Information – Health +
Active men less likely to die from cancer
Active men less likely to die from cancer
Wednesday May 28 2008 16:46 IST ANI
London, May 28 (ANI): Men who take regular moderate exercise are at a reduced risk of dying from cancer than couch potatoes, according to a new study by Swedish researchers.
The team found that the cancer death rate in active men who walked or cycled at least 30 minutes daily fell by a third.
The authors said that active men have a 34 per cent lower chance of being killed by cancer than those who do not, reports the Scotsman.
The researchers monitored the health and physical activity levels of 40,708 men aged 45 and 79 for seven years.
During that time, 3,714 of the participants developed cancer and 1,153 died from their disease.
The findings showed that exercise had a significant influence on cancer survival and a smaller impact on incidence.
According to the results, men who walked or cycled at least 30 minutes a day were 34 per cent less likely to die from cancer than men who exercised less or did nothing at all.
The same activities only led to a 5 per cent reduction in cancer rates, a result that could be due to chance.
However, a more rigorous programme of walking and cycling for between an hour and an hour and a half a day was linked to a 16 per cent lower incidence of cancer.
The study is published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Want to live longer? Eat less!
Want to live longer? Eat less!
Thursday May 29 2008 19:03 IST ANI
LONDON: Eating well is certainly essential for healthy survival but if you want to live longer, then all you need to do is reduce your diet rather than skipping off to the gym.
Derek Huffman, from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, found that eating less prolongs life in rodents and said that now he knows one of the key molecules involved.
It’s probably down to depressed insulin levels, which regulate blood glucose, he said. For the study, Huffman kept mice on a variety of diets and exercise regimes.
He found that insulin was lowest in animals eating the least, even if they didn’t exercise. However, Huffman warned that it is still unknown if the effect translates to humans, so keep exercising.
“The benefits of exercise in humans are overwhelming,” New Scientist quoted Huffman, as saying.
Quality of life predicts survival in cancer patients
Quality of life predicts survival in cancer patients
Friday May 30 2008 17:57 IST ANI
WASHINGTON: Quality of life can be an important indicator in determining survival among patients with head and neck cancer, according to a new study.
The study indicates that identifying patients with poor quality of life could help in recognizing patients with aggressive tumours.
Researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Centre analysed 495 people at four hospitals with head and neck cancer within the previous two years. They were asked about physical and emotional quality of life, including pain, eating and swallowing, speech and emotional well-being.
“Low quality of life may have value in screening patients for recurrence. By identifying patients with poor quality of life, we may also be able to identify early on those who have particularly aggressive tumours,” said Carrie A. Karvonen-Gutierrez, lead study author and research associate at the U-M School of Public Health and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.
The findings revealed that general physical health and quality of life issues had an impact on survival.
Also patients who reported difficulty with pain, eating and speech were significantly less likely to survive.
“Our findings validate the concept that doctors have long recognized: that persistent or increasing pain is a worrisome clinical finding,” said Sonia A. Duffy, study author, a research scientist at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, associate professor of nursing at the U-M School of Nursing and research assistant professor of otolaryngology at the U-M Medical School.
“Perhaps in the future, quality of life data will be routinely collected in a standardized way, and trends in pain scores will trigger more aggressive examinations for cancer recurrence,” she added.
“While patients are monitored and screened after cancer treatment, small recurrences of cancer may be difficult to detect, even with standard imaging techniques,” said Dr Jeffrey Terrell study author, associate professor of otolaryngology at the U-M Medical School.
The team would be conducting further studies to understand whether treatments that improve quality of life can improve survival.
“Although it is not yet clear how the association works between survival and quality of life related to head and neck pain, it is clearly advantageous to minimize pain for patients,” Duffy said.
The study appears in the June 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Smoking during pregnancy raises risk of SIDS
Smoking during pregnancy raises risk of SIDS
Saturday May 31 2008 17:33 IST ANI
WASHINGTON: A new study has found that smoking while pregnant can lead to an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Clinicians have long considered prenatal cigarette smoke exposure a major contributing risk factor for SIDS, but researchers had not proved a casual relationship.
