Physical activity helps people worldwide
(CBC News) — Each step we take reduces the overall risk of premature death, a global study reaffirms.
Researchers estimate about one in 12 deaths worldwide would be prevented if everyone exercised at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week. …
Commonly prescribed drugs for back pain often ineffective, review says
(CBC News) — Doctors are prescribing anti-seizure and nerve pain medications for a common type of chronic low-back pain, a non-licensed use, despite a lack of studies supporting their effectiveness for that purpose, according to a new review.
The drugs, known as gabapentinoids, …
It’s not all in your head: different aches need different treatments
(Healthline) — When there is pressure or pain in your head, it can be difficult to tell whether you are experiencing a typical headache or a migraine. Differentiating a migraine headache from a traditional headache, and vice versa, is important. It can mean faster relief through better treatments. It can also help prevent future headaches …
Taking hormones for menopause doesn’t raise early death risk: study
(TCTMD) — Women who choose to take hormone therapy—whether estrogen alone or in combination with progestin—to curb menopausal symptoms have no higher or lower long-term risks of all-cause, cardiovascular, or cancer mortality than women who don’t take the drugs, according to long-term follow-up from the two Women’s Health Initiative …
Young Canadians who vape are twice as likely to move on to cigarettes, researchers say
(CBC News) — Middle and high school students in Canada who tried an e-cigarette are twice as likely to be susceptible to smoking cigarettes, which researchers call concerning.
In a study published in the journal Preventive Medicine, public health investigators analyzed data from the most recent Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol …
A fifth of global deaths linked to diet: study
(Agence France-Presse) — Fewer children are dying before their fifth birthday and although humans are living longer than ever before, one in five deaths last year were linked to poor diet, researchers said Friday.
More than 1.6 million people in poor countries died in 2016 from diarrhoea caused by contaminated water and food, while …
Genetic fitness may lower breast cancer risk
(New York Times) — Aerobic fitness seems to alter the interior workings of cells in ways that may substantially lower the risk of breast cancer.
A new study with female rats found that those that were the most fit were much less likely than other animals to develop cancer after exposure to a known carcinogen, even if they did not exercise. …
Regularly using bleach linked to higher risk of fatal lung disease
(The Guardian) — Regular use of bleach and other common disinfectants has been linked to a higher risk of developing fatal lung disease, researchers have found.
The use of disinfectants is linked to a higher risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to research looking at incidence of the disease in …
Manitoba mumps outbreak 100 times higher than normal
(Kelly Malone/CBC News) — The rate of mumps in Manitoba is more than 100 times higher than usual, according to numbers from Manitoba Health.
There have been 853 confirmed cases of mumps in the province from Sept. 1, 2016, to Aug. 31, 2017.
“Normally we would have maybe eight in a year,” said Dr. Richard Rusk, a provincial medical …