C-reactive protein concentration and risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and mortality: an individual participant meta-analysis.
The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 22 December 2009
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61717-7
Interpretation
CRP concentration has continuous associations with the risk of coronary heart disease, ischaemic stroke, vascular mortality, and death from several cancers and lung disease that are each of broadly similar size. The relevance of CRP to such a range of disorders is unclear. Associations with ischaemic vascular disease depend considerably on conventional risk factors and other markers of inflammation.
Meat, eggs, dairy products, and risk of breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.
Pala V, Krogh V, Berrino F, Sieri S, Grioni S, Tjønneland A, Olsen A, Jakobsen MU, Overvad K, Clavel-Chapelon F, Boutron-Ruault MC, Romieu I, Linseisen J, Rohrmann S, Boeing H, Steffen A, Trichopoulou A, Benetou V, Naska A, Vineis P, Tumino R, Panico S, Masala G, Agnoli C, Engeset D, Skeie G, Lund E, Ardanaz E, Navarro C, Sánchez MJ, Amiano P, Svatetz CA, Rodriguez L, Wirfält E, Manjer J, Lenner P, Hallmans G, Peeters PH, van Gils CH, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB, van Duijnhoven FJ, Key TJ, Spencer E, Bingham S, Khaw KT, Ferrari P, Byrnes G, Rinaldi S, Norat T, Michaud DS, Riboli E.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Sep;90(3):602-12. Epub 2009 Jun 2.
PMID: 19491385
doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.27173
Conclusions: We have not consistently identified intakes of meat, eggs, or dairy products as risk factors for breast cancer. Future studies should investigate the possible role of high-temperature cooking in the relation of red meat intake with breast cancer risk.
"This website is about Vitamin D and MS
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the central nervous system (CNS), with an uncertain cause. Colleen Hayes and Donald Achaeson have suggested that insufficient sunlight exposure and chronic viral infections might be unrelated environmental risk factors for MS. These risk factors may act synergistically to enable the pathogenic autoimmune response.
The prevalence of MS is highest where environmental supplies of vitamin D are lowest. Sunshine enables the production of vitamin D3 (VD3) in the skin. Epidemiological studies have shown that higher vitamin D blood levels are associated with lower risk, less relapses and a slower progression of multiple sclerosis. Higher vitamin D levels can be achieved in part by increased oral intake of VD3.
Optimal health requires serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels higher than 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/L) P Lips, 40 ng/ml (100 nmol/L) P Heaney or at least 40 ng/ml (100 nmol/L) R Vieth. "
Vitamin D deficiency an important, common, and easily treatable cardiovascular risk factor?\nLee JH, O'Keefe JH, Bell D, Hensrud DD, Holick MF.\nJ Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Dec 9;52(24):1949-56. Review.\nPMID: 19055985
"THURSDAY, Dec. 17 (HealthDay News) -- In a surprise finding, Canadian researchers report that the immediate effect of the fish oil fatty acids that are good for the heart is a short-term increase in blood fats and the molecules that help them form clots.
"We were surprised to find that the acute response has some potentially negative effects in comparison to what you might expect from chronic, long-term intake," said Lindsay E. Robinson, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Guelph, and leader of the group reporting the finding in the January issue of the Journal of Nutrition.
However, the study results shouldn't affect the current recommendation for eating more oily fish to get the omega-3 polyunsaturated acids that reduce the risk of blood clots that can cause heart attacks and stroke, Robinson said.
"The recommendation to increase intake is very well-studied, and this doesn't change it," she said.
And the effects were seen in a selected group of middle-aged men with metabolic syndrome, a combination of high blood pressure, obesity and elevated blood fat levels, Robinson noted.
In the study, eight men had controlled intake of three regimens: high doses of omega-3 fatty acids, low doses of them and just plain water. Robinson and her colleagues measured several blood components involved in clotting, including fats and clotting factors such as plasminogen-activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) for the following eight hours.
PAI-1 inhibits the destruction of blood clots, so high levels of it in the blood increase the risk of artery-blocking clots.
The researchers found that both omega-3 fatty acid regimens increased blood fat and clotting factor activity. But the increase in clotting factor was greater for the higher doses of omega-3 fatty acids than for the lower intakes.
