Latest Health Research - health news

Youth Football

Ways to reduce head impacts in youth football

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 5 minutes ago

The high head impact and concussion rates in football are of increasing concern, especially for younger players. Recent research has shown that limiting contact in football practice can reduce the number of head impacts. But what is the correct formula to lessen exposure while still developing the skills necessary to safely play the game? To find out, researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine, a part of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, conducted a study that compared head impact exposure (HIE) in practice drills among six youth football teams and evaluated the effect of ind... more »

 

 

Head impacts, changes in eye function in high school football players

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 22 hours ago

Head impacts in youth sports, even when they don't cause symptoms of concussion, are a public health concern because these so-called subconcussive head impacts may result in long-term neurological issues if they are sustained repeatedly. This study looked at changes in measurements of near point of convergence (NPC), which is the distance from your eyes to where both eyes can focus without double vision, in 12 high school football players at 14 different times during a season. The NPC measurement matters because it has been shown to detect damage to neurons before symptoms appear.... more »

 

New findings on concussion in football's youngest players

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

New research from Seattle Children's Research Institute and UW Medicine's Sports Health and Safety Institute found concussion rates among football players ages 5-14 were higher than previously reported, with five out of every 100 youth, or 5%, sustaining a football-related concussion each season. Published in the *Journal of Pediatrics*, the study summarizes the research team's key findings from data collected during two, 10-week fall seasons in partnership with the Northwest Junior Football League (NJFL). Licensed athletic trainers from Seattle Children's treated and recorded conc... more »

 

Diet

Getting the most out of spinach -- maximizing the antioxidant lutein

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 7 minutes ago

Eat your spinach in the form of a smoothie or juice - this is the best way to obtain the antioxidant lutein, according to research from Linköping University, Sweden. High levels of lutein are found in dark green vegetables, and researchers at the university have compared different ways of preparing fresh spinach in order to maximise the levels of lutein in finished food. The findings are published in the journal *Food Chemistry*. Many people with atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries) have low-grade, chronic inflammation that can be measured in the blood. This inflammation is l... more »

Statins are more effective for those who follow the Mediterranean diet

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 11 minutes ago

For those who have already had a heart attack or a stroke, the combination of statins and Mediterranean Diet appears to be the most effective choice to reduce the risk of mortality, especially from cardiovascular causes. It is the result of an Italian study conducted at the I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy on over 1,000 adults recruited in the Moli-sani Study, published in the *International Journal of Cardiology*. The traditional Mediterranean diet is rich in fruit, vegetables, legumes, cereals, olive oil, wine in moderation, fish and low in meat and dairy products "We found ... more »

 

How calorie content makes you rethink food choices

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 22 hours ago

Hold the fries! [image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *A cheeseburger, French fries and cherry cheesecake were among types of food images included in the study. (These are not the actual images the researchers used). view more Credit: Photo courtesy of Pixabay http://bit.ly/2BDcjLl Seeing pictures of food with calorie information not only makes food less appetizing but it also appears to change the way your brain responds to the food, according to a Dartmouth-led study published in *PLOS ONE*. When food images appeared with the calorie content, the brain sh... more »

 

Alcoholic beverages are migraine triggers

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago

In a *European Journal of Neurology* study of 2,197 patients who experience migraines, alcoholic beverages were reported as a trigger by 35.6 percent of participants. Additionally, more than 25 percent of migraine patients who had stopped consuming or never consumed alcoholic beverages did so because of presumed trigger effects. Wine, especially red wine (77.8 percent of participants), was recognized as the most common trigger among the alcoholic beverages; however, red wine consistently led to an attack in only 8.8 percent of participants. Time of onset was rapid (less than three h... more »

Moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with fewer hospitalizations

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

A study of the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention of I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed (Pozzilli, Italy), in collaboration with the Department of Nutrition of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Boston), highlights that people who consume alcohol moderately (one glass of wine a day), in the general framework of Mediterranean diet principles, have a lower risk of being hospitalized compared to heavier drinkers, but also to the teetotallers. The research, published in the scientific journal *Addiction*, involved 21,000 participants in the Moli-sani epidemiological study, followe... more »

Large restaurant portions a global problem

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *Calorie content from fast food and full service meals in six countries view more Credit: Tufts University BOSTON (Dec. 12, 2018, 6:30 p.m. ET)--A new multi-country study finds that large, high-calorie portion sizes in fast food and full service restaurants is not a problem unique to the United States. An international team of researchers found that 94 percent of full service meals and 72 percent of fast food meals studied in five countries contained 600 calories or more. The study also found that meals from fast food restaurants contained 33 percent fewer c... more »

How Much Caffeine is Too Much?

