WEEKLY HEALTH UPDATE
Wednesday, December 4th, 2019
Courtesy of: Michael Ellis D.C.
Mental Attitude: Rheumatoid Arthritis and Depression. A review of data from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service found that individuals with rheumatoid arthritis have a 20% elevated risk for depression. Rheumatology, November 2019 Health Alert: Does Cancer Risk Increase After a Heart Attack? Heart attack survivors may have something besides their heart to worry about. Researchers analyzed data from the Framingham study on more than 12,700 people and found that those who suffered a heart attack, heart failure, or a dangerously erratic heart rhythm had a sevenfold increased risk for developing cancer compared to those without a heart issue. Experts say that it is possible that there's something about having a bad heart—such as inflammation, stress on the immune system, hormone changes, and low levels of blood oxygen—which may trigger cancer in the body. Further research is needed, but the findings suggest that heart attack survivors should be screened more vigilantly for cancer. American Heart Association, November 2019 Diet: Unhealthy Foods Linked to Poor Academic Performance. Among a group of 868 elementary school students, researchers observed that those who consumed sweet snacks, salty treats, and sugary beverages more often scored lower on math and English assessments than kids who seldom ate such foods. Nutrients, November 2019 Exercise: Lifting Weights Helps PTSD. A pilot study involving 30 young adults who screened positive for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found that participating in a three-week resistance training program led to improvements in avoidance behavior, hyperarousal, sleep quality, and hazardous alcohol use. Journal of Traumatic Stress, November 2019 Chiropractic: Conservative Treatments Help CTS Patients. In a study involving 24 patients with mild/moderate carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), researchers observed that using a nocturnal wrist splint and performing gliding exercises during the day resulted in improved pinch strength among participants. Doctors of chiropractic often treat patients with CTS using manual therapies, nocturnal splinting, ergonomic modifications, nutritional recommendations, and specific exercises. Musculoskeletal Science & Practice, November 2019 Wellness/Prevention: At-Home Testing for Cervical Cancer? In this study, researchers identified nearly 20,000 women who had not had a women’s health appointment in over three years and mailed them either a reminder to get a Pap test from their healthcare provider or a self-sampling kit that could be mailed to a lab. The investigators found that 26% of the women in the self-sample kit group responded, while only 17% of those sent the standard reminder made an appointment to be screened. Co-author Dr. Diana Buist writes, “We found that mailing unsolicited self-collection kits for HPV testing increased cervical cancer screening by 50% in women who were under screened for cervical cancer, and that's a particularly hard population to reach… And now that HPV-only testing is a recognized screening strategy in the United States, it really opens up the possibility for home testing to be a widespread option for women.” JAMA Network Open, November 2019 Quote: “You may delay, but time will not.” ~ Benjamin Franklin