Medicine is supposed to be a self-regulating profession where substandard practices are rectified internally.
But a survey of US physicians reveals this is not always so. Of almost 1900 physicians surveyed, only 64% agreed that they should report all instances of impairment or incompetence. Only one-third of those who had direct knowledge of a problem colleague in the past 3 years had reported it.
Evidence is strong that statins benefit those with known cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, they are frequently prescribed for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in those without CVD but with a high risk for it. European investigators combined results for 65,000 high-risk only patients and found no significant improvement in risk.
PositiveTip: True primary prevention of heart disease should focus on the benefits of lifestyle modification, not a drug-based approach.
We know that brisk walking helps to control weight. Now a 16 year follow-up of 28,414 healthy women found that bicycling as well as brisk walking resulted in less weight gain. Slow walking showed very little benefit to weight gain.
PositiveTip: If you don't care for brisk walking, hop on the bicycle and pedal away to banish those extra pounds!
Could it really be related? Midlife obesity has long been associated with increased risk of dementia, although the how the relationship works has been poorly understood.
Researchers examined possible associations between cerebral brain volume and obesity in 733 middle age community adults. They found a significant association between visceral (abdominal) fat and low total brain volume. The authors suggest that inflammation resulting from fat cells may negatively impact brain tissue.
A number of studies have shown that sleep-deprived children and adults are more likely to gain excess weight. Finnish researchers followed 7322 men and women age 60 and over for seven years. After adjusting for confounding factors, they found that 1/3 of women who experienced frequent sleep problems gained at least 11 pounds.
PositiveTip: To make consistently wise choices, we need regular and consistent rest and sleep.
Because carbohydrates tend to raise blood-sugar levels, many tend to think that a low-carb diet should help prevent diabetes.
But Harvard Researchers analyzed 20 years of data on 41,410 men and found that low-carb intake actually increases the risk of type-2 diabetes by 12%. Red and processed meats seemed to be the biggest culprit, because vegetable protein did not change the risk level.
PositiveTip: A dietary pattern low in animal products and high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and some nuts is a healthy way of preventing disease.
Vitamin E is back in the spotlight, following dashed hopes that supplementing with this nutrient would result in many health benefits.
A new prospective Dutch study has found that those who consumed the most dietary Vitamin E at the beginning of the study experienced 25% less dementia and Alzheimer's Disease during almost 10 years of follow-up. Dietary sources of Vitamin E were primarily were primarily vegetable oils, margarine, butter and mayonnaise.
PositiveTip: A dietary pattern that includes healthy oils may substantially reduce your risk of dementia later in life.
French investigators have found that erectile dysfunction is experienced twice as often among obese men compared to normal weight men. However, obese women were no more likely to experience sexual dysfunction than normal weight women. But younger obese women were three times as likely to have met a partner on the internet, and were more likely to have an obese partner than normal weight women.
PositiveTip: Obesity not only impacts overall health, it can also negatively impact healthy relationships and emotions.
The Centers for Disease Control and the Oregon Public Health Division has revealed that almost one in five two year olds has a television in their bedroom.
These children watch more than two hours of programming every day. Excessive exposure of infants to television is associated with impaired cognitive, language, and emotional development as well as impaired sleep schedules and increased risk of obesity. The study showed that infants without TVs in their rooms were much more likely to experience 4 or more outings away from home each week.
Is there a long-term impact from binge drinking during the teenage years?
Researchers from the Scripps Institute explored this question by letting adolescent macaque monkeys drink amounts of alcohol equivalent to teenage binge drinking for 11 months. Then they withdrew all alcohol for 8-10 weeks, and examined their brain tissue. Compared to non-drinking monkeys, they found that the binge-drinkers had significantly greater brain tissue degeneration.
PositiveTip: It is essential to educate teens about the long-term, permanent changes that can be the result of reckless behaviors.
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