Barbecued, Pan-Fried Meat May Boost Kidney Cancer Risk

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Nov. 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Cooking meats at high temperatures, as in barbecuing or pan-frying, may increase the risk for kidney cancer, a new study suggests.

The World Health Organization warned last month that processed meats — including bacon, hot dogs and sausages — can cause colon cancer. Red meats were also associated with higher risk.

The new study looked specifically at kidney cancer, which is increasing in the United States and other developing nations.

“This study, and others like it, suggest that the way we cook our meat could potentially impact kidney cancer risk,” said lead researcher Dr. Xifeng Wu, a professor in the department of epidemiology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

“Limit the amount of time the meat is cooked at really high temperatures or over an open flame resulting in burning, smoking, or charring of the meat,” Wu suggested.

These new findings support the dietary recommendations for cancer prevention from the American Cancer Society, namely to limit the intake of red and processed meats, she said.

Susan Gapstur, vice president for epidemiology at the cancer society, said that when meats are cooked at very high temperatures, certain cancer-causing chemicals are released, some of which are linked to kidney cancer.

“This study offers some clues that meat cooked at high temperature might increase the risk for cancer, especially among people with certain genetic mutations,” Gapstur said.

However, this study only shows an association between consumption of meat cooked at high temperatures and kidney cancer risk, not that it actually causes kidney cancer. To show that, larger prospective studies are needed, she said.

The report was published online Nov. 9 in the journal Cancer.

Many previous studies have suggested that aspects of the so-called Western diet — including high intake of meat, starches and processed foods — are partly responsible for the rise in kidney cancer, Wu said.

To study this further, Wu and colleagues collected information from more than 650 kidney cancer patients and compared it with data from nearly 700 cancer-free patients.

A food questionnaire asked not only about meat intake, but also cooking methods and level of how thoroughly it was cooked, the study authors noted.

The researchers found that the kidney cancer patients ate more red and white meat than the others. They also ate more meat cooked at high temperatures or over an open flame — such as pan-fried, grilled or barbecued.

The study found that, in particular, two chemical compounds caused by high-heat cooking seemed to raise kidney cancer risk by more than 50 percent.

Also, people with certain genetic mutations seemed more susceptible than others to the effects of these chemicals, the researchers said.

However, Gapstur said that the risk for kidney cancer among people with these genetic mutations is not nearly as great as the risk for breast cancer linked to BRCA mutations.

Gapstur said the WHO report should guide meat-eating habits. “Processed meats and red meat, in particular, are carcinogens and are linked to a higher risk of colon cancer — the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. So, limiting consumption continues to be important,” she said.

In addition, avoid cooking meats at high temperatures, Gapstur suggested. “This study adds to the evidence that cooking methods are perhaps important,” she said.

More information

For more on meat and cancer, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

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Get a Sleek, Party-Ready Blowout with This Easy Hair Tutorial

Photo: Wella Professionals

A deep side part and bent ends make a blowout anything but basic. “It’s a choice look if you’re hitting the dance floor—your hair will bounce along with you!” notes Eugene Souleiman, global creative director of Wella Professionals, who did the style at the left. To prevent frizz, hand cream can double as a surprising hair savior. Rub a bit between your palms and, once absorbed, smooth over flyaways.

How to get the look: Apply a blowout cream to damp strands and blow-dry. Form a deep side part and tie hair into a loose ponytail over the opposite shoulder. Mist with hairspray, roll the pony up to the base and pin. Blow-dry for a few minutes to set the shape. Unwind and brush through. “This gives a softer wave than you would get with rollers,” says Souleiman. Final step: Make an entrance!

Pro picks: Wella Professionals EIMI Perfect Me ($19, ulta.com) and Suave Professionals Luxe Style Infusion Plump Hold Hairspray ($5, amazon.com).

Photo: Christine Blackburne

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Carbon Monoxide Levels in Breath Might Point to Stroke Risk

SUNDAY, Nov. 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Seemingly healthy adults who exhale high levels of carbon monoxide may be at increased risk for stroke, a new study suggests.

Carbon monoxide is produced naturally by the body. According to the researchers, prior studies have linked high exhaled levels of carbon monoxide to an increased risk of heart disease.

This new study was led by Dr. Matthew Nayor, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and included more than 3,300 healthy adults with no known history of stroke.

All of the patients had their exhaled levels of carbon monoxide measured and health outcomes were then tracked for an average of nearly 13 years.

The study couldn’t prove cause-and-effect. However, compared with those in the lowest one-third of levels of exhaled carbon monoxide, those in the middle one-third were 67 percent more likely to suffer a stroke or mini-stroke (transient ischemic attack — TIA) during that time, and those in the top one-third were 97 percent more likely to suffer a stroke or mini-stroke, Nayor’s team reported.

Brain scans of nearly 2,000 of the participants showed that those with the highest levels of exhaled carbon monoxide were also more likely to have lower total brain volume, higher white matter volume and higher rates of silent stroke than those in the lowest one-third.

One expert wasn’t surprised by the findings.

“It is well known that accidental or intentional inhalation of carbon monoxide is a dangerous situation that can lead to coma, brain damage and death,” said Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. So, he said, it makes sense that high levels of the compound in the body might raise a person’s odds for stroke or mini-stroke.

The study was to be presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Fla. Findings presented at medical meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke explains how to reduce your stroke risk.

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Just One Energy Drink Sends Young Adults’ Stress Hormone Levels Soaring

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

SUNDAY, Nov. 8, 2015 (HealthDay News)– Just one energy drink can cause potentially harmful spikes in both stress hormone levels and blood pressure in young, healthy adults, a new study shows.

