Can fat shield the heart?
NEW HAVEN — A Yale study in the January 10 Archives of Internal Medicine found that obese patients have the best outcomes after heart failure. Looking at 7,767 patients, the researchers found chances of survival grew with patient weight. The obese and overweight were respectively 19% and 12% less likely to die than ideally weighted patients. The underweight faced a perilous 21% higher risk of death than the healthy-weighted heart failure patients. But hold off prescribing burgers and fries — the authors speculate that heavier patients are benefiting from getting diagnosed earlier.

Sagacious talking condoms
NEW YORK — Canadian television producer Firdhaus Kharas is on a mission to promote safer sex. How's he going to do this? With a cartoon public service announcement featuring the Three Amigos — Dick, Shaft and Stretch (instead of Steve, Martin and Chevy). The amigos are talking condoms who go on a series of adventures that encourage condom use. The cartoon shorts have been airing in South Africa and are a hit. Mr Kharas hopes to reach youth in Latin America, Eastern Europe, China and India, indeed anywhere the number of AIDS cases is on the rise. The announcement has been translated into 40 languages so far.

For dieting ventures, walk don't run
VERONA — New research shows that low intensity exercise might be more effective in burning fat than high impact activities. Results from a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism showed that low intensity exercise, like walking, burnt more fat than more intense exercises like running. Researchers explained that obesity forces the body to get energy from sources other than fat — making fat build up. But exercise that promotes more fat burning will help patients drop more weight.

Too much of a good thing
SEATTLE — A woman's sexual behaviour could influence her chance of getting a kidney infection, according to a new study in the January 4 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers interviewed 788 women between 18 and 49 — 240 of whom had kidney infections — about their sexual behaviour, history of urinary tract infections and incontinence, and diabetes. They found that women who had sex more than three times a week increased their risk for infection more than fivefold. Women who used spermicides were also at greater risk.

Drowsy interns unsafe at any speed
BOSTON — According to a new study, interns whose shifts last 24 hours or longer are unacceptably dangerous drivers. Compared to those who work shorter shifts, the interns who put in full days had five times the chance of having a 'near miss' on the roads and over double the chance of having an accident. The study looked at 2,732 interns and appears in the January 13th issue of the NEJM. Senior author Dr Charles Czeisler wrote, "The healthcare profession has a duty to protect its young trainees for exposure to the well-known hazard of drowsy driving."

US wallops Cuba — in infant mortality
NEW YORK — Influential American commentator Nicholas Kristof wrote a scathing criticism of the US's poor infant mortality record in the January 12 edition of the New York Times. In 2004, for the first time since 1955, infant mortality figures actually went up in the US. Now the American rate is 6.63 deaths per 1,000 live births. By comparison, Cuba — a country with less than one-tenth of the US's GDP per capita — has a rate of 6.45. Canada's rate is 4.82.

Antibiotics and diet trigger asthma
ANN ARBOR, MI — What exactly is behind the skyrocketing incidence of asthma is one of modern medicine's great mysteries. A murine study, appearing in the January issue of Infection and Immunity, has led to speculation that the answer may lie in antibiotic use and modern diets. Apparently, antibiotic use changes what bacteria and fungi are present in the digestive tract, and this can induce reactions to allergens like mold and animal dander. This in turn can lead to chronic allergies and asthma.

Insulin shots don't boost survival rates
LOS ANGELES — Insulin may help many enjoy la dolce vita but it won't necessarily prolong life — at least not if they have advanced heart failure. A study published in the January issue of the American Heart Journal assessed the mortality rate of 554 patients with heart trouble. The researchers found that one-year survival rates for diabetic patients on insulin therapy were only 62.1% compared to 85.8% for diabetics not treated with insulin, and 89.7% for non-diabetic patients. This finding has important treatment implications for the 25-44% of heart failure patients who have diabetes.

Ballet begets bulimia
MINneapolis — Dancing seems like it should be a healthy, active pastime. However, a study in the December 26 issue of the Journal of Sleep Research found that women who danced as children were more likely to have eating disorders such as bulimia as adults. The study evaluated 546 women aged 17 to 56, two-thirds of whom danced as children. Subjects completed surveys regarding eating behaviours, body image and depression.

Late pregnancies prolong life
TURKU, FINLAND — With modern fertility treatments, ever more women are having children in their 40s or even 50s. But what should they make of the oft-stated health risks? Results of a study published December 25 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society show that these women may in fact live longer than those who have their kids young. Researchers looked at women of the isolated Sçmi people from the 17th, 18th, and 19th century in Lapland (Northern Scandinavia). The Sçmi who had babies later not only lived longer but were more physically robust.

 

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