Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Cases of the autoimmune skin condition eczema appear to rise in areas most plagued by air pollution, new research shows. Since data has long shown that rates of eczema — clinically known as atopic dermatitis — increase along with industrialization, dirty air might be a connecting link, according to the team from Yale University. “Showing that individuals in the United States who are exposed to particulate matter [in air] are more likely to have eczema deepens our understanding of the important health implications of ambient air pollution,” wrote researchers led by Yale School of Medicine investigator Gloria Chen. Her team published its findings Nov. 13 in the journal PLOS ONE. According to the National Eczema Association, over 31 million Americans have the skin disorder, “a group of inflammatory skin conditions that cause itchiness, dry skin, rashes, scaly patches, blisters and skin infections.” The exact causes of eczema aren’t clear, but it’s thought to originate in an an overactive immune system that responds to certain environmental triggers. Could air pollution be one of those triggers? To find out, the Yale team looked at data on almost 287,000 Americans, about 12,700 of who (4.4%) had an eczema diagnosis. They compared local eczema rates against levels of air pollution in zip codes across the United States. Chen’s team focused especially on what’s known as “fine particulate matter” — microscopic bits… read on > read on >

Dementia strikes all races, but new research suggests thinking declines in poor seniors are often overlooked. Among a group of more than 200 low-income patients who were treated at community health centers, 3 of 4 had undiagnosed cognitive issues, researchers reported recently in the journal JAMA Network Open. Of those, 62% had mild cognitive impairment, which is a precursor to dementia, while 12% had full-blown undiagnosed dementia, results showed. Only 25% of the patients evaluated had no evidence of any cognitive decline, researchers found. “Unrecognized cognitive impairment and dementia present a serious challenge in the U.S. and worldwide, affecting patients, families and the health care system,” said lead researcher Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha, an associate professor of family and preventive medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. “Delayed diagnosis often means patients are identified at later stages, when symptoms are more severe and care is more complex,” Kulshreshtha added in an Emory news release. “It also leads to missed opportunities for early treatment that could slow disease progression.” For the study, researchers looked at seniors treated at federally qualified health centers, which are nonprofits serving low-income communities in the United States. About 30 million people receive care at these centers, and most have family incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level. Researchers assessed a group of 204 seniors who go to one of… read on > read on >

Most parents haven’t considered the potential risk of an unlocked, poorly stored firearm in a house their child is visiting, a new study shows. More than 60% of Illinois parents have never asked another parent about an unlocked gun in their home before allowing their child to visit for a playdate, researchers found. Most said they never asked because it didn’t occur to them to do so. “Parents need to approach the topic of firearm safety in the homes their child visits in the same way they would ask other parents about supervision during playdates or similar questions related to their child’s safety,” said lead researcher Dr. Samaa Kemal, an emergency medicine physician at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Nearly 20% of unintentional firearm-related deaths occur at a friend’s home, the researchers noted. About 40% of U.S. households with children have a firearm in the home, but only 44% of those households store firearms locked and unloaded, researchers said. “Parents need to ask about the presence of firearms in the home and about secure storage methods,” Kemal said in a hospital news release. “These discussions with other parents are crucial for prevention of children’s injury and death from improperly stored firearms.” For the study, researchers surveyed 1,000 Illinois parents. Parents were less likely to ask about firearms if they were female, older than 50, living… read on > read on >

Vitamin D supplements might lower blood pressure in seniors who are obese, reducing their heart health risk, a new study says. But taking more than the recommended daily dose will not provide additional health benefits, researchers report in the Journal of the Endocrine Society. “Our study found vitamin D supplementation may decrease blood pressure in specific subgroups such older people, people with obesity and possibly those with low vitamin D levels,” said researcher Dr. Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan of the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon. Studies have linked vitamin D deficiency to an increased risk of high blood pressure, researchers said in background notes. However, there’s not solid evidence whether taking vitamin D supplements can help lower blood pressure. The recommended daily dose of vitamin D is 600 IU, or about 15 micrograms, researchers said. For the study, researchers tracked the health of 221 seniors with obesity who took either 600 IU or 3,750 IU of daily vitamin D supplements for a year. The supplements did lower their blood pressure, results show, but higher doses did not provide additional benefits. “High vitamin D doses compared to the Institutes of Medicine’s recommended daily dose did not provide additional health benefits,” El-Hajj Fuleihan said in a news release. More information The Endocrine Society has more on vitamin D for preventing disease. SOURCE: The Endocrine… read on > read on >

The weight-loss drug Ozempic can help reduce stroke patients’ risk of a heart attack or death, a new study says. GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic or SGLT2 diabetes medications like Jardiance or Farxiga both helped protect the health of people following a stroke, researchers found. Patients taking either a GLP-1 or SGLT2 drug had a 74% lower risk of death and an 84% lower risk of a heart attack within an average three years after their stroke, results show. SGLT2 drugs also were associated with a 67% lower risk of a second stroke, researchers report. “Unfortunately, a quarter of people who survive a stroke will have another stroke, and they are also at risk for other cardiovascular events such as a heart attack since many of the risk factors of a stroke are also associated with other forms of heart disease,” said lead researcher Dr. Ali Sheffeh, an internal medicine physician and research scholar at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “Managing these risks, as well as looking at novel approaches to help lower the chances of another stroke, heart attack or death among this population are all critical steps in increasing stroke survival and improving the quality of life for people who have had a stroke,” Sheffeh added in a news release. For the study, researchers reviewed medical records for more than 7,000 adults… read on > read on >

