All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

For years, older adults took a baby aspirin a day to help ward off a first-time heart attack or stroke. Now yet another study is showing the risks are not worth it for most. Specifically, researchers found the risk of brain bleeding while using low-dose aspirin outweighed any potential benefit against stroke for relatively healthy older adults — that is, those with no history of heart disease or stroke. In fact, among more than 19,000 older adults in the study, those who took daily low-dose aspirin for several years showed no reduction in their risk of an ischemic stroke (the kind caused by a blood clot). They did, however, have a 38% higher risk of bleeding in the brain, compared to study patients given placebo pills for comparison. Experts said the findings align with the latest recommendations on low-dose aspirin: Most people with no history of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack or stroke, should skip it. “What’s becoming clearer and clearer is that aspirin, for primary prevention, is not indicated for most people,” said Dr. Anum Saeed, a cardiologist who was not involved in the study. “Primary prevention” refers to prevention of first-time strokes or heart attacks. The new findings do not apply to people who have been prescribed aspirin because they already have a history of those conditions, said Saeed, an assistant professor at…  read on >  read on >

Airlines will now be required to make bathrooms on their planes more accessible for the disabled, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday. The new rule, authorized under the Air Carrier Access Act, requires airlines to make lavatories on any new single-aisle aircraft large enough to allow a passenger with a disability and an attendant to maneuver within the aircraft’s lavatory. “Traveling can be stressful enough without worrying about being able to access a restroom; yet today, millions of wheelchair users are forced to choose between dehydrating themselves before boarding a plane or avoiding air travel altogether,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an agency news release. “We are proud to announce this rule that will make airplane bathrooms larger and more accessible, ensuring travelers in wheelchairs are afforded the same access and dignity as the rest of the traveling public.” Other new DOT measures that aim to increase disabled access in transportation will: Modernize airport terminals, including adding wheelchair ramps and accessible restrooms. Fund programs to improve access in train and subway stations so people who use wheelchairs, push strollers or can’t easily navigate stairs can reliably use the rail systems in their communities. Lay the groundwork for a future rule that would allow passengers to stay in their own wheelchairs when they fly. Call for better training of airline staff who assist…  read on >  read on >

While the record-breaking heat the United States is experiencing this summer can stress people to their limits, it can be particularly hard to navigate for those with mental health issues. “All mental illnesses increase with heat because it results in more fatigue, irritability and anxiety, and it can exacerbate depressive episodes,” said Dr. Asim Shah, executive vice chair in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Excessive heat can cause anger, irritability, aggression, discomfort, stress and fatigue. Heat acts on serotonin, the neurotransmitter that regulates mood, leading to lower levels of happiness and increased levels of stress and fatigue, Shah explained. The most vulnerable groups include those with preexisting conditions and people who use abuse substances like alcohol. If people use substances, especially alcohol, they need to be more hydrated because combining substance use with heat requires even more hydration. Heat can make mental health issues worse, including aggressive behavior and mental fogging. In the worst case, confusion and disorientation can occur. What can someone with mental health issues do? Shah recommends hydrating and keeping your head covered outside. Pour water on your head to cool down and try staying in shade. If you usually go for walks outside, move inside by walking in a mall or a large space with air conditioning. If you take medications,…  read on >  read on >

Many parents in the United States aren’t installing child car seats correctly, a new study finds. Errors in car seat installation are common, even for seats that have a 5-star rating for features like ease of use, researchers found. The study found that fewer errors were detected when parents installed seats that had higher ratings, but researchers recommend that parents seek out safety technicians to learn the proper techniques for seat installation. Child restraint systems cut the risk of crash injuries by 50% to 85%, but only if properly used, the researchers noted. “New parents often receive training on car seat installation before the baby is born,” said researcher Dr. Michelle Macy, an emergency medicine physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “However, it would be beneficial for them to take advantage of the available resources after the child’s birth as well, especially during the transition from infant carrier to a rear-facing car seat, and then again when switching the seat to face forward,” she said in a hospital news release. For the study, Macy and her colleagues analyzed data from Safe Kids Illinois seat check records from 2015 through 2019. The most common errors were for seats installed with seat belts (70%) and the least common for recline angle (37%). One of the more common errors that were found around…  read on >  read on >

People who carry a gene that’s associated with Alzheimer’s disease may lose their sense of smell long before memory and thinking problems occur, a new study suggests. This early sign of potential dementia is not seen in people who don’t carry this gene, called APOE e4, researchers report July 26 in the journal Neurology. “Testing a person’s ability to detect odors may be a useful way to predict future problems with cognition,” said researcher Dr. Matthew GoodSmith, a resident at the University of Chicago. “While more research is needed to confirm these findings and determine what level of smell loss would predict future risk, these results could be promising, especially in studies aiming to identify people at risk for dementia early in the disease,” GoodSmith added in a journal news release. For the study, the researchers surveyed more than 865 people about their ability to detect an odor and identify what they were smelling. Tests were given over five years. Those with memory or thinking problems were tested twice, five years apart. The investigators also took DNA samples. People who carried the gene variant for Alzheimer’s were 37% less likely to have good odor detection than people without the gene, the researchers found. Those with the gene experienced reduced smell detection from age 65 to 69. At that age, gene carriers could detect an average…  read on >  read on >

