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From presidents to retirees, more than 17 million people over the age of 50 golf regularly. Knee osteoarthritis, which causes swelling, pain and difficulty moving the joint, is one of the leading causes of disability in this age group. It may seem intuitive that golfers with knee osteoarthritis should stay off their feet and ride in a golf cart. But new research from the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and Northwestern Medicine has found, for the first time, that walking the course provides significantly higher health benefits and is not associated with increased pain, cartilage breakdown or inflammation. This study is the first comparing the health benefits of walking the golf course versus using a cart, as well as the first to use a blood-based biomarker analysis in knee osteoarthritis during a prolonged sporting event. The findings will be presented April 28 at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International Annual Meeting in Liverpool, England. The health benefits of g...

Healthy older people who exercise regularly are less inclined to struggle to find words to express themselves, research led by the University of Birmingham has discovered. Researchers found that older adults' aerobic fitness levels are directly related to the incidence of age-related language failures such as 'tip-of-the-tongue' states. The research, published today in Scientific Reports , is the first of its kind to investigate the relationship between aerobic fitness levels and temporary cognitive lapses, such as not having a word come to mind when speaking - known as a 'tip-of-the-tongue' state. People in a tip-of-the-tongue state have a strong conviction that they know a word, but are unable to produce it, and this phenomena occurs more frequently as we grow older. The University of Birmingham study - carried out in collaboration with the University of Agder in Norway, the University of Leuven in Belgium and King's College Londo...

Maintaining five healthy habits--eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, keeping a healthy body weight, not drinking too much alcohol, and not smoking--during adulthood may add more than a decade to life expectancy, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Researchers also found that U.S. women and men who maintained the healthiest lifestyles were 82% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and 65% less likely to die from cancer when compared with those with the least healthy lifestyles over the course of the roughly 30-year study period. The study is the first comprehensive analysis of the impact of adopting low-risk lifestyle factors on life expectancy in the U.S. It will be published online April 30, 2018 in Circulation . Americans have a shorter average life expectancy--79.3 years--than almost all other high-income countries. The U.S. ranked 31st in the world for life expectancy in 2015. The new study ...

Taking a photo each day and posting it online has complex benefits say researchers who say it supports improved wellbeing. This is a popular social phenomenon, with Instagram having over 1.5million photos tagged #365 for each day of the year while there are thousands of members of Blipfoto, a key photo-a-day site. A study co-authored by Dr Liz Brewster of Lancaster University and Dr Andrew Cox of the University of Sheffield recorded what photos people took, what text they added and how they interacted with others on the photo-a-day site for two months. They found that taking a daily photo improved wellbeing through: Self-care Community interaction The potential for reminiscence Taking a moment to be mindful, and looking for something different or unusual in the day were seen as positive well-being benefits of the practice. One participant said: "My job was a very highly stressful role... There were some days when I'd almost not stopped to breathe, you know what I mean...

Researchers today generally agree that eating garlic, used for thousands of years to treat human disease, can reduce the risk of developing certain kinds of cancers, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. Nevertheless, in a review published April 26 in the journal Trends in Pharmacological Sciences , researchers in the UK argue that explaining exactly how garlic affects human health -- and getting consistent results during clinical trials -- is more complex, because of the vast array of compounds garlic produces. Garlic's unique flavor comes from sulfur compounds. Like other members of the allium family, the plant absorbs sulfate from the soil and incorporates it into amino acids and sulfur storage molecules. These sulfur storage molecules can then be broken down into approximately 50 different sulfur-containing compounds when the garlic is prepared and eaten. "These molecules give the plants an ecological advantage when they're growing o...

Wines and beers labelled as lower in alcohol strength may increase the total amount of alcoholic drink consumed, according to a study published in the journal Health Psychology . The study was carried out by the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge in collaboration with the Centre for Addictive Behaviours Research at London South Bank University. Alcohol is the fifth leading cause of disease and premature death both in the UK and globally. Reducing consumption of alcohol is a public health priority in many countries. In the UK, as part of a range of steps to reduce overall alcohol consumption, policymakers are currently interested in allowing industry to label a wider range of alcohol products as lower in alcohol. Proposed legislative changes include extending the variety of terms that could be used to denote lower alcohol content, and extending the strength limit to include products lower than the current average on the market ...

Bottom Line:  A small study found slight improvement in vision after eating dark chocolate. Why The Research Is Interesting: Eating dark chocolate has been associated with better blood flow, mood and cognition in the short term but little is known about its possible effects on vision. Who and When : 30 participants; testing was conducted from June to August 2017 What (Study Interventions and Outcomes) : Eating a dark or milk chocolate bar (intervention); visual acuity and the ability to read letters of different sizes and contrast (lighter vs. darker letters) were measured about two hours after eating chocolate (outcomes) How (Study Design) : This was a randomized clinical trial (RCT). RCTs allow for the strongest inferences to be made about the true effect of an intervention such as a medication or a procedure. However, not all RCT results can be replicated in real-world settings because patient characteristics or other v...