Robinson said her group hopes to do further studies of the immediate effects of omega-3 fatty acid intake. "We need to look at the mechanisms, why blood lipid levels go up," she
Marine-derived n-3 fatty acids and atherosclerosis in Japanese, Japanese-American, and white men: a cross-sectional study.
Sekikawa A, Curb JD, Ueshima H, El-Saed A, Kadowaki T, Abbott RD, Evans RW, Rodriguez BL, Okamura T, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Nakamura Y, Masaki K, Edmundowicz D, Kashiwagi A, Willcox BJ, Takamiya T, Mitsunami K, Seto TB, Murata K, White RL, Kuller LH; ERA JUMP (Electron-Beam Tomography, Risk Factor Assessment Among Japanese and U.S. Men in the Post-World War II Birth Cohort) Study Group.
J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Aug 5;52(6):417-24.
PMID: 18672160
Conclusions
Very high levels of marine-derived n-3 FAs have anti-atherogenic properties independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and may contribute to lower burden of atherosclerosis in Japanese in Japan, which is unlikely due to genetic factors.
New evidence by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and researchers in Germany shows that drinking alcohol is the greatest risk factor for acetaldehyde-related cancer. Heavy drinkers may be at increased risk due to exposure from multiple sources.
ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2009) - Seven out of ten U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, raising their risk of bone and heart disease, according to a study of over 6,000 children by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The striking findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency could place millions of children at risk for high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.
25-hydroxyvitamin D and risk of myocardial infarction in men: a prospective study.
Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Hollis BW, Rimm EB.
Arch Intern Med. 2008 Jun 9;168(11):1174-80.
PMID: 18541825
Conclusion Low levels of 25(OH)D are associated with higher risk of myocardial infarction in a graded manner, even after controlling for factors known to be associated with coronary artery disease.
An ecologic study of dietary and solar ultraviolet-B links to breast carcinoma mortality rates.
Grant WB.
Cancer. 2002 Jan 1;94(1):272-81.
PMID: 11815987
CONCLUSIONS
It is hypothesized that animal products are associated with risk for breast carcinoma because they are associated with greater amounts of insulin-like growth factor-1and lifetime doses of estrogen. Vegetable products contain several risk reduction components including antioxidants and phytoestrogens. The association with latitude is very likely because of solar UV-B radiation and vitamin D. Alcohol modulates estrogen's effects on breasts. Fish intake is associated with risk reduction through vitamin D and n-3 oils. These results are consistent with those of many case-control and cohort studies but should be assessed in well designed cohort studies.
This week sees the publication of yet another study showing the superiority of the low-carbohydrate diet as compared to the low-fat diet. This study, published in the prestigious American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, demonstrates that subjects following the low-carb diet experience a decrease in triglyceride levels and an increase in HDL-cholesterol (HDL) levels; and that these changes are accompanied by a minor increase in LDL-cholesterol (LDL), which prompts the authors to issue a caveat.
Yes, although just about all the parameters that lipophobes worry about improved with the low-carb diet, the small increase in LDL has caused great concern and has prompted the authors to gravely announce that this small increase is troublesome and should be monitored closely in anyone who may be at risk for heart disease. Since most people who go on low-carb diets do so to deal with obesity issues, and since obesity is a risk factor for heart disease, it would appear that this small increase in LDL often seen in those following a low-carb diet could put these dieters at risk. Does it? We'll see.
The association of solar ultraviolet B (UVB) with reducing risk of cancer: multifactorial ecologic analysis of geographic variation in age-adjusted cancer mortality rates.
Grant WB, Garland CF.
Anticancer Res. 2006 Jul-Aug;26(4A):2687-99.
PMID: 16886679
CONCLUSION: These results provide additional support for the hypothesis that solar UVB, through photosynthesis of vitamin D, is inversely-associated with cancer mortality rates, and that various other cancer risk-modifying factors do not detract from this link. It is thought that sun avoidance practices after 1980, along with improved cancer treatment, led to reduced associations in the latter period. The results regarding solar UVB should be studied further with additional observational and intervention studies of vitamin D indices and cancer incidence, mortality and survival rates.
Vitamin D, aging, and cancer.
Tuohimaa P.
Nutr Rev. 2008 Oct;66(10 Suppl 2):S147-52. Review.
