Health Online 2013: Survey Results

Health Online 2013: Survey Results

from ScienceRoll by berci.mesko@gmail.com (Bertalan Meskó)

Pew Internet Research published its new findings about online health. Here are the most important results:

1 in 3 U.S. adults use the internet to diagnose themselves or someone else – and a clinician is more likely than not to confirm their suspicions.
1 in 4 people looking online for health info have hit a pay wall.
11% of internet users have looked online for information about how to control their health care costs.
14% of internet users have looked online for information about caring for an aging relative or friend.
16% of internet users have looked online for information about a drug they saw advertised.

India’s City Dwellers at Greater Risk than Americans for Heart Disease, from Scientific American Blog

Image courtesy of iStockphoto/JeremyRichards

Diabetes, heart disease, stroke and other afflictions that once primarily plagued wealthier, western countries are now accelerating in poorer nations.

A new study reveals that risk factors for heart disease in Indian cities are now more prevalent than they are in the U.S. or Western Europe per capita. And with a population of more than 1.1 billion, India’s health is a major global concern.

Cardiovascular disease is still the leading killer in the U.S., but it has been on steady decline for decades. In India and other countries, such as China and Brazil, this and other diseases linked to an unhealthier lifestyle, are on the rise.

“India has the dubious distinction of being known as the coronary and diabetes capital of the world,” Prakash Deedwania, of the University of California, San Francisco and co-author of the report, said in a prepared statement.

For the study, the researchers assessed the health of 6,198 adults who lived in 11 cities in various parts of India. Across the country about 79 percent of men and 83 percent of women didn’t get much exercise, and 41 percent of men and 45 percent of women were overweight or obese, the team found. And high-fat, low-fruit-and-vegetable diets were common. All of these trends put people at higher odds for developing—and dying from—cardiovascular disease. The findings were presented April 20 in Dubai at the World Congress of Cardiology.

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About the Author: Katherine Harmon is an associate editor for Scientific American covering health, medicine and life sciences. Follow on Twitter @katherineharmon.

 

What Causes Inflammation? A Comprehensive Look At The Causes and Effects Of Inflammation (part 2)

This is from Part 2 of Dov's article... 
Fat Tissue, Adipokines, and Inflammation
It is no longer believed that white adipose tissue, or fat, is merely a storage organ for excess energy, as we are now coming to realize that it plays an important role as an endocrine organ. In an individual with a healthy amount of fat, the adipocytes, or the individual adipose tissue cells, release a number of hormones and hormone-like cytokines, known as adipokines, which control various aspects of our appetite and our immune system. Of the most interest to inflammation are the adipokines, two of which are the pro-inflammatory messengers TNFα and IL-6.
Your fat, like any other organ in your body, has an ideal size, and functions best when at that size. An enlarged thyroid is major health concern, and can end up releasing too many hormones, causing dysfunction in our body. Fat is no different: once enlarged, it releases more hormones and adipokines. As fat expands through weight gain, the adipose tissue cells release more and more inflammatory messengers, including TNFα and IL-6.
In addition, the increased level of fat “turns on” local circulating monocytes and macrophages. Once turned on, the macrophages begin to release more TNFα and IL-6 as well. Increasing obesity thus promotes inflammation by two pathways: pro-inflammatory messengers are released in increasing amounts by two different sources.
The Good News!!
The good news is that weight loss, even moderate, can cause significant regression in pro-inflammatory messenger activity. As weight is lost, fat cells shrink and begin to release normal amounts of pro-inflammatory messengers. Macrophages stop being turned on, and begin to leave the fat as well. With less macrophage activity, less TNFα and IL-6 are released. Finally, as weight is lost and the overall grade of inflammation reduces, the foods which can cause an inflammatory response in unhealthy individuals start to be better regulated by our body, causing less inflammation or perhaps none at all!
Why You Must Spice It Up


more...
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