Health News Today Archives - Page 47 of 76

March 26, 2022

Mild COVID-19 may affect heart health in younger adults

New investigate emphasizes the cardiovascular effect of COVID-19 on youthful adults. Image credit score: Vachira Vachira/NurPhoto by means of Getty Illustrations or photos.

A study of young Brazilian grown ups finds that even a mild-to-moderate situation of COVID-19 can unbalance the autonomic anxious process, probably major to cardiovascular challenges that grow to be apparent afterwards in everyday living.
COVID-19’s effect on the autonomic nervous technique tends to make feeling looking at how many organs and devices it seems to affect.
Holding a healthy physique mass index (BMI) and sustaining a physically active life-style could minimize the imbalance.

The autonomic anxious program (ANS) is responsible for keeping different overall body procedures in harmony. These procedures contain respiratory, heart price, and blood stress.

A new review from São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil, which labored with a cohort of younger older people, found that COVID-19, even in gentle-to-average circumstances, can disrupt the autonomous anxious system’s essential balancing act.

COVID-19 might as a result quietly induce cardiovascular complications that do not make by themselves recognized right until later on in lifestyle.

COVID-19 has shown a perplexing capability to have an effect on many organ techniques, and the suggests by which this takes place is not but entirely recognized. If the virus damages the success of the ANS, which is associated in the management of various units, at the very least a partial explanation may be at hand.

Research co-creator Prof. Fábio Santos de Lira of UNESP discussed for Health-related News Today:

“The autonomic nervous method controls the coronary heart rate — the sympathetic anxious system activity maintains a bigger heart fee, and parasympathetic exercise cuts down coronary heart amount. This ailment can favor, later on, a coronary heart dysfunction, [such] as arrhythmia.”

The sympathetic nervous technique is liable for the body’s reaction to anxiety, threat, and extreme work. In the circumstance of the coronary heart, it pushes the heart price upwards. This boost is held down to satisfactory boundaries by the parasympathetic anxious process that manages everyday bodily capabilities, this sort of as digestion, resting, recharging.

The research also discovered that sustaining a wholesome BMI and a physically energetic lifestyle seems to assist retain the ANS in suitable equilibrium, suggesting that even further investigation should really appear into mitigating the long lasting stressing consequences of COVID-19.

Brazil has the second-greatest amount of COVID-19 fatalities, and other analysis has connected this to higher being overweight prices.

The new examine seems in MDPI.

The cross-sectional, observational research took area in the town of Presidente Prudent, a local community with some 232,000 inhabitants, which experienced 39,049 scenarios of COVID-19 by February 2022, and 982 fatalities.

The researchers recruited male and female individuals aged 20 to 40 who had examined beneficial for COVID-19 through a PCR take a look at within just 15 to 180 days in advance of the evaluation started.

Following excluding people today with chronic non-communicable illnesses, a record of using tobacco, drug use, and having anti-inflammatory prescription drugs or antibiotics acknowledged to influence the ANS, the closing cohort consisted of nine women and 11 adult males.

To evaluate the working of their ANS, scientists calculated the participants’ coronary heart rate variability (HRV), a measurement of the variation of time amongst each individual heartbeat.

Professor de Lira discussed that the “simplest type of assessing this circuit is by coronary heart fee variability, wherever the observe captures the details and we can observe it in software.”

If the HRV is far too significant, the ANS is not functioning easily, with the sympathetic and parasympathetic sides at odds with just about every other.

The researchers identified that even with gentle-to-moderate bouts of COVID-19, sympathetic action amplified whilst parasympathetic exercise diminished.

The reduction of parasympathetic activity was primarily pronounced in persons with overweight or weight problems.

The info also implied that primary a physically energetic way of living left an individual’s ANS in greater equilibrium. On the other hand, the analyze authors counsel that training may possibly truly be a confounding component because “the variations noticed in HRV could be generally modulated by degrees of actual physical activity and not by the presence of article-COVID-19.”

In the analyze paper, the authors go on to warning that: “It is regarded that workout encourages positive diversifications in HRV parameters in both handle subjects and people struggling from a wide variety of diseases. Equally, equally exercising training and actual physical exercise patterns strengthen heart charge variability parameters, the autonomic profile, and arterial compliance, as nicely as the baroreflex sensitivity in HIV+ sufferers, highlighting the influence of way of life habits to modulate ANS in viral ailments.”

Prof. de Lira proposed committing to a healthy life style to offset the impression of COVID-19.