Older adults are more likely to stick with a group exercise program if they can do it with people their own age, a new University of British Columbia study has found. Working out with peers of the same gender doesn't seem to make a difference - it's the age that counts. "This study points to the importance of age-targeting, but perhaps not gender-targeting, when developing these programs," says UBC kinesiology professor Mark Beauchamp, the study's lead author. Older adults worldwide are less active than they should be, with activity levels lowest in the Americas. In Canada, fewer than 15 per cent of people past age 59 meet international physical activity guidelines. Beauchamp and his international team of researchers have been looking for ways to keep people active into old age, because inactivity has been shown to increase risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and arthritis. It can also lead to physical limitations that affect overall quality o...

A new systematic review of available evidence appearing in Nutrition Reviews indicates that consuming protein supplements with meals may be more effective at promoting weight control than consuming supplements between meals in adults following a resistance training regimen. It is well established that consuming dietary protein proximate to resistance-type exercise sessions promotes a positive net protein balance during post-exercise recovery. Protein supplements are available in ready-to-drink, powdered, and solid form and are marketed for different outcomes such as weight gain, weight loss, and weight management. However, for each outcome, the promoted timing of protein intake varies. Protein supplements designed to augment weight gain or support weight stability are promoted for consumption between meals. Protein supplements either with meals or as meal replacements are often recommended for ingestion to promote weight loss. Consuming protein supplem...

Researchers used images taken by astronauts to evaluate outdoor lighting in Madrid and Barcelona Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) IMAGE:  Aerial image of the city of Barcelona (Spain) taken by astronauts of the International Space Station. view more  Credit: Image courtesy of the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center. http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov A study performed by an international team led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, reports a link between exposure to blue light at night and higher risk of developing breast and prostate cancer. Blue light is a range of the visible light spectrum emitted by most white LEDs and many tablet and phone screens. The results have been published in Environmental Health Perspectives . "WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified night shif...

For older adults, driving can mean living a more independent, satisfying life. Therefore, it's no surprise that about 86 percent of adults age 65 and older hold active driver's licenses, and many of us expect to drive for longer as we age. Car crashes can be devastating or even deadly for anyone, including older adults and other road users. However, the fatal crash rate based on the distance someone travels in a vehicle begins to rise at age 65. At the same time, when older adults stop driving due to health issues or other concerns, they may experience isolation and depression. They also may be more likely to enter long-term care facilities earlier than they otherwise would. Researchers have a history of studying driver safety in older adults after they've been diagnosed with dementia , a decline in memory and other mental abilities that make daily living difficult. However, we have limited knowledge about...

Although studies have shown an association between eating breakfast and healthy body weight in children and teenagers, less research has focused on this relationship in adults. In an analysis involving 347 healthy adults, researchers from the Mayo Clinic found that study participants who skipped breakfast were more likely to be obese than those who ate it frequently, defined as five to seven times a week. Participants who skipped breakfast also had larger waists than those who ate breakfast frequently or infrequently (one to four times a week). The link between skipping breakfast and weight gain remained even after the researchers took into account age, gender and body mass index. People who did not eat breakfast reported the most weight gain over the past year, and those who consumed breakfast on most days reported the lowest weight gain. The researchers conclude that regularly consuming breakfast is important for maintaining a healthy weight at all ages.

Older people should drink more water to reap the full cognitive benefits of exercise, new research suggests. The study, to be presented today at the American Physiological Society (APS) annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2018 in San Diego, explores the association between hydration status before exercising and exercise-enhanced cognition in older adults.Dehydration has been shown to impair exercise performance and brain function in young people, but less is known about its impact on older populations. "Middle-age and older adults often display a blunted thirst perception, which places them at risk for dehydration and subsequently may reduce the cognitive health-related benefits of exercise," a team of New England-based researchers wrote. The researchers recruited recreational cyclists (average age 55) who participated in a large cycling event on a warm day (78-86 degrees F). The cyclists performed a "trail-making" executive fu...

Mindfulness meditation programs have shown promise for the treatment of anxiety, one of the most common mental health disorders in the U.S. New research suggests people can begin to derive psychological and physiological benefits from the practice after a single introductory session. "Our results show a clear reduction in anxiety in the first hour after the meditation session, and our preliminary results suggest that anxiety was significantly lower one week after the meditation session," said lead study author John J. Durocher, PhD, an assistant professor of physiology in the department of biological sciences at Michigan Technological University. "Participants also had reduced mechanical stress on their arteries an hour after the session. This could help to reduce stress on organs like the brain and kidneys and help prevent conditions such as high blood pressure." Understanding the effects of mindfulness meditati...

