Study Suggests Older Adults Exposed To Air Pollution For Short Periods May Be More Likely To Be Hospitalized For Variety Of Health Problems

reports a study published in The BMJ suggests that “older adults who are exposed to tiny particles in air pollution for just a day or two are more likely to be hospitalized for a wide variety of common health problems.” Investigators “focused on so-called PM 2.5” and “confirmed previously-known links between short-term exposure to PM 2.5 and an increased risk of hospitalization and death from heart and lung diseases, diabetes, and clots in the large veins of the legs.” The researchers found for such diseases rarely studied in the context of PM 2.5, “each 1 ug/m3 increase in short-term average fine particulate matter levels was associated with an average annual increase of 2,050 hospital admissions, 12,216 total days in the hospital and $31 million in hospital and post-acute care costs.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-airpollution-hospitalizations/air-pollution-tied-to-hospitalizations-for-wide-range-of-illnesses-idUSKBN1YD2ES

Levels Of BPA In People’s Bodies Much Higher Than Previously Thought

“Levels of the widely used chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in people’s bodies are much higher than once thought,” researchers concluded. Now, these scientists also “say they’ve created a more accurate way to measure them.” The new method “outlined in their study suggests that the measurements used by the FDA and other regulatory agencies underestimate BPA exposure by as much as 44 times.” The findings were published online in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. https://consumer.healthday.com/environmental-health-information-12/chemical-health-news-730/bpa-levels-in-humans-are-underestimated-study-752754.html

Brief Visit To A Severely Polluted City May Increase Blood Markers Of Inflammation And Artery Plaque Buildup,

“In 26 healthy young adults from Los Angeles,” investigators “measured blood levels of pollution breakdown products and proteins linked to heart risk before, during and after a trip to Beijing for a summer study program.” The study revealed that “over six to eight weeks in the Chinese capital, pollution metabolites in participants’ urine spiked along with blood markers of inflammation and artery plaque buildup,” the study revealed. The findings were published online in the journal Circulation. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-pollution-biomarkers/brief-visit-to-severely-polluted-city-can-up-biomarkers-of-heart-disease-idUSKBN1YA1Z7

Hypothalamus Found To Be Smaller in Birth Control Pill Users

https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/hypothalamus-found-to-be-smaller-in-birth-control-pill-users-328194?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=80486789&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_ivmmNSKyESKJTw9K_wvmFYuQ3ZH2cDWPeWzshFrvjgSEukQkXMPEXdUcoLIS1u87SpMuGhGNbNj5cS8t7zIZiWwd34w&_hsmi=80486789

US FDA Investigating Metformin For Presence Of Carcinogen NDMA

“the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether the diabetes drug metformin had unsafe levels of a cancer-causing chemical and will recommend recalls as appropriate, the agency said on Thursday.” This comes as “part of the agency’s broader push to investigate a range of drugs for the presence of the carcinogen, known as N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), with popular heartburn medication Zantac being recalled this year for fear it contained NDMA.” In a separate statement, “Health Canada said...that it was not aware of any metformin products in Canada containing NDMA above acceptable limits, but was working closely with international regulatory partners on its assessment of the issue.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-diabetes-fda/fda-probes-diabetes-drug-metformin-for-carcinogen-ndma-idUSKBN1Y92UN

Bariatric Surgery May Reverse Subtle Damage To The Heart,

reports research suggests bariatric surgery “might also reverse subtle damage to” the heart. The study, which “included 38 obese patients who had weight-loss surgery and 19 obese patients who were on the waiting list for” bariatric surgery, revealed that at study start, “58% of patients in the surgery group had subclinical heart disease,” but “in 82% of those patients, subclinical heart dysfunction normalized six months after surgery.” Meanwhile, “subclinical heart disease worsened in 53% of patients on the waiting list during the same period.” The findings were presented at a medical conference. https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/weight-loss-surgery-bariatric-1005/weight-loss-surgery-a-boon-for-the-heart-752707.html

People At High Risk For Diabetes May Improve Health When They Eat All Their Meals Over A Span Of Just Over 10 Hours,

, “In an early effort to explore the benefits of daily fasting in humans,” investigators “found that people who are at high risk of developing diabetes improved their health in myriad ways when they ate all of their meals over a span of just over 10 hours, then fasted for the remainder of their 24-hour day.” That practice, “called ‘time-restricted eating,’ is a variant of ‘intermittent fasting’ – a practice growing in popularity.” Newsweek (12/5, Gander) reports that “eating during a specific window of time could help with weight loss, sleep, and high blood pressure.” Included in the study were “19 participants who had metabolic syndrome, characterized by a person having a number of conditions such as high blood pressure, high fasting glucose levels and obesity.” After eating “all of their food in a 10-hour window of their choosing for 12 weeks,” participants at study’s end “on average saw a 3 to 4 percent drop across body weight, their body mass index, abdominal fat, and waist circumference.” In addition, they “had lower blood pressure, lower levels of fats linked to cardiovascular disease, and