Health Newsletter:July 2007
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Contents |
[edit] Waist Line Reduction Scores In Health Prevention
To women waist measurement has always been of importance. Increased waist measurement and weight gain go hand in hand, and a poor fitting garment in the waist usually signals to cut out the junk food. In the past century extremely tiny waists became an unhealthy obsession, till common sense got the upper hand. In the past males seemed to be unperturbed by a large girth and often ridiculed the opposite sex about their preoccupation with their waist lines. With more knowledge about the intricate play of metabolism increased waist circumference is a signal to health problems. It may be that a simple measuring tape can be one of the most helpful tools to predict a group of health problems in males. While type 2 diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol and triglycerides are the problems that would first come to mind, there are more, namely coronary artery disease, prostate enlargement, a high prostate-specific-antigen level, erectile dysfunction and ejaculatory dysfunction. Dr. Steven Kaplan, professor of urology at Cornell University, New York presented a study at the American Urological Association. Men with moderate to severe urinary tract symptoms were divided into groups based on their waist sizes, 30 to 34.9 inches (= 76-89 cm), 35 to 39.9 inches (=89-101 cm) and greater than 40 inches (= 102 cm). Results surprised even the researchers. Metabolic disorders like diabetes showed an incidence of 11.25% in the first group, 22.3 % in the next higher group and 37.8% in the group with waistlines over 40 inches. Erectile dysfunction was seen in 34.6%, 49.5% and 78.6 % respectively. The percentiles for hypertension showed 12.6% in the first group, versus 24.7% and 37.8 %. The researchers stressed that male pelvic dysfunction and the derailment of metabolic function, also known as the “metabolic syndrome” are closely linked.
Comments: It is interesting to note that there were essentially three dose response curves obtained for three different clinical conditions. The fact that all of them seem to increase at the same rate (=have more or less the same slope) would suggest that the three conditions have a common underlying cause. With regard to hypertension and diabetes we know from other medical literature that the metabolic changes associated with the metabolic syndrome are the underlying condition. What is new are the findings of the authors of this study that showed that erectile dysfunction is also highly influenced by the same metabolic changes.
Dr. Kaplan at the Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association, Anaheim/Calif., June 22, 2007
[edit] Incense Use Causes Cancer Of The Respiratory System
Incense use has been common in East Asia for a long time, but also in the Western world incense burning is not uncommon. It became very much "in" to burn incense sticks to create a certain "atmosphere" in a room. Incense burning during religious celebrations in some churches is a custom that goes back well over 1000 years. It is easy enough to observe, how a cloud of incense triggers a chorus of coughing and clearing of throats in a church ceremony. It has never been a laughing matter to people who suffer of allergies and asthma, as incense smoke –just like any other smoke- is a source of airway irritation. But a bit of a cough and airway irritation are the smaller problems that long term incense use has in store. A study involving 61,320 Singapore Chinese showed that long term users had more than twice the relative risk of non-nasopharyngeal cancers of the upper respiratory tract, compared with people who did not use incense. The risk of squamous cell carcinomas of the lung rose 1.7 fold and the risk of squamous cell carcinomas of the entire respiratory tract rose 1.8-fold among long-term incense users, wrote Dr. Fribourg and his colleagues of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis who conducted the study. The participants in the study were 45 to 75 years old and free of cancer when they enrolled in the study from 1993 to 1998.Living conditions, life style and dietary factors were examined and results were adjusted for a host of factors, such as cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, gender differences, and intake of Chinese preserved food. The researchers also noted that incense burning is deeply engrained into the way of daily living in Southeast Asia. About half of the population burns incense at home every day. Incense smoke contains a large amount of particular matter and the burning releases many possible carcinogens including polyaromatic hydrocarbons, carbonyls and benzene.
