Here are the top stories covered by DocWire News this week in the Homepage section. In this week’s edition of the round-up: elderly people with hearing loss have a higher risk of dementia, people with obesity get more satisfaction from their food, diabetic mothers with high blood sugar levels have an increased risk for stillbirths, and a plant-based compound found in red wine can reduce anxiety and depression.
Hearing loss is linked to a higher risk of dementia among people aged 45 to 64, according to the researchers of a study published in JAMA Network Open. In a population-based cohort study, researchers aggregated data on 16,270 participants from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. The exposed HL group comprised patients newly diagnosed with HL from 2000 through 2011. According to the results of the study, 16,270 participants, developed dementia, and the dementia incidence rate in the HL group was higher compared to the non-HL group per 1,000 person-years juxtaposed to 13.98 per 1,000 person-years during the follow-up period. In conclusion, the study authors wrote that the results of this study “suggests that the implementation of early hearing protection, HL screening, and the use of hearing aids may help to mitigate this potential risk factor for dementia.”
The findings of a new study suggest that people with obesity get more satisfaction out of eating than people who are normal weight or overweight. The results were published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Researchers analyzed data on 290 adults, of which 161 had a BMI that was considered normal (<25), while 78 were considered overweight (≥25 and <30), and 51 had a BMI considered as obese (≥30). The participants were randomly chosen to receive nutritional information, were provided with samples of chocolate, one at a time, and prompted to continue eating until they felt full. The results of the study showed that although the researchers found no discernible differences in taste perception between participants in the normal-and overweight categories, obese participants had higher levels of initial taste perception (P=0.02). “Our findings further indicate that obese participants needed to consume a greater quantity of chocolate than nonobese participants to experience a similar decline in taste perceptions,” the authors noted.
Among mothers with diabetes, elevated maternal glucose levels and a high body mass index (BMI) are risk factors in stillbirth, according to a study published in Diabetologia. Following data analysis, which was performed using Statistical Analysis Software the findings of this study showed that stillbirth rates were 16.1 and 22.9 per 1,000 births among women with type 1 and type 2 diabetes respectively. In women with type 1 diabetes, the determining factor for stillbirth was higher higher HbA1c before pregnancy (OR 1.03 [95% CI 1.01, 1.04]; p = 0.0003) and in later pregnancy (OR 1.06 [95% CI 1.04, 1.08]; p < 0.0001), while in women with type 2 diabetes, stillbirth risk was linked with higher maternal BMI (OR 1.07 [95% CI 1.01, 1.14]; p = 0.02) and pre-pregnancy HbA1c (OR 1.02 [95% CI 1.00, 1.04]; p = 0.016). In concluding their findings, the study authors noted that while glucose levels and BMI play a factor in stillbirth risk, “there is significant overlap in values between live and stillborn groups making it difficult to predict exactly which pregnancies will end in stillbirth.”
A plant-based compound found in red wine can reduce depression and anxiety, according to a study conducted by researchers the University of Buffalo who published their findings in Neuropharmacology. In a mouse-model study, the findings suggest that PDE4, induced by excessive amounts of corticosterone, causes depression and anxiety-like behavior and that resveratrol exhibits neuroprotective capabilities against corticosterone by impeding the expression of PDE4. The researchers noted that these results lay the groundwork for implementing resveratrol in novel antidepressants. “Resveratrol may be an effective alternative to drugs for treating patients suffering from depression and anxiety disorders.”
