WOMEN WHO use permanent hair dyes and chemical hair straighteners have an increased risk of developing breast cancer, and the risk increases with more frequent use.
For the study published in the International Journal of Cancer, researchers analysed data from 46,709 women, aged 35 to 74 years. Among them, 55 per cent reported using permanent dyes in the year prior to enrolling in the study. During a median follow-up of eight years, 2,794 participants developed breast cancer.
Women who regularly used permanent hair dyes were 9 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer than women who did not use hair dyes. The study did not find an increased risk of breast cancer with the use of semi-permanent or temporary dyes.
Women who used chemical hair straighteners had an 18 per cent higher risk of breast cancer compared to those who did not use these products.
Brush for heart
PEOPLE WHO brush their teeth regularly have a lower risk of heart issues such as atrial fibrillation and heart failure, according to a South Korean study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
The study included 1,61,286 participants, aged 40 to 79, without a history of atrial fibrillation or heart failure. The participants had a routine medical examination at the start of the study and provided information about their lifestyle, oral health, and oral hygiene habits.
During an average follow-up of 10.5 years, 4,911 participants developed atrial fibrillation and 7,971 developed heart failure.
Those who brushed their teeth three or more times a day had a 10 per cent lower risk of atrial fibrillation and a 12 per cent lower risk of heart failure.
Getting regular professional dental cleanings was also linked to a 7 per cent lower risk of heart failure. But missing 22 or more teeth was linked to a 32 per cent higher risk of heart failure.
The reduced risk was independent of factors such as age, sex, socioeconomic status, regular exercise, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and hypertension.
Did You Know?
Eating chilli peppers at least four times a week was associated with a 23 per cent lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 34 per cent lower risk of dying of cardiovascular diseases compared to never or rarely eating them.
Journal of the American College of Cardiology
For your baby’s safety
INDUCING LABOUR at 41 weeks is associated with a lower risk of new-born death compared with waiting until 42 weeks, according to a Swedish study published in The BMJ.
Health risks to the mother and baby starts to increase as the pregnancy continues beyond 40 weeks. About 14 per cent of stillbirths worldwide are associated with prolonged pregnancy. The researchers wanted to compare the risks and health outcomes of induction after 41 weeks with 42 gestational weeks.
For the study, 2,760 pregnant women—average age 31—with uncomplicated, low-risk single pregnancy were randomly assigned to receive induction at either 41 full weeks (1,381 women) or at 42 full weeks (1,379 women).
There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of most health measures including pneumonia, sepsis, low oxygen levels, breathing problems, birth weight, convulsions and admission to an intensive care unit for the baby and complications such as caesarean delivery, vaginal birth with instruments, prolonged labour, epidural anaesthesia, wound infection and haemorrhage for the mother.
However, a significant difference was found when considering infant mortality. While there were no deaths in the group that was induced after 41 full gestational weeks, there were five stillbirths and one neonatal death among the women who waited until week 42.
Healthy window
EATING WITHIN a 10-hour window and fasting for 14 hours can help people with metabolic syndrome reduce weight, abdominal fat, blood pressure and cholesterol.
Metabolic syndrome refers to a cluster of conditions, such as obesity, excess abdominal fat, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and abnormal cholesterol or triglycerides, which can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
For the study published in Cell Metabolism, 19 participants diagnosed with metabolic syndrome were asked to restrict their eating to within a window of 10 hours or less a day over a period of 12 weeks. The participants logged when and what they ate on an app created by the lab. Among them, 84 per cent were on some type of medication for one or more conditions, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
Even though the participants could eat what they wanted, they consumed about 8.6 per cent fewer calories, probably due to the limited eating window.
At the end of 12 weeks, the participants lost weight, reduced abdominal fat, lowered blood pressure and cholesterol and had more stable blood sugar and insulin levels. They also reported better sleep and more energy, and many of the participants were able to have their medications lowered or stopped.
No escape from risk
EVEN LIGHT to moderate alcohol consumption can increase the risk of cancer. For the study published in the journal Cancer, researchers compared clinical data on 63,232 cancer patients with 63,232 matched controls. The participants provided information about their average daily consumption of alcohol and the duration of drinking.
One standardised drink was considered equivalent to 500ml of beer, 180ml of wine, or 60ml of whiskey.
The overall cancer risk was lowest at zero alcohol consumption. There was an almost linear association between cancer risk and alcohol consumption. Those who drank two or fewer drinks per day had an elevated cancer risk regardless of how long they had consumed alcohol.
After controlling for smoking, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and other factors, consuming one drink per day for 10 years or two drinks per day for five years was associated with a five percent increased risk of cancer.
The relative risk of having any cancer increased by 54 per cent for those who consumed two drinks a day for 40 years, compared to teetotallers.
Did You Know?
Heavy smoking can affect facial attractiveness, increase wrinkling and accelerate facial ageing.