Dr. Jeppe T. Friborg at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research at Los Angeles, June 21, 2007
[edit] Regular Exercise Will Delay Onset Of Alzheimer’s Or Dementia
Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia have become a disease that is dreaded by people approaching middle age. As the population ages it has made its way into the foreground not only for the ageing group but also for younger family members who will face difficult tasks as caregivers to their loved ones. Research is dealing with a possibility of halting the disease progression, and there are encouraging signs, that more effective treatment will be available, as long as the condition is diagnosed and treated in its early stages. It is also logical to look at preventative measures. Healthy lifestyle choices have been cited, and a closer look has been taken by Dr. Eric Larson, executive director of the Center for Health Studies of the Group Health Cooperative, Seattle. He reports that it does at this point not seem probable that Alzheimer’s dementia can always be prevented from happening, but the onset of Alzheimer's can be delayed. Four observational studies have shown with consistency, a 30% to 40% reduction in the incidence of Alzheimer’s when people get regular exercise. In his own study Dr. Larson looked at 2581 individuals age 65 and over. They were tested for cognitive function and interviewed about their exercise habits every two years. It was found that those who followed an exercise regime 3 or four times per week had a 40 % reduction in the risk of developing dementia compared to those who exercised less than 3 times per week. Exercise could consist of at least 15 minutes of hiking, aerobics, stretching, calisthenics, water aerobics, swimming, or weight training. It was also of interest to note that people with the lowest physical performance still benefited most from the exercise. For people in the higher age bracket prevention of dementia (and other ills) does not have to be costly. A good pair of walking or running shoes (used more than 3 times per week) will pay a healthy dividend.
Dr. Eric B. Larson at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society, Seattle on Junev 28, 2007
[edit] Asthma And Bronchitis From Exposure To Chlorinated Water In Infancy
Every new parent has the wish to stimulate infants in healthy development. Children’s programs are plentiful, whether they involve gymnastics and dance or toddlers' play. It is no surprise that swimming classes are also offered, and parents are not only looking at the water fun but also at water safety. They want the best for their baby and make use of swim groups that are offered for babies and infants. It turns out that it may be better to hold off on putting baby into swim classes at the public indoor pool. The water is fine, but the chlorination is the problem. It is common to see an irritation of the eyes due to chlorination, but data reported in the June issue of Pediatrics described findings from a group of 341 school children age 10 to 13, 13% of whom had participated in infant swimming programs, pointing to damaging effects on the respiratory organs. Among others the respiratory condition of these children was assessed. The infant swimming group had signs of so-called Clara cell damage and changed permeability of the lining of the lung. The group that had been enrolled in infant swim groups also had significantly elevated odds of having chest tightness, physician-diagnosed asthma and exercise-induced airway constriction. The problems were aggravated even more, if the children were exposed to parental smoking. The researchers concluded that infant swim practice in chlorinated indoor swimming pools is associated with airway changes that along with other factors can predispose children to the development of asthma and recurrent bronchitis. More research is recommended to examine the effects of chlorination products on the infant respiratory tract.
Pediatrics June 2007;119:1095-1103
[edit] Estrogen In Early Menopause Saves Lives
In the June 21, 2007 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine a randomized study of 8.7 year duration examined the question whether postmenopausal women following hysterectomy would have a higher risk with estrogen replacement therapy than controls who did not take estrogen therapy. The lead author was Dr. JoAnn E. Manson of Harvard Medical School and the method chosen to examine the heart disease risk was a CT scan of the heart measuring calcium in plaque of coronary arteries. Previous research had shown a good correlation of calcification of coronary arteries with the degree of hardening of coronary arteries as shown in this image. Various dosages of estrogen were used and overall there was a reduction of calcium scores in all of the groups ranging from 22% to 31% when the calcium scores of the estrogen treated patients were compared to the non treated controls. This translated into 36% to 64% less heart attack rates when the treated groups were compared to the controls not treated with estrogen. The discussion regarding estrogen replacement therapy following menopause is not finished, but women can be reassured that the cardiovascular risk appears to not be as straight forward as research seemed to suggest in the recent past. There likely was a bias in previous retrospective studies and the present prospective study is much stronger having been done over 8.7 years following randomization. As this study was done on patients who had previous hysterectomies, there was no concern about uterine cancer. Breast cancer risk was not examined in this study.
The authors concluded that low dose estrogen replacement with 0.625mg of conjugated estrogen appears to be safe and has the most beneficial effect on coronary artery health when taken between the ages of 50 and 59. However, the authors also cautioned that estrogen would have multiple effects and may have negative effects on the cardiovascular system in some other way.
N Engl J Med. 2007;356:2591-2602