Other contributing factors include disturbances of breathing and heart rate regulation and impaired arousal responses, thermal stress (primarily overheating from too high temperatures or too much clothing) and sleeping in the prone (belly-down) position.
“Since the advocacy of ‘back to sleep position,’ smoking during pregnancy has become the principal risk factor for SIDS,” said Dr. Shabih Hasan, staff neonatologist and associate professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Calgary, and the principal investigator of the new study.
“Our results provide some of the most direct evidence to date suggesting that prenatal cigarette smoke exposure can contribute to the destabilizing effects of hypoxia and thermal stress on neonatal breathing,” he added.
To investigate the compounding effects of cigarette smoking on other known risk factors for SIDS, namely thermal and oxygen stress, researchers exposed pregnant rat pups to either room air (control) or mainstream cigarette smoke equivalent to that a pack-a-day smoker would experience.
“Our approach sought to quantify the effects of cigarette smoke holistically, rather than using nicotine exposure as a proxy for cigarette smoke. Nicotine is just one of the 4,700 known toxins in cigarette smoke that could have protracted effects on embryonic development and postnatal growth,” said Dr Hasan.
In this study, both plasma nicotine levels in the mothers and reduced birth weight in the pups were comparable to those of moderate to heavy smoking human mothers and the infants born to them.
A total of 30 control and 39 cigarette smoke-exposed one-week-old rat pups were randomized to undergo either thermoneutral or hyperthermic exposure to an oxygen-depleted environment. Researchers then analyzed the respiratory responses to the challenges.
Overall, just 13 percent of the control animals exhibited gasping, whereas nearly three times that of the cigarette smoke exposed animals did. Furthermore, none of the control animals exhibited gasping under hypoxic conditions during thermoneutral experiments, whereas 25 percent of the cigarette smoke exposed animals did.
nder hyperthermic conditions, just 29 percent of the control group displayed gasping behavior, compared to nearly half-49 percent-of the cigarette smoke exposed group.
“These results also indicate the adverse effects of low oxygen and thermal stress even in pups, which were not exposed to cigarette smoke during pregnancy,” said Dr. Hasan.
But the effects were much more pronounced in pups that head been exposed to cigarette smoked prenatally. Under hyperthermic conditions, hypoxia induced gasping in both groups, but only the cigarette smoke-exposed animals exhibited a pronounced and longer lasting respiratory depression following the termination of hypopxia.
“Our results show that prenatal cigarette smoke exposure compounds the risk by increasing the likelihood of gasp-like respiration and prolonging the time that it takes for neonates to return to normal breathing following hypoxia,” said Dr. Hasan.
“These observations provide important evidence of how prenatal cigarette smoke exposure, hypoxic episodes and hyperthermia might place infants at higher risk for SIDS and further support efforts to foster prenatal smoking cessation programs.”
The study appears in the first issue for June of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a publication of the American Thoracic Society.
Simply moving can have you feeling more positive
Simply moving can have you feeling more positive
Monday June 2 2008 14:35 IST ANI
WASHINGTON: Indiana University researchers have found that physical activity throughout the day like simply moving is linked to positive feelings.
However, they found no similar relationship between physical activity and negative moods.
“In the study, if people are more active, they tend to report a more positive mood. Really low levels of activity are related to lower levels of positive affect,” said Bryan McCormick, associate professor in IU Bloomington’s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
For the study, physical activity was considered movement beyond resting — not formal exercise.
“People often see physical activity as having to be exercise, but it doesn’t have to be exercise. Physical activity beyond a resting state does appear to be related to mood,” McCormick said.
The study is exceptional because it tracks moment-by-moment physical activity throughout the day and compares it to reports study participants make throughout the day of their activities and feelings.
