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Source: NHS News Feed
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Total 75 results found since Jan 2013.
HRT increases ovarian cancer risk by small amount
Conclusion
This systematic review and meta-analysis showed that ovarian cancer risk was significantly increased in current HRT users, even in those with less than five years of HRT use (the average was three years). In ex-users, risks decreased the longer ago HRT use had stopped, but risks during the first few years after stopping remained significant. Furthermore, about a decade after stopping, long-duration hormone therapy use (average nine years of HRT use), there still seemed to be a small excess risk.
The review has a few limitations, however. The main one is that the review was heavily influenced by just two of t...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 13, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Medication Older people Source Type: news
Over two hours screen time a day may raise a child’s blood pressure
Conclusion
The study found a worryingly high incidence of high blood pressure in children of just over 10%, instead of the expected 5%. It also found that low levels of physical activity and high levels of “screen time” raised the risk.
Although researchers adjusted their analysis for a range of other factors which might affect blood pressure (called confounders), it is always possible that other unmeasured factors could have affected the results. In addition, the study was reliant on parental estimates of the amount of sedentary behaviour their children had per day, which may be an over- or underestimate. Wearing the ...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 26, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Pregnancy/child Source Type: news
Over two hours screen time a day may raise a child's blood pressure
Conclusion
The study found a worryingly high incidence of high blood pressure in children of just over 10%, instead of the expected 5%. It also found that low levels of physical activity and high levels of “screen time” raised the risk.
Although researchers adjusted their analysis for a range of other factors which might affect blood pressure (called confounders), it is always possible that other unmeasured factors could have affected the results. In addition, the study was reliant on parental estimates of the amount of sedentary behaviour their children had per day, which may be an over- or underestimate. Wearing the ...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 26, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Pregnancy/child Source Type: news
Healthy diet could cut risk of Alzheimer's disease
ConclusionThe study found people who ate a healthy diet – with plenty of green vegetables, wholegrains, legumes and less red meat – may be less likely to get Alzheimer's disease. However, we should be wary of saying that their diet actually protected them from Alzheimer's, as it is a complex disease with many potential causes.The main limitation is that observational studies cannot prove causation, even when researchers take care, as they did here, to include factors that we know affect disease risk. It's also notable that the researchers excluded dementia, other than Alzheimer's disease, from their calculations. It wo...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 31, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Neurology Source Type: news
No such thing as baby brain, study argues
Conclusion
The researchers conclude that although the pregnant women reported memory problems, these did not show up on their tests. However, this does not take into account their pre-pregnancy ability. The women may have performed better before they got pregnant, which is why they are now reporting memory problems. None of these women were tested before they got pregnant, which is the major limitation of the study.
The researchers say that because there were a similar number of students in each group, the women in the control group was a good enough representation of how the pregnant women would have performed pre-pregna...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 8, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Mental health Neurology Pregnancy/child Source Type: news
Five-year 'death test' for older adults launched online
Conclusion
This large study has identified numerous risk factors associated with a person's risk of death within five years. Researchers used this information to develop an online tool that predicts someone's risk of death within the next five years. The study's strengths include its large sample size and the prospective nature of the study design.
But there are some limitations. There may be some bias in the type of people who volunteered to take part. The death rate was lower than that of the average population in this age group, which may indicate that the participants were more interested in their health and so had he...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 4, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Cancer Lifestyle/exercise Medical practice Source Type: news
Half a handful of nuts a day 'reduces early death risk'
Conclusion
This Dutch cohort of middle-aged to elderly adults generally found people were less likely to die in the following 10 years if they ate a small number of nuts a day compared with none.
The study has strengths in its large sample size and that cause of death was followed up for the full cohort using valid medical codes.
However, there are various points to bear in mind before we jump to the conclusion that nuts are the magic ingredient that will slash our risk of death.
No clear trends
It is difficult to draw any clear interpretations about how nut consumption may be associated with risk of death overall or fr...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 12, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Cancer Heart/lungs Diabetes Source Type: news
Is there really a middle-class drinking 'epidemic' in over-50s?
Conclusion
This study showed that higher-risk drinking was linked to a number of factors the researchers described as "middle-class", like higher educational attainment, being socially active and good ratings of health.
