Childhood UTI May Bring Lasting Harm to Kidneys

Childhood UTI May Bring Lasting Harm to Kidneys

Urinary tract infections are the most common serious bacterial infections in young children, and almost one of every eight kids who gets one will end up with scarring on the kidneys and an increased risk of kidney failure later in life.

Identifying those kids early is critical, and researchers now report that a combination of three factors — high fever, detection of kidney abnormalities via ultrasound and identification of the type of bacteria involved — spots such patients as accurately as a very unpleasant catheter-based test does.

“We found that you more or less can predict the children who are at higher risk by looking at three different things when they come in,” said study author Dr. Nader Shaikh, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh and a pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

In the past, doctors used a combination catheter/X-ray to detect children at greater risk for kidney scarring.

The test required using a catheter to fill a child’s bladder with a special dye. Doctors then asked the child to urinate while being X-rayed, so they could see whether urine flow indicated a kidney problem.

Doctors used the X-ray test often in the 1960s and 1970s, but in recent years they have been moving away from it, said Dr. Kenneth Roberts, a pediatrician in Greensboro, N.C., who wrote an editorial accompanying the new study.

“It’s very uncomfortable, very distressing and entails a good amount of radiation,” Roberts said. “It is not only not worth putting all children through that procedure, but with this study we now have information that shows it’s simply not justified.”

To see whether there is a better option for finding kids at greater risk of kidney scarring, Shaikh and his colleagues reviewed existing data from previous studies involving 1,280 children aged 18 and younger.

About 15 percent of these children suffered kidney scarring from a urinary tract infection. The researchers found that three factors were strongly associated with scarring:

  • Fever of at least 102 degrees.
  • Infection with a bacteria other than E. coli.
  • Ultrasound readings that detected an abnormality in the kidney.
  • A model based on these factors predicted nearly 45 percent of children who ended up developing kidney scars, a rate only 3 percent to 5 percent less effective than models involving blood tests or the catheter/X-ray examination, the researchers reported.

The findings were published online Aug. 4 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The test’s real power comes in its ability to rule out children at risk, Shaikh noted.

“The prediction is not perfect,” he said. “For more or less, we can say these 80 percent of kids aren’t going to scar, we don’t have to worry about them.”

Doctors can step up observation of kids at greater risk for kidney scarring. “The main focus should be to prevent subsequent infections for those children,” Shaikh said. “Every time you get a [urinary tract infection], you get a chance of scarring again.”

Source: web md

Ebola ‘cocktail’ developed at Canadian and U.S. labs

An experimental Ebola treatment given to two American aid workers infected in Liberia is meant to neutralize damage from the virus, says a Canadian scientist who works with Ebola and other pathogens.

Ebola 'cocktail' developed at Canadian and U.S. labs

To make the unlicensed drug, scientists injected mice with parts of the Ebola virus and then harvested the antibodies the animals produced to fight the virus. The drug, which hasn’t yet been tested in humans, is grown in tobacco plants.

Researchers are also working on an experimental Ebola vaccine to prevent infection. But unlike a vaccine, the pre-clinical drug, called ZMapp, is designed to be given after exposure to the virus.

“It basically neutralizes the virus so it can’t do any further damage,” said Dr. Heinz Feldmann, chief of the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s virology laboratory in Hamilton, Montana.

Feldmann previously oversaw the special pathogens program at the Public Health Agency of Canada’s national microbiology lab in Winnipeg and is an expert in hemorrhagic fever viruses such as Ebola, as well as other viruses.

“It’s a cocktail of antibodies,” Feldmann said. “If you go through an infection as a human being or animal or get a vaccine, you will have an immune response to something foreign to your body. One response is using antibodies, a portion we call neutralizing antibodies.”

Neutralizing antibodies attack the virus by interfering with its surface.

Research on the Ebola drug was jointly conducted in Canada and the U.S. The Canadian research was led by Dr. Gary Kobinger, who now heads the special pathogens research program at the national microbiology laboratory.

Kent Brantly, a physician who works with the relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, was recently given ZMapp to treat his Ebola infection. Brantly, 33, contracted Ebola after treating Ebola patients at a missionary clinic in Liberia.

A second American aid worker, 58-year-old Nancy Writebol, was recently diagnosed with Ebola after working at a missionary clinic outside Liberia’s capital, where she contributed to relief efforts by the aid group SIM USA.

