding this turning point is scarce.” For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 7,900 children born between 2000 and 2002. Of those kids, the team compared 442 with ADHD against nearly 5,400 without either an AHDH diagnosis or symptoms of the disorder. Kids in the ADHD group weighed less at birth on average compared with children without ADHD, researchers found. However, those differences in weight vanished quickly, and by 9 months and at 3 years the two groups weighed about the same. Then, from age 5 onwards, the kids with ADHD were significantly more likely to have obesity, after excluding children taking stimulants for their condition, results show. The risk was… read on > read on >

Lives lost to obesity-related heart disease have nearly tripled over the past twenty years, a new study reports. Heart disease deaths linked to obesity increased 2.8-fold between 1999 and 2020, according to findings presented today at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting in Chicago. The increase occurred especially among middle-aged men, Black adults, Midwesterners and rural residents, researchers found. “Obesity is a serious risk factor for ischemic heart disease, and this risk is going up at an alarming rate along with the increasing prevalence of obesity,” lead researcher Dr. Aleenah Mohsin, a post-doctoral research fellow at Brown University in Providence, R.I., said in a news release. Ischemic heart disease is caused by clogged arteries, researchers said. Less blood and oxygen can reach the heart, increasing the risk of a heart attack. Obesity contributes to the risk of this form of heart disease by increasing cholesterol levels, promoting high blood pressure, raising the likelihood of type 2 diabetes and causing poor sleep. “It is important for everyone, particularly people in high-risk groups, to take steps to manage their weight and reduce their risk of heart disease,” Mohsin said. “Lifestyle changes are key, such as eating healthier, exercising regularly and working with health care professionals to monitor heart health.” For the study, researchers analyzed public health data to review heart disease trends in recent decades. More than… read on > read on >

It may seem counter-intuitive, but losing weight without even trying may not be a good thing. “It’s not typical to have a noticeable drop in weight without changing how much you’re eating, being more physically active or trying to lose weight,” said dietitian Christine Goukasian. “Unexplained weight loss is a red flag,” she added in a news release. Day to day, weight varies a pound or two because of hormones, water retention and other factors. Anything more may signal an underlying health problem — from cancer and gastrointestinal to mental health disorders. “Weight loss becomes a concern when it’s 10 pounds or at least 5% of your original weight during a six- to 12-month period,” said Goukasian, senior dietitian at the UCLA Division of Clinical Nutrition. And older adults, especially those in community living, have a higher risk. As many as 2 in 10 lose weight unexpectedly — a share that jumps to 6 in 10 in community housing, where folks are more likely to have health issues that lead to unintended weight loss. More than a third of people who consult their doctor about dropping weight without trying have undiagnosed cancer. It is, according to UCLA, the No. 1 cause of unintentional weight loss, and about 4 in 10 cancer diagnoses begin this way. And dropping weight isn’t just a sign of advanced cancer.… read on > read on >

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Vitamin D Supplements Could Help Lower Blood Pressure in Obese People

Grandparents & Grandkids: Poll Shows Them Helping Each Other

Beta Blockers Unnecessary for Folks Without Heart Failure; May Be Linked to Depression

Could Asthma Harm a Child’s Memory Skills?

Report Finds Big Disparities in Americans’ Well-Being by Region

Weight Loss Meds Help Stroke Survivors Prevent Stroke Recurrence, Death

Diabetes & Kidney Trouble Can Bring Heart Disease Decades Earlier

How ADHD May Influence a Child’s Weight

Obesity-Linked Heart Deaths Nearly Tripled in U.S. Over Past Two Decades

Unexplained Weight Loss and What It Can Mean for Your Health