“Excess adipose tissue is related to numerous ailments, in addition to weight problems, these as style 2 diabetic issues, dyslipidemia, fatty liver, cancer, kidney failure, among the other folks,” he spelled out. “In the same sense, the sedentary way of life favors the gain of system body fat, which will set off or worsen being overweight.“

“Thus, it is exceptionally vital to preserve physique excess weight, primarily reduced human body fat — very little as well athletic — [with] BMI ranges involving 18-24.99, as perfectly as maintaining a physical activity plan, this sort of as strolling, biking, swimming, functioning, go walking to the bakery. This lifestyle will add protection from the penalties of COVID-19,” he encouraged.

For reside updates on the most up-to-date developments relating to COVID-19, simply click listed here.

March 25, 2022

Mental health and the pandemic: Issues and solutions

After 2 years of living with COVID-19, the physical toll of the pandemic is evident, in terms of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, but what of the mental effects? Frontline workers and young people have been some of the hardest hit, but no one has escaped the impact of the pandemic. In this Special Feature, Medical News Today investigates how the pandemic has affected mental health worldwide and asked experts how we might address this issue.

After 2 years of COVID-19, what does mental health look like, worldwide? Image credit: Boy_Anupong/Getty Images.

In May 2020, the United Nations reported that stress and anxiety levels had risen substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, several waves of COVID-19 have left their mark around the globe.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as “a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”

Mental health issues occur when people cannot cope well with the stresses of life. A pandemic is a stressor that few might have envisaged having to cope with.

The fear of contracting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, together with concern about economic effects, has caused anxiety and stress.

Frontline workers, particularly medical professionals, have experienced burnout and chronic stress from the increased pressure.

Multiple lockdowns, physical distancing, and fear of infection have increased isolation, loneliness, and anxiety, all factors that, according to Lee Chambers, psychologist and founder of Essentialise Workplace Wellbeing, are “massive catalysts” for mental health issues.

Other experts agree. According to Dr. Adrian James, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists:

“Social isolation, loneliness, stress and anxiety, domestic abuse, bereavement, financial difficulties, unemployment and severe COVID-19 infection are all factors that might have caused people’s mental health to deteriorate.”

In 2019, a study in The Lancet reported that some 12.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the global population would have an issue with their mental health at some time in their life. In March 2022, the WHO reported that worldwide, anxiety and depression increased by 25{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} in the first year of the pandemic.

Lee Chambers has seen evidence of this: “If I’m honest, from my perspective, the incidence of everything [mental health-related] has increased. […] It has been amplified for people who are already suffering with certain conditions. They’ve found less access to services and challenges in managing their everyday existence.“

He added: “One thing that continually got flagged was new incidences. People who had never previously identified as having any mental health condition had actually disclosed […] or, in surveys, said they were struggling significantly. That is interesting, as it shows the impact is reaching beyond those who were already impacted pre-[COVID-19].”

The beginning of the pandemic appears to have had the greatest impact on mental health. A report from the European Parliament Research Service highlighted increases in mental health concerns in many European countries at this time.

Eight out of 10 people in Italy reported a need for psychological care; in the Netherlands, over a third of the population reported anxiety.

Similar patterns became evident in the United States. In a study of people aged 18-35, 80{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of survey respondents reported significant depressive symptoms, while 61{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} reported moderate or severe anxiety.

In April 2021, the National Institute of Mental Health reported that rates for anxiety, depression, stress-related symptoms, substance misuse, and suicidal thoughts were almost double those expected before the pandemic.

However, concerns that suicide rates might rise appear to have been unfounded as, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these have fallen slightly.

In the United Kingdom, mental health referrals to the National Health Service (NHS) have reached record levels, as Dr. James told MNT:

“The pandemic has had a major impact on already stretched specialist mental health services, which received a record 4.3 million referrals during 2021. It’s also resulted in the largest mental health backlog in NHS history with at least 1.4 million people waiting for treatment.”

An analysis of more than 200,000 people in northern Europe found that younger respondents and those with previously diagnosed mental illness reported poorer mental health during the first months of the pandemic. However, mental health issues are not confined to these groups.

Sharon Greene, L.C.S.W., who specializes in treating anxiety and depression in children and adolescents of Providence Saint John’s Child & Family Development Center in Santa Monica, CA, told MNT of the pandemic’s widespread impact:

“I actually feel everyone has been impacted across the board in different ways. Of course, frontline workers and health professionals were at the forefront and may have experienced more trauma. We are only starting to understand the mental health impacts of the pandemic.”

Young people may be less at risk to contract a SARS-CoV-2 infection, but they have not escaped the pandemic’s effects. Disruption to education, work, and social interactions have all taken their toll.

In August 2020, the International Labour Organization described the “impact of the pandemic on young people to be systematic, deep and disproportionate.“

Several studies have found that students have experienced higher levels of symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the pandemic.

“Younger people […] are more likely to fall into negative coping mechanisms because they don’t have the experience and they live in a very digital world — that’s a challenge for them. Dealing with uncertainty when you are at that adolescent-adult transition is hard enough when everything is bright and rosy.”