Bruce Johnson, president of SIM USA, said Tuesday that while Writebol is still very weak, she is showing signs of improvement. Amber Brantly, the wife of Dr. Kent Brantly, thanked medical staff at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, where he is now being treated.

“I have been able to see Kent every day, and he continues to improve,” she said in a statement. Some people infected with Ebola recover on their own or thanks to early, supportive medical care.

Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said experts can’t be sure of the effect of an experimental drug such as ZMapp.

“Every medicine has risks and benefits,” Frieden said. “Until we do a study, we don’t know if it helps, if it hurts, or if it doesn’t make any difference.” Feldmann said there is always a risk the first time that an experimental drug is given to humans, which is why countries are provided with the pre-clinical safety data and have strict regulations before granting permission.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it cannot comment on the development of specific medical products.

“Currently, there are only experimental Ebola treatments in the earliest stages of development. Even though a drug is not approved right now, the FDA can still provide access to potential products through other mechanisms, such as through an emergency investigational new drug (IND) application,” a spokeswoman said in an email.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said it was involved in the development of ZMapp, but the agency was not involved in the decisions to administer the treatment.

Experimental treatments

The World Health Organization says that as of Aug. 1, there have been at least 1,603 cases of Ebola in the current outbreak, which is centred in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. At least 887 of those people have died.

As the American aid workers receive the experimental cocktail, three leading Ebola specialists are calling for experimental drugs and vaccines to be offered to people in West Africa as well.

The plea came Tuesday from Peter Piot, who co-discovered Ebola in 1976, David Heymann and Jeremy Farrar. They are, respectively, directors of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security, and the Wellcome Trust.

“African governments should be allowed to make informed decisions about whether or not to use these products — for example to protect and treat health-care workers who run especially high risks of infection,” they wrote.

They also called on the World Health Organization to take a greater leadership role to allow experimental treatments against Ebola.

Source: cbc

Oatmeal Recipes for Every Day of the Week

steel-cut-oatmeal-caramel-topping-400x400Brighten up your breakfast
If you think oatmeal makes for a boring breakfast, it’s time to think again. This morning staple gets a major upgrade when you mix in fruit, spices, and other flavor-boosting ingredients. This healthy whole grain lowers cholesterol, burns fat, and fills you up with fiber, folate, and potassium. Added bonus? It’s gluten free. (However, check the label. It can be contaminated with gluten-containing wheat or rye during processing.)

Dress up your dish with one of these seven fresh takes on oatmeal.

Banana-Nut Oatmeal
Unlike sugary oatmeal packets, this homemade version uses a hearty dose of cinnamon for robust flavor without added calories. The banana adds natural sweetness and fiber, while the omega-3s from the walnuts help your body burn more fat.

Ingredients: Rolled oats, water, banana, chopped walnuts, cinnamon

Oatmeal with Prune and Banana Compote
Fuel up with this fruit-topped oatmeal recipe. It packs a whopping 15 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber per serving, and it can be made in the microwave for quick convenience.

Ingredients: Milk, old-fashioned rolled oats, prunes, banana, crystallized ginger

Chai Oatmeal
For an extra thick and creamy bowl, add oat bran. It’ll make for a hearty helping and also add more fiber to your meal. If you love the taste of chai, you’ll enjoy this spiced version with coriander, cinnamon, and turmeric.

Ingredients: Milk, salt, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric, honey, vanilla extract, regular oats, oat bran

5

Maple Date-Nut Oatmeal Breakfast Squares

For oatmeal on the go, try making breakfast bars ahead of time. You can even make them in big batches and freeze a portion for future use.

Ingredients: Maple syrup, chopped walnuts, dates, brown sugar, sugar, egg, butter, applesauce, vanilla yogurt, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, quick-cooking oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon

Calories: 152

De-lish Oatmeal

De-lish Oatmeal
This recipe is made with pears, dried cranberries, and apple cider for a touch of natural fruit sweetness.

Ingredients: Water, apple cider, organic rolled oats, salt, pear, sweetened dried cranberries, cinnamon, vanilla extract, chopped pecans, milk

Calories: 256

Baked Oatmeal
If you’re not a fan of oatmeal because of its texture, try baking it instead! It’ll taste like a mix between a chewy snack bar and a creamy bowl of oats.

Ingredients: Uncooked quick-cooking oats, brown sugar, raisins, chopped walnuts, baking powder, milk, applesauce, butter, egg, cooking spray

Calories: 281

baked-oatmeal

Steel-Cut Oatmeal with Salted Caramel Topping

If you’re craving a sweet treat without the guilt, a salted caramel coating does the trick. This recipe calls for steel-cut oats, which sit slightly lower on the glycemic index than rolled oats, which means they’re less prone to make your blood sugar spike.

