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Total 273 results found since Jan 2013.

Binge drinking could trigger abnormal heart rhythms
Conclusion This cross-sectional study found binge drinking is associated with an increased risk of having an irregular heartbeat. However, the type of irregular heartbeat found was mainly sinus tachycardia, which isn't life threatening but involves the heart beating at an abnormally fast rate of over 100 heartbeats a minute. This research also has some notable limitations: The ECG recordings from the acute alcohol group were taken using a smartphone application operated outside the manufacturer's recommended environment. The lively atmosphere within the beer tent may have caused inaccurate recordings. The population...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 27, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Beta-blockers 'useless' for many heart attack patients, study reports
Conclusion This study aimed to see whether beta blockers reduce mortality in people who've had a heart attack but who don't have heart failure or systolic dysfunction. It found no difference between those who were and those who were not given beta-blockers on discharge from hospital. The authors say this adds to the evidence that routine prescription of beta blockers might not be needed for patients without heart failure following a heart attack. Current UK guidelines recommend all people who have had a heart attack take beta blockers for at least one year to reduce risk of recurrent events. Only people with heart failure ...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 30, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medication Source Type: news

Being overweight, not just obese, still carries serious health risks
Conclusion This impressively large global study demonstrates that the prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide among both children and adults. It supports what has long been thought, that increased body mass index (BMI) contributes to a range of illnesses and is ultimately responsible for a large number of deaths, particularly from cardiovascular disease. One potential limitation is the use of self-reported BMI or health outcome data in some of the studies, although the majority used a specific independent measurement so this is unlikely to have biased results too much. It is also always difficult from observational d...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 13, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Obesity 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

Benefits of artificial sweeteners unclear
Conclusion The study authors suggest artificial sweeteners may not aid weight loss, despite marketing claims to the contrary, and could actually increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, the results need to be treated with caution, as this review had numerous limitations: The randomised controlled trials had great variability and few participants, increasing the possibility of the results occurring by chance. They were also judged to be at a high risk of bias – for example, the participants could not be blinded to the intervention, and adherence (drop-out) rates were not provided. We do not know whether there w...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 19, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Obesity Source Type: news

Do epilepsy and migraine share a genetic link?
Conclusion This paper suggests there is a link between the number of close relatives with a seizure disorder and the likelihood that an individual with epilepsy will also suffer from migraines with aura. However, it seems that the researchers were only interested in what they term ‘additional’ family members, and did not take into account the fact that to be eligible for this study at least two siblings or a parent and child both had to suffer from epilepsy. There seems to be the possibility that if, for example, four members of a family were enrolled in the study but the family had no further affected members, all me...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Genetics/stem cells Source Type: news

Secondhand smoke linked to dementia
Conclusion Secondhand or passive smoking is known to be detrimental to health and has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. However, it is not yet certain whether it is linked to dementia. Though this large study finds a significant link between secondhand smoke exposure and severe dementia syndromes there are several important limitations to be aware of. Problems with measuring dementia diagnoses The method for diagnosis of dementia used by this study was unusual. Though the researchers assessed each individual using a mental state examination, they went on to diagnose them using a com...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 11, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Source Type: news

Eating your 5 A DAY 'could make you more optimistic'
Conclusion This is well-conducted research which has used a validated measure to assess the optimism of a sample of middle-aged American citizens and measure their blood antioxidant levels. The researchers found a link between higher carotenoid levels and higher optimism, but as the researchers rightly conclude, their findings do not prove cause and effect and it isn’t possible to say in which direction the relationship is going. It is possible that having higher levels of antioxidants in the body leads to better physical health and this in turn enhances optimism, but then it is equally possible that people who are in be...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 18, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Mental health Source Type: news

Long-term aspirin use 'increases blindness risk'
Conclusion This cohort study has suggested that there may be a link between aspirin use and risk of developing wet AMD. The main strengths of this study are that it followed people up over a long time, collected data prospectively and carried out thorough eye examinations for AMD. This means that cases of AMD were not likely to be missed. However, it should be noted that: The study’s main weakness was that, as a cohort study, its results may be affected by confounding, although the researchers did try to take into account factors that could be having an effect. Confounding ‘by indication’ is a possibility; this is...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 22, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Medication Source Type: news

Worry over antipsychotic drugs in care homes
Conclusion This study looks at the changing use of psychotropic medication in older people moving from the community into care homes in Northern Ireland. Researchers found a sharp increase in people being prescribed these medicines once they enter care. The study was well conducted and uses reliable national data on community prescriptions. However, as the authors point out, it has some limitations: Most importantly, the study did not have clinical information for the individuals included in the study, so it could not assess whether drug prescriptions were appropriate or not. Individual care homes were not identifie...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 21, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Older people Neurology Source Type: news

Hard times in Cuba linked to better national health
Conclusion This is an interesting study that appears to show that modest weight loss within a relatively short period across the whole population is associated with a downward trend in diabetes and reductions in death rates from both diabetes and heart disease. Similarly, weight regain was associated with an increase in diabetes incidence, prevalence and mortality as well as a slowing down in the decline of cardiovascular deaths. This type of study draws on many different data sources and, as such, there is a possibility of error. Also, as the authors point out, data was missing on diabetes incidence during the crisis year...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 10, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Diabetes Source Type: news

No evidence that the price of fame is an early death
Conclusion Given our obsession with celebrity lifestyles, it’s perhaps not surprising that this study has attracted so much interest. It seems to support popular beliefs about the cost of fame in terms of drug addiction and high-risk behaviours such as smoking, drinking and drug abuse. However, as the lead author – Professor Epstein, from the School of Medicine, University of Queensland – conceded, a one-off analysis of obituaries published in a specific newspaper, with no comparison group, proves very little. Examining another random sample of 1,000 deaths of high-profile people, or the general population, from the...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 18, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Even 'light' smoking may raise women's arthritis risk
Conclusion This research indicates that a relatively low level of smoking (one to seven cigarettes per day) is associated with an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis compared with women who had never smoked. This adds further knowledge to previous research that has suggested that cigarette smoking is directly linked to a higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. While this study is relatively robust and its results believable, it does have limitations that should be considered. It was not clear how many women dropped out of the study. If this was a large proportion of the women who started, it could si...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 23, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

No evidence Nordic diet prevents heart disease
Conclusion This was a well-designed randomised controlled trial that took place across several Nordic locations. The study took careful clinical measures of elements of metabolic syndrome at several points during the trial, and used food diaries at regular intervals to check compliance to the assigned diet. However, it provides no reliable proof that the ‘healthy’ Nordic diet is any better than the ‘average’ Nordic diet at improving components of metabolic syndrome and, in turn, no proof that it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Importantly, this study found no significant results for its main aim (which...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 31, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Lifestyle/exercise Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Claim that statins damage muscles 'overblown'
In this study, statin users were matched with non-users so their baseline characteristics were similar. A cohort study is the ideal study design to address this question. However, despite the fact that the researchers tried to ensure there were as few differences as possible between statin users and statin non-users at baseline, it is possible that other factors (confounders) are responsible for the associations seen. A randomised controlled trial would be required to show a cause and effect relationship. Links To The Headlines Statins could lead to muscular injuries, scientists warn. The Daily Telegraph, June 4 2013 Sta...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 4, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Older people Source Type: news