– Lee Chambers

It is unsurprising, therefore, that a recent OECD report states that the “[p]revalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression has risen dramatically among young people and remains higher than pre‑crisis levels.”

For medical professionals, the pressures have been intense. Not only have they faced continued exposure to SARS-CoV-2, but they have also had to cope with the demands of their changing roles during the pandemic, which has inevitably taken a toll on their mental health.

A meta-analysis of studies into mental health effects of the pandemic on healthcare workers found that anxiety, depression, and stress were most prevalent among this cohort. Many healthcare workers also reported burnout, insomnia, fear of infection, and suicidal thoughts.

It is not just those dealing with COVID-19 patients in a hospital setting who have been affected. A global review of studies published in the British Journal of General Practice found high levels of work-related stress, anxiety, and burnout among primary care doctors in many countries.

Lee Chambers reported another issue among medical professionals:

“There is a real feeling of… I suppose the term for it is ‘moral injury,’ a real feeling that you are putting yourself at risk of disease. You are on the front lines really making the best of a crisis and then you’ve got certain people in positions of influence just doing as they please, having parties. […] That’s one of the things that’s really distressing a lot of medical professionals.”

The worrying impact of this is that many doctors may leave the profession. The British Medical Association found in a recent survey that 21{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of respondents were considering leaving the NHS, and 25{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} were considering taking a career break because of the stress of working through the pandemic.

In the survey, one GP expressed what may well be the views of many, noting that, “[i]f things don’t change in the next few weeks, I do worry that many colleagues will leave the profession, not because they have failed, but [because] the Government and the system failed them.”

Nevertheless, there are ways to help protect mental health through these challenging times. According to Lee Chambers, communication is key: “I look at resilience as expressive rather than suppressive, an ability to express yourself rather than trying to be robust and resist. Endurance generally leads to burnout […] Being able to talk and articulate and find someone you trust to express where you are currently at.”

He added: “Resilience is like a battery. The main ways to recharge it are the fundamentals — sleeping, nutrition, movement. For me, it’s trying to build those into your life.”

People should not be afraid to seek help and to recognize the warning signs that they may need help.

“Is it pervasive? Is it prolonged? And, is it something that is increasingly spiraling out of our control. At that point, we need to look to see how we can access professional services.”

– Lee Chambers

Dr. James echoed this advice, noting that “[p]eople who are struggling with their mental health can talk to their [primary care doctor] or self-refer directly to a local psychological therapy service.”

“No one should have to experience this alone — there [is] a range of options for support to get through this.”

– Dr. Adrian James

The pandemic has exposed gaps in support, particularly in some sectors of society. Lee Chambers made this clear: “So often a little bit of external support from our network can be beneficial. Not everyone has that; it’s a privilege.”

He added: “Inequalities have been opened up even further. We should look at navigating the challenges we face and attempting to make an equitable recovery, […] accepting that some groups have had it more challenging than others.”

Commenting on possible solutions, he said: “I would like to see more joined-up services, from education to medical to businesses to communities. If we could join the dots, it would make a massive difference.“

Dr. James stressed that these services must be financed properly: “It is […] vital that mental health services are backed by a fully-funded plan to ensure people can access the care they need.”

In a press briefing from March 2, 2022, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general further emphasized the importance of the pandemic-related mental health crisis, noting that it should be “a wake-up call to all countries to pay more attention to mental health and do a better job of supporting their populations’ mental health.”

For live updates on the latest developments regarding COVID-19, click here.

March 24, 2022

Light exposure during sleep may increase diabetes risk

A table lamp that's switched on in a bedroom near the headboard. — Light exposure during sleep may increase the risk for heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Gregor Prelog/EyeEm/Getty Images

Researchers recently investigated the health effects of light exposure during sleep.
They found that light exposure during even one night of sleep increases heart rate while sleeping and impairs glucose metabolism the following morning.
They say that sleeping without exposure to light is likely beneficial for cardiometabolic health.

Exposure to artificial light at night is widespread globally and is linked to negative effects on health and well-being.

Researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago recently investigated the biological effects of different light exposure levels while sleeping.

They found that exposure to moderate ambient light during one night of sleep can impair glucose and cardiovascular regulation and increase risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

The study appears in PNAS.

Another study, published in 2019, found that artificial light at night (ALAN), such as from a nightlight or television, is linked to obesity in women. These findings suggest that light exposure during sleep may negatively affect metabolic regulation.

Other research indicates that blue-enriched light exposure in the morning and evening alters glucose metabolism and increases insulin resistance compared with dim light exposure.

Another study found that higher levels of ALAN are linked to higher rates of type 2 diabetes among older adults.

