Teenage Weight Tied to Odds of Diabetes-Related Death

The increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and eventually dying from the disease, begins early in life and at weights in the “normal” range, a new study suggests. Researchers followed the fates of millions of Israeli teenagers weighed at age 17, and found a steady increase in the likelihood of death from diabetes-related causes up to age 70 that was tied to heavier weights in the teen years. “This study provides further evidence for the urgent need for firm public health actions to overcome the childhood obesity epidemic, as…

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Job Insecurity Tied to Increased Risk of Diabetes

People who are worried about losing their jobs may be more likely to be diagnosed withdiabetes, according to a new analysis. Compared to people who felt secure in their jobs, people who were experiencing so-called job insecurity had a 19 percent higher rate of new cases of diabetes, which researchers called a “modest increased risk.” The study can’t prove that job insecurity causes diabetes. Still, said lead author Jane Ferrie, “In an ideal world, the sort of thing I’d like to see come out of this study is a reduction…

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High Resting Heart Rate Tied to African American Heart Failure Risk

For African Americans, a high resting heart rate may indicate greater risk of death or hospitalization with heart failure, a recent analysis finds. This had already been shown in studies that mostly involved white participants, but it wasn’t clear if the same was true in the black community, researchers write in JAMA Cardiology. “Resting” heart rate is measured when a person is sitting or lying down, calm and moving as little as possible. For a person who isn’t ill, a heart rate anywhere between 60 and 100 beats per minute…

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Early menopause tied to heart risk and early death

Women who enter menopause before age 45 are more likely to have cardiovascular problems and to die younger than women who enter menopause later in life, according to a new analysis. The findings suggest that age at menopause may help predict women’s risk for future health problems, said lead author Dr. Taulant Muka, of Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. “Women with early onset of menopause may be a group to target for proactive cardiovascular prevention strategies,” Muka told Reuters Health in an email. One in 10 women…

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Early menopause tied to heart risk and early death

Women who enter menopause before age 45 are more likely to have cardiovascular problems and to die younger than women who enter menopause later in life, according to a new analysis. The findings suggest that age at menopause may help predict women’s risk for future health problems, said lead author Dr. Taulant Muka, of Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. “Women with early onset of menopause may be a group to target for proactive cardiovascular prevention strategies,” Muka told Reuters Health in an email. One in 10 women…

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Anemia Tied to Worse Survival Odds After Stroke

Some older adults with anemia may fare worse after a stroke, a study suggests, although the reason and the right treatment are still unclear. Anemia is common in older adults and has various causes, including a lack of red blood cells or low levels of hemoglobin, the proteins in red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body. When researchers analyzed data on almost 30,000 stroke patients, they found anemia associated with almost twice the risk of dying in the first year after an ischemic stroke – the most common…

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