For the study, the 25 participants wore uniaxial accelerometers during waking hours for seven days so their physical activity could be recorded.
They also wore wristwatches with pre-programmed alarms that signalled them seven times per day during this period so they could fill out brief reports.
If the participants responded more than 20 minutes after the alarm, their report was disregarded in order to eliminate the ambiguity of “recall.”
Majority of studies involving mood and physical activity rely on recall, and compare it to overall physical activity levels, not moment-by-moment activity.
“Most research distinguishes between positive and negative mood. In our study, the moment-by-moment activity is related to positive mood — but not related to negative mood state,” McCormick said.
Physical activity and exercise is drawing more attention as a possible way to influence mild depression.
“In some ways, it might treat mild depression in that it increases our positive feelings, but it doesn’t necessarily take away our negative feelings,” McCormick said.
Georgia Frey, associate professor in the School of HPER’s Department of Kinesiology and lead author of the study, said: “The results of this study were modest and based on a relatively small sample but the findings are encouraging.”
Drinking water may be harmful to babies
Drinking water may be harmful to babies
Monday June 2 2008 14:22 IST Express Features
BABIES younger than six months old should never be given water to drink, a research at Johns Hopkins Children’s center in Baltimore says.
Consuming too much water can put babies at risk of a potentially life-threatening condition known as water intoxication.
Because babies’ kidneys aren’t yet mature, giving them too much water causes their bodies to release sodium along with excess water, Anders said. Losing sodium can affect brain activity, so early symptoms of water intoxication can include irritability, drowsiness and other mental changes.
Other symptoms include low body temperature (generally 97 degrees or less), puffiness or swelling in the face and seizures.
Big bin: Tackle the trash
Big bin: Tackle the trash
Tuesday June 3 2008 00:00 IST Express Features KOCHI
WITH the introduction of the bylaw on garbage, most Kochiites heaved a sign of relief.
However, unlike many issues where the authorities have more responsibility than the citizens, waste management is an issue that has to start at home.
While the Corporation has finally got its act together by bringing out the bylaw, it remains to be seen whether the law will translate into reality.
Waste management is an easily organised task if done systematically.
The Corporation’s new rules state very clearly that you’ve got to segregate waste, otherwise Corporation workers will not collect it. You can start by using two buckets- one a green one normally supplied by the Corporation and the other a white one which is used to contain all non-biodegradable waste.
Non-biodegradable waste includes all paper items, plastic containers, kits, toys, pencil sharpenings, juice packets, pet bottles, diapers, napkins and the like.
Biodegradable waste includes kitchen food waste, vegetable and fruits peels, plants, grass and weeds. Use a newspaper at the bottom so that the bucket will remain clean and the person collecting the waste can easily clean the bucket off the residue.
The non-biodegradable waste can be further segregated into: a) Recyclable waste: Plastics, paper, glass, metal, etc. b) Toxic waste: Old medicines, paints, chemicals, bulbs, spray cans, fertiliser and pesticide containers, batteries, shoe polish. c) Soiled waste: Hospital waste such as cloth soiled with blood and other body fluids.
(Toxic and soiled waste must be disposed of with utmost care.) Certain things can be kept aside to be sold to the man who buys old items. These items include newspapers, used bottles, magazines, carry bags, old exercise books, oilcans, etc. This is one form of segregation which can be done as a routine.
In fact, much of the household waste can be separated daily into different bags for different categories of waste such as wet and dry waste which should be disposed of separately.
Dry waste consisting of cans, aluminium foils, plastic, metal, glass, and paper can be recycled. One should also keep a bin for toxic waste. Wet waste which consists of leftover foodstuff and vegetables can also be put in a compost pit and the compost can be used as manure in the garden.
Waste management: See how they do it
Waste management: See how they do it
Tuesday June 3 2008 00:00 IST, ENS KOCHI
Now that we have a bylaw in place to ensure that the waste is segregated before disposal, we decided to ask a few councillors and Corporation officials to check out how they manage the waste generated at their homes.
