Heart Disease Prevention - Climb Stairs To Prevent Heart Disease

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Heart Disease Prevention - Climb Stairs To Prevent Heart Disease

Higher Risk of Hip Fracture for Asian Diabetics!

A diabetic is one whose blood sugar is high either because the body does not produce enough insulin or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. Diabetes can damage one’s eyes, kidneys and nerves. It can also lead to heart disease, stroke and even limb amputation.

In Asia, researchers from National University of Singapore (NUS) have also found that there is a link between diabetes and osteoporosis, which is the thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density over time. The data obtained in the study showed that Asians with diabetes experience an increased risk of osteoporotic hip fracture, just like the diabetics in the West.

This is the first Asian study on the correlation between diabetes and osteoporosis, and its findings, which were published in May 2010 in ‘Diabetes Care’, a journal by the American Diabetes Association, were identical to the combined results of 11 previous studies done in the West.

Using the Singapore Chinese Health Study, a cohort study of more than 63,000 Chinese aged between 45 and 74 years, researchers examined the link between the 2 conditions. Established between 1993 and 1998, the study followed the participants for 12 years. Interviews were used to get the diabetes status and the number of hip fractures was identified through a nationwide hospital discharge database.

There was significantly more women had hip fractures: out of about 1,200 cases of hip fracture, there were 871 women, compared to 342 men. Meanwhile, the risk of hip fracture among people with diabetes was found to be twice that among those without diabetes.

While the participants were all Chinese, the researchers confirmed that the link so found could also exist across different populations with varying lifestyle or genetic make-up. In other words, the results in the study will apply to Malays and Indians too.

It is hoped that the findings could alarm the public so that doctors who manage diabetes and diabetic patients themselves will test for osteoporosis early to cut down the risk of hip fracture.

Can Peer Pressure Prevent Youngsters From Smoking?

Being bad for our health, smoking has been accused as the culprit that causes heart disease, osteoporosis, stroke, and lung cancers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), smoking kills about 4 million people every year, and some health experts even estimate the deaths from smoking worldwide would exceed 10 million by 2020.

A 2006 study indicated that 9.5 percent of worldwide students aged between 13 and 15 smoke cigarettes and those from European countries accounted for the highest rate at 19.1 percent.

As compared to using traditional posters, advertisements and comic strips to tell young people about the harmful effects of smoking, British researchers found that enrolling an influential student to convey the anti-smoking message to their schoolmates could be a feasible way of getting youngsters to stay away from smoking.

Researchers from the University of Bristol, western England, and Cardiff University in Wales carried out a project known as ASSIST to cover 59 schools in western England and Wales, involving 11,000 students aged between 12 and 13. Their findings were published on May 10, 2008 in the British journal The Lancet.

The researchers implemented the peer-pressure project, known as ASSIST in 30 schools while asked the remaining 29 schools to carry out their normal anti-smoking education to act as control group.

The students were first asked to nominate influential schoolmates in their year group. These individuals were then invited to a recruitment meeting where the researchers explained the purpose of being a 'peer supporter.'

After getting consent from their parents, these peer supporters participated in a 2-day training session held outside the school. The risks of smoking and the economic benefits of stopping were made known to them. Meanwhile, they were also taught the skills in communication, conflict negotiation and resolution and understanding self-esteem.

The training continued and was beefed up in 4 school-based sessions. Over the following 10 weeks, the 'peer supporters' began to interact with and disseminate the benefits of not smoking to the peers in their year group.

Students in schools where the ASSIST program was tried were 25 percent less likely to engage in regular smoking immediately after the intervention, as compared with the control group. However, the success rate gradually lowered over time, and the reduction was 15 percent after 2 years.

The ASSIST program was said to be popular among students and staffs in the schools where it was tried and the researchers pointed out that their results did support a shift in thinking on how to tackle smoking. For the past, anti-smoking campaigns have been targeted at cessation rather than prevention, and have been focused mainly on adults instead of youngsters.

How is Sunshine Vitamin Related to Heart Disease Prevention?

Vitamin-D is produced in the body when our skin is exposed to sunlight. That is why people also name it as ‘sunshine vitamin’. It can be found in milk and in fatty fish like salmon. It helps absorb calcium, and it is considered important for bone health. A deficiency of Vitamin-D can lead to osteoporosis for adults, and rickets in children.

Researchers from the University of Graz in Austria reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine on June 23, 2008 that people without enough Vitamin-D are at a higher risk of dying sooner than those with a higher amount of Vitamin-D.

As suggested by the Austrian researchers, the death rates from heart disease as well as any other causes varied greatly depending on Vitamin-D. Being considered as the latest to associate health benefits with Vitamin-D, the study showed that Vitamin-D did affect mortality irrespective of the first primary reason for death.

More than 3,200 people with an average age of 62 were involved in the study. These participants were scheduled for a heart examination between 1997 and 2000. During the 8-year follow-up program, the researchers found that the quarter of volunteers with the lowest levels of Vitamin-D were more likely to have died.

The risk was doubled for people with between 5 to 10 nanograms per milliliter of Vitamin-D in their blood, even after taking into account of heart disease, exercise and other conditions.

The study did not highlight what causes this effect, but a number of recent studies have already suggested that Vitamin-D might protect against cancer, peripheral artery disease and tuberculosis. In fact, United States researchers indicated just a week earlier (mid June 2008) that Vitamin-D might extend the lives of people who had colon and rectal cancer.

A consensus among doctors is that people should have at least 20 to 30 nanograms per milliliter of Vitamin-D in their blood. Most people, however, just do not have enough of it. People with low levels of Vitamin-D cannot make up for it safely just by sitting in the sun. Instead, they have to take supplements.

The new findings should prod doctors to be more aware of the problem, especially for those immobile, elderly and others who spend a great deal of time indoors. Meanwhile, the researchers also hope that the results would prompt people to perform measurements on Vitamin-D more frequently, especially for those populations at risk.

Why Should Excessive Salt Intake Be Discouraged?

Sodium is the major component (about 40%) of salt (sodium chloride). It is essential for cell function as it maintains the electrolyte balance in the body, which regulates the flow of fluids such as water and blood.

Regular consumption of excessive salt intake will lead to hypertension in the long run. Based on the prevailing rate of salt intake, average blood pressure is expected to hike by about 6 mmHg over a 10-year period. For 30 years, it will be 18 mmHg (6 x 3). If the starting systolic pressure is 120 mmHg when you are 20 years old, then your blood pressure will be 138 mmHg by the time you are 50.

Hypertension is likely to raise the risk of coronary heart disease, too. Other possible medical complications include kidney problems, loss of calcium through urine which will cause osteoporosis and higher risk of fractures. Chances of stomach cancer will also be higher, according to research.