Ingredients: Uncooked instant steel-cut oats, milk, light brown sugar, salt, whipped cream, fresh berries

Calories: 242

Source: health

6 Ways To Raise Kids With Healthy Habits

As much as we might like to, we can’t protect our kids from every bump or scrape or bruised ego. Boo-boos happen. Feelings get hurt. We can’t avoid the crumpled face of a toddler about to cry, or the slammed door of a frustrated teenager. Our kids have to learn some things on their own.

But if we want our kids to have the best chance of living a healthy life, we’ve got to equip them now with the right mindset and habits to take with them into adulthood.

6 Ways To Raise Kids With Healthy Habits

As a health coach and fitness trainer, I’m often asked how I got my three kids (all young adults now) on board with healthy lifestyles. (Believe me, they aren’t perfect … but they make healthy choices most of the time.) My daughter is a vegan, ballerina and into yoga. My two sons love playing hockey and water sports, and sometimes I even catch them looking their food up on Fooducate to see if it’s healthy. That makes me one proud mama.

So I gave it some thought and here are six things you can do to influence your kids to choose a healthy lifestyle.

1. Practice what you preach.

You can’t ask your kids to do things you don’t do. You can’t ask them to eat their veggies if you never do, nor can you preach the health benefits of exercise if you never get out there and sweat. Your kids are watching you. Your actions speak volumes. My kids watched me work out regularly, make healthier desserts, find delicious ways to prepare veggies, make smoothies or healthy snacks and drink lots of water. Our kids pick up our habits.

Pay attention to what you say about yourself, too. Focus on positive self-talk and favorable statements about your body. If you’re obsessed with the scale, you are teaching your kids to be obsessed with the scale. Show them a healthy relationship to your body and to food. Focus on the positive. When my kids got on the school bus I’d always say, “The glass is half empty or half full today; it’s up to you.”

2. Make dinnertime a learning time.

At the dinner table, when my kids were little, I’d ask them: What on your plate is a protein? What’s a carb? We’d talk about how you need carbs for energy and how proteins help your muscles work. We’d chat about some of the health benefits found in veggies, or how fruit is nature’s dessert. They learned that food is fuel for the body.

I’d play a game with my kids called plant, animal or tree that spurred lots of conversation. I’d have them name where their food came from and we’d talk about how things grow. If your food is processed and comes from a box, it makes it a tough game to play.

3. Put yourself first.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a family whiteboard in our mudroom and every Sunday night I write everyone’s schedule on it for the entire week. If my kids see: “Mom is working out from 9am to 10am” they know that’s not a good time to ask me anything. They learned to respect my time. When my kids saw me prioritizing my health, they learned to do the same. Sacrificing ourselves and our needs for the sake of our kids (the whole martyr thing) only teaches our kids that we don’t value ourselves. And don’t forget that when you take care of yourself, you’re better equipped to take care of your kids — mentally and physically.

4. Pick your battles.

I battled with my kids about why we don’t eat white bread and why I wouldn’t buy it. They’d see it at school and want to have it at home for sandwiches. I explained why it isn’t healthy and why I wouldn’t budge. You can’t control what your kids are exposed to at school, but you can control meal options at home. I’d always acknowledge how my kids felt and validate their emotions, but I stayed consistent.

I don’t eat fast food, so we didn’t make regular weekly trips to the golden arches. Sometimes we all opt for what’s easy, especially when a day goes haywire, but as long as your choices are healthy most of the time, your kids get the message. If we were on a road trip, we might pick a quick restaurant that doesn’t have a drive-through (think Chipotle or Subway) as those tend to be a little bit healthier than the fast food options.

5. Be active together as a family and make it fun.

I always say: The most important workout is the one you do. If you despise something, you probably won’t do it, and you definitely won’t stick with it. Find a type of exercise you love to do and encourage your kids to do the same. Get active as a whole family. You don’t have to sign up for a triathlon, just get off the couch. Go to a park. Visit some museums. Go to a fair. Simply have a goal to move more and get every day activity. Go for a hike, swim or bike, or try something new like paddle boarding. If your kids learn that exercise time can be fun time — solo or as a family — what more could you ask for?

