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Total 273 results found since Jan 2013.

'Early death map' shows English health inequality
“North and South health divide: Chilling study reveals premature death is 'postcode lottery',” the Daily Mirror reports. The news is based on a new interactive map showing the variation in premature death rates across England. The Longer Lives map, created by the new organisation Public Health England, ranks 150 local authorities by their premature death rates (deaths occurring before age 75). The interactive map also enables users to compare these areas by five common causes of premature (and potentially preventable) deaths: cancer heart disease stroke lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary ...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 11, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Heart/lungs Cancer QA articles Source Type: news

Diabetes drugs may be linked to pancreatic cancer
Conclusion This article presents important concerns that glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists and dipeptidylpeptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors could potentially increase the risk of inflammation and cancerous changes in the pancreas. The agencies that regulate medicines in Europe and the USA are aware of these issues, and told the BMJ that their analyses show increased reporting of pancreatic cancer among people taking these types of drugs. However, the agencies note that it has not been established whether these drugs directly cause the adverse effects seen in the pancreas. Both agencies are reviewing emerging eviden...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 10, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Diabetes QA articles Source Type: news

Just a few extra pounds increases heart failure risk
Conclusion This large study uses an interesting genetic approach (Mendelian randomisation) to suggest obesity increases the risk of heart failure and adverse changes in liver enzymes. The combination of a very large sample, prospectively collected information, and a wide range of cardiometabolic measures lend credibility to the findings. The method the researchers used is also thought to reduce the chances of factors other than BMI influencing results, and the chance that the ‘outcome’ could be causing the ‘exposure’ (reverse causality). The main limitation of this kind of research is that assumptions need to be m...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 26, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Obesity Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Drugs to be offered to women at high risk of breast cancer
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has today released updated guidelines on the care of women who are at increased risk of breast cancer due to their family history. One of the main changes to the original guidance from 2004 is that NICE now recommends drug treatment with tamoxifen or raloxifene to reduce risk of breast cancer in a specific group of women who are at high risk of breast cancer and have not had the disease. They say that these treatments could help prevent breast cancer in about 488,000 women aged 35 years and older. The updated guideline has also made changes to the recommende...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 25, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Medical practice QA articles Source Type: news

Fish oil supplements linked to prostate cancer
"Taking omega-3 fish oil supplements may increase the risk of aggressive prostate cancer by 70%," the Daily Mail reports. The story, covered widely in the media, comes from a large and well designed study that also found that high blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids were associated with a 44% increase in the risk of slow growing prostate cancer. Supporters of fish oil supplements have claimed that they can reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack and dementia as well as improving cognitive function and mental health. But there is little conclusive evidence to justify these claims. The findings match previous stud...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 11, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Food/diet Source Type: news

Dementia rates dropping
Conclusion This study suggests that the prevalence of dementia in over 65s in 2011 is lower than would have been expected.  The study had many strengths, including the large number of people it interviewed from different areas and the consistent research methods adopted in 1991 and again in 2011, particularly using the same criteria to diagnose dementia at both time points. This means we can be relatively sure that its conclusions are reliable. That said, it does have some limitations to consider. The response rate in 2011 (56%) was much lower than in 1991 (80%). The study authors offer a number of explanations for this...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 17, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Older people Medical practice Source Type: news

Keogh review on hospital deaths published
Conclusion In a letter to the secretary of state, Professor Keogh reports that assessments of the 14 hospital trusts have been highly rigorous and uncovered problems in care that had not been exposed before. He warns against hasty reactions and pointing the finger of blame. Any immediate safety issues discovered are said to have been dealt with. Professor Keogh states that considered debate is needed, as well as co-ordinated efforts to improve care with a future focus on accountability.   Analysis by Bazian. Edited by NHS Choices. Follow Behind the Headlines on Twitter. Links To The Headlines Keogh review: Hospital dea...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 16, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medical practice QA articles Source Type: news

