Monthly Archives: May 2018


Obesity Increases CVD Risk

A long term cohort study in the US revealed that obesity remains a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), even when metabolic health is maintained during long periods of time. A large proportion of metabolically healthy women converted to an unhealthy phenotype over time across all BMI categories, which is […]


Exercise and Intellectual Activities Beneficial

A systematic review found that exercising for at least 52 hours (averaging about an hour, 3 times a week) is associated with improved cognitive performance in older adults with and without cognitive impairment. Another population-based study in Chinese suggested that active participation in intellectual activities might help prevent dementia in […]


Better Diet, Larger Brain

A Dutch population-based study revealed that a better diet quality is associated with larger brain tissue volumes. The study included 4,447 participants (average age 65.7; female 56.8%) underwent dietary assessment and brain MRI scanning between 2005 and 2015, excluding participants with an implausible energy intake, prevalent dementia, or cortical infarcts. […]


Genetic Variants and Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy

A Spanish study identified that cardiomyopathy-associated genes titin truncating variants (TTNtv) represent a prevalent genetic predisposition for alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM), and are also associated with a worse left ventricular ejection fraction in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients who consume alcohol above recommended levels. The study included 141 ACM cases, 716 DCM […]


Depression Linked to Memory, Brain Atrophy and Infarcts in Seniors

A prospective cohort study in the US revealed that greater depressive symptoms were associated with worse episodic memory, smaller cerebral volume, and silent infarcts. The study included 1,111 stroke-free older adults with an average age of 71 between 2003 and 2008, 52% were Caribbean Hispanic. 22% of participants had greater […]


Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Linked to Mortality and CVD

A US cohort study found that the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was prospectively associated with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD). A Duffy antigen variant locus, a common genetic variant of African origin, was associated with a lower baseline NLR and modified the associations. The study included a population-based longitudinal cohort […]


Lifestyle Factors Impact Life Expectancies

A study in US adults concluded that a healthy lifestyle could substantially reduce premature mortality and prolong life expectancy. The study included 123,329 adults and defined 5 low-risk lifestyle factors as never smoking, body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2, ≥30 min/d of moderate to vigorous physical activity, moderate […]