Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Mounjaro outperforms Ozempic in helping people lose weight, a new study shows. People taking tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) dropped significantly more pounds than those taking semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), researchers reported July 8 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. “Individuals with overweight or obesity treated with tirzepatide were significantly more likely to achieve clinically meaningful weight loss and larger reductions in body weight compared with those treated with semaglutide,” concluded the research team led by Dr. Nicholas Stucky, vice president of research with Truveta Inc., a medical research collective. For the study, researchers tracked more than 18,000 overweight and obese people who were prescribed either drug to help control their type 2 diabetes between May 2022 and September 2023. Both drugs initially were developed as type 2 diabetes medications, but were later approved for use in weight loss. Results show that both drugs are effective in promoting some weight loss. Nearly 82% of patients taking Mounjaro lost 5% or more of their body weight, compared to nearly 67% of those taking Ozempic, researchers found. However, Mounjaro users were more likely to achieve greater weight gain. About 42% of Mounjaro patients lost 15% or more of their body weight, compared to about 18% of those taking Ozempic. Overall, patients on Mounjaro were 76% more likely than those on Ozempic to lose 5% or more of their body weight; 2.5… read on > read on >

In yet another finding that touts the health benefits of wildly popular weight-loss medications like Wegovy and Ozempic, scientists report that taking the drugs may help reduce the risk of some cancers. In a study published July 5 in JAMA Network Open, researchers found people with type 2 diabetes who were being treated with a class of GLP-1 drugs were less likely to be diagnosed with 10 of 13 obesity-linked cancers than those who were taking insulin. The reduction in risk was significant: Taking the medications cut rates of gallbladder cancer, meningioma, pancreatic cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer, by more than half. Risks were also reduced for cancers of the ovaries, colon, esophagus and kidneys as well as for multiple myeloma (a cancer of the bone marrow) and endometrial cancer (which begins in the lining of the uterus). Excess weight can trigger chronic inflammation and high levels of insulin, insulin-like growth factor and sex hormones. All of these can prompt the development of cancer, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. GLP-1 medications interact with systems related to insulin production, the researchers noted. Importantly, the study found that taking GLP-1 drugs did not lower the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, which CDC data show is the most common obesity-linked cancer. Risk was also not reduced for stomach cancer or thyroid… read on > read on >

Trendy weight-loss drugs appear to increase the risk of a rare and potentially blinding eye condition, a new study warns. People with diabetes prescribed semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) were more than four times more likely to be diagnosed with NAION, researchers reported July 3 in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology. Further, those who were overweight were more than seven times more likely to be diagnosed with NAION, results showed. “The use of these drugs has exploded throughout industrialized countries and they have provided very significant benefits in many ways, but future discussions between a patient and their physician should include NAION as a potential risk,” said lead researcher Dr. Joseph Rizzo, director of the Neuro-Ophthalmology Service at Mass Eye and Ear in Boston. “It is important to appreciate, however, that the increased risk relates to a disorder that is relatively uncommon,” he added in a hospital news release. NAION typically causes sudden vision loss in one eye, without any pain, Rizzo said. It’s thought to be caused by reduced blood flow to the front of the optic nerve, where the nerve meets the eye. NAION is the most common cause of sudden blindness due to damage of the optic nerve, and is second only to glaucoma as an overall cause of optic nerve blindness, researchers said. There currently are no effective treatments for NAION, and vision loss… read on > read on >

Weight gain is a common side effect of antidepressants, but some types cause people to pack on pounds more than others, a new study says. Bupropion users are 15% to 20% less likely to gain a significant amount of weight than those taking the most common antidepressant, sertraline, researchers reported July 2 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. At the same time, escitalopram and paroxetine had a 15% higher risk of gaining weight compared to sertraline, even though all are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), researchers found. “Our study found that some antidepressants, like bupropion, are associated with less weight gain than others,” said senior researcher Dr. Jason Block, a general internal medicine physician at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute in Boston. About 14% of U.S. adults use antidepressants, researchers said in background notes. For the study, researchers analyzed data for more than 183,000 people ages 18 to 80 who were newly prescribed antidepressants. The team checked the patients’ weight at six months, one year and two years after they started taking one of eight common antidepressants. Overall, bupropion users gained the least amount of weight compared to users of other antidepressants, researchers said. A weight gain of about 5% or more was considered clinically significant. “Although there are several reasons why patients and their clinicians might choose one antidepressant over another, weight gain is… read on > read on >

As millions of Americans grapple with blistering heat this summer, the Biden Administration on Tuesday proposed a new rule to address excessive heat in the workplace. If the first major federal safety standard of its kind becomes final, the measure would aim to protect an estimated 36 million U.S. workers from injuries related to heat exposure on the job. That includes delivery and construction workers, landscapers and workers in warehouses, factories and kitchens. “From the record-shattering heat wave across the Midwest and Northeast, to devastating flooding in Iowa and Minnesota, to raging wildfires in New Mexico, Oregon and California, communities in every corner of the country are being directly impacted by the compounding effects of extreme weather,” the White House said in a statement announcing the proposal. “Today, the President is receiving an operational briefing on extreme weather forecasts for this summer, and he will announce new actions to protect workers and families from the impacts of extreme weather.” Under the proposed rule, employers would be required to identify heat dangers, develop emergency response plans related to heat illness and train employees and supervisors on the signs of heat illnesses. They would also have to provide rest breaks, provide shade and water and allow new workers to build their tolerance for heat on the job. Penalties for heat-related violations in workplaces would also increase significantly,… read on > read on >