Heart disease risk 'higher in men who skip breakfast'
Conclusion This large cohort study of middle-aged and older male American health professionals has found that eating breakfast and not eating after going to bed are associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease. As this was a cohort study, it cannot prove cause and effect, as it is not possible to exclude the possibility that there are other factors responsible for any of the associations seen.  The results remained the same when researchers adjusted for diet, demographic factors and activity level, but were no longer significant if the researchers adjusted for obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol level...
Source: NHS News Feed - July 23, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Food/diet Source Type: news

Can a big breakfast help you lose weight?
Conclusion This dietary study found that overweight or obese women with metabolic syndrome lost weight on a specified controlled diet. They also seemed to have greater improvements in their blood sugar control when their main energy intake was at breakfast, compared with the same diet where the main energy intake was at dinner. This lends support to the old adage that you should "breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper", as well as the theory that the timing of food intake may be important in people's efforts to lose weight. This is something that does not have a high profile in curren...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Cocoa may improve blood flow to the brain in elderly
Conclusion This study suggests that cocoa consumption may be associated with the manner in which blood flow and brain function interact among elderly people with vascular conditions. A major limitation of this study is the method of analysis. While randomised controlled trials are considered to be the best method to determine the effect of a treatment or intervention (in this case, consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa) on a health outcome (neurovascular coupling), this strength depends on the ability to analyse outcomes in the intervention compared with the control group. In this study, the analysis of the intervention group...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Neurology Older people Source Type: news

Flu jab linked with lower risk of heart attack
Conclusion This study suggests that there is an association between being vaccinated against the flu and decreased odds of having (and surviving) a heart attack. The researchers conclude that receiving the flu jab may be protective against heart attack, and report that previous studies have shown a link between flu infection, flu vaccination and heart attack. They further suggest that future policy decisions regarding the age at which the seasonal flu jab is offered take into account its potential effect on cardiovascular events. They say “even a small effect of influenza vaccination in preventing AMI [acute myocardial i...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 22, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medication Medical practice Source Type: news

Teen drinking linked to raised breast cancer risk
Conclusion Alcohol consumption is already recognised as a risk factor for breast cancer. And this large, well-conducted study seems to confirm that young women between their first period and first pregnancy are particularly susceptible.  One limitation of the study is that the women were asked to recall their drinking habits when they were far younger, which could mean the results are less reliable. Also, other factors called confounders might have affected women’s risk of breast cancer, although researchers did adjust their findings for a range of other risk factors. As the authors point out, it is crucial that youn...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 29, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

New heart op could save 'thousands of lives'
Conclusion This was a well-designed study which showed that over the course of two years, the risk of another non-fatal or fatal heart attack is reduced in heart attack patients who have preventive stents inserted in narrowed arteries at the same time as a procedure to insert stents into the blocked coronary artery that caused their heart attack. However, an important point to note is that the study results do not apply to all patients who have had a heart attack. The study only looked at the group of patients who had a specific type of heart attack – a STEMI – and needed an emergency stent placement operation. ...
Source: NHS News Feed - September 3, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Genetics/stem cells Source Type: news

Walking ‘could save 37,000 lives a year’ report claims
The benefits of walking have been reported across the UK media. The BBC reports that “walking more 'would save thousands' of lives in the UK”. These stories have been prompted by the "Walking Works” report (PDF, 3.4MB). It provides an overview of current evidence on physical inactivity, and makes the case for encouraging more people to take up walking as a form of physical activity. It lays out that a large proportion of the population is not meeting physical activity guidelines and that if more people did so, this could potentially save 37,000 lives a year in England. It also discusses the specific benefits o...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 7, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Lifestyle/exercise QA articles Source Type: news

Researchers claim that sleep detoxes the brain
Conclusion This fascinating research has suggested that sleep helps potentially toxic substances to be removed from the brain. How sleep restores us and helps our brains to function is reported to not be well understood. Although this research was in mice rather than humans, despite the difference in size, this type of basic biological function is seems to be very similar to what happens in all vertebrate animal species. Further research in humans will help to confirm this. As yet, whether there could be a link between changes in this normal function in the removal of amyloid beta or other potentially damaging substances ...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 18, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Neurology Source Type: news