AFP NoHo

Living With A Cat Does Not Worsen Asthma In Children, Research Suggests
a recent study published in Frontiers in Allergy shows that “living with a cat does not worsen asthma in children.” Investigators “analyzed health data on more than 30,000 Swedish
children and teens up to age 17 born between 2006 and 2020 and diagnosed with either asthma or airway allergies,” finding that “moderate-to-severe asthma occurred in about 10% of either group.” In addition, “asthma attacks occurred in about 3% of either group.”

Frontiers | Cat exposure and asthma outcomes in a cohort of children with asthma and allergy IntroductionThe impact of current pet exposure on children with allergic asthma is not yet fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the association ...

Eating Too Much Ultraprocessed Food Negatively Impacts Muscle Health, Research Suggests
NBC News (4/14, Sullivan) reports, “Eating too much ultraprocessed food could take a toll on muscle health, according to new research.” In the study, “MRI scans revealed that regardless of people’s BMI, how many calories they ate and how much they exercised, people who ate diets that were high in ultraprocessed foods had more fat streaked through their muscles.” The findings were published in Radiology.

Ultra-processed Foods and Muscle Fat Infiltration at Thigh MRI: Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative | Radiology In aging men and women at risk for knee osteoarthritis, greater ultra-processed food consumption was linked to greater intramuscular thigh fat at MRI.

Flu Vaccine May Reduce Risk Of Flu-Related Heart Attack Or Stroke, Study Suggests
HealthDay (4/8, Thompson) reports a study suggests “the influenza vaccine can significantly reduce the risk of a flu-related heart attack or stroke, even among folks who become infected after vaccination.” The researchers “tracked more than 1,200 adults 40 or older in Denmark who’d landed in the hospital with a heart attack or stroke within a year of coming down with the flu.” They observed that “two-thirds (65%) of the patients had suffered a stroke, and the rest (35%), a heart attack. About half of the cases occurred after the patient had been vaccinated against the flu.” Results indicated “that within the first week of catching the flu, people’s risk was three times higher for suffering a stroke and five times higher for a heart attack. But this risk was cut by half for people who caught the flu but had been vaccinated against it for that season, researchers found.” The study was published in Eurosurveillance.

Eurosurveillance | Influenza vaccination attenuates acute myocardial infarction and stroke risk following influenza infection: a register-based, self-controlled case series study, Denmark, 2014 to 2025 BACKGROUND Influenza infection is a recognised trigger of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke, but whether influenza vaccination modifies this risk remains unclear. AIM We aimed to quantify the short-term cardiovascular risk after laboratory-confirmed influenza infection and assess whether....

mple Lifestyle Changes May Reduce Risk Of Late-Onset Dementia By As Much As 25%, Study Suggests
NBC News (4/8, Sullivan) reports research found that “regular exercise and about seven hours of sleep a night could protect brain health in the long term,” while “long bouts of sedentary behavior may increase dementia risk.” Simple lifestyle changes may “reduce a person’s risk of late-onset dementia by as much as 25%, according to the study.” A person’s overall Alzheimer’s disease risk is about 11%, but “with the suggested changes in lifestyle, the average person’s risk decreases to about 8%.” The study found that “breaking up longer periods of sitting had the greatest effect.” The findings were published in PLOS One.

The Relationships between physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep, and dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies Objective This study aimed to summarize the observational evidence from prospective cohort studies examining the associations of regular physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep duration with incident dementia among community-dwelling adults aged 35 years and older. Methods Systematic liter...