The mechanisms underlying ALAN’s impact on metabolic functioning are poorly understood.

The scientists recruited 20 young adults for a 3-day and 2-night laboratory stay. A week before the study, they measured participants’ sleep habits using actigraphy and sleep diaries.

The participants were then randomized to partake in one of two sleeping conditions:

The room light condition: Participants slept with a dim light of less than 3 lux (lx) on the first night and an overhead room light at 100 lx on the second night.
The dim light condition: Sleeping with a dim light of less than 3 lx on both nights

On Days 1 and 2 of the experiment, the participants provided blood samples before and after food intake to assess melatonin and blood glucose levels. They also underwent overnight polysomnography (PSG) to assess their sleep quality.

The participants also filled in surveys every 2 hours that they were awake to evaluate their subjective sleepiness, hunger, and mood changes.

Meanwhile, nurses collected blood pressure readings every hour, alongside heart rate readings every 4 hours.

The researchers found that exposure to a single night of 100 lx room lighting increased heart rate during sleep and insulin resistance the following morning.

Compared with the dim light condition, participants exposed to 100 lx lighting during sleep had more N2 sleep — one of the deeper stages of sleep — and less slow-wave sleep — which is important for memory consolidation. They also had less REM sleep — the dreaming phase of sleep.

The researchers noted no changes among PSG-derived measures of cortical arousal, sleep fragmentation, or wake-sleep stage stability and no difference in melatonin levels between the two groups. They say this might be because only 5-9{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of light is transmitted through closed eyelids.

When asked what may explain the link between ALAN and the observed effects on heart rate and glucose metabolism, Phyllis C Zee, MD., Ph.D., the correspondent author of the study, told Medical News Today:

“There are potentially three possibilities. [The first is that light] can cause awakening or arousal. We found small changes [in these measures, but they did not] correlate with an increase in insulin resistance. So this is unlikely to be a primary mechanism.”

“Secondly, light can affect the circadian clock and affect melatonin secretion. However, we found no significant difference in melatonin levels,” Dr. Zee added.

“[We thus hypothesize] that light activates brain regions that regulate the autonomic nervous system because there was a relationship between the changes in heart variability and insulin resistance,” she explained.

Dale Sandler, Ph.D., is a senior investigator and chief of the Epidemiology Branch of the National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIEHS), who was not involved in the study. Dr. Sandler agreed with Dr. Zee but added that “subtle shifts in sleep stages could [also] play a role.”

The researchers concluded that avoiding ALAN may benefit cardiometabolic health.

When asked what limitations there may be to this research, Yong-Moon (“Mark”) Park MD, MS, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Arkansas, who was not involved in the study, toldMNT:

“The findings came from a study of 20 healthy young adults. So the results might not apply to people with different age groups and people with comorbidities. [Also], the effect of ALAN on cardiometabolic health may differ by sex and race/ethnicity, which was not addressed in this study.”

“As the authors mentioned, the effects of altering light intensities, duration, and wavelengths on cardiometabolic health were not assessed in this study. The [link between blue light and cardiometabolic dysfunction] may be important to look at in the future as the use of smartphones, tablets, and laptops have increased dramatically in the bedroom at night,” he added.

“The experiment only involved one night of sleep in room light for the exposed group,” added Dr. Sandler, “Obesity and diabetes do not develop overnight. What may be most important is long-term exposures, and it is possible that some effects that were not observed after one night could develop over constant longer-term exposure.”

“There are many things that contribute to risk for obesity, diabetes, and cardiometabolic dysfunction. Many of these factors are difficult for individuals to control. But turning off the lights at bedtime may be a simple thing that people can do to lessen the chances of developing these conditions.”

– Dr. Sandler

Posted on March 23, 2022
The green Mediterranean diet may protect health and the environment

Share on Pinterest
The so-called green Mediterranean diet may benefit human health and the planet’s health. Vera Lair/Stocksy

People who eat a traditional Mediterranean diet have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. But new research suggests that a “green” Mediterranean diet — which avoids all meat and provides extra greens — may be even better for human health. If the diet catches on, the benefits for planetary health could be equally impressive.

Climate scientists believe that one of the most impactful things that people can do for the environment is to reduce their consumption of meat and dairy products.

Research notes that global production of animal-based foods — including livestock feed — accounts for 57{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of total greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, whereas production of plant-based foods accounts for only 29{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}.

Another study estimates that if everyone became vegan, this would reduce the amount of land worldwide that farmers need to grow food by 3.1 billion hectares or 76{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}.

In addition to cutting emissions from food production, say the authors, rewilding the freed-up land would remove around 8.1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year for the next 100 years.

Of course, the idea that billions of people worldwide would voluntarily give up their steaks, sausages, and cheeseburgers simply to curb climate change may seem far-fetched.

