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Statins cut heart deaths in men by 28% finds study
Conclusion This new analysis found that men without cardiovascular disease who were prescribed a statin were less likely to go on to develop heart disease or have a major cardiovascular event. These findings from the five-year randomised controlled trial are useful – there's been a lot of debate about whether giving statins to people without any cardiovascular disease is helpful. But it's harder to draw conclusions from the longer term results, as these were from a non-randomised observational period. Potential confounding factors – such as the men's attitude to medicine, risk and health – may have influenced the res...
Source: NHS News Feed - September 7, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Some types of vegetarian diet can raise heart disease risk
Conclusion This large pooled cohort study seems to demonstrate an association between a healthy plant-based diet and reduced risk of coronary heart disease, and an increased risk of heart disease with an unhealthy plant-based diet. This adds to the evidence base supporting the possible benefits of healthy plant-based diets in protecting against certain illnesses. However there are some limitations to the research: The cohort included only health professionals from the US so might not be representative of wider populations in the UK or elsewhere. The study can't provide information on the benefits or otherwise of this d...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 18, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Source Type: news

Long working week 'may increase risk of irregular heartbeat'
Conclusion This study draws together data from a large group of people to investigate whether working hours could be linked to AF. It found people who work 55 or more hours a week had an increased risk of developing an irregular heartbeat. But before we jump to any conclusions, there are several important things to consider: The number of people who developed AF during this study was small: only 1.24%. That's the absolute risk of AF. Even if working more than 55 hours a week does increase your risk of AF by around 40%, it would only be increasing it to something like 1.74% – which is still very small. Only a small ...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 14, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Does coffee make you live longer?
Conclusion This study, conducted on a large number of people across Europe, was backed up by similar findings in the US. It appears to show some association between people who drink higher amounts of coffee and a reduced risk of death. But the "potentially beneficial clinical implications" need to be considered carefully for a number of reasons: Although the analyses were adjusted for some confounding variables, there may be a number of other factors that differ between the groups that account for the differences in death, such as socioeconomic status, family history, other medical conditions, and use of medic...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 12, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Source Type: news

Cholesterol-lowering jab 'shows promise' for heart disease
Conclusion This mouse study evaluated the potential of the AT04A vaccine to lower cholesterol levels and potentially reduce or prevent heart disease. The results were promising, showing that mice given the vaccine produced antibodies against the enzyme that stops LDL cholesterol being cleared from the body. This resulted in reduced total and LDL blood cholesterol levels, as well as reduced atherosclerosis. No major safety concerns or side effects were reported. Following this research, AT04A has now moved on to a phase I clinical trial. A small number of people will be given the vaccine to see if it's safe for use in huma...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 20, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news

'Chocolate good for the heart' claims sadly too good to be true
Conclusion Health stories that suggest eating or drinking something we like, whether it's chocolate or wine, are always popular. But they don't really tell us anything we don't know already. Certain foods may have a small impact on certain types of diseases, but it's the overall diet that counts. Previous studies have already suggested that the antioxidant properties of cocoa could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, so it's surprising that this study focused on one particular cardiovascular disease, atrial fibrillation. AF is a common condition that affects heart rate, often causing a faster than normal, irregular ...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 24, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Review finds no link between dairy and heart attack or stroke risk
Conclusion This large meta-analysis of cohort studies demonstrated no increased risk to cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease or all-cause death from eating dairy products. The review has strengths in its large size and the fact it was able to analyse different types of dairy product, such as high and low-fat and everyday products such as cheese and yoghurt. However, there are a number of factors to consider: The results of a systematic review are only as good as the quality of the underlying studies. These are all observational studies and it's possible that unadjusted health and lifestyle factors are having an...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 9, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Neurology Source Type: news

