Health Alert: Pregnancy Complications Can Lead to Problems Later in Life.
Using data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, researchers estimate that pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, eclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth may elevate a woman’s risk for cardiovascular disease later in life, even after adjusting for obesity, smoking, and comorbidities.
Journal of the American Heart Association, January 2022
Diet: Individuals with Epilepsy Should Skip Energy Drinks.
A meta review of 50 studies found limited evidence that caffeinated energy drinks might trigger seizures in patients with epilepsy.
Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, February 2022
Exercise: HIIT and Blood Pressure.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a form of exercise that involves short intervals of near-maximal effort such as sprinting or stair climbing separated by intervals of moderate-intensity exercise, such as jogging or fast walking. A meta-analysis of ten studies found that HIIT is as effective as moderate-intensity continuous training at improving blood pressure in older adults.
Experimental Gerontology, February 2022
Chiropractic: Nearly a Third of Young Teens Have Recent Back Pain.
Questionnaires completed by 1,278 schoolchildren between the ages of 10 and 15 years revealed that 31% experienced low back pain in the preceding three months. Treatment of low back pain in children and teens is common in chiropractic clinics.
Revista Española de Salud Públic, December 2021
Mental Attitude: Stigma Against Depression May Be Decreasing.
Compared with twenty years ago, fewer American adults are willing to admit they would avoid individuals with depression. However, the beliefs that alcohol dependence is due to “bad character” and people with schizophrenia are “dangerous” have become more common.
JAMA Network Open, December 2021
Wellness/Prevention: Meditation May Strengthen Immune System.
Among a group of 100 people, those who participated in an eight-day retreat that involved meditation for ten hours a day experienced increased expression of 220 immune-related genes that persisted for up to 90 days. While such retreats aren’t practical for the majority of the population, the findings suggest that meditation may play a role in improving immune function.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, December 2021
