Public Health Archives - Page 19 of 52 - Dr Amin Azhari

Less Air Pollution and More Access to Green or Blue Spaces: A Recipe to Improve the Life Quality of People with COPD

A study evaluates, for the first time, the association between a series of environmental factors and disease effects in over 400 patients. Air pollution and greater distance with green of blue spaces negatively impact the health-related quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a new study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by ”la Caixa” Foundation. The findings highlight the need for implementing urban policies that improve the life quality of a great number of people living with respiratory diseases across the world.

The health-related quality of life has become one of the most relevant parameters to measure the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). “We know that several clinical and psychological factors can affect this parameter, but little is known on the effect of environmental factors,” explains Judith Garcia-Aymerich, ISGlobal researcher. Thus, Garcia-Aymerich and her team assessed, for the first time, the association between health-related quality of life and exposure to different environmental factors in over 400 COPD patients with different levels of disease severity, from moderate to high.

The patients, all of them residing in Barcelona, underwent a COPD assessment test and answered a clinical questionnaire. The research team determined the residential exposure of each patient to air pollutants (NO2, PM2.5 and PM10 fine particles, and PM2.5 absorbance), traffic noise, land surface temperatures, and distance to green or blue (water) spaces. They found that exposure to high levels of NO2 and PM2.5 absorbance (an indicator of black carbon emanating from combustion) were associated with worse assessment and mental health questionnaire scores.

Release date: 02 September 2021
Source: Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)

Covid-19, Public Health

Prior exposure to common cold coronaviruses enhances immune response to SARS-CoV-2

Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG) have shown that certain immune cells, which are found in people previously exposed to common cold coronaviruses, enhance the body’s immune response to SARS-CoV-2, both during natural infection and following vaccination. The researchers, whose work has been published in Science, also report that this ‘cross-reactive immunity’ decreases with age. This phenomenon may help to explain why older people are more susceptible to severe disease and why their vaccine-induced immunity is often weaker than that of young people.

Last year, researchers from Charité and the MPIMG made a surprising discovery. They were the first to report that individuals with no prior exposure to SARS-CoV-2 nonetheless had immunological memory cells capable of recognizing this novel virus. The researchers concluded that these ‘T helper cells’ must have been generated to deal with mostly harmless common cold coronaviruses and that, thanks to the structural similarities between coronaviruses (in particular the characteristic spike protein found on their outer surface), these T helper cells will also attack the novel coronavirus. This ‘cross reactivity’ hypothesis has since been confirmed by a range of studies.

Release date: 31 August 2021
Source: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Nutrition in rehabilitation, Public Health

Avocados change belly fat distribution in women

A diet that included an avocado a day reduced visceral belly fat in women in a randomized controlled study of adults with overweight and obesity.

An avocado a day could help redistribute belly fat in women toward a healthier profile, according to a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators.

One hundred and five adults with overweight and obesity participated in a randomized controlled trial that provided one meal a day for 12 weeks. Women who consumed avocado as part of their daily meal had a reduction in deeper visceral abdominal fat.

The researchers published their study, funded by the Hass Avocado Board, in The Journal of Nutrition.

Release date: 03 September 2021
Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Covid-19, Public Health

The combination of mask wearing and keeping windows open is best for reducing Covid-19 risk in cars

As the country prepares to live in a post-Covid-19 world and car travel – including taxi and car-sharing services that mix households – returns to normal, new research from the University of Surrey has confirmed that keeping car windows open to draw in fresh air is key to reducing the risk of contracting the virus in vehicle environments – but there are trade-offs.

In a paper published by Environment International, Surrey’s renowned Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) explored what motorists must consider to make sure their in-car environments are as Covid-secure as possible.

The GCARE team used sensors to monitor pollution particles concentration, map how those particles varied during different settings in the vehicle and evaluate exposure dose per km of PM2.5 for three different ventilation settings (open window, air conditioning using fresh air, and air conditioning using air recirculation). The team also used sensors to monitor CO2 emission – a proxy used in the experiment for Covid-19.

The GCARE researchers found that maintaining a continuous intake of fresh air by keeping the windows open – while also wearing a mask — is the best way to guard against the transmission of Covid-19 — but this increases occupants’ exposure to toxic air pollution particles.

Motorists face a dilemma, since guarding against air pollution by keeping windows closed in turn aggravates the risk from Covid-19: the study found that the probability of Covid-19 transmission rate increased by 28.5 per cent when windows are closed and air recirculation is switched on.

For the best chance of remaining safer from both Covid-19 and external air pollution, the GCARE team found that keeping the windows closed — which mitigates air pollution particles — while running air conditioning on ambient mode (drawing in fresh air from outside) to minimize exposure to Covid-19, is the optimal balance.

