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Exercise 'most proven method' to prevent return of breast cancer
Conclusion This was a helpful summary of recent research into how lifestyle changes impact on the risk of breast cancer returning, but it does have some limitations. Researching lifestyle factors separately is always difficult as they tend to clump together, making it difficult to pick apart individual factors. For example, people who are more physically active tend to have a healthier diet and are less likely to drink excessive amounts of alcohol or smoke. While the researchers say many studies attempt to make adjustments for these confounding factors, it is difficult to know which studies did this and how successful they...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 22, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer QA articles Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Are high-speed cyclists at risk from air pollution?
Conclusion This study may be of interest to those in the field of sports medicine. It calculates the speed that walkers, joggers and cyclists may travel at to minimise the pollution they potentially inhale. It also finds that these values turn out to be those that many pedestrians and cyclists would travel at in any case. And, somewhat unsurprisingly, this speed would go down as you go uphill because of the increased effort and breathing rate required. Fitter people who run or cycle fast for sport are, however, naturally likely to exceed this minimum speed requirement, both on the flat and speed gradients. This could pot...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 31, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Living near an airport 'may be bad for your health'
Conclusion This study aimed to assess the link between pollution from air traffic and health outcomes. Researchers used a number of data sources, finding an association between levels of carbon monoxide and hospitalisation rates for respiratory and heart-related issues. Perhaps worryingly, these effects were observed at lower levels of carbon monoxide exposure than the allowed amounts found in Environmental Protection Agency mandates. However, this study does have a number of limitations: Air traffic data was only from passenger aircrafts. The focus was only on the population within 10km of the airport. We don't k...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 21, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

UK women's life expectancy 'second worst' in Western Europe
"British women have second worst life expectancy in Europe," The Guardian reports. This is one of the findings of a Europe-wide health report carried out by the World Health Organization (WHO). The report also warned that European levels of alcohol consumption, smoking and obesity are alarmingly high, which could result in the following possibility: "Young Europeans may die at an earlier age than their grandparents". In the interests of accuracy, we should point out that the claim British women have the second worst life expectancy in Europe is incorrect. This figure is based on an analysis of countrie...
Source: NHS News Feed - September 23, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Cancer Heart/lungs Food/diet QA articles Source Type: news

Is incense smoke more dangerous than tobacco smoke?
Conclusion This laboratory study found smoke from burning incense can produce fine particles and chemical compounds of a type that may irritate the lungs and damage health. This is not surprising, as most types of smoke indoors produces fine particles that are likely to have this effect, whether from cooking, smoking tobacco, or burning incense. The suggestion that incense smoke might be more harmful than cigarette smoke needs to be treated with caution. The four incense stick samples had different effects when tested for the ability to mutate cell DNA and toxicity to cells. These were compared with just one cigarette. ...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 26, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Heart/lungs Source Type: news

E-cigarettes '95% less harmful than smoking' says report
"E-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than tobacco and could be prescribed on the NHS in future to help smokers quit," BBC News reports. This is the main finding of an evidence review (PDF, 485kb) carried out by Public Health England, a government agency that aims to protect and improve the nation's health and wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities. What are e-cigarettes?Most e-cigarettes contain a battery, an atomiser and a replaceable cartridge. The cartridge contains nicotine in a solution of either propylene glycol or glycerine and water, and sometimes flavourings. When you suck on the device, a sensor d...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 19, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise QA articles 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

Fit middle-aged men have lower cancer risk
Conclusion This study shows that cardiovascular fitness is likely to reduce men's chances of developing lung and colorectal cancer, and appears to boost survival from cancer or cardiovascular disease in those diagnosed after the age of 65. This was based on comparing the top 40% of fittest men with the 20% least fit. The study focused on fitness and took account of major risk factors for cancer, such as smoking and blood pressure. However, it left out one important risk factor: diet. What people eat and drink is known to affect cancer risk. The fittest group may also have been the healthiest in terms of eating well and ...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 27, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news

Becoming healthier may motivate your partner to join in
Conclusion This cohort study has found that individuals with unhealthy behaviours such as smoking, being inactive or being overweight are most likely to change these behaviours if their unhealthy partner also changes these behaviours. Having a partner who has consistently healthy behaviours was also associated with a greater likelihood of change in smoking and activity compared to a consistently unhealthy partner, but less so than having a partner who changed behaviour. There were some limitations to the study, including that: The study took into account some confounders, such as age and some health conditions, but oth...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 20, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Food/diet Source Type: news

UK 'among worst' for cancer linked to obesity
Conclusion This international study has shown alarming increases in cases of cancer that can be attributed to high BMI. Overall, they estimated that 3.6% of cancers in adults (aged over 30 years) worldwide are caused by high BMI, with the proportion attributed to obesity slightly higher in women than in men. In the UK, 4.4% of all cases of cancer per year in men and 8.2% of all cases of cancer per year in women, were estimated to be attributable to obesity. The research focused on cancers that the WCRF has already established are linked to high BMI. When looking at these cancers, the UK was joint second highest in the worl...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 27, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Obesity Source Type: news

Daily aspirin 'reduces cancer risk', study finds
Conclusion While the findings on aspirin and cancer show promise, it is not clear that the results are reliable from the methods reportedly used to compile this review. This is because it included studies of varying design and quality, with much of the evidence coming from observational studies, which, while useful, cannot be totally relied on to test the effectiveness of healthcare interventions. It's not clear how the studies included in the review were chosen and whether others on the same topic were excluded. It is also not clear whether or not this was a systematic review, where studies are rigorously appraised for ...
Source: NHS News Feed - August 6, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cancer Medication Source Type: news

ONS suggests that one in four deaths are 'avoidable'
“1 in 4 deaths could have been prevented,” The Times reports. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that 23% of deaths could have been prevented through better care, more effective treatment and healthier living. The news is based on an ONS bulletin titled Avoidable Mortality in England and Wales, 2012 (PDF 186kb). The bulletin provides mortality figures for causes of death that are considered avoidable if timely and effective healthcare is received or healthier lifestyle choices adopted. Figures were provided for the period 2001 to 2012 so that trends can be seen. The bulletin found tha...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 8, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Lifestyle/exercise Cancer QA articles Source Type: news

Aircraft noise linked with stroke and heart problems
Conclusion With debate currently taking place about the expansion of airports around London, the possible effects of aircraft noise on health is an important area for research. But as the authors point out, this study has several limitations. In particular, although the authors took account of confounders such as ethnicity, deprivation and smoking rates at the area level, they had no information on these factors at the individual level. So results at area level are not applicable to all individuals within these small areas. In addition, the risk of coronary heart disease may have been affected by large south Asian populati...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 9, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs 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

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