The Austin Times

A Multicultural News Source

Sitting too much is bad for your health

by Leave a Comment

Get up off of the couch: Sitting too much may kill you even if you exercise regularly. If you sit for six hours a day or more, your risk of dying early jumps 19 percent, compared with people who sit fewer than three hours, an American Cancer Society study suggests. And, the study authors added, sitting may kill you in 14 ways, including: cancer; heart disease; stroke; diabetes; kidney disease; suicide; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD; lung disease; liver disease; peptic ulcer … [Read more...]

Coffee linked to lower risk of death

by Leave a Comment

Having a morning cup of java -- and another and another -- might prolong your life, a new study suggests. In fact, drinking lots of coffee was associated with a lower risk of early death, including among people who downed eight or more cups per day. And it’s not the caffeine. To reap the benefit, it doesn’t matter if your coffee is decaf or instant or caffeinated, the researchers said. “This study may provide reassurance to coffee drinkers,” said lead researcher Erikka Loftfield, an … [Read more...]

Opioid deaths since 1999 may be 70,000 higher than thought, study says

by Leave a Comment

The actual number of opioid overdose deaths in several U.S. states is likely far higher than death certificates suggest, a new study says. Incomplete reporting of overdose deaths can hamper efforts to fight the nation's opioid epidemic, according to the University of Pittsburgh researchers. They said that as many as 70,000 opioid overdose deaths were not included in nationwide estimates between 1999 and 2015, because coroners and medical examiners did not specify on death certificates that … [Read more...]

Latest blood pressure guidelines would help stroke survivors

by Leave a Comment

Rigid adherence to the latest blood pressure guidelines could result in one-third fewer deaths among stroke survivors, according to a study by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. Researchers used data between 2003 and 2014 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys to estimate the effect of new guidelines on stroke survivors nationwide. The results were published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. "The potential to … [Read more...]

Black men with prostate cancer may live longer than white men

by Leave a Comment

Black men with advanced prostate cancer who get chemotherapy may live longer than white men, a new study suggests. Data from nine trials including more than 8,000 men with advanced prostate cancer showed that survival for black men was initially the same as for white men -- an average of 21 months. But after taking into account other factors -- such as site of the cancer and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels -- the researchers found that black men had a 19 percent lower risk of dying … [Read more...]

Exercise lowers risk of death for childhood cancer survivors

by Leave a Comment

Vigorous exercise has been linked to a lower risk of death in adult survivors of childhood cancer, according to a study. Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and several other hospitals in the U.S., Canada and Norway studied data on 15,450 adult cancer survivors, finding vigorous exercise in early adulthood over the course of eight years lowered their risk of death. Data on the patients, who were diagnosed before age 21 at one of 27 pediatric tertiary hospitals between … [Read more...]

Race may play role in kids’ suicide risk

by Leave a Comment

It's generally assumed that suicide is more common among white kids in the United States than their black peers. But that's not the case among 5- to 12-year-olds, new research shows. Black children in that young age group are about twice as likely to take their own lives as whites, the researchers found. For older kids, the picture reverses: Black teens, aged 13 to 17, are half as likely to die by suicide as similarly aged white kids, the study authors said. "Our findings provide … [Read more...]

Toxins in BBQ fumes can be absorbed through the skin, study shows

by Leave a Comment

When you fire up the grill for your Memorial Day cookout, beware: Those tantalizing aromas hold an underestimated health risk. Grilling meats at a high temperature can produce cancer-causing compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. You can be exposed to significant PAH levels simply by breathing in the sweet scent of barbecue. A new study from China suggests letting your skin come into contact with PAHs when you grill food is even more harmful than just savoring the … [Read more...]

Researchers find genetic cause for Alzheimer’s, possible method to reverse it

by Leave a Comment

Scientists at an independent biomedical research institution have reported a monumental breakthrough: The cause of the primary genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, and a possible cure for the disease. Researchers at Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco identified the primary genetic risk factor for the disease, a gene called apoE4. They were able to create a harmless apoE3-like version by inserting a class of compounds into it. Their findings were published this week in the … [Read more...]

Specific education, exercise effective for chronic spinal pain

by Leave a Comment

Researchers have found that combining education to help patients think differently about chronic spinal pain with an exercise program that increasingly introduced movements patients feared or avoided was significantly better than usual care for the condition. Researchers, led by Anneleen Malfliet, of Vrije Universiteit Brussels in Belgium, conducted a randomized clinical trial of patients with chronic spinal pain. Their findings were published Monday in the Journal of American Medical … [Read more...]

News Archives