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Men who are on the blood-thinning drug warfarin have more difficulty taking the medication if they live alone, but the same is not true for women, a new study finds. Warfarin (brand-name Coumadin) is a common anti-clotting treatment to prevent stroke in people with atrial fibrillation, the most common type of heart rhythm disorder. Continuous blood-monitoring is required for warfarin to be safe and effective. Too little of the drug may allow a blood clot to form and cause a stroke. Too much causes bleeding. Having ideal warfarin concentrations in the blood to prevent stroke and avoid bleeding is called time in therapeutic range (TTR). European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines say patients should be in TTR at least 70% of the time. In this study, researchers assessed nearly 4,800 patients in Denmark with six months of continuous warfarin use and monitoring. Median TTR in men living alone was 57% — 3.6% lower than in men who lived with partners. (Median means half had longer times, half shorter.) Women who lived alone had a 0.2% lower TTR than those who lived with partners, but the difference wasn’t significant, according to the study authors. The findings were presented Monday at the annual meeting of the ESC in Paris. Research presented at meetings is typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. “Men living alone had… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Flat feet occurs when one foot or both feet have a flatter-than-normal arch, says the Institute for Preventive Foot Health. About 18 million adults in the United States have the condition. The institute says cases that aren’t inherited may be prevented by: Wearing well-designed footwear. Looking for wide toe boxes in the front of the shoe. Looking for solid heel counters in the rear of the shoe. Avoiding high heels and shoes that stress the forefoot. In some cases, the institute says, orthotics or arch supports may be effective.

Do you ever think that being more at ease at social and business functions could make you happier or possibly help you get ahead at work? Your personality greatly influences your life because it influences so many aspects of your day-to-day world, from personal to business relationships, from your mental to your physical well-being. The Five Traits That Define Personality How outgoing or extroverted you are How open you are to new experiences How agreeable you are How conscientious or self-disciplined you are Your level of emotional stability The old thinking was that your personality was set early in adulthood or even younger. But a research review done at the University of Chicago and published in the journal Psychology Bulletin shed new light on the topic. Researchers looked at information gleaned from 200 studies on mental health treatments ranging from medications to psychotherapy. Though changes in personality weren’t the direct focus of the studies, these changes were revealed when treatment effects were analyzed. The researchers found out that personality traits can change — and change for the better. The reasons study participants had for starting therapy influenced how deep their personality changes were. For instance, people seeking help with emotional stability issues (like anxiety or personality disorders) and those wanting to become less introverted had the deepest changes. People needing help for eating disorders or… read on >

Pro football players who had long careers at key positions are more likely to have concussion-related problems such as confusion, memory loss, depression and anxiety, a new study finds. In a survey of nearly 3,500 former NFL players (average age 53), 1 in 8 (12%) reported serious cognitive problems. That compares to about 2% of the general U.S. population. Age didn’t appear to be a factor. Former players younger than 52 had a rate (13%) of problems similar to that of other ex-players. Even those 45 and younger had an increased risk. In fact, 30% of those 45 and younger who suffered the most serious concussions had severe problems with thinking and mental health, the study found. Those who played 10 or more seasons were twice as likely to have severe problems than those who played just one season (12.6% versus 5.8%). The risk rose with each season played, and every five seasons of play was associated with a nearly 20% increase in risk. Kickers, punters and quarterbacks had the fewest concussion symptoms per season, followed by wide receivers, defensive backs, linemen and tight ends. Running backs, linebackers and special teams players had the most. The risk of serious problems was twice as high among former players with the most concussion symptoms (15%) than in those with the fewest (6%). Those with the most concussions… read on >

Drinking and driving an electric scooter doesn’t mix, according to a new study. Researchers reported serious injuries like brain bleeding or fractures that have happened while riding an electric scooter (e-scooter). Alcohol and drugs were a factor in many of these crashes. “E-scooters may look like fun and games, but it’s a vehicle. It’s a motor attached to wheels, and you need to have a healthy respect for it. Anyone drinking or using any mind-altering substance should not be operating an e-scooter,” said the study’s lead author Dr. Leslie Kobayashi. She’s an associate professor of clinical surgery at the University of California, San Diego. Several people have died while riding e-scooters, according to published reports. Though these devices aren’t new, their popularity soared when several companies introduced rentable, dockless e-scooters in 2017, according to the study authors. Less than a year after the introduction of this environmentally friendly mode of transportation, almost 4% of U.S. adults said they had ridden one. E-scooters are available in more than 65 cities, the study said. The laws regulating them vary depending on where you’re riding. In California, drivers over age 18 aren’t required to wear helmets, and they can use e-scooters on roads with speed limits up to 35 mph. Kobayashi’s study found that almost none of the injured riders was wearing a helmet. She said anytime you’re… read on >