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

[image: Red envelope icon]Subscribe: FDA Consumer Health Information Do you drink just one cup of coffee or tea first thing in the morning, hoping the caffeine in it will jump-start your day? Do you follow it up with a caffeinated beverage or two and then drink several more cups of coffee throughout the day? Does it matter? According to scientists at the FDA, caffeine can be part of a healthy diet for most people, but too much caffeine may pose a danger to your health. Depending on factors such as body weight, medications you may take, and individual sensitivity, “too much” can vary... more »

Food cravings can be reduced

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

------------------------------ Food craving, the intense desire to eat certain foods, can sabotage efforts to maintain healthy eating habits and body weight, no matter the time of year. However, an examination of 28 current peer-reviewed scientific studies largely substantiates findings that changes in diet, prescription medications, physical activity and bariatric surgery reduce craving, said Candice Myers, PhD, assistant professor -- research at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center. "Craving influences what people eat and their body weight, but there are some components of ... more »

Aging

In just 6 months, exercise may help those with thinking problems

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago

Getting the heart pumping with aerobic exercise, like walking or cycling for 35 minutes three times a week, may improve thinking skills in older adults with cognitive impairments, according to a study published in the December 19, 2018, online issue of *Neurology*®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. After six months of exercise, study participants' scores on thinking tests improved by the equivalent of reversing nearly nine years of aging. The study looked at people who had cognitive impairments without dementia, which is defined as having difficulty concent... more »

Mind-body exercises may improve cognitive function as adults age

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago

Mind-body exercises--especially tai chi and dance mind-body exercise--are beneficial for improving global cognition, cognitive flexibility, working memory, verbal fluency, and learning in older adults. The findings come from a meta-analysis of all relevant published studies. The *Journal of the American Geriatrics Society* analysis included 32 randomized controlled trials with 3,624 older adults with or without cognitive impairment. The investigators noted that mind-body exercise, as a therapy that combines mental concentration, breathing control, and body movement, is beneficial fo... more »

Dancing may help older women maintain the ability to perform daily tasks

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago

A new study published in the *Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports* examined the potential effects of 16 different exercise types for reducing disability for activities of daily living (ADL) in older women. The prospective study enrolled 1,003 community-dwelling older Japanese women without ADL disability at the start. In the baseline survey, all participants were asked whether or not they participated in any of 16 exercise types through a face-to-face interview. ADL disability during eight years of follow-up was defined as dependence in at least one ADL task (walk... more »

Study links nutrients in blood to better brain connectivity, cognition in older adults

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 day ago

A new study links higher levels of several key nutrients in the blood with more efficient brain connectivity and performance on cognitive tests in older adults. The study, reported in the journal *NeuroImage*, looked at 32 key nutrients in the Mediterranean diet, which previous research has shown is associated with better brain function in aging. It included 116 healthy adults 65-75 years of age. "We wanted to investigate whether diet and nutrition predict cognitive performance in healthy older adults," said University of Illinois postdoctoral researcher Christopher Zwilling, who ... more »

Serious loneliness spans the adult lifespan but there is a silver lining

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 days ago

In recent years, public health officials have warned about a rising epidemic of loneliness, with rates of loneliness reportedly doubling over the past 50 years. In a new study, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine put a specific, concerning and surprising face to the issue. Publishing in the December 18 online issue of *International Psychogeriatrics*, a team led by Dilip Jeste, MD, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences and director of the UC San Diego Center for Healthy Aging, found that moderate to severe loneliness persisted acr... more »

Weight change in middle-aged and elderly = increased mortality risk

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 days ago

Both moderate-to-large weight gain and weight loss, defined as a change of 10% or more in weight, among middle-aged and elderly Chinese Singaporeans are linked to increased risk of death, particularly from cardiovascular disease, and between them, weight loss was associated with higher risk than weight gain. Furthermore, excessive weight loss increased risk among participants who were overweight or obese to start with, and excessive weight gain might increase risk even among participants with low or normal body mass index at baseline. Nested in the Singapore Chinese Health Study, t... more »

In older people, type 2 diabetes is associated with a decline in brain function over 5 years

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

FULL STORY ------------------------------ New research published in *Diabetologia* (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) shows that in older people living in the community, type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with a decline in verbal memory and fluency over 5 years. However, contrary to previous studies, the decrease in brain volume often found in older people with T2D was not found to be directly associated with cognitive decline during this time period. Yet compared with people without T2D, those with T2D had evidence of greater brain atrophy at... more »