Wearable devices like smartwatches continually track physical activity, urging folks to take more daily steps for their health. Now, a new study suggests this gentle technological nagging could be of great benefit to people whose hearts are giving out. Heart failure patients who get between 1,000 and 5,000 steps a day have significantly improved symptoms and fewer physical limitations than those who walk less, according to researchers. They also found that if heart patients increase their step counts, they appear to experience a clinically important improvement in symptom control and physical function. These results show the potential usefulness of wearable devices in helping people manage heart failure, said senior researcher Dr. Brahmajee Nallamothu, a professor of cardiology at the University of Michigan Medical School. “I can imagine situations where these devices could potentially help us deliver advice or recommendations,” Nallamothu said. “By tracking how many steps a patient has taken, we might be able to use that information and intervene a little bit to say, you haven’t been moving as much this week as you were the week before. There might be lots of things going on in your life, but it’s really nice outside. Maybe today or tomorrow is a good day for a walk.” Heart failure occurs when the heart becomes too weak or stiff to pump sufficient blood out to the body.…  read on >  read on >

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that his administration is seeking new rules to push insurance companies to increase coverage of mental health treatment. The new rules, which still must go through a public comment period, would require insurers to study if customers have the same medical and mental health benefits and fix any disparities if they don’t. “You know, we can all agree mental health care is health care,” Biden said in a White House news release. “It is health care. It’s essential to people’s well-being and their ability to lead a full and productive life, to find joy, to find purpose, to take care of themselves and their loved ones. It’s about dignity. Think about this.” The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, passed in 2008, requires insurers to offer the same mental and physical health care coverage, which isn’t the case now. “Folks, it shouldn’t be this way,” Biden said at a White House event highlighting the announcement. “It doesn’t need to be this way.” “But, right now, for millions of Americans, mental health care and treatment for substance abuse is out of reach,” Biden added. “It’s out of reach. In 2020, less than half — less than half of all adults with mental illness diagnosis received care for it. Less than half.” If finalized, the new rules would change that. “I…  read on >  read on >

As more people are advised to shun meat, a new study from Australia adds to evidence that a vegetarian diet can help improve heart health. A review of 20 prior investigations found that folks who followed a vegetarian diet for six months, on average, saw improvements in cholesterol, blood sugar and body weight. The study analysis “provides support to the current knowledge that eating more plant foods, fewer animal foods or lean, low-fat animal foods is a supporter of health,” said Connie Diekman, a food and nutrition consultant and former president of the U.S. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Another expert, who was also not involved with the study, agreed. “The research is pretty clear and consistent that eating more plant foods is good for heart health, while reducing meat and processed meats,” seconded Lona Sandon, program director of clinical nutrition with the School of Health Professions at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Vegetarian diets are increasingly recommended for the general population, but it wasn’t known if they would benefit people with current or predicted heart issues, said study leader Tian Wang and colleagues. Wang is a registered dietitian and doctoral student at the University of Sydney. Their meta-analysis of prior research tracked nearly 1,900 adults in all. The average age of patients in each of the studies ranged from 28 to 64, with…  read on >  read on >

Women are more likely to develop endometriosis if they have elevated levels of cadmium in their system, a new study reports. Twice as many women with slightly or moderately elevated levels of the toxic element wound up with endometriosis compared to women with the lowest levels, researchers say. “Although endometriosis is estimated to affect 1 in 10 women, the reason why this condition develops in some women and not in others remains unclear,” said senior researcher Kristen Upson, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Michigan State University. “Our research on environmental contaminants and finding of an association between cadmium exposure and endometriosis is helping to move the needle closer to understanding risk factors for endometriosis,” she added. This newly discovered association between endometriosis and cadmium is “a good starting point for additional studies that look at other environmental factors and how they can perhaps cause endometriosis,” said Dr. Susan Khalil, director of the Division of Sexual Health in the Raquel and Jaime Gilinski Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Mount Sinai. “I think it doesn’t give exact recommendations for action at this time, or things that you can translate into clinical management. So I can’t really make recommendations off of this for patients,” Khalil added. “But I would at the same time say it’s great they’re finding these associations, so they…  read on >  read on >

More than half of all patients with autoimmune diseases also suffer from depression and anxiety — but most are never asked about their mental health, a new study finds. Surveying more than 1,800 patients, British researchers found more than half rarely or never reported their mental health symptoms to their doctor. This could mean the range of mental health and neurological symptoms is much wider than has been reported. “The low level of reporting we identified is a major concern as problems with mental health, fatigue and cognition can be life-changing, and sometimes life-threatening,” said study co-author Dr. Melanie Sloan in a Cambridge news release. She is in the university’s department of public health and primary care. Another author, Dr. Tom Pollak, said the numbers were “startling.” “We have known for some time that having a systemic autoimmune disease can negatively affect one’s mental health, but this study paints a startling picture of the breadth and impact of these symptoms,” said Pollak, who is from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London. “Everyone working in health care with these patients should routinely ask about mental well-being, and patients should be supported to speak up without fear of judgment. No patient should suffer in silence,” Pollak added. For the study, the researchers surveyed 1,853 patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as lupus…  read on >  read on >