Men With Insomnia And A Short Sleep Duration Have A Significantly Increased Risk Of Death

On September 6, 2010, in Medical Science, by Christopher Fisher, PhD
Man sleeping with headset on

A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP found an elevated risk of death in men, but not for women, with a complaint of chronic insomnia and an objectively measured short sleep duration. The results suggest that public health policy should emphasize the diagnosis and appropriate treatment of chronic insomnia.

Obesity And Diabetes Epidemics Continue To Grow In California

On September 2, 2010, in Health | Fitness, by Christopher Fisher, PhD
Cover of this month's UCLA Health Policy Brief

A majority of adults in California are obese or overweight, and more than 2 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Both conditions – which are related to each other as well as to heart disease – increased significantly in just six years, with the prevalence of diabetes alone jumping nearly 26 percent between 2001 and 2007.

Evolution May Have Pushed Humans Toward Greater Risk For Type-1 Diabetes

On August 29, 2010, in Medical Science, by Christopher Fisher, PhD
Researcher Atul Butte

Gene variants associated with an increased risk for type-1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis may confer previously unknown benefits to their human carriers, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. As a result, the human race may have evolved in the recent past to be more susceptible, rather than less, to some complex diseases, they conclude. The results were published Aug. 17 in Public Library of Science ONE. Check the end of this report for a link to download this open access article.

Overweight American Children And Adolescents Are Becoming Fatter

On August 19, 2010, in Health | Fitness, by Christopher Fisher, PhD
human weight scale

Overweight American children and adolescents have become fatter over the last decade, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and National Institute on Aging (NIA). They examined adiposity shifts across socio-demographic groups over time and found U.S. children and adolescents had significantly increased adiposity measures such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and triceps skinfold thickness (TST). The increases in adiposity were more pronounced in some sex-ethnic groups such as black girls.

Proposed Worldwide Policy Change To Increase Daily Vitamin D Intake

yellow fish oil supplements

Anthony Norman, a leading international expert in vitamin D, proposes worldwide policy changes regarding people’s vitamin D daily intake amount in order to maximize the vitamin’s contribution to reducing the frequency of many diseases, including childhood rickets, adult osteomalacia, cancer, autoimmune type-1 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity and muscle weakness.

Adolescents With Type 2 Diabetes Have Diminished Cognitive Performance And Brain Abnormalities

Ilustration of the major cortex subdivisions of the brain

A study by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have found that obese adolescents with type 2 diabetes have diminished cognitive performance and subtle abnormalities in the brain as detected by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Identification of cognitive impairments as a complication of type 2 diabetes emphasizes the importance of addressing issues of inactivity and obesity, two important risk factors for the development of the disease among the young. The study appeared online in the journal Diabetologia on July 30, 2010.

The Psychology Of Physical Healing

On August 4, 2010, in Mental Health, by Christopher Fisher, PhD
hand injury

People suffering from diabetes-related foot ulcers show different rates of healing according to the way they cope and their psychological state of mind, according to new research by a health psychologist at The University of Nottingham. The large study published in the journal Diabetologia this month has shown that the way patients cope with the condition and their level of depression, affect how the wound heals or worsens.

Ingredient In Red Wine May Prevent Some Blinding Diseases

On June 28, 2010, in Public Health, by Christopher Fisher, PhD
Retina Vessels

Resveratrol – found in red wine, grapes, blueberries, peanuts and other plants – stops out-of-control blood vessel growth in the eye, according to vision researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The discovery has implications for preserving vision in blinding eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, the leading [...]

Overweight Girls Who Lose Weight Reduce Adult Diabetes Risk

On May 28, 2010, in Health | Fitness, by Christopher Fisher, PhD
Women Who Lost Weight

Overweight girls who lose weight before they reach adulthood greatly reduced their risk for developing type 2 diabetes, according to researchers from the National Institutes of Health and Harvard University, who analyzed 16 years of data on nearly 110,000 women.

Parental Physical Inactivity Influences Their Children

On May 26, 2010, in Health | Fitness, by Christopher Fisher, PhD
child watching television

Children are more likely to watch high levels of television if their parents do, but parents do not need to be physically active to help their children to be active, a new study has found. The paper, Parent and child physical activity and sedentary time: Do active parents foster active children? by Dr Russell Jago [...]

Trauma-Induced Changes To Genes May Lead To PTSD

On May 16, 2010, in PTSD, by Christopher Fisher, PhD
DNA

A study by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health suggests that traumatic experiences “biologically embed” themselves in select genes, altering their functions and leading to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “Our findings suggest a new biological model of PTSD in which alteration of genes, induced by a traumatic event, changes [...]

Taking Steps To Reduce Risk Of Metabolic Syndrome

On May 12, 2010, in Public Health, by Christopher Fisher, PhD
Walking

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is made up of unhealthy cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors including abdominal obesity, high levels of triglycerides, low level of HDL-cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and elevated fasting glucose level as defined by the American Heart Association / National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI). According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination [...]

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