Study shows benefits of sex for older adults

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

A new study published in the journal *Sexual Medicine* indicates that sexual activity is associated with improved wellbeing amongst older adults, measured through higher enjoyment of life scores. Led by Dr Lee Smith from Anglia Ruskin University and Dr Sarah Jackson from UCL, the study involved analysing survey data from 6,879 older adults, with an average age of 65, living in England. It found that older men and women who reported any type of sexual activity in the previous 12 months had a higher life enjoyment score than those who were not sexually active. For older women, a gre... more »

An intellectually active lifestyle protects against neurodegeneration in Huntington's

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

Researchers from the Cognition and Brain Plasticity research group of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the University of Barcelona (UB), in collaboration with several hospitals, have discovered that an intellectually active lifestyle confers protection against neurodegeneration in people with Huntington's disease, delaying the onset of symptoms and loss of grey matter in the brain. The research, led by Dr. Estela Càmara and doctoral researcher Clara García Gorro, helps to understand the factors related to the differences in symptoms among patients with this... more »

Hearing loss is a risk factor for premature death

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

A new study links hearing loss with an increased risk for mortality before the age of 75 due to cardiovascular disease. Researchers at the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that mortality among those with hearing loss is elevated, particularly among men and women younger than age 75 and those who are divorced or separated. However, mortality risk was diminished in adults with a well-hearing partner. This is the first study to investigate the combined effects of hearing loss with partnership, parental status, and incre... more »

Regular trips out guard against depression in old age

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

Regular visits to the cinema, theatre or to museums could dramatically reduce the chances of becoming depressed in older age a new study has found. Researchers at University College London found a clear link between the frequency of 'cultural engagement' and the chances of someone over 50 developing depression. It is the first such study to show that cultural activities not only help people manage and recover from depression but can actually help to prevent it. Their study, published in the *British Journal of Psychiatry*, found people who attended films, plays or exhibitions every ... more »

 

Pregnancy and New Baby Care

Breast cancer protection from pregnancy starts decades later

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 3 days ago

In general, women who have had children have a lower risk of breast cancer compared to women who have never given birth. However, new research has found that moms don't experience this breast cancer protection until many years later and may face elevated risk for more than 20 years after their last pregnancy. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health, along with members of the international Premenopausal Breast Cancer Collaborative Group, found breast cancer risk increases in the years after a birth, with the highest risk of developing the disease about five years later. The f... more »

Breastfeeding for more than 6 months associated with smaller maternal waist circumference

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 3 days ago

Breastfeeding for more than 6 months was found to be independently associated with smaller waist circumference in the decade after delivery among women in the POUCHmoms Study. Pregnancy contributes to an accumulation of abdominal adiposity, which is an indicator of cardiometabolic dysfunction in later life. The complete findings regarding the relationship between breastfeeding duration and maternal central adiposity are reported in an article published in *Journal of Women's Health*, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Click here to read the full-tex... more »

How does diet during pregnancy impact allergies in offspring?

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 3 days ago

Pregnant women routinely swear off alcohol and tobacco to boost their chances of having a healthy baby. What about common food allergens like nuts and milk? There are scant data that describe how often pregnant women deliberately stop eating a specific food item in order to prevent future food allergies in their newborns. As a first step toward addressing this data gap, a research team led by Karen Robbins, M.D., an allergist at Children's National Health System, pored through a longitudinal study conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Contro... more »

 

Anxiety and depression

Looking on bright side may reduce anxiety, especially when money is tight

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 3 days ago

Trying to find something good in a bad situation appears to be particularly effective in reducing anxiety the less money a person makes, possibly because people with low incomes have less control over their environment, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. "Our research shows that socioeconomic status has a powerful effect on whether reframing a situation can reduce anxiety, both in the short term and the long term," said Claudia Haase, PhD, of Northwestern University and co-author of the study. "As social inequality continues to rise, it become... more »

Depression, anxiety may take same toll on health as smoking and obesity

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 3 days ago

An annual physical typically involves a weight check and questions about unhealthy habits like smoking, but a new study from UC San Francisco suggests health care providers may be overlooking a critical question: Are you depressed or anxious? Anxiety and depression may be leading predictors of conditions ranging from heart disease and high blood pressure to arthritis, headaches, back pain and stomach upset, having similar effects as long-established risk factors like smoking and obesity, according to the new research. In the study, first author Andrea Niles, PhD, and senior author... more

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Regular trips out guard against depression in old age

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

Regular visits to the cinema, theatre or to museums could dramatically reduce the chances of becoming depressed in older age a new study has found. Researchers at University College London found a clear link between the frequency of 'cultural engagement' and the chances of someone over 50 developing depression. It is the first such study to show that cultural activities not only help people manage and recover from depression but can actually help to prevent it. Their study, published in the *British Journal of Psychiatry*, found people who attended films, plays or exhibitions every ... more »