Release date: 28 August 2021
Source: University of Surrey

Public Health, Sport Medicine

Want to play college sports? A wealthy family helps

It takes more than athletic talent to play varsity sports in college, at least for most young people, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that U.S. high-school athletes were much more likely to play sports in college if they came from higher-income families with well-educated parents and attended wealthier schools.

About 14% of 10th grade students whose families were in the top 20% in terms of socioeconomic status played sports in college – compared to fewer than 4% of those in the bottom 20% of socioeconomic status.

Among those who became 12th grade athletes in high school, a marked difference still remained: 23% of the most privileged students played college sports compared to 9% of the least privileged students.

Tompsett conducted the study with Chris Knoester, associate professor of sociology at Ohio State. Their research was published in the Sociology of Sport Journal.

Release date: 30 August 2021
Source: Ohio State University

Nutrition in rehabilitation, Public Health

Light-to-moderate coffee drinking associated with health benefits

Up to three cups of coffee per day is associated with a lower risk of stroke and fatal heart disease, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2021.

“To our knowledge, this is the largest study to systematically assess the cardiovascular effects of regular coffee consumption in a population without diagnosed heart disease,” said study author Dr. Judit Simon, of the Heart and Vascular Centre, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.

“Our results suggest that regular coffee consumption is safe, as even high daily intake was not associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality after a follow-up of 10 to 15 years,” she continued. “Moreover, 0.5 to 3 cups of coffee per day was independently associated with lower risks of stroke, death from cardiovascular disease, and death from any cause.”

Even though coffee is among the most consumed beverages in the world, little is known about the long-term impact of regular consumption on cardiovascular health.

Release date: 28 August 2021
Source: European Society of Cardiology

Public Health

Antibiotics increase the risk of colon cancer

There is a clear link between taking antibiotics and an increased risk of developing colon cancer within the next five to ten years. This has been confirmed by researchers at Umeå University, Sweden, after a study of 40,000 cancer cases. The impact of antibiotics on the intestinal microbiome is thought to lie behind the increased risk of cancer.

The results underline the fact that there are many reasons to be restrictive with antibiotics. While in many cases antibiotic therapy is necessary and saves lives, in the event of less serious ailments that can be expected to heal anyway, caution should be exercised. Above all to prevent bacteria from developing resistance but, as this study shows, also because antibiotics may increase the risk of future colon cancer.

The study is funded by the Lions Cancer Research Fund of Northern Sweden. It is published in the JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute , one of the world’s highest ranked cancer research journals.

Release date: 01 September 2021
Source: Umea University

Public Health

Maternal voice reduces pain in premature babies

An UNIGE team shows that the maternal voice reduces signs of pain in premature babies when they undergo life-saving medical interventions.

A baby born prematurely often has to be separated from its parents and placed in an incubator in intensive care. For several weeks, he or she will undergo routine medical procedures that can be painful, without being relieved by too many pharmaceutical painkillers, which are risky for his or her development. So how can we act for the good of the baby? A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with the Parini Hospital in Italy and the University of Valle d’Aosta, observed that when the mother spoke to her baby at the time of the medical intervention, the signs of the baby’s expression of pain decreased and his oxytocin level – the hormone involved in attachment and also linked to stress – increased significantly, which could attest to better pain management. These results, to be read in the journal Scientific Reports, demonstrate the importance of parental presence with premature babies, who are subjected to intense stress from birth, a presence that has a real impact on their well-being and development.

Release date: 27 August 2021
Source: Université de Genève

Nutrition in rehabilitation, Public Health

Eating walnuts daily lowered bad cholesterol and may reduce cardiovascular disease risk

Healthy older adults who ate a handful of walnuts (about ½ cup) a day for two years modestly lowered their level of low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol levels.
Consuming walnuts daily also reduced the number of LDL particles, a predictor of cardiovascular disease risk.
It is the first study to explore the effects of a walnut-enriched diet on overall cholesterol in elderly individuals from diverse geographical locations and spanning two years.

Eating about ½ cup of walnuts every day for two years modestly lowered levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, known as “bad cholesterol,” and reduced the number of total LDL particles and small LDL particles in healthy, older adults, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation.

Walnuts are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid), which have been shown to have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular health.

Release date: 30 August 2021
Source: American Heart Association

Covid-19, Public Health

Symptomatic COVID patients are more contagious

UGA study identifies link between case severity and infectiousness. Individuals with COVID-19 are most likely to spread the virus to close contacts two days before the onset of symptoms to three days after symptoms appear, and the risk of transmission is highest when patients had mild or moderate disease severity, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia.

The study, which was published in JAMA Internal Medicine, supports the idea that if a person with COVID-19 is sicker, they are more contagious compared to asymptomatic cases.

Release date: 26 August 2021
Source: University of Georgia