Don't be so clean! Obsession with hygiene could kill benefial bacterias

February 20, 2017

New Delhi, Feb 20: Good news for all those lazy-headed not-really-a-cleanliness-freak out there! Scientists have found out that the obsession with hygiene could even be turning some beneficial bacteria found in the human gut into "endangered species".

water

Providing clean water to everyone on the planet has been a major health goal for decades, but scientists have warned that while it reduces the chance of catching a deadly disease it could also increase the risk of asthma.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston, Dr Brett Finlay suggested the obsession with hygiene could even be turning some beneficial bacteria found in the human gut into "endangered species".

In a study in Canada, the researchers had found the presence of four types of bacteria in the gut of babies less than 100 days old seemed to prevent them from developing asthma in later life.

They then decided to see if the same was true for children elsewhere in the world and settled on Ecuador, where about 10 per cent of children have asthma, for their next study.

They found the same protective effect of the four bugs, but also two unexpected factors that increased the risk of the condition: a particular type of yeast in the gut and access to a clean water supply.

Dr Finley, of British Columbia University, said: "Ironically the kids with clean water had a higher risk of asthma.

"I guess it makes sense [because of the lower levels of bacteria] but I must admit we were surprised to see that. You'd think clean water is good for the world."

The hygiene hypothesis has emerged as one reason to explain the rise of asthma and allergies in the developed world.

But despite this Dr Finlay, author of the book Let Them Eat Dirt, said too many people still felt the need to kill bugs and urged them to throw away their anti-bacterial wipes.

"I would say we're suffering from a hygiene hangover. We have cleaned the world up too much," he said.

"Maybe these microbes are actually an endangered species - your great grandkids are going to have different microbes than you do.

"There are people biobanking things - I'm not suggesting you should biobank your poop now and give it to your grandkids .. I don't know . I worry we have got too clean and we have got to ease off a little bit.

"We have evolved with these microbe all along.

"I do think we have to rethink this absolute war on all microbes - 'kill them all, carpet bomb them' - I think that's wrong."

However, he stressed there were benefits to being clean.

"Hygiene works - we have got rid of infectious diseases, no doubt about it, but this is a consequence of that," he said.

"Certain microbes fix one condition but make another worse . so it's complex."

While the role of gut microbes in human health is now widely accepted, Dr Finlay said when they first suggested a link between their make-up and asthma "people thought we were from Mars".

"These microbes in the gut are setting the immune system up and different parts of the body talk to each other," he said.

But now research was increasingly pointing to the role of fungi like yeast in the gut and even "the

other elephant in the room", viruses.

"This is just a wake-up call - we have to think about more than bacteria," he said.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Lung cancer rates are rising in young women

Agencies

February 6,2020

Researchers have found the rates of lung cancer are higher in young women than men.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, examined lung cancer rates in young adults in 40 countries across five continents and uncovered a trend of higher lung cancer rates in women compared with men in recent years.

The emerging trend was widespread, affecting countries across varied geographic locations and income levels.

The changes appeared to be driven by a rising rate of adenocarcinoma lung cancer among women, said the study researchers from University of Calgary in Canada.

Lung cancer rates have been higher among men than women because men started smoking in large numbers earlier and smoked at higher rates; however, recent studies have reported converging lung cancer incidence rates between sexes.

Among men, age specific lung cancer incidence rates generally decreased in all countries, while in women the rates varied across countries with the trends in most countries stable or declining, albeit at a slower pace compared to those in men.

For the findings, lung and bronchial cancer cases between 30-64 age group from 1993-2012 were extracted from cancer incidence in five continents.

The study found the higher emerging rates of lung cancer in young women compared to young men.

According to the researchers, future studies are needed to identify reasons for the elevated incidence of lung cancer among young women.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Depression and anxiety rise among new moms amidst COVID-19 pandemic

News Network

June 20,2020

Washington, Jun 20: Pregnant and postpartum women are usually at a high risk of depression and anxiety - one in seven women struggle with symptoms in the perinatal period and the coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating those struggles according to a recent study.

The study was published in Frontiers in Global Women's Health, which found that the likelihood of maternal depression and anxiety has substantially increased during the health crisis.

"The social and physical isolation measures that are critically needed to reduce the spread of the virus are taking a toll on the physical and mental health of many of us," said Dr. Margie Davenport of the University of Alberta, Canada, who co-authored the study.

For new moms, those stresses come with side effects.

"We know that experiencing depression and anxiety during pregnancy and the postpartum period can have detrimental effects on the mental and physical health of both mother and baby that can persist for years," said Davenport.

Such effects can include premature delivery, reduced mother-infant bonding, and developmental delays in infants.

The study surveyed 900 women - 520 of whom were pregnant and 380 of whom had given birth in the past year - and asked about their depression and anxiety symptoms before and during the pandemic.

Before the pandemic began, 29 percent of those women experienced moderate to high anxiety symptoms, and 15 percent experienced depressive symptoms. During the pandemic, those numbers increased - 72 percent experienced anxiety and 41percent experienced depression.

Because lockdown measures have affected daily routines and access to gyms, researchers also asked women whether their exercise habits had changed. Of the women surveyed, 64 percent reduced their physical activity since the pandemic began, while 15 percent increased and 21 percent experienced no change.

Exercise is a known way to ease depression symptoms, so limited physical activity may result in an uptick in depressive symptoms. Indeed, the study found that women who engaged in at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week had significantly lower symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The findings are somewhat limited given the fact that researchers could not survey women before the pandemic began (since they could not know a pandemic would occur). The women surveyed could only offer their pre-pandemic symptoms in hindsight.

Also, while the researchers asked women about their symptoms using validated measures, only mental health care professionals can validly diagnose an individual with depression or anxiety.

The study was specifically interested in the impact of COVID-19 on new moms, but Davenport says maternal mental health is a critical issue no matter the time.

"Even when we are not in a global pandemic, many pregnant and postpartum women frequently feel isolated whether due to being hospitalized, not having family or friends around or other reasons," she said.

"It is critical to increase awareness of the impact of social (and physical) isolation on the mental health of pregnant and postpartum women," Davenport added.

Increased awareness makes diagnosis and treatment - the ultimate goal - more likely.

Comments