Where you live could influence how likely you are to develop heart failure, a new U.S. study suggests. In addition to people’s income and education level, the neighborhood in which they lived helped predict their risk, according to the researchers. People living in the poorest areas were at highest risk for heart failure, the researchers found. The availability of gyms, places to buy healthy foods and medical facilities accounted for nearly 5 percent of the increased heart failure risk in low-income areas, the study suggested. The researchers noted that improving access to these resources could benefit people living in these neighborhoods. “There is existing evidence suggesting strong, independent associations between personal socioeconomic status — like education, income level and occupation — and risks of heart failure and many other chronic diseases,” said study author Loren Lipworth. She’s an associate professor of epidemiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. “What this study adds is evidence suggesting that characteristics of your place of residence actually also play a significant role in influencing the risk of heart failure over and above the role of your own individual socioeconomic characteristics,” she said in a news release from the American Heart Association. “It opens the door for possible interventions that center on preventive measures in the community.” The researchers used Census data on just over 27,000 middle-aged residents, to…  read on >

In a potential advance for medical research, scientists say they’ve created the first functioning human muscle from skin cells. The breakthrough could lead to better genetic or cell-based therapies, as well as furthering investigations into the causes and treatment of muscular disorders, the Duke University team said. “The prospect of studying rare diseases is especially exciting for us,” Nenad Bursac, professor of biomedical engineering, said in a university news release. “When a child’s muscles are already withering away from something like Duchenne muscular dystrophy, it would not be ethical to take muscle samples from them and do further damage,” he explained. “But with this technique, we can just take a small sample of non-muscle tissue — like skin or blood — revert the obtained cells to a pluripotent state, and eventually grow an endless amount of functioning muscle fibers to test,” Bursac said. According to the researchers, it might also be possible to fix genetic defects in pluripotent stem cells from a patient and then grow small patches of healthy muscle that could be used with other genetic treatments to heal or replace specific areas of diseased muscle. Of course, much more research is needed before any such therapies could be used in humans. In the new study, skin cells were reprogrammed in the lab to revert to what are called pluripotent stem cells —…  read on >

In a finding that will surprise few, new research shows that minorities and the poor suffer more stress than their wealthy, white peers. That additional psychic burden may translate into poorer mental and physical well-being, and longevity is ultimately affected, the American Psychological Association report suggests. “Good health is not equally distributed. Socio-economic status, race and ethnicity affect health status and are associated with substantial disparities in health outcomes across the life span,” said report committee chair Elizabeth Brondolo. “And stress is one of the top 10 social determinants of health inequities.” In the United States, illnesses and injuries associated with stress are estimated to cost more than $300 billion annually. This includes losses from absenteeism, employee turnover and lost productivity as well as direct legal, medical and insurance fees, the report authors explained. They noted that people with lower incomes report more severe stress and tend to face more traumatic events during childhood. Black and Hispanic people also report more stress than whites, partly due to discrimination and greater exposure to violence. “Stress affects how we perceive and react to the outside world,” Brondolo said in a psychological association news release. She is a professor of psychology at St. John’s University in New York City. “Low socioeconomic status has been associated with negative thinking about oneself and the outside world, including low self-esteem, distrust…  read on >

You know that poor lifestyle choices today can affect your health tomorrow. But according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, there’s another surprising predictor of future illness: your financial health. Scientists looked at the health records of 1,000 people from birth to midlife and found a strong connection between a low credit score and poor heart health. The result: the same factors that can lead to financial woes can also bring health woes. People who didn’t manage their financial health well didn’t manage their physical health either. Conversely, people with higher credit scores had healthier hearts, the researchers reported. Your credit score is important because it’s accessed when you want to open a credit card, get a mortgage, rent a home or buy or lease a new car, so this rating matters. Key attributes that predict both better financial status and better health are financial literacy, self-control, planning and perseverance — and it’s never too late to learn them. One of the most surprising findings in the study was that 20 percent of the money-health link stemmed from behaviors and skills the study participants showed from the time they were young children. So if you have kids, it’s never too soon to teach them about savings and making smart money and health decisions. More information To better understand your…  read on >