But perhaps they would think twice if they knew how much it would benefit their own health.

Recent research suggests that people who eat little or no meat tend to have a lower risk of cancer, in particular colorectal cancer and prostate cancer in men.

Diets that combine a reduction in meat and dairy consumption with increased intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats, bring further health benefits.

People who eat a typical Mediterranean diet, for example, have a lower overall mortality rate and a lower risk not only of cancer but also cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

A series of clinical trials now suggests that eating a “green” Mediterranean diet, or green Med diet, may provide additional benefits on top of those provided by the regular Mediterranean diet.

The diet, which adds extra plant foods rich in polyphenols and aims to avoid meat completely, is also better for the planet.

“[E]liminating meat intake — beef, pork, lamb — is by far the most important single way to reduce the carbon footprint from diet,” said Dr. Meir Stampfer, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and one of the authors of the green Med studies.

“The contribution of meat to greenhouse gas emissions is enormous compared with other foods,” he told Medical News Today.

Dr. Stampfer pointed out that the total area needed for meat production includes a lot of land for growing crops to feed livestock.

So by reducing the amount of land around the world that is devoted to producing meat, the green Med diet could play a major role in the preservation of biodiversity.

In its 2020 report “Biodiversity for Nutrition and Health”, the World Health Organization (WHO) describes a virtuous circle that links varied, plant-based diets, human health, biodiversity, and sustainability.

“The significance of pressures generated by human activity on both climate change and biodiversity loss, and their impacts on nutrition and health outcomes, cannot be overstated,” the authors conclude.

A traditional Mediterranean diet contains the following elements:

vegetables, fruits, and whole grains

sources of healthy fats, such as nuts, seeds, and olive oil

moderate amounts of dairy and fish

less red meat than a traditional western diet

fewer eggs

red wine in moderation

The diet provides an abundance of polyphenols, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and plant fiber.

Importantly, the classic Med diet also avoids refined grains, highly processed foods, and products with added sugars.

Scientists believe that, in combination, these features help lower levels of bad cholesterol, reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, and improve insulin sensitivity.

Scientists in Israel, Germany, and the United States reasoned that replacing all the remaining meat in the diet with plant-based proteins could supercharge these health effects.

Over the past few years, they have conducted three clinical trials of their green Med diet on a cohort of 294 people with abdominal obesity. Participants’ average age at the start of the trials was 51 years.

Over the course of their studies, they were all given free gym membership and advice about physical activity.

The researchers randomly assigned them to three diets:

Healthy dietary guidance — basic advice on how to achieve a healthy diet.

A calorie-restricted traditional Med diet, with advice to reduce red meat consumption, plus 28 grams (g) of walnuts each day.

A calorie-restricted green Med diet, which incorporated 28 g of walnuts per day, plus 3–4 cups of green tea, and 100 g of Mankai duckweed in a shake. They were asked to avoid red and processed meats completely and discouraged from consuming poultry.

People in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries eat Mankai as a “vegetable meatball.” Previous research by the same scientists showed that Mankai provides all the essential amino acids plus vitamin B12, making it an ideal meat substitute.

Cardiovascular benefits

In the first study, the researchers examined possible extra heart health benefits of eating a green Med diet.

They report that after 6 months, both Med diets led to greater weight loss and metabolic benefits than standard dietary advice.

However, the green Med diet led to a greater reduction in waist circumference and several other measures of cardiovascular risk.

For example, participants who ate this diet had improved insulin sensitivity, lower blood pressure, lower levels of bad cholesterol, and less inflammation compared with those on a standard Med diet.

Fat storage in the liver

For their next study, the researchers compared the amount of fat in the liver of subjects after 18 months on the three different diets.

They discovered that people who ate the green Med diet lost more fat in their liver than those on the regular med diet.

This may reduce their risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which affects around 25{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of people worldwide and can lead to potentially fatal cirrhosis and liver failure.

Brain atrophy

Finally, the researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine the effect of the three diets on loss of brain volume over 18 months.

Brain atrophy in a region called the hippocampus vital for memory formation is an early marker of cognitive decline in aging and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The researchers report that in subjects 50 years or older, both med diets were associated with significantly reduced shrinkage of the hippocampus.

But the green Med diet appeared to provide the greatest protection against brain atrophy.

Polyphenols can cross the blood-brain barrier, where they help to reduce inflammation and promote the growth of new nerve cells in the hippocampus.

So it makes sense that the green Med diet — which the researchers say doubles the polyphenol content of the classic Med diet — was associated with a greater reduction in brain atrophy.

It is important to note that 88{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of participants were middle-aged males who all had obesity. The results may therefore not apply to females, younger age groups, or people without obesity.

