Smoking can’t explain why women are more at risk for COPD, a new study says. Women are about 50% more likely than men to develop COPD even though they are less likely to smoke, researchers reported May 8 in the journal BMJ Open Respiratory Research. Smoking tobacco is the main cause of COPD, the umbrella term for chronic breathing problems like emphysema and bronchitis, researchers say. But the COPD rate is higher among women than men, even though women don’t smoke as much as men, results show. The results refute the notion that women are more vulnerable to tobacco smoke than men, which had previously been floated to explain why more women suffer COPD, researchers said. “The higher risk of COPD in women was not explained by higher susceptibility to cigarette smoke as measured by either smoking status or pack-year exposure,” wrote a team led by Dr. Alexander Steinberg, an assistant professor of clinical practice at the University of Washington in Seattle. “In fact, women had a nearly identical increase in risk of COPD for every 10 pack-years of cigarette use when compared with men,” researchers wrote. Pack-years measure how much a person has smoked by multiplying the packs smoked per day by the number of years a person has smoked. “This then begs the important question of what is driving high rates of COPD…  read on >  read on >

Smoking can’t explain why women are more at risk for COPD, a new study says. Women are about 50% more likely than men to develop COPD even though they are less likely to smoke, researchers reported May 8 in the journal BMJ Open Respiratory Research. Smoking tobacco is the main cause of COPD, the umbrella term for chronic breathing problems like emphysema and bronchitis, researchers say. But the COPD rate is higher among women than men, even though women don’t smoke as much as men, results show. The results refute the notion that women are more vulnerable to tobacco smoke than men, which had previously been floated to explain why more women suffer COPD, researchers said. “The higher risk of COPD in women was not explained by higher susceptibility to cigarette smoke as measured by either smoking status or pack-year exposure,” wrote a team led by Dr. Alexander Steinberg, an assistant professor of clinical practice at the University of Washington in Seattle. “In fact, women had a nearly identical increase in risk of COPD for every 10 pack-years of cigarette use when compared with men,” researchers wrote. Pack-years measure how much a person has smoked by multiplying the packs smoked per day by the number of years a person has smoked. “This then begs the important question of what is driving high rates of COPD…  read on >  read on >

Knowing your risk for Alzheimer’s disease can provide peace of mind, but also might contribute to complacency regarding your overall health, a new study says. People who underwent brain scans to learn their Alzheimer’s risk experienced less anxiety, even if the results showed higher risk, researchers reported May 7 in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. However, people’s motivation to maintain lifestyle changes like exercise and eating a healthy diet also declined after they learned their Alzheimer’s risk, whether or not the results indicated higher or lower risk, researchers said. “The results highlight how easily people lose motivation to make lifestyle changes aimed at maintaining cognitive health,” lead researcher Sapir Golan Shekhtman, a doctoral student at the Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel, said in a news release. “Strategies to sustain these healthy behaviors are crucial.” The new study comes on the heels of an Alzheimer’s Association’s annual report, which found that 4 of 5 Americans want to know in advance if they will develop Alzheimer’s, through easy, rapid testing. For this study, researchers followed nearly 200 healthy adults who underwent imaging scans to check their brain levels of amyloid beta. Toxic amyloid plaques are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to the scans, participants completed surveys measuring their anxiety, depression, memory concerns and motivation to improve their lifestyle habits. People…  read on >  read on >

Knowing your risk for Alzheimer’s disease can provide peace of mind, but also might contribute to complacency regarding your overall health, a new study says. People who underwent brain scans to learn their Alzheimer’s risk experienced less anxiety, even if the results showed higher risk, researchers reported May 7 in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. However, people’s motivation to maintain lifestyle changes like exercise and eating a healthy diet also declined after they learned their Alzheimer’s risk, whether or not the results indicated higher or lower risk, researchers said. “The results highlight how easily people lose motivation to make lifestyle changes aimed at maintaining cognitive health,” lead researcher Sapir Golan Shekhtman, a doctoral student at the Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel, said in a news release. “Strategies to sustain these healthy behaviors are crucial.” The new study comes on the heels of an Alzheimer’s Association’s annual report, which found that 4 of 5 Americans want to know in advance if they will develop Alzheimer’s, through easy, rapid testing. For this study, researchers followed nearly 200 healthy adults who underwent imaging scans to check their brain levels of amyloid beta. Toxic amyloid plaques are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to the scans, participants completed surveys measuring their anxiety, depression, memory concerns and motivation to improve their lifestyle habits. People…  read on >  read on >

Significantly larger increase seen in prevalence of depressive symptoms in adults aged 20 to 44 years versus those aged 65 years or older  read on >