 Recent opioid use is associated with an increased risk of falls in older adults and an increased risk of death, found new research in CMAJ ( Canadian Medical Association Journal ) . Falls are a leading cause of injury and death in older adults. However, evidence for a link between opioid use and falls is inconsistent. The study included data on 67 929 patients aged 65 and older who were admitted for injury to one of 57 trauma centres in the province of Quebec. The mean age of patients was 81 years, and the majority -- 69% -- were women. Falls were the most common cause of injury (92% of patients), and more than half (59%) had surgery for their injuries, with lengthy hospital stays (median stay of 12 days). Researchers looked at opioid prescriptions in the preceding 2 weeks before injury and found that the patients who had filled an opioid prescription during this period were 2.4 times more likely to have had a fall causing injury. Patients whose falls were linked ...

Cholesterol-lowering drugs are more likely to save thousands of additional lives when used in people with higher levels of LDL cholesterol, or "bad" cholesterol, according to a new study from the University of Iowa, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA ). Jennifer Robinson, a physician, professor of epidemiology in the UI College of Public Health, and study coauthor, says the findings show that doctors should more aggressively treat patients who have high levels of LDL cholesterol with statins, and patients should feel safe using them. "Statins are the safest drugs we have to reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and death in a wide range of patients," says Robinson. "Patients with higher LDL cholesterol levels are likely to experience even greater health benefits from taking statins and some of the newer cholesterol drugs." The study analyzed 34 previous studies that involved mor...

A new study from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shines more light on the link between consumption of fish and better long-term neurological health. Parvalbumin, a protein found in great quantities in several different fish species, has been shown to help prevent the formation of certain protein structures closely associated with Parkinson's disease. Fish has long been considered a healthy food, linked to improved long-term cognitive health, but the reasons for this have been unclear. Omega-3 and -6, fatty acids commonly found in fish, are often assumed to be responsible, and are commonly marketed in this fashion. However, the scientific research regarding this topic has drawn mixed conclusions. Now, new research from Chalmers has shown that the protein parvalbumin, which is very common in many fish species, may be contributing to this effect. One of the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease is amyloid formation of a particular human protein, called alpha-s...

Exposure to moderate to high caffeine levels while in the womb is linked to excess weight gain in early childhood, suggests a large observational study published in the online journal BMJ Open . The findings, which back general advice to limit caffeine intake while pregnant, prompt the researchers to query whether mums-to-be should cut out the world's most widely consumed central nervous system stimulant altogether. Caffeine passes rapidly through tissues, including the placenta, and takes the body longer to get rid of during pregnancy. It has been linked to a heightened risk of miscarriage and restricted fetal growth. The researchers wanted to try and find out if caffeine intake during pregnancy might also be associated with excess weight gain in the child's early years. They therefore drew on just under 51,000 mother and infant pairs, all of whom were part of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study between 2002 and ...

Six in seven women with a family history of breast cancer opt out of taking tamoxifen as a preventive measure, according to a study funded by Cancer Research UK and published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment today (Tuesday)*. Researchers asked 258 healthy women across England who had been identified as having an increased risk of the disease whether they had agreed to take the drug to help prevent breast cancer developing, and interviewed 16 women to identify what influenced their decision to take it. Women chose not to start taking the drug because they thought cancer was down to fate, they distrusted medication in general or they feared side effects would interfere with looking after their family. But overall the team, based at the University of Leeds, Northwestern University, University College London and Queen Mary University of London, found women with children were more likely to take up the offer ...

Regular physical activity may help older women increase their mobility, but muscle strength and endurance are likely to succumb to the effects of frailty if they haven't also been doing resistance training. That is according to the findings of a cross-sectional study led by the University at Buffalo and published in the journal Physical & Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics . The study underscores the need for older women to build up muscle strength early in the aging process to help ward off the effects of aging, say the study's lead authors Machiko Tomita, clinical professor, and Nadine Fisher, clinical associate professor, both in the Department of Rehabilitation Science in UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions. "Frailty progresses with aging, but older women who engage in a high level of daily physical activity can reverse certain characteristics related to aging, such as slow walking and decreased function," says Tomita. ...

With marijuana use during pregnancy on the rise, a new study led by the Colorado School of Public Health shows that prenatal cannabis use was associated with a 50 percent increased likelihood of low birth weight, setting the stage for serious future health problems including infection and time spent in Neonatal Intensive Care Units. "Our findings underscore the importance of screening for cannabis use during prenatal care and the need for provider counselling about the adverse health consequences of continued use during pregnancy," said the study's lead author Tessa Crume, PhD, MSPH, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The study was published last month in The Journal of Pediatrics . Crume and her colleagues utilized survey data from 3,207 women who participated in the Colorado Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System in 2014 and 15. They fo...

