Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

It’s tempting to binge-watch TV, but yet another study finds that when it comes to healthy aging, the less time on your sofa, the better. The study looked at 20 years of data on more than 45,000 people taking part in the Nurses’ Health Study. All were at least age 50 in 1992 and free of chronic disease when they entered the study. Researchers tracked lifestyle habits like time sitting at work, home and watching television, as well as their hours at home or work spent standing or walking at home. All that data was compared to information on how healthily (or not) they had aged over time. What defined “healthy aging”? According to the team from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, it meant living to be 70 plus having no major chronic diseases, no impaired memory, and overall good physical and mental health. One activity — watching TV while sitting — seemed particularly unhealthy, the researchers found. “Replacing television time with light physical activity, moderate to vigorous physical activity, or sleep [in participants with inadequate sleep] were associated with better odds of healthy aging,” wrote a team led by Dr. Molin Wang, an associate professor of medicine in the department of epidemiology at Harvard. More specifically, every hour per day where sedentary TV watching was replaced by even “light” physical activity in… read on > read on >

Winston Churchill once said, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” It’s one of countless platitudes claiming that failure leads to success. But there’s strong evidence that such a notion is wrongheaded and can lead to terrible real-world consequences, researchers said in a new report. In fact, many people do not learn from their failures, and it’s folly to expect otherwise, according to findings published June 10 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. “People often confuse what is with what ought to be,” lead researcher Lauren Eskreis-Winkler, an assistant professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University, said in a news release. “People ought to pay attention and learn from failure, but often they don’t because failure is demotivating and ego-threatening.” A series of 11 experiments involving more than 1,800 participants found that people often don’t gain wisdom from failure, and that expecting them to do so can have potentially terrible consequences: People vastly overestimated the percentage of prospective nurses, lawyers and teachers who pass licensing exams after previously failing them. Nurses tended to overestimate how much colleagues would learn from a past error. People assumed that heart patients would embrace a healthier lifestyle, when many don’t. “People expect success to follow failure much more often than it actually does,” Eskreis-Winkler said. “People usually assume that past behavior predicts… read on > read on >

Lung cancer patients who underwent screening were more apt to be diagnosed at earlier stages and have better outcomes than patients who were not screened, new research shows. The findings — from a study of close to 58,000 patients diagnosed through the U.S. Veterans Health Administration — underscore the importance of early detection through screening. Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer worldwide. Current recommendations urge annual screening for 50- to 80-year-olds with a history of smoking a pack a day or more for the last 20 years or two packs a day for the last 10. Clinical trials have shown screening with computed tomography (CT) scans to be beneficial, but real-world data have been scarce. This study of U.S. veterans gauged the impact of screening prior to a lung cancer diagnosis. Researchers found that patients who were screened had higher rates of early stage cancer diagnoses than those who were not screened — 52% versus 27%. Over five years, they also had lower rates of premature death from any cause (49.8% versus 72.1%) as well as death from cancer (41% versus 70.3%). “It is incredible to witness how dedicated national efforts to increase lung cancer screening from the Lung Precision Oncology Program can lead to substantial improvements in lung cancer outcomes,” said co-author Dr. Michael Green of the University of Michigan and the… read on > read on >

Only a fraction of Americans are getting recommended lung cancer screenings, new research shows. While rates overall are up slightly, fewer than 1 in 5 people who are eligible for screening are up-to-date with it, according to the American Cancer Society-led study. The society and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend a yearly computed tomography (CT) scan for people who are at high risk for lung cancer. Those include current smokers between the ages of 50 and 80 as well as those who quit less than 15 years ago. “We, clearly, still have a long way to go,” said Priti Bandi, scientific director of cancer risk factors and screening surveillance research at the American Cancer Society (ACS). She said screening is critical because lung cancer often has no symptoms in the early stages. “When diagnosed and treated early, survival is markedly improved,” Bandi added in an ACS news release. For the study, researchers analyzed data from close to 26,000 Americans who were eligible for lung cancer screening. More than 61% were smokers, 54% were men and 64% were over 60. Nearly 8 in 10 were white people. Overall, 18% had been screened for lung cancer. Rates varied from state to state, with lower rates in the South, where seven states have not expanded eligibility for Medicaid. Screening rates rose with age — from 6.7%… read on > read on >

A plant-based eating regimen designed to save the Earth also saves people’s lives, a large study confirms. “Shifting how we eat can help slow the process of climate change,” said corresponding author Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “And what’s healthiest for the planet is also healthiest for humans.” Known as the Planetary Health Diet (PHD), the regimen emphasizes minimally processed plant foods, while modest intake of meat and dairy foods are allowed. While other studies have shown that plant-based diets have benefits for the planet and people alike, most have looked at one point in time. The new study drew on health data from more than 200,000 men and women who were followed for up to 34 years. Researchers found those whose diets most closely hewed to the PHD regimen had a 30% lower risk of early death compared to those whose diets were the least like it. That was true for every major cause of death — cancer, heart disease and lung disease, the study found. None of the participants had major chronic illnesses at the outset. They completed dietary questionnaires every four years and were scored based on intake of 15 food groups, including veggies, poultry, whole grains and nuts. Those whose eating habits were closest to the PHD had a… read on > read on >