Your lunch leftovers are doing no favors for urban birds’ hearts, new research shows. Fatty food scraps may be boosting the cholesterol levels of crows in U.S. cities, but whether it’s a threat to their health isn’t clear. A team from Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., analyzed blood cholesterol levels of 140 crow nestlings in urban and rural areas of California. Those in urban areas had higher levels of cholesterol than those in rural areas, the findings showed. The researchers also tested the impact of human food by giving nestlings in rural New York state a regular supply of cheeseburgers. They then compared the cholesterol levels of those crows with nearby nestlings that didn’t get cheeseburgers. The cheeseburger-fed nestlings’ cholesterol levels were higher, and comparable to those of the city-dwelling crows in California. But whether higher cholesterol is bad for crows is uncertain. “Despite all the bad press that it gets, cholesterol has benefits and serves a lot of essential functions,” said study author Andrea Townsend, an assistant professor of biology. “It’s an important part of our cell membranes and a component of some crucial hormones. We know that excessive cholesterol causes disease in humans, but we don’t know what level would be ‘excessive’ in a wild bird,” she explained. The study was published Aug. 26 in The Condor: Ornithological Applications journal. The researchers followed… read on >

If you or someone you love is thinking about suicide, a new review points to effective treatments that can reduce suicide risk. Some involve therapy — cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) — while others involve medication, such as ketamine (by infusion) or lithium. “People should be aware that there are treatments, such as CBT or DBT that can be helpful for people who have thoughts of suicide,” said the study’s lead author, Kristen D’Anci. She’s senior associate director of the Center for Clinical Evidence and Guidelines at the ECRI Institute in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. D’Anci added that medications, although less well-studied, can be an option, too. The study’s findings were published Aug. 26 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Suicide is a growing concern in the United States. The nationwide rate increased 30% between 2000 and 2016, researchers said. Why is death by suicide on the rise? One reason rates have gone up is that people are more likely to report a suicide now because it’s a known mental condition, said psychologist Jill Harkavy-Friedman, vice president of research for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. As for other reasons why the rate is climbing, she said, “Suicide is a complex behavior, and each person’s risk is a little different.” For some, it may be lack of access to mental health or… read on >

Swedish researchers think they have honed in on why people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to die prematurely. Accidental injuries, suicide and substance abuse all play a part, and psychiatric problems fuel these factors, a new study from the Karolinska Institute suggests. To arrive at that conclusion, the researchers examined data from nearly 2.7 million people born in Sweden between 1983 and 2009. Of those, 3.2% were diagnosed with ADHD. The risk of premature death was higher among adults with ADHD than children with ADHD, and people diagnosed with ADHD later in life had a higher risk of premature death than those diagnosed earlier in life, the findings showed. Accidental injuries and suicide were the leading causes of death among people with ADHD, accounting for 35.8% and 31.4%, respectively, of the 414 deaths in that group. Substance use disorders contributed substantially to the risk of death due to suicide, while the increased risk of death due to accidental injuries was evident only in those without psychiatric conditions, the study authors said in a university news release. The investigators also found that early-onset conditions such as autism were most strongly associated with premature death due to natural causes, while later-onset psychiatric conditions, such as substance use disorders, were most strongly linked with death due to unnatural causes. The study was published recently in the… read on >

Tired of that spare tire? Low-calorie diets work, but can be difficult to follow. A much simpler approach to losing weight might be to just stop eating every other day. It’s called alternate-day fasting (ADF). As the name implies, you starve yourself by fasting one day and then you feast the next, and then repeat that pattern again and again. In just the month-long trial of the ADF diet, study volunteers lost more than seven pounds. That weight loss occurred even though people on the ADF diet ate about 30% more on the days they were allowed to eat than they normally would. Even with that extra food on feast days, the study volunteers still consumed fewer calories overall because of their fasting days, the researchers explained. “This is an easy regimen — no calculation of calories — and the compliance was very high,” said the study’s senior author, Frank Madeo, a professor of molecular biology at Karl-Franzens University of Graz, in Austria. Madeo said the researchers didn’t study how the ADF diet might compare to other types of intermittent-fasting diets or to a more typical lower-calorie diet. He said that the ADF study didn’t appear to have any impact on the immune system (at least in this short-term study), but that diets that simply rely on lower caloric intake may dampen immune system function.… read on >

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 21, 2019 (HealthDay News) — It would be welcome news to millions if fish oil supplements were proven to help prevent diabetes. But new research delivers very disappointing data on the prospect. Previous research has hinted that fish oil supplements — which contain omega-3 fatty acids — might improve blood sugar metabolism and possibly stave off type 2 diabetes. But this latest research found no evidence that popping a daily fish oil pill could keep diabetes at bay. “This large systematic review included information from many thousands of people over long periods. Despite all this information, we don’t see protective effects, and the most trustworthy studies consistently showed little or no effect of long-chain omega-3 fats on diabetes,” said study author Lee Hooper. Additionally, she said that her group’s previous research has shown that these types of supplements also don’t protect against heart disease, stroke or early death. Hooper is a reader in research synthesis, nutrition and hydration at Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia, in England. Fish oil supplements can help reduce high levels of triglycerides (a type of blood fat that contributes to heart disease), Hooper noted. She said the supplements are generally considered safe to take, but added that this review found that larger doses — above four or five grams per day — of fish oil… read on >