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Specialty: Consumer Health News
Source: NHS News Feed
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Total 273 results found since Jan 2013.
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
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
High-dose painkiller heart risk: small but significant
Conclusion
This large review adds to, and expands on, the current evidence on the risks of vascular disease and gastrointestinal complications for different NSAIDs. It largely concentrates on trials of high doses of NSAIDs that can only be prescribed by a doctor. It is unclear from this study whether there is any risk from taking lower doses available over the counter. While most experts advise that low-dose NSAIDs, taken occasionally, are safe for most people, an accompanying editorial points out that there are still “large gaps” in evidence on the risks with lower doses of NSAIDs.
While the risk to individuals is sma...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 30, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Stem cell stroke treatment trial results 'show promise'
This study looked at the safety and tolerability of a stem cell therapy called ReN001 in the treatment of ischaemic stroke, where the blood supply to the brain is blocked by a blood clot.
The findings, which were reported in a press release, suggest that the nine people included in the study experienced no adverse effects and showed a modest improvement in stroke-related symptoms.
However, the full findings from the PISCES trial are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Until this happens, it is worth exercising a little healthy scepticism about the claims being made. This research is still at a very early s...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 28, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Medical practice QA articles Source Type: news
Does fish in Mediterranean diet combat memory loss?
This study assessed all the components together rather than focusing on oily fish alone, as the media suggests – in fact, the word 'fish' does not appear once in the Neurology article.
Additionally, the 19% reduction in risk quoted by both The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail is incorrectly attributed to "people who adhere to a Mediterranean-style diet". This figure actually only applies to non-diabetic people. The risk reduction for the entire study sample was a more moderate 13% reduction in odds. However, both newspapers covered the main methods of the study well.
What kind of research was this?
Thi...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 30, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Neurology 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 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
Is exercise to blame for Andrew Marr's stroke?
Much of the media is reporting on an interview given by broadcaster and journalist Andrew Marr, who is recovering from a stroke he had in January 2013.
In the interview, Marr explained that he had two 'mini-strokes' – or transient ischaemic attacks – the year before, but he "hadn't noticed".
Marr suggested that his stroke was triggered by vigorous exercise on a rowing machine, saying, "I'm frankly lucky to be alive".
But can exercise actually be bad for your health? It all depends on the type of exercise you are doing and your individual circumstances. It is worth noting that almost all of ...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 15, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Neurology QA articles Source Type: news
Today's adults 'unhealthier than their parents were'
Conclusion
This cohort study’s strength was its long follow-up period, with four measurements of risk factors taken over a period of 16 years. By following up people over time a cohort study such as this is able to track risk factors in the same people over extended periods. As long as people return for the follow-up checks, it is the best study design for tracking this sort of data and drawing the sorts of conclusions these authors make.
Another advantage is that the same group of trained workers objectively measured data on body weight, height, blood pressure and cholesterol, using standardised protocols, which reduced...
Source: NHS News Feed - April 11, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Older people Heart/lungs 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
Mediterranean diet cuts heart and stroke risk
Conclusion
The results of this randomised controlled trial appear to confirm previous studies that there are benefits to following a Mediterranean diet. The trial has many strengths, including its large size, long period of follow-up, thorough assessment of medical outcomes (including reviewing medical records and having contact with the family doctor), and careful attempts to assess whether the diets were being followed.
As this is a randomised controlled trial, it should also balance out other health and lifestyle differences between the groups that may influence cardiovascular risk. This avoids the limitations of m...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 26, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news
Light shed on how brain's stroke defences work
Conclusion
This research has identified a potential role the protein hamartin plays in protecting nerve cells from death if they are temporarily starved of oxygen and glucose. Animal research such as this is essential for furthering our understanding of how the body and its cells work.
Although there are obviously differences between rats and humans, there are also a lot of biological similarities. This type of research is a good starting point for better understanding human biology.
Treating stroke is very difficult, so new treatments that could prevent nerve cell death would be very valuable. At this stage, the protein h...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 25, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology 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
Women's smoking death risk 'highest ever'
Conclusion
This large-scale research adds to the already prodigious amount of evidence on the risks that come from smoking. This research estimates the risk of death among smokers, and examines trends in this risk over time and by gender. There are difficulties, however, in teasing apart just what the figures mean.
Multiple risk factors contribute to risk of death
Several factors influence the relative risk of death between smokers and non-smokers, including background rates of mortality from smoking-related illnesses. An increase in relative risks of death from smoking-related illnesses could be attributable to certain sm...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 24, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise 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
