Migraine Sufferers Have Higher Risk Of Dying From Heart Disease And Stroke

Individuals who suffer from migraines with aura (temporary visual or sensory disturbances before or during a migraine headache) are at a higher risk of dying from heart disease or stroke, according to research published today in the British Medical Journal.

This is the first large population-based study showing a link between migraine and overall mortality as well as specific mortality.

The findings support increasing evidence that migraine, particularly with aura, is associated with death from heart disease. The researchers stress, however, that the individual risk for a migraine sufferer remains low.

The authors, led by Larus Gudmundsson from the University of Iceland, assessed the impact of mid-life migraine episodes in 18,725 men and women born between 1907 and 1935 who took part in the Reykjavik Study (set up in 1967 by the Icelandic Heart Association to study heart disease in Iceland). In total the research team explored over 470,000 person-years of data with a follow-up of 26 years.

Gudmundsson and colleagues used questionnaires to assess migraine with and without aura. Read more

Study IDs ‘Alarming Disparities’ In Child Obesity

While the extent of obesity among kids overall seems to have peaked, it’s still climbing among African American and Native American girls, new research from California shows.

And the biggest obesity increases over the past decade have occurred among the heaviest youths, no matter what their gender or ethnicity, Dr. Kristine Madsen of the University of California, San Francisco, and her colleagues found. “Our heaviest kids are getting heavier,” Madsen said in an interview.

Recent national data suggest that the percentage of children who are obese has plateaued, “representing the first sign of abatement in the pediatric obesity epidemic,” Madsen and her team note in the September issue of Pediatrics. But that same data, covering 1999 through 2008, also show Hispanic and black children were more likely to be obese than non-Hispanic whites. Read more

Leafy Greens May Reduce Risk Of Diabetes

Tucking into more spinach and other green leafy vegetables can reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, a study published on Friday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) said.

The research wades into a controversial area, and its authors caution more investigation is needed to confirm the findings.

A team led by Patrice Carter at the University of Leicester, central England, reviewed six studies involving 220 000 people that explored the link between fruit and vegetable consumption and Type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes.

Eating one and a half extra servings of green leafy vegetables cut the risk of diabetes by 14 percent, but eating more fruit and vegetables combined had negligible impact, they found. Read more

Diabetes Risk In Children Increases Risk For Weak Bones

A study of 140 overweight children age 7-11 who got little regular exercise found that the 30 percent with signs of poor blood sugar regulation had 4-5 percent less bone mass, a measure of bone strength, said Dr. Norman Pollock, bone biologist at MCG’s Georgia Prevention Institute.

The study is the first to suggest the association between weaker bones and type 2 diabetes risk in children. Type 2, which is becoming more common in children, is often associated with obesity and inactivity; type 1 diabetes, believed to result from genes and environmental triggers, is known to be associated with poor bone health.

“This finding provides the first clue linking childhood obesity to skeletal fractures,” said Pollock, first author on the study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. “While overweight children may have more bone mass than normal-weight kids, it may not be big or strong enough to compensate for their larger size.” Read more

Obesity Linked To Lower Sperm Count In Young Men

Young men who are obese may have a lower sperm count than their normal-weight counterparts, a new study suggests.

The findings, reported in the journal Fertility and Sterility, add to evidence tying obesity to relatively poorer quality sperm.

A number of recent studies have found that compared with leaner men, obese men tend to have lower sperm counts, fewer rapidly mobile sperm and fewer progressively motile sperm, which refers to sperm that swim forward in a straight line rather than moving about aimlessly.

But age is a “confounding” factor in examining the relationship between obesity and sperm quality. Older men tend to have lower sperm quality than younger men, and they also tend to have more body fat. Read more

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