In addition, the number of people in the studies was relatively small.

The researchers believe that a combination of reduced red and processed meat consumption and increased polyphenol intake is responsible for the health benefits of the green Med diet.

For example, levels of Mankai-derived polyphenols in participants’ urine were significantly associated with reduced shrinkage of the hippocampus.

But eating less red and processed meat was also independently and significantly associated with reduced shrinkage of this region.

Mankai is relatively expensive and not widely available in stores.

MNT asked senior author Iris Shai, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva, Israel, whether other high protein plants may be equally beneficial as meat substitutes.

“Mankai was just a test case,” she replied. She said other plant sources of protein would work just as well.

“You don’t need to get the polyphenols within the same food source as protein,” pointed out Prof. Stampfer.

“For example, numerous studies show the benefits of berries, which have little protein but lots of phenols,” he said.

However, he said further studies would be needed to evaluate the benefits of different food sources because polyphenols are a large, varied group of compounds.

“As for protein, you can easily get all the protein you need without eating any meat, or without eating any animal products,” he added.

Nutritionists told MNT that several alternatives to Mankai are widely available.

“For the protein and mineral content as well as a boost of omega-3 fatty acids, ground flax, hemp, and chia are good alternatives to include in the diet,” said Katie Cavuto, MS, RD, a nutritionist and executive chef of Saladworks.

“Quinoa is also a complete protein that is rich in polyphenols,” she added.

Unusually for a plant, Mankai also provides vitamin B12, which is often lacking in vegan diets. But Cavuto said edible algae, such as spirulina, and seaweeds, such as nori, are also good sources of this vitamin.

Dr Donald Hensrud, MD, associate professor of nutrition and preventive medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, MN, recommended vegan cereal or plant-based milks fortified with vitamin B12.

“It is sometimes easiest to take a supplement of vitamin B12,” he told MNT.

“Vitamin B12 is nontoxic, so taking too much is not an issue,” he added.

There are also alternatives to walnuts as sources of polyphenols, as detailed in the Mayo Clinic Diet plan.

“If somebody isn’t a fan of walnuts, there are plenty of other options to include polyphenols,” said Prof. Hensrud.

Each type of nut has a different nutrient profile, he pointed out. For example, almonds are relatively high in calcium, and Brazil nuts are high in magnesium.

“Therefore, if you like mixed nuts, they would provide the widest variety of nutrients,” he said.

Plant-based foods have a much smaller impact on the environment, in particular in terms of carbon emissions.

However, not all plant sources are equal. For example, huge quantities of water go into growing almonds and cashews, often in areas where water is in short supply.

It is also worth taking into account that almond farmers often use a lot of fertilizers and pesticides.

To minimize environmental harm, therefore, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and peanuts may be better choices.

Avocados, which are popular among vegans and vegetarians, may be among the worst offenders in terms of sustainability.

Most avocados on supermarket shelves originate in Central and South America, so they have a large carbon footprint for customers in Europe, for example.

They are usually grown as a monoculture, which means little or no biodiversity, and require a lot of water.

It takes 320 liters of water to grow a single avocado.

Posted on March 22, 2022April 30, 2022
Dementia and folate: Is there a link?

Share on Pinterest
Asparagus is made up of especially high amounts of folate. Jos_ Gouveia/EyeEm/Getty Visuals,Image,Getty

Blood folate ranges diminish with age, Movie News.

Folate deficiency impairs cognitive purpose and nerve signaling in the brain, potentially elevating threats of dementia and loss of life.

Researchers uncovered that lower serum folate amounts could maximize the danger of dementia by 68{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}.

They also observed that older adults with folate deficiency facial area nearly three times the hazard of dying from any bring about.

Serum folate concentrations might be a practical biomarker for dementia and mortality, but experts are unable to rule out reverse causality.

A considerable proportion of more mature grown ups could be suffering from folate, or vitamin B9, deficiency.

In accordance to the authors of the newest research, “Evidence suggests that serum folate deficiency improves the chance of deficits in cognitive overall performance and neurological performing, Movie News.”

It may perhaps follow that folate deficiency may possibly influence dementia possibility. Having said that, to date, observational reports looking for a likely partnership have created conflicting effects.

Just lately, researchers from the United States and Israel coordinated a substantial cohort review to look into further more.

They discovered that serum folate deficiency does correlate with each dementia risk and all-lead to mortality.

The conclusions look in the journal Proof-Primarily based Mental Wellbeing.

The scientists analyzed the health-related documents of 27,188 folks ages 60–75 several years. These individuals experienced no preexisting dementia for at least 10 a long time in advance of possessing their blood folate degrees checked.

The scientists monitored records for a dementia prognosis or loss of life. All over 13{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the contributors — or 3,418 — experienced serum folate concentrations down below 4.4 nanograms for each milliliter, which indicates folate deficiency.

