Overweight
teens more likely to be addicted to cigarettes
A new study has suggested that
overweight or obese teenagers are likelier to become regular smokers as
compared to average weight teens. The study based on based on data from
the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health showed a correlation
between high body mass index (BMI) and cigarette smoking in young adulthood.
Lead author H. Isabella Lanza, Ph.D.,
research associate with the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs in Los Angeles,
said that young people smoked cigarettes for a variety of reasons. Lanza
said that for overweight or obese adolescents, the increased desire to improve
social standing or fit in with others may also increase the probability of
engaging in regular cigarette smoking.
Christopher
N. Ochner, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Icahn
School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, asserted that other studies
evaluating a correlation between BMI and substance abuse had produced mixed
results, but the size of the survey sample and the statistical processes used
in this study suggested that the correlation between smoking and higher BMI may
be clinically significant. The study is published in American
Journal of Health Behavior.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
01.09.2014
Self-monitoring
hypertension programme could help keep BP under control
A new study has revealed that the hypertension
self-management program can help reduce blood pressure for high-risk patients.
It was found that among patients with hypertension at high risk of
cardiovascular disease, a program that consisted of patients measuring their
blood pressure and adjusting their antihypertensive medication accordingly
resulted in lower systolic blood pressure at 12 months compared to patients who
received usual care. ( Read more about hypertension)
Data from national and international surveys suggested that
despite improvements over the last decade, significant proportions of patients
have poor control of their elevated blood pressure. Self-monitoring of blood
pressure with self-titration (adjusting) of antihypertensives results in lower
blood pressure in patients with hypertension, but there are no data about
patients in high-risk groups, according to background information in the
article.
The authors mentioned that the trial has shown for the first
time, that a group of high-risk individuals, with hypertension and significant
cardiovascular comorbidity, are able to self-monitor and self-titrate
antihypertensive treatment following a prespecified algorithm developed with
their family physician and that in doing so, they achieved a clinically
significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure without an
increase in adverse events. This would be the population with the most to gain
in terms of reducing future cardiovascular events from optimized blood pressure
control.
Peter
M. Nilsson, M.D., said that future trials studying the effects of
self-titration on cardiovascular events are needed and, a ‘bring it home’ blood
pressure-lowering strategy appears suitable for patients with hypertension and
comorbidities. The study is published in the issue of JAMA.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
01.09.2014
It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as
you do not give up and do not stop
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