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder can influence a child’s weight in ways that will shape their long-term health, a new study says. Kids with ADHD tend to have lower birth weight, which increases their risk of developmental delays and health problems, researchers in the U.K. found. But these kids also are more likely to develop obesity after age 5, a weight swing that can place even more risk upon their health in adulthood, researchers said. “Children with increased ADHD symptoms are typically lighter at birth than their peers but are later more likely to have obesity,” researcher Claire Reed of the University of Southampton said in a news release. “Research into the ‘when and why’ regarding this turning point is scarce.” For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 7,900 children born between 2000 and 2002. Of those kids, the team compared 442 with ADHD against nearly 5,400 without either an AHDH diagnosis or symptoms of the disorder. Kids in the ADHD group weighed less at birth on average compared with children without ADHD, researchers found. However, those differences in weight vanished quickly, and by 9 months and at 3 years the two groups weighed about the same. Then, from age 5 onwards, the kids with ADHD were significantly more likely to have obesity, after excluding children taking stimulants for their condition, results show. The risk was… read on > read on >

It may seem counter-intuitive, but losing weight without even trying may not be a good thing. “It’s not typical to have a noticeable drop in weight without changing how much you’re eating, being more physically active or trying to lose weight,” said dietitian Christine Goukasian. “Unexplained weight loss is a red flag,” she added in a news release. Day to day, weight varies a pound or two because of hormones, water retention and other factors. Anything more may signal an underlying health problem — from cancer and gastrointestinal to mental health disorders. “Weight loss becomes a concern when it’s 10 pounds or at least 5% of your original weight during a six- to 12-month period,” said Goukasian, senior dietitian at the UCLA Division of Clinical Nutrition. And older adults, especially those in community living, have a higher risk. As many as 2 in 10 lose weight unexpectedly — a share that jumps to 6 in 10 in community housing, where folks are more likely to have health issues that lead to unintended weight loss. More than a third of people who consult their doctor about dropping weight without trying have undiagnosed cancer. It is, according to UCLA, the No. 1 cause of unintentional weight loss, and about 4 in 10 cancer diagnoses begin this way. And dropping weight isn’t just a sign of advanced cancer.… read on > read on >

More than a year after its advisory panel unanimously declared the drug phenylephrine to be useless against nasal congestion, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing that it be removed from common over-the-counter decongestants. Products that include phenylephrine as an active ingredient include Sudafed PE, Vicks Sinex and Benadryl Allergy Plus Congestion. In fact, “it is important to note that some products only contain oral phenylephrine as a single, active ingredient,” the FDA said in a statement released Thursday. However, based on the available science, it’s time for consumers to stop throwing their money away on such products, the FDA said. “It is the FDA’s role to ensure that drugs are safe and effective,” Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, who directs the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), said in the statement. “Based on our review of available data, and consistent with the advice of the advisory committee, we are taking this next step in the process to propose removing oral phenylephrine because it is not effective as a nasal decongestant.” The agency said its experts poured over decades of data on whether or not phenylephrine could ease nasal congestion. They found no evidence to support the claim, nor any evidence to support the notion that phenylephrine might boost the effects of other medicines included in a decongestant, such as acetaminophen or dextromethorphan. At… read on > read on >

The head of the company that makes the diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy has warned that compounded versions of the active ingredient in those medications have now been linked to at least 100 hospitalizations and 10 deaths. “Honestly, I’m quite alarmed by what we see in the U.S. now,” Novo Nordisk President and CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen told CNN on Wednesday. “Patients who believe that they’re getting access to a safe product, and they believe they’re getting semaglutide … I know for a fact that they are not getting semaglutide, because there’s only one semaglutide, and that’s produced by Novo Nordisk, and we don’t sell that to others.” Compounded drugs are made by pharmacies or manufacturers other than the companies that make approved versions of those medicines, and they typically are allowed when there is a shortage of those drugs. Semaglutide, and other GLP-1 drugs like it, have experienced shortages in the past two years as millions of Americans have turned to the medications for help with significant weight loss. While semaglutide remains on the shortage list, Novo Nordisk noted last week that the last remaining dose in short supply — the lowest dose of Wegovy — is now listed as available, CNN reported. “We’re collaborating with the FDA, and I think they’re looking into what are some of the considerations they have… read on > read on >

THURSDAY, Nov.7, 2024Women who take vitamin D supplements during a pregnancy may be giving their kids the legacy of stronger bones, new British research suggests. Children whose moms took vitamin D supplements when pregnant had stronger, denser bones at the age of 7 compared to the kids of women who didn’t, a study from the University of Southampton shows. It’s an head start on bone health that might last a lifetime, said lead researcher Dr. Rebecca Moon. “This early intervention represents an important public health strategy. It strengthens children’s bones and reduces the risk of conditions like osteoporosis and fractures in later life,” said Moon, a clinical lecturer in child health at the university. Her team published its findings in the November issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It’s long been understood that vitamin D — often called the “sunshine vitamin” because human skin manufactures it upon contact with sunlight — plays a key role in bone development and health. As the British team explained, the nutrient regulates the body’s levels of calcium and phosphate — two minerals needed for strong bones, teeth and muscle health. Could maintaining good levels of vitamin D in pregnancy benefit offspring? To find out, Moon’s team randomized over 1,000 pregnant women into two groups. Half got an extra 1,000 International Units per day of vitamin D in supplement… read on > read on >