New drug shows promise in preventing heart attacks
Conclusion This is a high-quality, well-conducted randomised controlled trial conducted in a very large number of people across multiple countries. To date, it's remained uncertain whether evolocumab reduces the risk of cardiovascular events. This study provides good evidence that the drug reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events in people with high LDL cholesterol levels, and with a high risk of having a cardiovascular event, who are already taking statins. The follow-up is limited to around two years, during which roughly 1 in 10 people experienced a cardiovascular event. The reduction in risk was shown to inc...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 20, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Heart/lungs Source Type: news

'Tooth loss link to increased risk of dementia'
Conclusion This study adds to the evidence that good oral health is linked to good overall health, including a reduction in the chances of developing dementia in later life. But the research doesn't prove that regular tooth brushing will prevent dementia. We don't know what causes dementia. From research so far, it looks as if there are a number of interlinked causes. Brain health and ageing are likely to be affected by factors including diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol use, blood pressure and genetics. While living a healthy lifestyle may certainly reduce the chances of dementia, there are no guarantees. This study ha...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 9, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Mental health Neurology Older people Source Type: news

Handful of nuts 'cuts heart disease and cancer' risk
Conclusions This systematic review finds evidence that nut intake may be linked with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and death. The systematic review has several strengths. It identified a large number of studies with a large total sample size. It also included only prospective cohorts assessing nut consumption and then followed up later disease outcomes. It excluded cross sectional studies, which assess diet and disease at the same time, and so can't show the direction of effect. It also excluded cohorts that have retrospectively questioned diet when the person already has the disease, which could be subjec...
Source: NHS News Feed - December 5, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Cancer Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Eating one egg a day may lower risk of stroke
Conclusion This research broadly supports previous studies in this area, which suggest eating eggs does not increase the chances of getting heart disease or stroke. It raises the possibility that eggs may decrease the risk of having a stroke, but there are limitations to the study, meaning this result may not be reliable. It's interesting that researchers did not find a "dose response" between stroke risk and the number of eggs eaten. Usually, if something is having an effect on the chances of getting a condition, you can see a linear pattern – having more of that food or treatment increases or decreases chanc...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 2, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Neurology Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Blood pressure drop on standing 'may be linked to dementia'
Conclusion The causes of Alzheimer's – the most common type of dementia – are not well understood, despite much research. However, we do know that factors like blood pressure, blood flow to the brain and cardiovascular health are linked to the risk of vascular dementia in particular. In people with vascular dementia, brain scans often show up small areas of stroke where the brain has been starved of oxygen. This study adds more weight to the idea that constant blood flow to the brain, bringing brain cells the oxygen they need, is important in maintaining a healthy brain as we get older. But the study has some limi...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 12, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Excess body fat now linked to 13 different types of cancer
"Experts have linked eight more cancers to being overweight or obese, nearly tripling the list from five to 13," the Daily Mail reports. This is the latest finding of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a group of cancer experts from around the world that look at risk factors for cancer.  What is the basis for these reports? The headlines are based on a report published in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine. The report is not exactly new research, but a review of previously published studies that looked at the link between weight and cancers. It is the result of a working g...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 25, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Obesity Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Obesity 'now a leading cause of death; especially in men'
Conclusion The effect of being overweight or obese on length of life has been discussed a lot in recent years, mainly because of studies which seemed to show people might live longer if they have a BMI in the overweight range, and that even moderate obesity did not raise the risk of death. However, this study suggests the previous findings were due to confounding factors – such as smoking and pre-existing diseases – which masked the link between BMI and length of life. The overall conclusion is that weight does matter, especially for men and younger people, who seem most affected by the link between BMI and early deat...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 14, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Obesity Lifestyle/exercise Food/diet Source Type: news

'Stop demonising butter,' say researchers
Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the long-term association between butter consumption and major health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and death. The nine identified studies found little to no evidence that butter consumption increased the risk of death, cardiovascular disease, heart disease or stroke. Perhaps surprisingly, though, there did seem to be a protective effect against the risk of type 2 diabetes. This review has both strengths and limitations that may affect the reliability of the findings. The researchers used careful search methods that aimed to identify onl...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 30, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news

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