Amongst the people today with inadequate amounts of folate, the rates of dementia have been 3.4{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}. The premiums of dying from any cause came in just beneath 8{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}.

The contributors with out the deficiency professional costs of dementia of 3.2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, and the all-lead to death prices amounted to practically 4{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, Movie News.

Following factoring in co-developing conditions, this kind of as diabetes, vitamin B12 deficiency, cognitive decline, and melancholy, the scientists associated folate deficiency with a 68{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} larger possibility of a dementia prognosis.

The individuals with folate deficiency experienced a few moments the risk of dying from any cause.

Anat Rotstein, Ph.D., a postdoctoral scholar in the Division of Psychiatry at the Icahn University of Drugs at Mount Sinai in New York, was the study’s guide creator.

In an job interview with Clinical News Today, Dr. Rotstein mentioned the significance of this operate:

“This research is essential for the reason that it critically characterizes the affiliation among a commonly made use of and uncomplicated-to-evaluate biomarker serum folate (vitamin B9 in the blood) and the pitfalls of dementia and all-induce mortality.”

“It is the 1st review of serum folate and the chance of dementia to contemplate two key methodological artifacts: mortality precludes dementia, and reverse causation,” she ongoing.

“Hence, our examine presents the finest evidence to day relating to the affiliation concerning serum folate deficiency and all-trigger mortality.”

David A. Merrill, M.D., Ph.D., is an grownup and geriatric psychiatrist and director of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute’s Pacific Brain Health and fitness Centre at Providence Saint John’s Wellness Center in Santa Monica, CA.

In an interview with MNT, Dr. Merrill described this research as “newsworthy,” since the job of folate in cognitive health is not perfectly established.

He also famous that testing for folate amounts “could be useful […] more as a screening tool” because “deficiencies are associated with indicators.”

Dr. Rotstein and her crew also investigated the risk that reduced folate concentrations could come up from, not right before, preclinical dementia. This is difficult to rule out owing to the time it normally takes for cognitive decrease to manifest.

When the researchers categorized their info by the length of the checking period of time, they could not eliminate the possible function of reverse causation.

Dr. Rotstein informed MNT, “Our results demonstrate moderate evidence for reverse causation in dementia, suggesting that serum folate deficiency may perhaps be a consequence of the onset of dementia instead than its cause (not so with all-lead to mortality).”

If dementia is responsible for the fall in serum folate, it could be a practical marker to assistance medical practitioners determine people today with an amplified hazard of dementia.

The scientists acknowledge that their review has a number of limits.

First of all, it only incorporated individuals ages 60–75 yrs who had been selected to endure screening for serum folate concentrations. A random sample may possibly have manufactured much more correct estimates for a broader inhabitants.

Because of to the observational study style, the authors could not confirm that small folate levels induce dementia or early death.

Further more, serum folate concentrations might not replicate extended-time period folate levels, mainly because they modify with metabolic rate and foods ingestion.

Also, the examine did not account for feasible undetected genetic risk aspects.

The study’s authors conclude that health care industry experts really should “treat deficiency for [preventive] actions and/or as portion of applied therapeutic tactics although on a regular basis reviewing patients’ scientific results.”

Dr. Rotstein was hesitant to advise normal testing for folks outside of the study’s age variety of 60–75 years.

Even so, Dr. Merrill felt that annually or biannual screening could be useful for men and women with a spouse and children heritage of dementia or approaching middle and later lifestyle.

The price-efficiency of tests is questionable, while, as Dr. Merrill remarked: “You would get arguments on both facet. You would say, ‘Oh, properly, […] someone has no signs and symptoms, and it is a waste of sources.’ [But] you are going to by no means know except if you check, and then, often, if you hold out until finally you have a dilemma, it’s too late.”

Dr. Merrill suggested that fascinated men and women verify folate with vitamin B12, because the nutrients get the job done alongside one another in numerous metabolic processes. The geriatrician observed that many client laboratories are now checking these degrees in extensive blood exams as a preventive instrument.

Business Loans
Healthy Update
Seo Services

Posted on March 20, 2022
Study examines the effect of long COVID on lung health

Share on Pinterest
A recent study looks at COVID-19’s long-term effect on lung health. Westend61/Getty Images

A recent study, which appears in the journal Radiology, examined the effect of long COVID on the lungs and found potential long-term effects on lung function.

The researchers found evidence of small airway disease on chest scans in people who had persistent symptoms after SARS-COV-2 infection, regardless of infection severity.

Longer-term follow-up is necessary to determine the lasting clinical consequences of the findings.

People with COVID-19 often experience various symptoms depending on the severity of their illness. Symptoms appear 2–14 days after exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and last 1–4 weeks on average.

