The firefighters who flooded into Ground Zero on 9/11 put their lives on the line to help others. Now, a new study shows they are still paying the price for their selflessness. Those who were first on the scene or worked for months among the ruins of the World Trade Center disaster in 2001 have an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and heart attack that persists to this day, researchers report. Their exposure to the airborne dust and fine particles created by the collapse of New York City’s Twin Towers is wreaking long-term havoc on the health of their blood vessels and heart, experts said. Firefighters first on the scene have a 44% increased risk of heart attack, stroke, heart disease, sudden heart death, cardiac surgery or other life-threatening heart problems, when compared against those who arrived later in the day, researchers found. Further, those who worked at Ground Zero for six months or more have a 30% higher risk of a heart health emergency than those who worked fewer months on the scene. The risk from exposure to the World Trade Center disaster was about the same as that associated with chronic high blood pressure, said Dr. Jacqueline Moline, vice president of occupational medicine, epidemiology and prevention for Northwell Health in Manhasset, N.Y. “The concern is the dust was pro-inflammatory,” said Moline, who…  read on >

Suicide continues to become more common in the United States, with rural areas hit hardest by this ongoing crisis of despair, a new study reports. Deprivation, isolation and lack of access to mental health care all appear to be driving the crisis in rural America, said lead researcher Danielle Steelesmith. She’s a postdoctoral fellow at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. “Rural suicide rates are higher than urban rates and tend to be increasing a little more rapidly,” Steelesmith said. Suicide rates increased 41% between 1999 and 2016, from a median of 15 per 100,000 people to more than 21 per 100,000, county-by-county data show. Median means half had higher rates; half were lower. Rural folks tend to be at higher risk than city dwellers, the researchers found. Suicide rates were 22 per 100,000 in rural counties between 2014 and 2016, compared with about 18 per 100,000 in large metropolitan counties, the nationwide data revealed. To figure out the difference between rural and urban areas, the researchers did a county-by-county analysis of factors that could be driving suicide rates. “Deprivation” — a cluster of factors that includes low employment, poverty and lack of education — was closely related to increased rural suicide rates, the study authors said. Steelesmith said poverty could be more entrenched and economic opportunities more limited in rural areas, leaving…  read on >

U.S. adults with diabetes are no more likely to meet disease control targets than they were in 2005, a new study finds. Typically, diabetes treatment focuses on controlling blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as not smoking. For the study, Massachusetts General Hospital researchers analyzed data on diabetes care in the United States from 2005 through 2016. The investigators found that one in four adults with diabetes was not diagnosed, and nearly one in three was not receiving appropriate care for diabetes. “Fewer than one in four American adults with diagnosed diabetes achieve a controlled level of blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol and do not smoke tobacco,” said study lead author Pooyan Kazemian, of the hospital’s Medical Practice Evaluation Center. “Our results suggest that, despite major advances in diabetes drug discovery and movement to develop innovative care delivery models over the past two decades, achievement of diabetes care targets has not improved in the United States since 2005,” Kazemian said in a hospital news release. More than 30 million Americans have diabetes. Most have type 2, which is linked to lifestyle. Certain groups of patients were less likely to achieve diabetes care targets, according to the study. “Younger age (18-44), female and nonwhite adults with diabetes had lower odds of achieving the composite blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol and nonsmoking target,”…  read on >

Growing up in a poor neighborhood significantly increases kids’ odds of becoming obese adults, and the risk is highest among teens, a new study says. It found that children from poor neighborhoods had 31% higher odds for adult obesity, and the risk was much higher (29%) among 11- to 18-year-olds than for younger children (13%). “Growing up in a disadvantaged neighborhood sticks with you, and can have a negative impact on one’s health through increasing one’s chance of obesity in adulthood,” said lead author Steven Alvarado, a professor of sociology at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Disadvantaged neighborhoods were defined by seven factors, including median income and home values, and the percentage of residents who were living in poverty, unemployed or had earned bachelor’s degrees. To account for other factors that can influence a child’s obesity risk — such as genes and their parents’ behaviors — Alvarado compared siblings. Siblings largely share the same genes and parenting influences, but may have been exposed to different neighborhood circumstances growing up, because their families moved or their neighborhoods changed between the births of the siblings, Alvarado explained. The study was said to be the first to account for factors such as grandparents’ experiences in segregated schools and neighborhoods, while examining the connection between growing up in poor neighborhoods and adult obesity. “We must continue to consider the…  read on >

Teen boys who are overweight or obese may be more likely to have a heart attack before they’re old enough to retire, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed data from nearly 1.7 million men in Sweden born between 1950 and 1987 who had extensive physical exams when they entered mandatory military service at age 18. They were tracked for up to 46 years, or to age 64. During that time, more than 22,000 fatal and non-fatal heart attacks were reported in this group, which occurred at an average age of 50. A higher body mass index (BMI) at age 18 was associated with an increased risk of heart attack before age 65, even after the researchers adjusted for other factors. BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight. A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese (for example, someone who’s 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 209 pounds has a BMI of 30). The increased heart attack risk started at BMI 20, which is considered normal, then rose gradually. Men who had been severely obese at age 18 (BMI 35 or higher) had more than triple the risk of heart attack later in life, according to the study presented Tuesday at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual meeting, in Paris. “We show that BMI in the young is…  read on >

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 >

Driving while high on marijuana can be as dangerous and illegal as driving drunk, but unlike alcohol, there’s no way to detect pot on your breath. That could change, however, as University of Pittsburgh scientists are working hard to develop a breathalyzer that can measure the psychoactive ingredient in pot. Although the technology may work, many questions must be answered before police start checking drivers. “We envision that this sensor can be produced as a breathalyzer like an alcohol breathalyzer,” said lead researcher Alexander Star, a professor of chemistry and bioengineering. As more states legalize pot, it’s likely more drivers will get behind the wheel stoned. Since Washington state legalized marijuana in 2012, the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes who tested positive for marijuana rose from 8% in 2013 to 17% in 2014, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Since current testing relies on blood, urine or hair samples, it can’t be done in the field when a driver suspected of being high is pulled over. Using carbon nanotubes, however, Star’s team has found a way of detecting tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the ingredient in marijuana that creates a high, in a user’s breath. These hollow nanotubes are 100,000 times thinner than a human hair. The electrical components of molecules in the breath bind to the tubes. Since different molecules bind at different…  read on >