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Appalachia has a rich history and gorgeous landscapes, but it has also experienced rates of cancer incidence and death that outstrip those of much of the rest of America. However, new data offer hope to the 26 million people living in the region: Cancer rates are falling, although not as steeply as elsewhere in America. Still, “there are reasons for hope and opportunities to increase access to preventive care in at-risk populations throughout Appalachia,” said study senior author Dr. B. Mark Evers, who directs the Markey Cancer Center at the University of Kentucky. He believes experts can “learn from this data where to focus on some of these problems that have been persistent for decades.” The new data were published Feb. 6 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. The research team defined Appalachia as 423 counties across 13 states near the eastern seaboard, from Mississippi to southern New York. Evers and colleagues looked at data on cancer incidence and death for the region from 2004 through 2021. The data came from sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Cancer Statistics Incidence Analytics Database and the National Center for Health Statistics. Some of the findings were grim: For example, between 2017 and 2021, Americans living in Appalachia were 5.6% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 12.8% more likely to… read on > read on >

It’s long been known that certain complications of pregnancy can raise a woman’s risk for heart trouble years later. But new research shows that even the sisters of these women can be at higher heart risk — suggesting risks may be genetically shared within families. “It may be important to identify [all of] these women early to offer preventive treatment for pregnancy complications as well as lifestyle counseling and follow-up for cardiovascular disease risk,” study lead author Ängla Mantel said. She’s an associate professor in clinical epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden. Conditions such as premature delivery and preeclampsia — spikes in blood pressure — are common but dangerous complications of pregnancy. And numerous studies have shown that experiencing these issues places a woman at higher risk of heart disease later in life. Mantel’s team wondered what the role of genetics might be in this predisposition. To find out, they looked at the medical records of more than 1.2 million Swedish women, all of who were free of heart disease when the study began. Most had never had any complication of pregnancy, but the study also included nearly 166,000 women who did have a history of such issues, as well as about 61,000 of their sisters who had never had pregnancy complications. The team looked at medical records for a median 14… read on > read on >

Set, hut! Super Bowl Sunday is almost here. But it’s not just about big plays and bad calls, it’s also a sodium tsunami. On average, foods advertised during NFL games contain 40% of the daily recommended sodium intake, researchers reported recently in JAMA Network Open. “We proved what probably a lot of people have long suspected, and that is that foods advertised during NFL games … are frequently high in sodium and calories and fat content,” senior study author Dr. Paul Hauptman, dean of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine and chief academic officer for Renown Health, told CNN. His team analyzed 10 NFL games from September to November 2023 and found that 10% of commercials featured food products. And the sodium content in those foods ranged from 220 mg to 1,872 mg — nearly half the recommended daily limit, CNN reported. The median was 910 mg, meaning half had more sodium, half had less. Fast food ranked No. 1 in sodium, researchers noted. Eating too much salt is linked to high blood pressure, heart failure and stroke. “Blood pressure is directly related to stroke, cardiovascular disease — even to death from cardiovascular disease and heart failure,” Dr. Stephen Juraschek told CNN. He’s a hypertension specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and associate professor of nutrition at Harvard Medical School… read on > read on >

“Yo-yo” dieting — repeatedly losing and gaining weight — can significantly increase risk of kidney disease among people with type 1 diabetes, a new study warns. Diabetics with greater weight fluctuations experienced a 40% decline in their kidneys’ ability to filter toxins from the blood, researchers reported Feb. 4 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. “We showed that high body-weight variability is associated with increased risk of different outcomes of diabetic kidney disease progressions (DKD) in people with type 1 diabetes, independently of traditional DKD risk factors,” lead researcher Dr. Marion Camoin with the University Hospital Center Bordeaux in France said in a news release. “To our knowledge, this is the first study showing this association,” Camoin added. As many as 35% of men and 55% of women yo-yo diet, and this pattern of weight loss and regain has been shown to increase risk of heart disease in both healthy people and people with diabetes, researchers said in background notes. Type 1 diabetes has long been considered a disease of lean people, but obesity is becoming more common in that group as well as the general public, researchers said. For the study, researchers examined six years of body weight data for more than 1,400 people participating in a long-term diabetes health study. The team compared weight fluctuation with six criteria that show how… read on > read on >

The cholesterol that’s good for your heart health might be bad for your eye health, and vice versa, a new study says. “Good” HDL cholesterol appears to increase risk of glaucoma in people older than 55, researchers reported Feb. 4 in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. Conversely, “bad” LDL cholesterol might be associated with a lower risk of glaucoma, researchers report. “HDL cholesterol has been regarded as the ‘good cholesterol’ for seven decades. However, this study demonstrates that high levels of HDL cholesterol are not consistently associated with a favorable prognostic outcome,” concluded the research team led by senior investigator Zhenzhen Liu, an associate professor with the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdon, China. LDL cholesterol contributes to plaque build-up in the arteries, which can eventually lead to heart disease, heart attack or stroke, according to the American Heart Association. On the other hand, HDL cholesterol helps heart health by carrying some LDL cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where the LDL cholesterol is broken down and excreted, the AHA says. Abnormally high levels of fats in the bloodstream have previously been linked to eye conditions like macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, researchers said in background notes. But findings related to glaucoma have been inconsistent. Glaucoma causes fluid to build up within the eye, with the increasing pressure… read on > read on >