A study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem sheds new light on the possible relationship between prolonged use of acetaminophen (Tylenol/paracetamol) during pregnancy and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood. Acetaminophen is one of the most common medications used for treatment of pain and fever reduction during pregnancy and is considered safe in humans. However, evidence of neuro-disruptive properties is accumulating: past studies have shown that long-term administration of low doses of acetaminophen may affect the development of the fetal nervous system, and that this effect is often seen years after exposure during childhood. Now, researchers led by Dr. Ilan Matok at the Institute for Drug Research in the School of Pharmacy at the Hebrew University's Faculty of Medicine, together with doctoral student Reem Masarwa, have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the possible association ...

Low "mental energy" may affect walking patterns in older adults more than physical fatigue. New research about the relationship between walking ability and self-reported mood will be presented today at the American Physiological Society (APS) annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2018 in San Diego. Researchers from Clarkson University in New York observed a group of older adults (average age 75) while they performed physically and mentally tiring tasks. The volunteers performed the physical task--a timed walking test at normal speed for six minutes--before and after the cognitive components. LED sensors embedded in the five-meter walking track captured gait speed and stride length. The cognitive portion of the test consisted of several math subtraction activities and visually identifying specific numbers and sequences on a computer screen. The volunteers reported their mood, motivation and energy levels aft...

Worse cognitive function in soccer players stems mainly from frequent ball heading rather than unintentional head impacts due to collisions, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found. The findings suggest that efforts to reduce long-term brain injuries may be focusing too narrowly on preventing accidental head collisions. The study published online today in the Frontiers in Neurology . "Unintentional head impacts are generally considered the most common cause of diagnosed concussions in soccer, so it's understandable that current prevention efforts aim at minimizing those collisions," said study leader, Michael Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.R. , professor of radiology and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Einstein and medical director of MRI Services at Montefiore . "But intentional head impacts--that is, soccer ball heading--are not benign. We showed in a previous study that frequent heading is an underappreciated cause of concussi...

New research shows there might be health benefits to eating certain types of dark chocolate. Findings from two studies being presented today at the Experimental Biology 2018 annual meeting in San Diego show that consuming dark chocolate that has a high concentration of cacao (minimally 70% cacao, 30% organic cane sugar) has positive effects on stress levels, inflammation, mood, memory and immunity. While it is well known that cacao is a major source of flavonoids, this is the first time the effect has been studied in human subjects to determine how it can support cognitive, endocrine and cardiovascular health. Lee S. Berk, DrPH, associate dean of research affairs, School of Allied Health Professions and a researcher in psychoneuroimmunology and food science from Loma Linda University, served as principal investigator on both studies. "For years, we have looked at the influence of dark chocolate on neurological functions from...

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society has found a link between pneumonia in older people and Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) , a group of medicines commonly used to neutralize stomach acid in people with heartburn or stomach ulcers.     Approximately 40 percent of older adults receive PPIs, although according to some experts, up to 85 percent of people who receive PPI prescriptions may not need them.     Once thought to be relatively harmless, PPIs have more recently been linked to increased rates for certain health concerns like fractures , cardiovascular disease , and some bacterial infections.  The association between PPI use and pneumonia was studied because stomach acid is a barrier to infections spreading from the gut in people with stomach reflux.

IMAGE:  Many millennials lack knowledge about the importance of sunscreen and continue to tan outdoors in part because of low self-esteem and high rates of narcissism that fuel addictive tanning behavior,... view more  Credit: Oliver Day, Oregon State University BEND, Ore. - Many millennials lack knowledge about the importance of sunscreen and continue to tan outdoors in part because of low self-esteem and high rates of narcissism that fuel addictive tanning behavior, a new study from Oregon State University-Cascades has found. Lead author Amy Watson and her colleagues found that those with higher levels of self-esteem were less likely to tan, while those with lower self-esteem and higher levels of narcissism were more likely to present addictive tanning behavior. The motivation for the addictive tanning behavior was the perception of improved appearance. "This study gives us a clearer understandin...

A male's total testosterone level may be linked to more than just sexual health and muscle mass preservation, a new study finds. Low amounts of the hormone could also be associated with chronic disease, even among men 40 years of age and younger. "If we look at data for men from a population level, it has become evident over time that chronic disease is on the rise in older males," says Mark Peterson, Ph.D., M.S., FACSM , lead author of the study and assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Michigan Medicine. "But we're also finding that a consequence of being obese and physically inactive is that men are seeing declines in testosterone even at younger ages." Published in Scientific Reports , Peterson and colleagues studied this relationship among testosterone, age and chronic disease. "Previous research in the field has shown that total testosterone deficiency in men increases with age, and studies have shown that t...