PLOS Genetics
Danger of sleeping too much
SLEEPING NINE hours or more a night and taking long afternoon naps can increase your risk of stroke, according to a Chinese study published in the journal Neurology.
The researchers followed 31,750 healthy people—average age 62—for six years. Among them, 24 per cent reported sleeping for at least nine hours each night and 8 per cent reported taking naps for longer than 90 minutes.
During the follow up, 1,557 participants reported suffering a stroke. Those who slept for nine or more hours per night had a 23 per cent greater risk of stroke than those who regularly slept seven to eight hours each night.
Taking afternoon naps for more than 90 minutes a day was associated with a 25 per cent increased risk of stroke compared with napping for 30 minutes or less.
People who slept more than nine hours and napped more than 90 minutes per day had an 85 per cent higher risk of stroke.
People who reported poor sleep quality had a 29 per cent increased risk of stroke than those who reported good sleep quality. Those who slept more than nine hours per night and had poor sleep quality had an 82 per cent increased risk of stroke.
Lose weight, prevent cancer
BEING OVERWEIGHT or obese is a known risk factor for breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, postmenopausal women who are overweight or obese have up to two times higher risk of breast cancer.
A new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests that losing weight can reduce a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. The more weight a woman loses, the lower her risk of breast cancer.
To find out if losing weight in middle or later adulthood can reduce breast cancer risk, the researchers analysed data from 1,80,885 women aged 50 and older, who were cancer-free at the start of the study.
Their weight was assessed three times over a decade; 6,930 women developed breast cancer during follow-up.
Women with sustained weight loss had a lower risk of breast cancer. Compared to women whose weight remained stable, those who lost 2kg to 4.5kg had an 18 per cent lower risk of breast cancer. The risk was 25 per cent lower for women who lost 4.5kg to 9kg, and 32 per cent lower for women who lost 9kg or more.
Even women who lost 9kg or more, but gained some of it back, had a lower risk of breast cancer compared with those whose weight remained stable.
Birth season and heart health
ACCORDING TO A study published in the BMJ, women born during spring and summer months, especially March-July, are more likely to die from cardiovascular diseases.
The study included 1,16, 911 women aged 30 to 55.
During 38 years of follow-up, 43,248 participants died; 8,360 deaths were from cardiovascular causes.
While no significant association was seen between birth month, birth season, and overall mortality, women born in the spring and summer were more likely to die of heart disease than those born in autumn and winter.
People born in April had the highest cardiovascular mortality, while those born in December had the lowest. Those born in December had an 18 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality compared to those born in April.
While the exact reason for these differences are not clear, the researchers think seasonal fluctuations in diet, air pollution levels, and availability of sunlight before birth and in early life could be contributing factors.
Did You Know?
Grandparents who care for grandchildren scored lower on loneliness and social isolation, and had a larger social network than those who did not care for grandchildren.
BMJ Open
Musicians, beware of tinnitus
MUSICIANS ARE constantly exposed to loud noise which puts them at a higher risk of developing tinnitus.
People with tinnitus hear ringing, buzzing, hissing or whistling sounds when there are no external sounds.
For the study published in the journal Trends in Hearing, researchers used data from 23,000 people to compare tinnitus rates and hearing problems in people working in noisy jobs such as construction, agriculture and music to people working in quiet jobs such as finance.
People working in all genres of music industry (even classical music), including musicians, music directors and production staff, are nearly twice as likely to develop tinnitus as those working in quieter industries.
The length of safe noise exposure is reduced by half for every three decibels increase in noise intensity—that would be four hours of daily exposure for 88 decibels of noise, two hours for 91 decibels, and so forth.
“Most amplified concerts exceed 100 decibels, meaning that musicians should not be exposed to that level of noise for more than 15 minutes without proper hearing protection,” said the study author.
Prescribed less, more effective
ANTI-HYPERTENSIVE drugs inhibitors, the most widely prescribed first-line blood pressure medication, is less effective and has more side effects than thiazide diuretics, another class of medication that is prescribed less often.
As per the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association guidelines, patients with high blood pressure can be started on any drug from five different classes of medications: ACE inhibitors; thiazide diuretics; angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs); dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers and non-dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers.
To find out the safety and effectives of these medications, the researchers tracked data on nearly five million patients from four countries—Germany, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
All the patients had been started on treatment for high blood pressure with a single drug: 48 per cent of the patients were started on an ACE inhibitor compared with 17 per cent of patients who were first prescribed thiazide diuretics.
Compared to those who had been prescribed ACE inhibitors, patients who were started on thiazide diuretics had 15 per cent fewer heart attacks, strokes and hospitalisations for heart failure, as well as fewer side effects.
According to the researchers, about 3,100 major cardiovascular events among the patients who first took ACE inhibitors could have been prevented if they had been started on thiazide diuretics.
Non-dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers were also less effective than all the other four first-line classes of blood pressure drugs.
CONTRIBUTOR: SHYLA JOVITHA ABRAHAM