Cutting-edge weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic can help treat alcoholism, a new study says. People taking semaglutide had 50% to 56% decreased odds for either becoming alcoholic or relapsing into alcoholism, researchers reported recently in the journal Nature Communications. Few drugs are now available to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD), so adding semaglutide to their number would provide a much-needed extra option, researchers said. “This is very promising news in that we may have a new therapeutic method to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD),” lead researcher Rong Xu, a professor of biomedical informatics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, said in a news release. Semaglutide helps regulate blood sugar levels, and was first approved as a diabetes treatment. The drug also reduces appetite and slows digestion, which eventually led to its approval as a weight-loss drug as well. For the study, researchers analyzed medical records of nearly 84,000 patients with obesity, as well as about 600,000 patients with type 2 diabetes. In both sets of data, researchers found consistent reductions in alcoholism among people treated with semaglutide. “While the findings are promising and provide preliminary evidence of the potential benefit of semaglutide in real-world populations, further randomized clinical trials are needed to support its use clinically for AUD,” study co-author Dr. Pamela Davis, a research professor at Case Western, said in a… read on > read on >

A study based on online Google searches suggests surging U.S. interest in microdosing psychedelics, such as psilocybin, as rules around the use of such drugs begin to relax. But the safety of these drugs isn’t entirely clear, said study lead author Dr. Kevin Yang. “As public interest in using psychedelics and cannabis for health grows, it’s crucial that the medical community conducts studies to establish a strong evidence base for their safety and efficacy,” said Yang, a psychiatry resident physician at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. ‘Magic mushrooms’ have long been used recreationally to get high, but in recent years numerous studies have suggested that the fungus’ active ingredient, the hallucinogen psilocybin, might have some therapeutic effects if used in smaller doses (“microdosing”) under controlled conditions. According to a UCSD news release, people who microdose take “‘sub-perceptual’ doses of psychedelics, often over prolonged periods, with users claiming it improves cognition, mood and overall health without causing the intense hallucinogenic effects of higher doses.” Already, eight U.S. states have had cities or counties decriminalize this type of psychedelic use, and two states, Colorado and Oregon, have legalized psychedelic-assisted therapy and decriminalized psychedelics statewide. Those moves come at the same time that another recreational drug, cannabis, has gained mainstream acceptance and has been legalized in 24 states. So what is the current… read on > read on >

People largely date and marry people in their own “league,” as far as beauty is concerned, a new review finds. Men and women are fairly accurate at rating their own physical attractiveness, and they tend to choose mates who have similar views of their own beauty, researchers report. For example, fellows who rated themselves as attractive tended to date ladies with similar self-ratings, researchers reported recently in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. These results come from more than two dozen studies involving nearly 1,300 opposite-sex couples dating as far back as 1972. In the studies, members of couples were asked to rate their own physical attractiveness. Their pictures were then shown to strangers, who provided an outside rating on their beauty. People’s own assessment of their attractiveness largely tended to align with the rating provided by a stranger, results show. “The fundamentals of what humans consider to be attractive across cultures and across time are pretty consistent,” said lead researcher Gregory Webster, a professor of psychology at the University of Florida. The review also allowed researchers to track how these self-ratings change at different points in long relationships. Some studies focused on young dating couples, while others involved long-married spouses. Among people who had been together longer, men were more accurate at judging their own attractiveness, researchers found. That might be due to the… read on > read on >

Exposure to air pollution as a child increases an adult’s risk of bronchitis, a new study warns. Young adults with bronchitis symptoms tended to have been exposed during childhood to two types of air pollutants, researchers found: Particle pollution from dust, pollen, wildfire ash, industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust. Nitrogen dioxide from gasoline engines. Bronchitis occurs when the large airways of the lungs become inflamed, causing severe coughing spells that bring up mucus or phlegm. Wheezing, chest pain and shortness of breath are other symptoms. “Our results suggest that childhood air pollution exposure has more subtle effects on our respiratory system that still impact us in adulthood,” said researcher Dr. Erika Garcia, an assistant professor of population and public health sciences at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. “Reducing air pollution would have benefits not only for current asthma in children but also for their respiratory health as they grow into adulthood,” Garcia added in a university news release. Air pollution has been consistently associated with lung ailments among children, and childhood lung problems are consistently associated with lung issues as adults, researchers said in background notes. However, few studies have explored the effect of childhood air pollution exposure on adult lung health, whether or not kids suffered lung problems, researchers said. Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution, researchers… read on > read on >

It’s a nasty cycle: Chronic migraine sufferers who use too much pain medication sometimes get smacked with rebound headaches. But new research suggests that a medication commonly used to prevent migraines may also help fend off rebound headaches. The study of 755 people with chronic migraine — meaning 15 or more headache days a month with migraines on eight or more — found that those who overused pain meds had fewer headache days when taking the migraine prevention drug atogepant (Quilipta). “There is a high prevalence of pain medication overuse among people with migraine as they try to manage what are often debilitating symptoms,” explained study author Dr. Peter Goadsby, from King’s College London. “However, medication overuse can lead to more headaches called rebound headaches, so more preventive treatments treatments are needed.” Two-thirds of the participants, who reported their headache and medication history, met the criteria for medication overuse. That means they took pain relievers such as aspirin, acetaminophen or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on 15 or more days a month; migraine drugs called triptans or ergots for 10 days or more; or any combination for 10 days or more. On average, participants reported 18 to 19 migraine days a month and using pain meds on 15 to 16 days. For 12 weeks, they were given 30 milligrams (mg) of atogepant twice daily; 60 mg… read on > read on >