An experimental ‘supercharged’ form of popular GLP-1 weight-loss meds could help ease fatty liver disease, a new trial suggests. The drug under development, survodutide, helped up to 83% of patients gain real improvements in markers of fatty liver disease, a widespread and potentially lethal condition often linked to obesity. Right now, there’s only one drug, resmetirom, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to fight fatty liver disease, and not all patients can use it. Survodutide “could be a game-changer” against the illness, said study lead researcher Dr. Arun Sanyal. He directs the Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health and is a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond. The trial was funded by Boehringer Ingelheim, the drug company developing survodutide. Results were published June 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Fatty liver disease is shorthand for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). According to a news release from VCU, about 1 in every 4 people globally are affected by the condition. A healthy liver has a fat content of just 5% or less by weight, but in MASH fat can rise to unhealthy levels that put people at risk for cirrhosis, liver cancer or even the need for a liver transplant. Obesity is a prime factor driving fatty liver disease. The new trial isn’t the first to suggest that a… read on > read on >

Roughly 1 in 6 people who stop taking an antidepressant will experience symptoms caused by discontinuing the drug, a new review finds. However, only 1 in 35 will experience severe symptoms after dropping their medication, researchers report June 5 in The Lancet Psychiatry journal. “Our study confirms that a number of patients coming off antidepressants will experience discontinuation symptoms, and for a few, these will be of a more severe extent,” said lead researcher Dr. Jonathan Henssler, a psychiatrist with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in Germany. However, Henssler added in a journal news release that the findings “should also provide reassurance that rates of discontinuation symptoms are not as high as some previous single studies and reviews have suggested.” Previous studies have estimated that more than half of patients experience symptoms when stopping antidepressants, and that half the symptoms are severe, researchers said in background notes. To get a more accurate picture, researchers reviewed data from 79 studies involving more than 21,000 patients. Looking at all the data, the researchers found that about a third (31%) of people who stopped taking an antidepressant experienced at least one symptom. These symptoms could include dizziness, headache, nausea, insomnia and irritability. The overall data also showed that severe symptoms occurred in about 3% of patients, or 1 in 35. However, when looking at results from randomized controlled clinical… read on > read on >

Despite recent concerns that taking Ozempic, Wegovy or other GLP-1 medications might be unsafe before a surgery, a new review has uncovered no such danger. The issue arose because weight-loss drugs slow gastric emptying. The thought was that food might linger in the stomach so patients might be at higher risk of aspirating food particles and choking while under anesthesia. But a new review of data from 15 randomized studies found only a minimal change in gastric emptying among GLP-1 users, not enough to pose any danger during surgery. “While GLP-1 medications affect gastrointestinal tract motility [movement], their quantified impact may not be as significant as previously assumed,” said study senior author Dr. Walter Chan. “It appears safe to continue these medications before a procedure requiring anesthesia or sedation, with minor precautions like abstaining from solid food for a day to minimize any potential risk of aspiration,” said Chan, who directs the Center of Gastrointestinal Motility at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. His team published its findings in the June issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology. As the researchers explained, guidelines around GLP-1 use prior to a surgery are mixed. The American Society of Anesthesiologists recommends that patients stop taking GLP-1 medications for up to a week before elective surgeries and procedures. On the other hand, the American Gastroenterological Association suggests proceeding with… read on > read on >

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Tuesday voted against recommending the psychedelic MDMA for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In a 10-1 vote, the panel determined the evidence amassed so far fails to show the controversial drug’s benefits outweigh its risks, the Associated Press reported. During the meeting, panel members pointed to flawed study data and significant drug risks, including the potential for heart problems, injury and abuse. “It seems like there are so many problems with the data — each one alone might be OK, but when you pile them on top of each other … there’s just a lot of questions I would have about how effective the treatment is,” Dr. Melissa Decker Barone, a psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs, said during the meeting, the AP reported. The FDA is expected to make a final decision by August, but the panel’s vote could bolster the agency’s reasoning for rejecting the treatment, the AP reported. MDMA is the first in a series of psychedelics — including LSD and psilocybin — that are expected to come before the FDA for review in the next few years, the AP reported. But on Tuesday, the FDA advisers pointed to flawed studies that could have skewed the results on MDMA, missing follow-up data on patient outcomes and a lack of diversity among participants.… read on > read on >

Military veterans often struggle with their mental health once their service ends, but the first clinical trial of its kind has found that having a service dog helps lower the risk of PTSD for these former soldiers. Veterans paired with a service dog had 66% lower odds of a PTSD diagnosis, compared to a control group of vets still waiting for a service dog, researchers reported June 4 in the journal JAMA Network Open. These vets also experienced lower anxiety and depression levels, as well as improvements in most areas of emotional and social well-being, researchers found. “This research reinforces what we have been studying for almost a decade — that service dogs are linked to significant benefits for many veterans suffering from PTSD and other invisible wounds of war,” said lead researcher Maggie O’Haire, associate dean for research at the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine. “Service dogs are more than pets — they can be essential partners in helping veterans readjust and thrive after they return from service,” O’Haire said. For the study, researchers tracked more than 150 military veterans over three months. Vets received their dogs through the program K9s For Warriors, the nation’s largest provider of trained service dogs for military veterans. Most of the dogs provided by K9s For Warriors are rescues, researchers noted. The program trains them, on… read on > read on >