September 30th, 2011 by RyanDuBosar in Research
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Married men who have no children have a 17% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease after the age of 50 than men with two or more children. But whether that’s because of a physical cause, a sociological effect or self-selection (sick people may choose not to have kids) isn’t known.
To determine if the number of kids predicts cardiovascular death, researchers used data from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study of nearly 135,000 men ages 50 to 71 without prior cardiovascular disease who were followed-up for an average of 10 years. That study mailed 3.5 million questionnaires from 1995 through 1996 to AARP members living in California, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Louisiana or in Atlanta or Detroit. Nearly 586,000 people returned the questionnaire, which underwent follow-up surveys in 1996-1997 and 2004-2006. Results appeared online Sept. 26 in the journal Human reproduction.
Almost all (92%) men had Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
September 13th, 2011 by PJSkerrett in Health Tips, True Stories
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It isn’t easy to get rid of a harmful habit like drinking too much, or to make healthy changes like losing weight and exercising more. Media stories about people who run marathons a year after surgery to bypass cholesterol-clogged arteries or who climb Mt. McKinley after being diagnosed with diabetes are interesting, but they don’t resonate with me. Mostly it’s because they often leave out the hard work needed to change and the backtracking that invariably accompanies it.
I ran across a truly inspiring story the other day in the American Journal of Health Promotion—one that shows how most of us ultimately manage to make changes that improve our lives. The journal’s founder and editor, Michael P. O’Donnell, wrote a moving essay about his father, Kevin O’Donnell. Once an overweight workaholic who smoked and drank heavily, ate mostly meat and potatoes, and didn’t exercise—and who eventually needed a double bypass—Kevin O’Donnell gradually made changes to improve his health. Now, at age 85, he has the cardiovascular system of a 65 year old and is working on a house-building project in North Korea.
How did Kevin O’Donnell engineer such a remarkable transformation? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
August 1st, 2011 by Glenn Laffel, M.D., Ph.D. in Opinion, Research
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For centuries, health providers have focused on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. This time-honored paradigm has generated phenomenal advances in medicine, especially during the last 60 years. It has also created a bit of an image problem for providers. That’s because the paradigm encourages consumers to perceive health care as a negative good; an economic term describing a bundle of products and services that we use because we must, not because we want to. Recent trends towards empowered consumers are a symptom of this problem more than a solution to it, as I described here.
Recently, the concept of Positive Health has emerged as a possible antidote for the malaise.
Pioneered by University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin Seligman, Positive Health encourages us to identify and promote positive health assets—which Seligman describes as strengths that contribute to a healthier, more fulfilling life and yes, improved life expectancy as well. According to Seligman, “people desire well-being in its own right and they desire it above and beyond the relief of their suffering.”
Proponents of Positive Health have proposed that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Pizaazz*
July 26th, 2011 by HarvardHealth in Health Tips, Research
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As if people with the combination of high blood pressure and heart disease don’t already have enough to worry about, a new study suggests that common painkillers called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) pose special problems for them.
Among participants of an international trial called INVEST, those who often used NSAIDs such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and others), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, and others), or celecoxib (Celebrex) were 47% more likely to have had a heart attack or stroke or to have died for any reason over three years of follow-up than those who used the drugs less, or not at all. The results were published in the July issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
Millions of people take NSAIDs to relieve pain and inflammation. They are generally safe and effective. The main worry with NSAIDs has always been upset stomach or gastrointestinal bleeding. During the last few years, researchers have raised concerns that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
November 5th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research
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With the daylight savings fall-back date for 2010 rapidly approaching (remember: “Spring forward, fall back” — which is this Sunday, November 7th, 2010), I’m reminded of some research I read a few years back suggesting a link between daylight savings and heart attack risk. The research suggested the Monday effect of increased heart attacks was not related to stress, but rather the sleep cycle.
When looked at from the daylight savings fall-back perspective, the research suggests the extra hour of sleep we gain from the November 7th, 2010 daylight savings fall-back date will be protective against heart attack risk. Good to know, especially if you’re the cardiologist on call the week following either date.
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