Professor Jose Iparraguirre, author of the research, said in the Guardian: "Because this group is typically healthier than other parts of the older population, they might not realise that what they are doing is putting their health in danger".
There are a few reasons to be cautious with these findings.
The study produced a lot of results, so there is a risk some were chance findings. Thi...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 24, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Older people Food/diet Source Type: news
The idea you can be fat but fit is 'a myth' study argues
ConclusionThis was a large prospective cohort study from Sweden, which was carried out in young adult males who were then followed for a period of around 29 years. The study found that lower levels of aerobic fitness were associated with risk of early death, but that this risk of death was greater for those with a high BMI, even if they had a high level of aerobic fitness. This study has a number of strengths and limitations. The limitations are that a large number of participants had missing smoking data and therefore it was not possible to control for the confounding effect of smoking. The lower fitness level group with...
Source: NHS News Feed - December 21, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Obesity Source Type: news
'Netflix and kill?' Binge watching box-sets linked to blood clots
Conclusion
This study used data from a large Japanese cohort study to assess the link between the number of hours spent watching the television and the risk of death from pulmonary embolism.
The study found that a greater number of hours watching the television increased the risk of death from pulmonary embolism.
The main strength of this study is the very large sample size and long follow-up periods. However, there are a number of limitations:
this study design is not able to prove cause and effect, so while there appears to be a link, we cannot be sure the cause of mortality is from television watching
even thoug...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 26, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news
'Want to live longer? Try racquet sports', recommends study
Conclusion
The overall conclusion we can take from this study is that taking part in sport or fitness activities is linked to a lower chance of death in a given period.
It's encouraging to see that a wide range of popular activities, including swimming, aerobics and cycling, are likely to be beneficial.
But we should be wary about comparing the types of different sports against each other. They weren't directly compared in the study and there may be reasons why results for some activities, such as football and running, were found to be statistically non-significant (potentially down to chance).
Statistician Professor David...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 30, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Older people Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Daily diet of fresh fruit linked to lower diabetes risk
Conclusion
The study findings – that eating fresh fruit every day does not raise the risk of diabetes, and may reduce it – are reassuring and in line with dietary advice in the UK. It's also helpful to see evidence that people who already have diabetes are likely to benefit from fresh fruit as well, because there has not been much research into fruit-eating for people with diabetes.
However, it's a step too far to say that fresh fruit prevents diabetes or diabetes complications. Fresh fruit is just one part of a healthy diet, and diet is just one of the things that may affect someone's risk of getting diabetes. This ty...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 12, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Diabetes Food/diet Source Type: news
Snoring link to Alzheimer ’s disease unproven
Conclusion
This relatively large cross-sectional analysis has found a link between certain measures of breathing problems during sleep and poorer cognitive function in middle-aged to older adults.
The strengths of this study include its size and use of a prospective sleep study to assess whether people had sleep apnoea or other problems with breathing during sleep. The use of standard cognitive tests is also a strength.
However, the study does have its limitations:
The study did have mixed findings – while certain measures of problems with breathing during sleep (e.g. oxygen levels) were associated with cognitive outco...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 24, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news
'Fat but fit' people may still be at risk of heart disease
Conclusion
This large, valuable study confirms that – as has long been thought – an increased BMI is linked with an increased risk of heart disease.
It shows that people with an obese BMI had a higher risk of heart disease, even if they didn't have other risk factors like high cholesterol and high blood pressure, proving that body fat is an independent risk factor.
That said, this study does have some limitations. For example, definitions of being metabolically unhealthy aren't entirely consistent with other definitions of metabolic syndrome.
This was also only assessed at the start of the study, and risk factors may...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 15, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Obesity Source Type: news
Results of global fats and carbs study not very relevant for UK
Conclusion
The results of the study have been presented in the media as if they overturn all current dietary guidelines. In the UK at least, that is completely misleading. The study results support the UK guidelines, having found that people who get around 50% of their calories from carbohydrates and 35% from fat, as recommended by Public Health England, were likely to live the longest.
There are some limitations to the study, not least that observational studies cannot prove cause and effect.
For example, the very low fat and high carbohydrate levels of diets found among some participants in the study might simply repres...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 30, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Source Type: news
