Heartening news for fat patients
Obese people admitted to hospital with heart failure tend to survive better than leaner people - apparently because they're so fat, according to a study of more than 80,000 patients. The University of California study 'suggests that overweight and obese patients may have a greater metabolic reserve to call on during an acute heart failure', says team leader Gregg Fonarow. In-hospital deaths fell as body mass index rose, even after accounting for age, gender, blood pressure and heart rate, Reuters reports. BMIs of those in the study ranged from 16 (very thin) to 60 (very obese). For every five-unit BMI increase, the death risk fell by 10 per cent.
Good cholesterol not just in genes
Ethnic differences in people's levels of so-called good cholesterol, or HDL, may be due to diet - particularly carbohydrate intake - as much as genes, a Canadian study has found. Chinese, for example, typically eat few carbs and have high HDL levels, whereas South Asians consume a lot of carbs and have low HDL levels, according to the Population Health Research Institute study. Consuming sugar-sweetened soft drinks, juices and snacks is linked to lower HDL levels, Reuters reports.
Rise in cigarette nicotine levels
Nicotine levels in cigarettes have risen by 11 per cent since 1998, according to a Harvard School of Public Health analysis that supports an earlier study by Massachusetts health officials - but tobacco industry officials deny there has been a deliberate attempt to boost concentrations of the addictive ingredient, WebMD reports. Team leader Gregory Connolly says that, even allowing for yearly fluctuations due to inconsistencies in crops, 'there was a significant increase in nicotine levels on the order of 1.6 per cent per year'.
Larger families prone to cancer