Some skin-cancer survivors balk at sun safety
Location of study: U.S.
Study subjects: 171 skincancer survivors
Results: A Yale study found that despite undergoing treatment for skin cancer, some melanoma survivors still use tanning beds and stay in the sun without sunscreen.
Significance: Survivors of melanoma have nine times the risk of a reoccurrence of skin cancer than those who have not suffered.
Asthma cases drop after smoking ban
Location of study: England
Study subjects: Adults 16 and over
Results: In each of the first three years following England’s ban on smoking in public places, emergency admissions for adults with asthma attacks fell by almost 5 percent, the journal Thorax says.
Significance: England is thought to be among the top countries for asthma in the world. Researchers accounted for seasonal temperatures, variations in population size and long-term trends in reaching their conclusions, but also attributed them to a reduction in secondhand smoke. Public smoking was banned in England in July 2007.
Heart rate may signal problems
Location of study: Cophenhagen, Denmark
Study subjects: 3,000 men
Results: Researchers at Copenhagen University Hospital have linked a high pulse (resting heart rate) with earlier mortality, even in physically fit people. Those with high resting heart rates worked out less, had higher blood pressure, weighed more and had higher levels of circulating blood fats.
Significance: Resting heart rate is the number of heartbeats per minute. It’s determined by a variety of factors, including hormones, the nervous system and physical fitness. A normal pulse is considered to be between 60 and 100 beats per minute.
Alcohol and the elderly
Location of study: U.S./Singapore
Study subjects: Rats more than 18 months old
Results: Researchers at Baylor University found that elderly animals fed alcohol had a greater risk of poor coordination and memory than young animals.
Significance: As the population of senior citizens continues to rise, researchers concluded that further study of the role alcohol plays on health is necessary. Metro
