Looking Older Than One's Age-A Health Risk

Looking younger than one's age can be a sign of good health and may prevent heart disease and heart attacks. 

The risk factors that make us sick  can also make us look older than we are, with a significant difference between the two ages.

A study that highlights the difference between our  biological(real) age and our chronological age found the people who look older that their age have a greater risk of developing heart disease.

The study used signs of aging such as receding hairlines at the temples, baldness at the crown of the head, earlobe creases, yellowish fatty deposits around the eyelids, wrinkles and tallying crow's feet.

Participants were 11,000 Danish people and began in 1976; they were 40 years old and over at the start of the study.

Researchers found that the risk for heart disease and heart attacks increased with each additional sign of aging. 

When compared with those who had none of the signs of aging, those with 3-4 of the signs had a 57% greater risk for a heart attack and 39% greater risk for heart disease.

Heart disease and heart attacks are non-communicable diseases, their main risk factors are: smoking, unhealthy eating, physical inactivity, overweight, hypertension and high cholesterol.

By reducing or eliminating these risk factors early in life, one can expect not only to prevent these diseases but  to look and feel younger.

Read more on the study.

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Proper Hand Washing For Your health

How often do you wash your hands, or how well do you wash your hands?

A recent survey shows that most people do not wash their hands properly and not all the time.

The survey of 1,000 people showed that they were washing their hands an average of 87% of the time after using a public washroom; 62% reported washing their hands without using soap.

Proper hand washing is a protection for our health, to maintain optimum health it is important.

Here are some hand washing tips:

• Wash between fingers and under fingernails
• Wash for 20 seconds
• Use soap, not just water.
• Dry with paper towel or let dry naturally
• Avoid using shared towels for drying
• Use hand sanitizers that are at least 60% alcohol
• Wash hands after coughing and sneezing

When to wash hands
-After using public washrooms
-After handling garbage
-After handling garbage containers
-Before preparing or handling meals
-After looking after a sick person
-During coughs and colds

Read about the survey and more on how hand washing should be done in the
TheSpec.com

HPV Not a Cause of Promoscuity-Study

A study that used medical outcomes data to examine consequences of human papillomavirus(HPV) vaccine, found that the vaccine does not cause promoscuity in girls.

The study involved 1,400 girls in a health program in Atlanta.

Researchers looked for markers of sexually activity after vaccination against HPV. They examined records of up to 3 years on whether the girls had:

• Sought birth control advice
• Tests for sexually transmitted disease
• Tests for pregnancy
• Had become pregnant

HPV vaccine is a preventative measure against cervical cancer. The Cancer society recommends that girls and women between the ages of 11 and 45 be vaccinated to reduce the risk of the disease.

The shots apparently work best when started before the person becomes sexually active, but parents raised concern that they may be a cause of promoscuity

The human papillomavirus is a leading cause of cervical cancer.

Read more on the study.

Statin Drugs Generate Survival and Health Benefits

A recent study found that the use of statin medication has large survival and health benefits

For the research, researchers examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES), from 1987 to 2008.

They assessed the relationship between statins use and LDL cholesterol levels.

They then estimated:
1-The number of avoided deaths due to statin use
2-The number of avoided  hospitalizations  due to statin use

Next they estimated how statin use affected long-term survival, for this they used data from a randomized trial of statin use for 15 years.

The study found that statin therapy reduced deaths by 40,000, hospitalizations for heart attacks by 60,000 and hospitalizations for strokes by 22,00

Based on the result of the study, the medical experts are predicting more actions to encourage their use and adherence.

Statins are FDA approved drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Read More about the study from Drug Topics.

Antibiotics Blamed For Inflammatory Bowel Disease

A recent research study found that children who were exposed to antibiotics were at greater risk for inflammatory bowel disease(IBD).

For the study researchers analyzed data of 1,072,426 children 17 years and younger from 464 practices in the UK.

The participants were either never exposed to antibiotics or  ever exposed to them; more than 1/2 of the participants were exposed to at least one antibiotic.

The study found that exposure to antianaerobic antibiotics increased overall risk for IBD by 84%.

When compared to children of the same age who had never been exposed to antibiotics, children 1 year and younger had a 5.51 times increased risk for disease.  The risk for the disease in exposed children; however, decreased with age, so by 15 years the risk is 1.57 times.

 Researchers are saying that limiting antibiotic use may help reduce the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in children.

Read more on the study.