It has been difficult to estimate the prevalence of long-term symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection, partly because diagnostic criteria remain unclear.

However, last year, the Office for National Statistics published data suggesting that long-term symptoms occur in 7–18{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of people who experienced symptomatic COVID-19.

These long-term effects after COVID-19 are known as long COVID or post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC).

PASC can range from mild to debilitating, with new symptoms arising or evolving long after the initial infection.

Dr. Brett M. Elicker, M.D., a clinical professor in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco, discusses radiology findings in an editorial that accompanies the recent research.

Dr. Elicker explains that the long-term effects of viral pneumonia depend on the direct injury that the virus causes and the body’s immune reaction to the virus. Damage to the lungs occurs in two patterns:

Constrictive bronchiolitis, or small airway disease: Inflammation within the bronchioles — the small airways — and surrounding areas results in airway narrowing due to scarring or fibrosis.

Diffuse alveolar damage (DAD): Fibrosis to the alveoli — tiny balloon-shaped structures at the end of the bronchioles that exchange gas in the lungs — which may improve over time, but often some scarring remains.

He was responding to a study that used CT scans to image the lungs of people with persistent symptoms following confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. The scans showed air trapping, which indicates small airway disease.

Air trapping refers to pockets of air that become trapped in the lung after breathing out. In other words, they prevent the individual from exhaling completely. Air trapping is common in conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.

CT scans of people who have experienced COVID-19 also indicate ground glass opacity (GGO), suggesting DAD.

Researchers from the University of Iowa recently conducted a study to understand the long-term effects of COVID-19 on lung function. They published their findings in the journal Radiology.

The study enrolled 100 adults with a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who remained symptomatic for more than 30 days following the diagnosis, with a control group of 106 healthy participants.

In all, 67{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of participants with PASC had not needed hospitalization for COVID-19 — the authors refer to these participants as ambulatory. Additionally, 17{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} required hospitalization, and 16{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} needed intensive care during the initial infection.

The most common persistent PASC symptoms were:

shortness of breath (73{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809})

fatigue (56{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809})

cough (34{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809})

Alongside a chest CT scan, the researchers performed several pulmonary function tests to measure how well the lungs worked. These tests included:

Forced vital capacity (FVC): The total volume of air a person exhales during maximal exhalation.

Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1): The volume of air an individual exhales after a maximal inhalation in 1 second.

FEV1/FVC: The proportion of FVC a person exhales in 1 second.

Total lung capacity (TLC): The volume of air in the lungs at maximal inflation.

Residual volume (RV): The volume of air in the lungs after exhaling maximally.

Diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO): This indicates how efficiently oxygen gets into the blood from the air.

The study found that participants in the hospitalized and ICU groups had significantly lower FVC, FEV1, TLC, and DLCO than those in the ambulatory group. The ambulatory group’s FVC, FEV1, and RV were similar to the healthy control group.

Participants received a chest CT scan within a median of 75 days from diagnosis.

The average percentage of the total lung that air trapping affected was significantly higher in the ambulatory (25.4{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}), hospitalized (34.6{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}), and ICU (27.3{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}) than the healthy controls (7.2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}).

Also, the average percentage of the total lung with GGO was significantly higher in the hospitalized (13.2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}) and ICU groups (28.7{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}) than the ambulatory group (3.7{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}), but higher in the ambulatory group than the healthy controls (0.06{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}).

Dr. Alejandro P. Comellas, M.D., senior author and professor of internal medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and the Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, spoke with Medical News Today.

He stated that the strengths of the trial were its design and inclusion of only nonvaccinated participants, which reduced confounding effects.

However, it was a small single-center trial that involved only the initial SARS-CoV-2 variant, limiting the generalizability of results to subsequent variants.

Dr. Comellas stated, “The results provide evidence, quantitatively and qualitatively, of airway damage many months after the initial SARS CoV-2 infection, including patients who were initially treated in the ambulatory setting.”

“Despite expected pulmonary functions tests in the ambulatory patients,” Dr. Comellas continued, “30{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of their lungs had evidence of small airway disease.” As he explained, for some of the participants, this was more than 6 months after the initial infection.

In the companion editorial, Dr. Elicker elaborates:

“This paper suggests that airway obstruction and post-organizational pneumonia [or] DAD fibrosis contribute to persistent symptoms after [SARS-CoV-2] infection with the contribution of airways disease higher in the outpatients, and the contribution of OP [or] DAD greater in the patients admitted to ICU.”

“Longer-term studies assessing the clinical and imaging manifestations 1–2 years after the initial infection are needed to fully ascertain the permanent manifestations of post-COVID fibrosis.”

Posts pagination

Previous page Page 1 … Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 … Page 76 Next page