TK Shamsuddin, chairman of health and education standing committee, buries the biodegradable waste on the premises of his house. Non-biodegradable waste is burnt. Being the health and education standing committee chairman, Shamsuddin is responsible for the waste disposal management.
Mayor Mercy Williams has set up a small waste treatment plant at her house. “The plant was constructed a year ago and it is very effective,” the Mayor said.
The aerobic compost plant in Ponnurunni division which is represented by Deputy Mayor C K Manisanker is a model to others. “In my house, untreated biodegradable waste is used as manure. We burn paper and other things. If there is a large quantity of waste it is taken to the aerobic plant. The plant has been functioning here for the last six years,” he says.
There was no garbage crisis at the Ponnurunni division when the city was finding it difficult to deal with garbage.
Melly Joy, councillor from Edakochi and former standing committee chairperson, uses the waste as feed for poultry. “There are only three members in my family, therefore not much waste is generated. Paper waste is burnt on the house premises itself,” she said. Anitha Jyothi of Elamakkara is also doing the same. She said that the amount of waste generated from her house is very little.
“Biodegradable waste is buried on the premises of the house while paper waste is burnt,’’ she said.
Corporation opposition leader A B Sabu who represents Poonithura, a division which shares border with Tripunithura municipality, said that the waste generated in his house is also buried.
“As my house is a few kilometres from the city, there is not much problem of waste disposal. Besides, we have set aside an area in our compound to dispose of biodegradable waste,” Sabu said.
City grappling with garbage – Kochi – Express News Service report
City grappling with garbage
Tuesday June 3 2008 00:00 IST ENS K Surekha
There’s no end to the garbage woes of the city.
A day after the compendium of bylaws to govern the solid waste management process came into effect, heaps of garbage can be seen piled on the roadsides. Bundled in plastic covers that display the names of many a store and supermarket in the city.
The bundles are an indication that people are not aware of the segregation of biodegradable waste from the non-biodegrable. Most homes in the city have been asked by the corporation to put the waste in separate bins (red and green that are yet to reach a majority of homes).
“I paid Rs 70 for the bins and haven’t got them, I burn most of the waste in my compound because the workers don’t collect the waste on a daily basis and keeping the waste near the gate for hours is unhealthy and inauspicious. When it pours this will surely breed diseases,” says Sreebala, a housewife at Mavelipuram Colony in Kakkanad.
In most homes the garbage is left near the gate at the mercy of crows and rats. If people who collect the waste are nowhere to be seen, where will the residents throw the waste? In some flats the workers collect the garbage religiously but the plastic and the rest are mixed together.
“The people who come to collect it are irregular and the stench in the apartment drives everyone crazy,” says Minu Mathew who resides in a flat at SRM Road.
It is the same at many other apartments. Some civic conscious people do take pains to divide the waste in two bags. But the plastic waste is collected only once in a blue moon. People living in limited spaces find it difficult to keep the waste at home for long. And they don’t feel like paying the monthly fee of Rs 30 to the Corporation.
Unless the Corporation takes measures to clear the waste on a daily basis, the residents will have no go but to dump it in the neighbour’s vacant plot, stealthily leave it by the wayside, or throw it into canals and backwaters that are already stagnating with waste. After all, Keralites are more bothered about personal hygiene than their surroundings.
There’s a big hoarding at the entrance of Shenoy Road saying a word of thanks to the people who’ve managed to keep the road so dirty.
“It’s up to the residents to complain to the concerned people and get the waste collected daily. We’re collecting all the waste and after segregation, processing it at the Brahmapuram plant,” says Mayor Mercy Williams.
Now most of the shops in the city have done away with plastic bags and the waste management is better, she says.
In a city that has a population of 16 lakh and a floating population of over a lakh, the number of waste bins in the streets and on the highways are few and far between. Going by the waste seen in and around the city, the Corporation will have a tough task to maintain a clean Kochi.
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