PMID: 18844842
DOI: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2008.00095.x
Deficiency of the prohormone calcidiol (25OH vitamin D3) seems to be associated with several aging-related chronic diseases including cancer. Our results suggest that calcidiol is mainly responsible for differentiation homeostasis, whereas calcitriol might be more involved in calcium homeostasis. Therefore, an imbalance of calcidiol rather than calcitriol is a risk factor for cancer and chronic diseases. Calcidiol insufficiency, as well as insufficient solar exposure, is associated with increased risk of several solid cancers. Both a vitamin D3 deficiency and a high concentration of calcidiol may increase cancer risk. Similarly, aging phenomena show a U-shaped association with vitamin D bioactivity. Therefore, the chronic diseases and cancers related to aging might be prevented by an optimal concentration of serum calcidiol, which remains to be determined.
Alzheimer's is a mental illness that mostly affects the elderly. It is characterized by dementia, cognitive impairment, and mood swings. The patient gradually fades into a state of perpetual darkness and lack of self-awareness. Here are some steps we can take to reduce our own risk.
Scientists are trying to find ways to prevent Alzheimer's before it comes knocking at your doorstep. Extensive research is taking place even as you read this. Everyone hopes to put together the answer before it becomes a global issue. Here are a few risk factors that you can and can't avoid:
Drinking more than one soda a day -- even if it's the sugar-free diet kind -- is associated with an increased incidence of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors linked to the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, a study finds
Environmental risk factors for autism: Do they help cause de novo genetic mutations that contribute to the disorder?
Kinney DK, Barch DH, Chayka B, Napoleon S, Munir KM.
Med Hypotheses. 2009 Aug 20. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 19699591
Fatigue fractures in military conscripts : A study on risk factors, diagnostics and long-term consequences
Ruohola, Juha-Petri
University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Helsinki University Central Hospital
Centre of Military Medicine, Helsinki
2007-03-09
Doctoral dissertation (article-based)
It seems likely that low vitamin D levels are related to fatigue fractures, and that an increasing trend exists between TRACP-5b bone resorption marker elevation and fatigue fracture incidence. Though seldom detected by plain radiography, fatigue fractures often underlie unclear lower leg stress-related pain occurring in the distal parts of the tibia. Femoral neck fatigue fractures, when displaced, lead to long-term morbidity in a high percentage of patients, whereas, when non-displaced, they do not predispose patients to subsequent adverse complications. Importantly, an educational intervention can diminish the incidence of fracture displacement by enhancing awareness and providing instructions for earlier diagnosis of fatigue fractures
Effects of pistachios on cardiovascular disease risk factors and potential mechanisms of action: a dose-response study.
Gebauer SK, West SG, Kay CD, Alaupovic P, Bagshaw D, Kris-Etherton PM.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Sep;88(3):651-9.
PMID: 18779280
n-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease.
Breslow JL.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jun;83(6 Suppl):1477S-1482S. Review.
PMID: 16841857
The results of prospective cohort studies indicate that consuming fish or fish oil containing the n-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is associated with decreased cardiovascular death, whereas consumption of the vegetable oil-derived n-3 fatty acid {alpha}-linolenic acid is not as effective. Randomized control trials (RCTs) in the context of secondary prevention also indicate that the consumption of EPA plus DHA is protective at doses 3 g/d, EPA plus DHA can improve cardiovascular disease risk factors, including decreasing plasma triacylglycerols, blood pressure, platelet aggregation, and inflammation, while improving vascular reactivity. Mainly on the basis of the results of RCTs, the American Heart Association recommends that everyone eat oily fish twice per week and that those with coronary heart disease eat 1 g/d of EPA plus DHA from oily fish or supplements. Directions for future research include 1) RCTs to confirm the initial trials showing that EPA plus DHA decreases cardiovascular death and additional studies to determine whether this effect is due to EPA, DHA, or the combination; the dosage of the effective components; and whether the mechanism of action in humans is prevention of fatal arrhythmias. 2) Clinical studies to determine whether the reduction in cardiovascular disease risk factors is due to EPA, DHA, or the combination and the dosage of the effective components. 3) Clinical studies to determine whether vegetable oil-derived {alpha}-linolenic acid added to a diet enriched in n-6 fatty acids can effectively substitute for fish oil-derived EPA plus DHA.
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