6. Get your kids involved in sports.

Give your kids a chance to try a sport. Let your kids decide a sport to try and experiment to find the one they like. If team sports aren’t for them, how about individual sports like swimming, golf, tennis, sailing, karate, wrestling, or dance?

Team sports build camaraderie, teach teamwork, and encourage friendships. Sports show kids to believe in their bodies and what their bodies can do, take care of their health, learn leadership skills and work as a team. Kids learn about winning and losing. Many adults recall a favorite coach who became a mentor and was a positive influence. Sports teach skills that can last a lifetime.

When our kids see us blazing a healthy path, they just might follow in our footsteps.

Source; mind body green

What Should Kids Drink???

Most kids drink very little fluids. The body needs a large amount of fluid to be able to function properly. A child of five or six years of age should drink at least a liter of fluid per day. But not artificially sweetened beverages.

What Should Kids Drin

Water is vital.

The human body is composed from 50 to 80% of water depends on the age. The loss of only 2% of water can lead to fatigue and inattention, slowed reactions and lack of strength. Loss of water from 3% can lead to headaches or constipation.

And when this happens, the body signals the reduced amount of water in the form of thirst. But too often we are so busy that we simply overlook that warning. This especially happens to children. It is important to regularly remind them to drink water.

Research Institute for food for children recommends children aged five to six years should drink minimum 800 milliliters of fluid, and school children about 1 liter. The teenager needs at least 1,5 liter. On hot days, if they are are practicing some sports, they need to drink twice as much fluid than usual.

List of drinks.

  • – Perfect drink for quenching thirst is water, whether mineral or plain. Herbal and fruit teas are also recommended.
  • Tasty, but contain a lot of calories: clear fruit juices contain a lot of vitamins, minerals and fruit sugar too who contains calories. For this reason, you should dilute fruit juice with water in 1:1 ratio.
  • – For children its not recommended drinks which are containing artificial sweeteners, ACE juices, coffee, black and green tea, Coca-Cola, ice tea and energy drinks.
  • Fruit juices are manufactured from 100% fruit contain vitamins and minerals that depend on the variety and 10% of fruit sugar.
  • – Fruit nectar has 25 to 50% fruit, less vitamins and minerals and 12% sugar.
  • – Diluted fruit juice contains 30% fruit, sugar and the rest is water. Such juices often contain artificial colors and artificial sweeteners.
  • Packed lemonade contains 15% fruit, 12% sugar, artificial color, artificial flavor and artificial sweetener.

Tip:
Artificial flavor or artificial color are not healthy for children. If you want to avoid them read at the ingredients on the bottle.

Should children drink only water?

Water is the healthiest liquid that can quench the thirst for both children and adults. What is true for eating, same goes for drinking: you should not eat or drink only healthy but tasty too. Adults sometimes allow themselves an occasional glass of wine, cocktail or Coca-Cola, so sometimes children need to drink something sweet.

For example, for the sunday lunch, a birthday or going out in restaurant you should mix half the amount of fruit juice and half water for perfect drink for kids. The drink that makes children especially happy is water with rubber candies. Put a red, green and yellow rubber candy in a glass of water. It is very interesting for them!

Source: secretly healthy

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Novartis to license Google “smart lens” technology

Novartis announced that its eye care division Alcon has entered into an agreement with a division of Google Inc to in-license its “smart lens” technology for all ocular medical uses. The agreement with Google[x], a team within Google that is devoted to finding new solutions to big global problems, provides Alcon with the opportunity to develop and commercialize Google’s “smart lens” technology with the potential to transform eye care and further enhance Alcon’s pipeline and global leadership in contact lenses and intraocular lenses. The transaction remains subject to anti-trust approvals.

Novartis to license Google “smart lens” technology

The agreement between Google and Alcon represents an important step for Novartis, across all of its divisions, to leverage technology to manage human diseases and conditions. Google’s key advances in the miniaturization of electronics complement Novartis’s deep pharmaceuticals and medical device expertise. Novartis aims to enhance the ways in which diseases are mapped within the body and ultimately prevented.

“We are looking forward to working with Google to bring together their advanced technology and our extensive knowledge of biology to meet unmet medical needs,” said Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez. “This is a key step for us to go beyond the confines of traditional disease management, starting with the eye.”

“Our dream is to use the latest technology in the miniaturization of electronics to help improve the quality of life for millions of people,” said Sergey Brin, co-founder, Google. “We are very excited to work with Novartis to make this dream come true.”