 

Supplements

Magnesium optimizes vitamin D status

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 4 days ago

A randomized trial by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers indicates that magnesium optimizes vitamin D status, raising it in people with deficient levels and lowering it in people with high levels. The study reported in the December issue of *The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition*is important because of controversial findings from ongoing research into the association of vitamin D levels with colorectal cancer and other diseases, including a recent report from the VITAL trial. It gave confirmation to a prior observational study in 2013 by the researchers that linked ... more »

 

 

General Health

Higher risk of heart attack on Christmas Eve

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

The risk of heart attack peaks at around 10pm on Christmas Eve, particularly for older and sicker people, most likely due to heightened emotional stress, finds a Swedish study in this week's Christmas issue of *The BMJ*. The risk was also higher during New Years' and Midsummer holidays, and on Monday mornings, but not during Easter holiday or major sport events. Previous studies have shown a peak in heart attacks across the western world during Christmas and New Year festivities, and during Islamic holidays in countries where the religion predominates. Other short term events linked ... more »

 

Your weight history may predict your heart failure risk

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *People with lifetime obesity like Mr. A are at a much higher risk of heart failure than the newly obese at an older age like Mr. B. Obesity at any... view more Credit: Johns Hopkins Medicine/Kristen West In a medical records analysis of information gathered on more than 6,000 people, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers conclude that simply asking older adult patients about their weight history at ages 20 and 40 could provide real value to clinicians in their efforts to predict patients' future risk of heart failure, heart attacks or strokes. In a report publi... more »

 

High-dose antipsychotics place children at increased risk of unexpected death

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

Children and young adults without psychosis who are prescribed high-dose antipsychotic medications are at increased risk of unexpected death, despite the availability of other medications to treat their conditions, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published today in *JAMA Psychiatry*. Unexpected death includes deaths due to unintentional drug overdose or cardiovascular/metabolic causes. In 2010, an estimated 1.3 million individuals 24 years of age or younger filled 7 million prescriptions, primarily for behavioral symptoms (such as ADHD), depression or bipo... more »

Work stress increases cancer risk

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

In an *International Journal of Cancer* study of data on more than 280,000 people from North America and Europe, work stress was associated with a significantly increased risk of colorectal, esophagus, and lung cancers. When looking more closely at the data, investigators observed a link between work stress and colorectal cancer in North America, but not in Europe. By contrast, a significant association between work stress and esophagus cancer was found in Europe, but not in N

 

 

 

 

Exercise

Sports compression stockings a winning advantage

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 22 hours ago

A scientist from James Cook University in Australia has found sports compression stockings are so effective they might be considered performance enhancers for soccer players. Associate Professor Anthony Leicht from JCU's Sport and Exercise Science discipline took part in a study that measured the fatigue levels of female soccer players with and without the tight-fitting stockings, which are designed to apply pressure to the lower legs and enhance blood circulation. "We found that compression stocking use during an amateur female soccer match positively influenced agility and lower l... more »

 

Physical activity in the evening does not cause sleep problems

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

[image: IMAGE] *IMAGE: *Moderate intensity exercise shortly before bedtime does not negatively affect sleep. At most, vigorous exercise close to bedtime might have a negative effect. Each symbol in this overview represents one... view more Credit: ETH Zurich / Jan Stutz Even among sleep researchers, it is a widely held belief that sleep quality can be improved by avoiding exercise in the evening. However, as researchers from the Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport at ETH Zurich have demonstrated, it is not generally true. The scientists combed through the literature on t... more »

 

 

Mindfulness training may help support weight loss Mindfulness

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 2 days ago

Mindfulness training may improve the effectiveness of intensive weight management programs, according to a small study published in the Endocrine Society's *Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism*. Individuals who participated in mindfulness training as part of an intensive weight management program lost more weight in six months than other program participants who did not attend mindfulness courses. The findings are the result of research from the University of Warwick and the Warwickshire Institute for the Study of Diabetes Endocrinology and Metabolism at University Hospit... more »

Massage helps ease arthritis pain, improve mobility

Jonathan KantrowitzatHealth News Report - 1 week ago

Patients with arthritis in their knees experienced significant improvement in pain and mobility after undergoing a weekly, whole-body massage for two months, according to a study led by researchers at Duke Health. The finding, appearing online in the *Journal of General Internal Medicine*, suggests that massage could offer a safe and effective complement to the management of knee osteoarthritis, at least in the short term. "Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of disability and affects more than 30 million people in America," said lead author Adam Perlman, M.D., program director of th... more »

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