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Smoking, drinking can damage arteries in teens: Study

Agencies
August 29, 2018

London, Aug 29: The arteries of teenagers who drink alcohol and smoke -- even very occasionally -- begin to stiffen by the age of 17, increasing their risk of heart attacks and stroke in later life, a study has found.

The findings, published in the European Heart Journal, showed that a combination of high alcohol intake and smoking was linked to even greater arterial damage compared to drinking and smoking separately.

The researchers analysed data from 1,266 adolescents over a five-year period between 2004 and 2008.

"We found that in this large contemporary British cohort, drinking and smoking in adolescence, even at lower levels compared to those reported in adult studies, is associated with arterial stiffening and atherosclerosis progression," said John Deanfield, from University College London in the UK.

"However, we also found that if teenagers stopped smoking and drinking during adolescence, their arteries returned to normal suggesting that there are opportunities to preserve arterial health from a young age," said Deanfield.

Participants provided details of their smoking and drinking habits at ages 13, 15 and 17. Aortic stiffening was then assessed using a Vicorder device to measure the speed at which the arterial pulse propagates through the circulatory system.

"Injury to the blood vessels occurs very early in life as a result of smoking and drinking and the two together are even more damaging," said Marietta Charakida, who carried out the research at UCL.

"Although studies have shown teenagers are smoking less in recent years, our findings indicated approximately one in five teenagers were smoking by the age of 17," said Charakida, now at King's College London in the UK.

"In families where parents were smokers, teenagers were more likely to smoke," she said.

Participants recorded the number of cigarettes they had ever smoked and were grouped by intensity from 'low' (0-20 cigarettes) to 'moderate' (20-99 cigarettes) to 'high' (more than 100 cigarettes).

Exposure to parental smoking was also assessed by questionnaires.

Teenagers in the 'high' intensity smoking group had a relative increase of 3.7 per cent in the stiffening of their arteries (measured by mean increase in pulse wave velocity) compared to those in the 'low' smoking intensity group.

Participants also reported the age they started drinking alcohol and the frequency and intensity of alcohol consumption per month.

Heavy, medium and light intensity drinkers were defined as consuming more than 10 drinks, between 3-9 drinks and fewer than two drinks respectively on a typical day that they were drinking alcohol.

Teenagers showed a preference for beer over wine or spirits, and those who tended to 'binge drink' (have more than 10 drinks in a typical drinking day, with the aim of becoming drunk), had a relative increase of 4.7 per cent in the stiffening of their arteries compared to 'light' intensity drinkers.

Participants in the 'high smoking and 'high' drinking intensity group had a relative increase of 10.8 per cent in the stiffening of their arteries compared to those who had never smoked and low alcohol consumers.

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Agencies
January 4,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 3: A new study has found out that diet significantly affects the mental health and well being of an individual.

The study was published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology.

"We have found that there is increasing evidence of a link between a poor diet and the worsening of mood disorders, including anxiety and depression. However, many common beliefs about the health effects of certain foods are not supported by solid evidence," said the lead researcher, Professor Suzanne Dickson.

According to the researchers, the link between diet and mental health can be firmly established in certain cases like that of the ability of a ketogenic diet being helpful for children with epilepsy and the impact of vitamin B12 deficiency on poor memory, depression and fatigue.

"With individual conditions, we often found very mixed evidence. With ADHD for example, we can see an increase in the quantity of refined sugar in the diet seems to increase ADHD and hyperactivity, whereas eating more fresh fruit and vegetables seems to protect against these conditions," said Dickson

But there are comparatively few studies, and many of them don't last long enough to show long-term effects," added Dickson.

The study further concludes that some food items can be associated with treatment and the betterment of certain mental health conditions.

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Agencies
January 12,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 12: Disruption in one night's sleep can lead to getting Alzheimer's disease, a recent study has stated.

The interruption in the sound sleep for a single night aggravates the level of tau protein in any young male's body, thus gives rise to the chances of developing the disease.

According to CNN, the report was published on Wednesday in neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Our study focuses on the fact that even in young, healthy individuals, missing one night of sleep increases the level of tau in blood suggesting that over time, such sleep deprivation could possibly have detrimental effects," says study author Dr Jonathan Cedernaes, a neurologist at Uppsala University in Sweden.

As defined by the Alzheimer's Association, tau is the name of a protein that helps in stabilizing the internal structure of the brain's nerve cells. An abnormal build-up of tau protein in the body can end up in causing interior cells to fall apart and eventually developing Alzheimer's.

"When you get more of that deep sleep and you get the REM sleep in the normal amounts, that improves clearance of abnormal proteins which we think is good," said Mayo Clinic neurologist Dr Donn Dexter, not the study author but a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.

Earlier studies have also shown that getting deprived of sleep can allow higher tau development and accumulation. Thus that poor sleep can hasten the development of cognitive issues.

Researchers caution that the study is small and inconclusive, and acknowledged they were not able to determine what the increased levels might mean.

"This study raises more questions than answers," agreed Dexter on a concluding note, sharing, "What this is telling us is that we have to dig more deeply. Despite something we do for a third of our lives, we know so little about sleep and we're learning every day, particularly when it comes to sleep and dementia."

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Agencies
July 7,2020

The World Health Organization (WHO) is reviewing a report that suggested its advice on the novel coronavirus needs updating after some scientists told the New York Times there was evidence the virus could be spread by tiny particles in the air.

The WHO says the Covid-19 disease spreads primarily through small droplets, which are expelled from the nose and mouth when an infected person breaths them out in coughs, sneezes, speech or laughter and quickly sink to the ground.

In an open letter to the Geneva-based agency, 239 scientists in 32 countries outlined the evidence they say shows that smaller exhaled particles can infect people who inhale them, the newspaper said on Saturday.

Because those smaller particles can linger in the air longer, the scientists - who plan to publish their findings in a scientific journal this week - are urging WHO to update its guidance, the Times said.

"We are aware of the article and are reviewing its contents with our technical experts," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said in an email reply on Monday to a Reuters request for comment.

The extent to which the coronavirus can be spread by the so-called airborne or aerosol route - as opposed to by larger droplets in coughs and sneezes - remains disputed.

Any change in the WHO's assessment of the risk of transmission could affect its current advice on keeping one-metre physical distancing. Governments, which also rely on the agency for guidance policy, may also have to adjust public health measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.

"Especially in the last couple of months, we have been stating several times that we consider airborne transmission as possible but certainly not supported by solid or even clear evidence," Benedetta Allegranzi, the WHO's technical lead for infection prevention and control, was quoted as saying in the New York Times.

WHO guidance to health workers, dated June 29, says that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is primarily transmitted between people through respiratory droplets and on surfaces.

But airborne transmission via smaller particles is possible in some circumstances, such as when performing intubation and aerosol-generating procedures, it says.

Medical workers performing such procedures should wear heavy-duty N95 respiratory masks and other protective equipment in an adequately ventilated room, the WHO says.

Officials at South Korea's Centers for Disease Control said on Monday they were continuing to discuss various issues about Covid-19, including the possible airborne transmission. They said more investigations and evidence were needed.

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