Canadian youngsters are munching loads of ultra-processed foods, increasing their lifelong risk of obesity, a new study says. “We saw that ultra-processed foods contributed to almost half of a child’s total daily energy intake,” senior researcher Kozeta Miliku, an assistant professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, said in a news release. About 45% of the total daily energy intake for Canadian 3-year-olds came from ultra-processed foods, researchers reported in a new study published Jan. 31 in JAMA Network Open. And higher intake of these foods at age 3 is linked to excess weight, higher body-mass index (BMI) and more body fat by age 5, researchers added. Ultra-processed foods typically are factory-made fare containing high levels of sugar, fat and salt. They’re a patchwork of ingredients, additives and preservatives engineered for flavor and shelf-life. Examples include chicken nuggets, frozen meals, hot dogs, canned soups, potato chips, soft drinks, sugary breakfast cereals, ice cream, packaged breads, flavored yogurts and condiments like ketchup and mayonnaise. As a mother of a 3-year-old, Miliku understands firsthand how hard it is to provide a well-balanced diet while avoiding ultra-processed foods. “Ultra-processed foods are very accessible and a handy solution for busy days,” Miliku said. “We are all doing our best to make sure our children are fed, but there are opportunities for us to improve their diet.” For… read on > read on >

Drugs like blood thinners, cholesterol-lowering statins and blood pressure meds can protect the health and extend the lives of people with heart disease. But only if patients take the drugs — and many around the world aren’t, a new study says. Overall, fewer than half of heart patients from 17 countries who could benefit from these meds are taking them, researchers reported in a new study published Feb. 3 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. “Our research indicates that there continues to be substantial under-utilization of these medications with little improvement over time,” lead researcher Dr. Philip Joseph, a scientist at the Population Health Research Institute, a joint institute of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences in Canada, said in a news release. As a result, many people are likely dying earlier from heart disease or leading sicker lives than need be, researchers said. “Our findings suggest that current secondary prevention strategies continue to leave the majority of people with cardiovascular disease either untreated or undertreated and highlight the general lack of progress being made to increase the use of secondary cardiovascular prevention medications in most parts of the world,” Joseph said. For the study, researchers tracked more than 11,000 people diagnosed with heart disease, heart attack or stroke ranging in age from 30 to 70. Participants entered the study between 2003… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Journavx, a new pain reliever without the risks of addiction or overdose linked to drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin. The new pill, developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, is intended for short-term pain relief following surgery or injury, the Associated Press reported. While it provides a long-awaited alternative to opioids and over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen, research suggests its effectiveness is modest compared to standard opioid treatments. Unlike opioids, which bind to brain receptors to reduce pain but often lead to dependence and addiction, Journavx works differently. The medication blocks specific proteins that trigger pain signals before they reach the brain. “In trying to develop medicines that don’t have the addictive risks of opioid medicines, a key factor is working to block pain signaling before it gets to the brain,” Dr. David Altshuler, Vertex’s executive vice president and chief scientific officer, previously told the Associated Press. Studies of more than 870 patients who took Journavx after foot and abdominal surgery showed that the drug provided more relief than a placebo but was not more effective than a common opioid-acetaminophen combination pill. “It’s not a slam dunk on effectiveness,” Michael Schuh of the Mayo Clinic, a pharmacist who was not involved in the research, told the Associated Press. “But it is a slam dunk in that it’s a very different… read on > read on >

Calorie labels on restaurant menus are harming people with eating disorders, a new evidence review claims. These labels are meant to make it healthier to eat out at restaurants, by informing customers of the calorie content of food choices. But people diagnosed with eating disorders tend to respond poorly when presented with a menu featuring calorie labels, researchers reported Jan. 28 in the BMJ Public Health. Unhealthy responses included avoiding restaurants altogether, triggering harmful thoughts associated with eating disorders, and obsessing over the calorie counts. Some said that seeing these menu labels actually reinforced the beliefs behind their eating disorders, researchers added. “It’s definitely set my recovery back by a long way and I only feel safe eating at home now,” a patient with an eating disorder said in one of the studies included in the review. “Our study highlights that people with lived experience of eating disorders are frustrated at being left out of the conversation around calorie labels,” senior researcher Tom Jewell, a lecturer in mental health nursing at King’s College London, said in a news release. The obesity epidemic has caused policymakers to act without any thought to the impact on people with eating disorders, Jewell added. “Striking a balance between the positive and harmful impacts of calorie labels on menus is vital in any public health policies,” he said. “Policymakers should… read on > read on >

Seniors whose cholesterol levels spike and plummet year-to-year could be at increased risk of dementia and failing brain health, a new study suggests. Those whose cholesterol fluctuated the most had a 60% increased risk of dementia, researchers report in findings published Jan. 29 in the journal Neurology. They also had a 23% increased risk of mild cognitive impairment, an early stage of brain aging that can lead to dementia, researchers found. “These results suggest that fluctuating cholesterol, measured annually, may be a new biomarker for identifying people at risk of dementia, providing more information than the actual cholesterol levels measured at a single time point,” lead investigator Zhen Zhou, a research fellow at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, said in a news release. High cholesterol levels in middle age have been identified as a risk factor of cognitive decline and dementia later in life, researchers mentioned in background notes. However, research into the impact of cholesterol on brain health in seniors has yielded mixed results. Some studies have said cholesterol has no impact on the brain in old age, while others have found that low cholesterol might actually increase dementia risk. For this study, researchers tracked the brain health of more than 9,800 people 65 and older who started off with no dementia or other memory problems. The participants’ cholesterol levels were measured at the… read on > read on >