|
|
|
|
Harms linked to drinking may be greater for people in worse health, study finds
The study comes just weeks after another piece of research indicated the benefits of booze had been exaggerated and its harms downplayed by previous studies.
Dr Rosario Ortolá, a co-author of the study from the Autonomous University of Madrid, said drinking low amounts of alcohol may have some benefits for older people at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease but that such benefits are small and may be achieved in other ways, for example with a better diet or more exercise.
“Also, it is clear that alcohol consumption is related to a higher risk of cancer from the first drop, so we think that medical advice should not recommend consuming alcohol to improve health,” she said.
The researchers looked at data from 135,103 participants aged 60 and over and assigned each to one of four categories based on their average daily alcohol intake: occasional, low risk, moderate risk and high risk.
While the “occasional” category works out at less than a quarter of a small glass of wine a day, “high risk” is equal to at least two pints of cider a day for men or one pint of cider a day for women.
The researchers then looked at which patients died up to the end of September 2021, finding a total of 15,833 deaths.
After taking into account factors like participants’ age and sex, the team found that, compared with occasional drinking, high-risk drinking was associated with a 33% greater risk of dying from any cause during the course of the study, as well as a higher risk of dying from cancer or cardiovascular disease.
Moderate-risk drinking was associated with a 10% greater risk of death from any cause compared with occasional drinking, and a 15% greater risk of death from cancer. Even low-risk drinking was associated with a 11% greater risk of death from cancer compared with occasional drinking.
However, when the team dug deeper they found moderate or low-risk drinking was worse for people who lived in more deprived areas or had poorer health to begin with.
“We think that older adults with worse health are more susceptible to the harmful effects of alcohol owing to their greater morbidity, higher use of alcohol-interacting drugs and reduced tolerance to alcohol,” said Ortolá.
“Also, there is evidence that socioeconomically disadvantaged populations have higher rates of alcohol-related harms for equivalent and even lower amounts of alcohol, probably owing to the coexistence of other health challenges, including less healthy lifestyles, and lower social support or access to health care,” she said.
However, the study has limitations, including that the drinking data was based on self-report, while the study cannot show cause and effect.
See also: JAMA Network - Alcohol Consumption Patterns and Mortality Among Older Adults With Health-Related or Socioeconomic Risk Factors | Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs - Why Do Only Some Cohort Studies Find Health Benefits From Low-Volume Alcohol Use? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Study Characteristics That May Bias Mortality Risk Estimates
Source: The Guardian, 12 August 2024
|
|
More than 75% of popular takeaway and restaurant food is unhealthy, study finds
Researchers came to their “hugely alarming” conclusions after analysing the nutritional content of the 10 top-selling items bought at 19 of the UK’s biggest “out of home” outlets, including chains such as Subway, Pizza Express, McDonald’s, Greggs, Starbucks and Pret a Manger.
Anywhere between 46% and 78% of the 190 dishes examined were deemed unhealthy, depending on which of three different government-backed ways of judging the nutritional quality of food was applied. These were the long-established nutrient profiling model, the traffic light labelling used by many supermarkets and the metrics that underpin the sugar tax and the previous government’s drives to encourage food manufacturers to include less salt, sugar or calories in their products.
The findings have prompted renewed calls for ministers to force the food industry to make its products healthier because bad diet is a leading cause of cancer, heart disease and other killers.
“The dominance of unhealthy foods and drinks in the out of home sector is hugely alarming. While healthier options exist, this food environment makes it hard for people to make healthier choices”, said Dr Monique Tan, a lecturer in public health nutrition at Queen Mary University of London, who led the research.
The unhealthy nature of so many of the most popular products at sit-in and take-out chains is a particular concern because people in Britain are eating out increasingly often. They are estimated to visit “out of home” outlets 2.4bn times a year.
Food bought in these outlets makes up as much as 11% to 25% of the calories Britons consume, over half of which come from the larger chains, other research has found.
Some takeaway meals contain more calories in one sitting than the recommended amount – 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men – someone should have in an entire day, according to research reported in the Guardian in June.
The researchers also found that only three of the 19 companies studied – Dominos, Pizza Express and Pret a Manger – publicly discloses information about the nutritional makeup of their products. Ten did not make ingredient information available, 10 did not say what the nutritional composition was per 100g and nine did not disclose how much fibre they included.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This government will take action to prevent ill-health and tackle the obesity crisis head on, protecting the NHS and helping people to live well for longer.
“We will shift our focus from treatment to prevention by introducing tight restrictions on advertising junk food, alongside banning children from being able to purchase sugary, high-caffeine energy drinks.”
See also: Action on Salt - New Report Assessing the Healthiness of the UK OOH Sector
Source: The Guardian, 10 August 2024
|
|
Why Quitting Smoking Could Be The Key To Better Health
Sustained smoking cessation was associated with a reduced risk of many cancers, particularly when quitting occurred before the age of 50, according to a large population-based study published in JAMA Network Open.
The study followed over two million Korean participants over more than 13 years to investigate the time course of cancer risk with time elapsed since quitting smoking. The study found that smokers who completely quit had a 17% lower risk of any cancer compared to those that continuously smoked. Decreased cancer risk for complete quitters was observed in several cancers; including lung, liver, stomach and colorectal.
The researchers reported that although cancer risk was reduced by a greater degree if smoking cessation occurred before the age of 50, quitting at any age was also associated with reduction in cancer risk.
Smoking remains a serious threat to global health, as it is linked to more than a dozen cancers, including lung cancer that causes more deaths globally than any other cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. Nearly 9 out of 10 lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking cigarettes or secondhand smoke, according to the CDC.
The harmful effects of smoking are not limited to just cancer. Smoking increases the risk of heart disease and stroke by two to four times, according to the CDC. Smoking and the toxins associated with it damage blood vessels making them narrower, which ultimately can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
The detrimental effects of smoking are not limited to just those who smoke packs of cigarettes daily. Even smoking fewer than five cigarettes a day can result in cardiovascular disease, according to the CDC.
Smoking also damages airways, which can lead to difficulty breathing and many lung diseases. Examples of lung diseases caused or potentially triggered by smoking include emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Smokers are 13 times more likely to die of chronic obstructive lung disease than nonsmokers according to the CDC.
Smoking cessation provides a real key to unlock a healthier future. Quitting reduces the risk of many cancers, improves cardiovascular and respiratory health, enhances one’s mental well-being and can even be beneficial to one’s bank account.
See also: JAMA Network - Cancer Risk Following Smoking Cessation in Korea
Source: Forbes, 11 August 2024
|
|
Have you been forwarded this email? Subscribe to ASH Daily News here.
For more information email [email protected] or visit www.ash.org.uk
@ASHorguk
ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