Under the agreement, Google[x] and Alcon will collaborate to develop a “smart lens” that has the potential to address ocular conditions. The smart lens technology involves non-invasive sensors, microchips and other miniaturized electronics which are embedded within contact lenses. Novartis’ interest in this technology is currently focused in two areas:

• Helping diabetic patients manage their disease by providing a continuous, minimally invasive measurement of the body’s glucose levels via a “smart contact lens” which is designed to measure tear fluid in the eye and connects wirelessly with a mobile device;

• For people living with presbyopia who can no longer read without glasses, the “smart lens” has the potential to provide accommodative vision correction to help restore the eye’s natural autofocus on near objects in the form of an accommodative contact lens or intraocular lens as part of the refractive cataract treatment.

The agreement marries Google’s expertise in miniaturized electronics, low power chip design and microfabrication with Alcon’s expertise in physiology and visual performance of the eye, clinical development and evaluation, as well as commercialization of contact and intraocular lenses. Through the collaboration, Alcon seeks to accelerate product innovation based on Google’s “smart lens” technology.

“Alcon and Google have a deep and common passion for innovation,” said Jeff George, Division Head of Alcon. “By combining Alcon’s leadership in eye care and expertise in contact lenses and intraocular lenses with Google’s innovative “smart lens” technology and groundbreaking speed in research, we aim to unlock a new frontier to jointly address the unmet medical needs of millions of eye care patients around the world.”

Source: India Medical times

Newborn’s Infection Came from Probiotics, Study Suggests

Probiotics, or “good bacteria,” are generally thought to be safe for most people, but a newborn in Poland appears to have developed an infection after he was given a probiotic product, according to a new report of the case.

The baby was born at full term, but was small — he weighed about 5 lbs. (2.3 kg). The doctors diagnosed him with intrauterine growth restriction, meaning he had grown at a slower rate than normal while in the womb.

Newborn's Infection Came from Probiotics, Study Suggests

When the baby was two days old, tests suggested he had an infection, and although this was not confirmed, he was started on antibiotics as a precaution while further tests were done. Doctors also gave the baby a probiotic product, containing the bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, to prevent diarrhea or other complications from the antibiotics. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG is used in some popular probiotics yogurts and supplements, such as Culturelle.

Four days later, the baby’s antibiotic was switched, and a blood sample taken on that same day tested positive for an infection with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. A genetic test showed that the strain that caused the boy’s infection was the same strain found in the probiotic product, the researchers said. The infant was “very touch-sensitive” and cried a lot, the researchers said

Studies have suggested that probiotics do not appear to be harmful for healthy children, but whether they have benefits is not clear either, and the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend probiotics as standard care for babies. In addition, some groups of people are known to be at risk for adverse effects resulting from probiotics — including people with impaired immune systems — but warning labels are rarely seen on probiotics, the researchers said.

The new findings suggest that babies with intrauterine growth restriction “might be a new potential risk group … for which safe use of probiotics needs careful attention,” the researchers, from Poland’s National Institute of Public Health, wrote in the July 17 issue of the journal Beneficial Microbes.

There is an urgent need to develop standard guidelines for exactly how probiotics should be used in patients with health conditions that may put them at risk for complications, the researchers said.

Because the new study involved just one child, the findings do not necessarily apply to all children with intrauterine growth restriction, said Dr. William Muinos, co-director of the gastroenterology department at Miami Children’s Hospital, who was not involved in the study.

But the case could alert doctors to the possibility of a risk for children with this condition, and doctors should consider this risk, and weigh it against the possible benefits of probiotics, before using probiotics in these kids, Muinos said.

Even though this infant was on antibiotics at the time of the infection, probiotic bacteria can be resistant to certain types of antibiotics, Muinos said.

Muinos said he does not routinely recommend probiotics for infants younger than 3 months old. Probiotics may pose risks to infants because the lining of a newborn’s intestinal tract is less mature, and could allow some bacteria to seep into the blood stream, he said.

For most babies, the natural way of acquiring gut bacteria — through breastfeeding and normal interactions with the environment — “is probably the safest way,” Muinos said. Doctors continued to treat the baby in Poland with antibiotics for two weeks, until his infection cleared. He went home from the hospital when he was about 1 month old, according to the report.

The researchers noted that although Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG was detected in the baby’s blood, it’s possible that another, undetected microbe was causing the baby’s symptoms.

Source: yahoo news

 

Many Doctors Recommend E-Cigs as Anti-Smoking Aid

E-cigarettes seem to be everywhere these days, and a new study finds many U.S. doctors recommending them to smokers as a way to kick the tobacco habit.

“Even in the absence of evidence regarding the health impact of e-cigarettes and other vaping devices, a third of physicians we surveyed are recommending e-cigarettes to their patients to help quit smoking,” study co-author Leah Ranney, associate director of the Tobacco Prevention and Evaluation Program at the University of North Carolina, said in a university news release.

Many Doctors Recommend E-Cigs as Anti-Smoking Aid

The researchers cautioned, however, that more research is needed to determine if e-cigarettes are safe and if they actually help people to stop smoking.

E-cigarettes work by turning various concentrations of nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals into a vapor that can be inhaled — a process also known as “vaping.” Most of the nicotine in e-cigarettes enters the bloodstream through the soft tissue in users’ cheeks, not their lungs. The safety and effectiveness of e-cigarettes, however, remains unclear.

In conducting the study, published online July 29 in the journal PLOS ONE, Ranney and her colleagues randomly selected 128 doctors in North Carolina and asked them about their attitudes towards e-cigarettes.

The researchers found that two-thirds of the doctors believed the devices could be a useful tool to help people quit smoking. In fact, 35 percent said they had recommended e-cigarettes to their patients.

However, “e-cigarettes are not approved by the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] for smoking cessation,” Ranney said. She suggested that “physicians should refrain from recommending e-cigarettes until more is known about their safety.”

Doctors were more likely to recommend e-cigarettes if their patients asked about them or if they believed these products were safer than smoking regular cigarettes.

The study authors cautioned that some doctors may have conflicting information about the safety of e-cigarettes. Among those polled, 13 percent were unaware that e-cigarettes are not FDA-approved.

Study co-author Dr. Adam Goldstein, a University of North Carolina family medicine physician, noted in the news release that “physicians may choose to use FDA-approved medications rather than devices and products not approved by FDA.”

The study was funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Source: webmd

Jobs with highest and lowest heart disease risk revealed

Jobs with highest and lowest heart disease risk revealed

People’s risk of heart disease may differ based on their jobs — workers in service and blue-collar occupations, as well as unemployed people, are at increased risk for heart disease and stroke, according to a new report.

Researchers found that people’s risk of heart disease and stroke varies with their industry. Those working in wholesale came in at top of the list, as 2.9 percent of the people in that industry had suffered heart disease or a stroke.

Those working in finance and insurance had the lowest rate of heart disease, at 0.8 percent.

For the study, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at national health surveys conducted between 2008 and 2012 to estimate the rate of heart disease and stroke among adults younger than 55. The researchers also analyzed whether unemployed people or workers in certain industries had different risks compared with their peers.

Among employed people, workers in service and blue-collar occupations were more likely than those in white-collar occupations to report having had heart disease or a stroke.

However, heart disease risk also depends on people’s age and gender. When the researchers adjusted their results based on those factors, they found the rate of heart disease and stroke was highest among people in two industries: One is called Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services, and it includes people working in business support services and security services, as well as landscape services and waste management. The other category is called Accommodation and Food Service, which includes people who work in traveler accommodations, restaurants and bars.

Looking at employment status, the researchers found that 1.9 percent of employed people had experienced heart disease or stroke, compared with 2.5 percent of unemployed people who were looking for work, and 6.3 percent of people not in the labor force. That group includes unemployed adults who have stopped looking for work, homemakers, students, retired people and people with disabilities.

Cardiovascular diseases account for one in three deaths every year in the United States. Most of these deaths are caused by stroke or the most common type of heart disease, called coronary artery disease, which is a narrowing of the blood vessels. That condition can progress and lead to a heart attack.

Risk factors for heart disease range from having medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, to lifestyle factors such as diet, smoking and physical activity. Work-related risk factors for heart disease and stroke include noise, job stress, secondhand smoke and doing shift work, according to the CDC.

To address work-related factors contributing to heart disease risk, the CDC launched a program called the Total Worker Health in 2011. It aims to control occupational risk factors, such as job stress, while promoting a healthy lifestyle.

People who have jobs in industries with higher rates of heart disease might especially benefit from an employer-sponsored Total Worker Health program, the researchers said.

It’s not clear why people’s jobs are linked to their heart disease risk, but certain characteristics of jobs may come into play. For example, workers employed in Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services have reported higher rates of job insecurity than all other workers, the researchers said. Job insecurity is a common cause of stress.

Source: fox news