After drinking a 16-ounce can of “Rockstar Punched,” young adults had a 74 percent increase in blood levels of the “fight-or-flight” hormone norepinephrine, said lead researcher Dr. Anna Svatikova, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

That’s more than double an average 30 percent increase in norepinephrine the same participants experienced when they consumed a fake energy drink, Svatikova said.

The sham energy drink contained the same amount of sugar and nearly the same calories, but did not include natural stimulants found in the Rockstar drink, she said. The stimulants in the real energy drink include caffeine, taurine, guarana, ginseng and milk thistle extract.

The young adults also experienced a significant increase in their blood pressure after consuming the energy drink, the study found.

“The worry is that if these responses are seen in healthy young people, perhaps the effects of energy drinks may be more pronounced in people who already have high blood pressure or arrhythmias,” leading to more heart attacks and strokes, Svatikova said.

The findings were to be presented Sunday at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting in Orlando, and the results will be published simultaneously in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Energy drinks can contain up to five times more caffeine than a typical cup of coffee, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAmHSA).

Emergency room visits involving energy drinks doubled between 2007 and 2011, rising from about 10,000 to nearly 21,000, SAMHSA said.

Previous studies have shown that energy drink users experience a dramatic rise in their blood pressure, Svatikova said. Researchers conducted this study to see if that blood pressure spike is caused by a change in the person’s hormone levels.

The study included 25 healthy young adults. They were between the ages of 26 and 31, and had no known heart risk factors. Each person drank one 16-ounce can of Rockstar Punched or the sham drink in random order on two separate days.

Researchers measured participants’ blood pressure and blood levels of norepinephrine before and 30 minutes after they chugged each drink.

The body usually releases norepinephrine in fight-or-flight situations of extreme stress, Svatikova said. The hormone increases blood pressure and the heart’s ability to contract, and increases arousal and alertness in the brain.

Participants’ norepinephrine levels increased more than twice as much when compared to when they consumed the sham drink, researchers found.

Blood pressure also spiked due to energy drinks. For example, mean blood pressure increased by 6.4 percent after energy drink consumption, compared with a 1 percent increase when the young adults downed the fake drink, the study found.

“They are not benign, these products, and there’s no limit to how these products are consumed by individuals,” said Linda Van Horn, a professor of preventive medicine and nutrition at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association.

Due to the small size of this study, “it’s probably premature to launch any kind of specific concerns or warnings about these products,” Van Horn added.

But both Van Horn and Svatikova said doctors should take note of this possible effect, and consider asking heart patients to cut energy drinks out of their diet.

“As physicians, we should perhaps ask people about energy drink intake, and factor this in as we interpret their vital signs in emergency settings,” Svatikova said. “For the consumers, they should use caution when consuming energy drinks, because these drinks may increase their risk of sudden heart problems, even among young people.”

The American Beverage Association took issue with the findings.

“There is nothing unique about the caffeine in mainstream energy drinks, which is about half that of a similar-sized cup of coffeehouse coffee,” the association said in a statement. “According to a study published in the International Journal of Cardiology, drinking coffee would produce similar results to the findings of this abstract.”

“The safety of energy drinks has been established by scientific research, as well as regulatory agencies around the globe,” the association said. “Just this year, the European Food Safety Authority confirmed the safety of energy drinks and their ingredients after an extensive review.”

Leading energy drink manufacturers in the United States display total caffeine content on their packaging, along with warnings that say energy drinks aren’t recommended for children, pregnant or nursing women or anyone who is sensitive to caffeine, the association added.

More information

For more information on health concerns regarding energy drinks, visit the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

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Many Americans May Experience ‘Silent’ Heart Attack

SUNDAY, Nov. 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — New research suggests that many Americans suffer “silent” heart attacks — events that go unnoticed but are serious enough to leave scars on the heart.

“We know that risk factors for heart disease — the number one killer of American men and women — are predominantly modifiable, so this finding gives further support to the notion that early identification and management of these risks is critical,” said Dr. Stacey Rosen, vice president of women’s health at The Katz Institute for Women’s Health in New Hyde Park, N.Y. She was not involved in the new research.

The study was led by Dr. David Bluemke of the U.S. National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. His team looked at heart scans from more than 1,800 people, ages 45-84, from various ethnic groups who were free of heart disease when they enrolled in the study between 2000 and 2002.

Ten years later, all the patients underwent magnetic imaging scans to assess their heart health. Their average age at that time was 68.

The scans revealed that nearly 8 percent of the participants had scars caused by a heart attack, 78 percent of which had previously gone undetected.

Men were much more likely than women to have this type of scar, nearly 13 percent vs. 2.5 percent, respectively. Other factors associated with a higher risk of heart scarring included smoking, being heavier, higher levels of heart disease-linked calcium deposits in arteries, and the use of high blood pressure medications at the start of the study.

The researchers stressed that a determination of the health impact of these silent attacks “remains to be defined.” However, they pointed out that 70 percent of patients who lose their lives to sudden cardiac death show evidence of this type of prior heart scarring.

Dr. Kevin Marzo, chief of cardiology at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., reviewed the new findings and said that they support the notion that a routine EKG performed in a doctor’s office may only pick up a small percentage of silent heart attacks.

According to Marzo, this means that, for some patients, taking such steps as lifestyle change and cholesterol management to lower heart attack risk may be “necessary despite the reassurance of having a normal EKG in the doctor’s office.”

The study appears in the Nov. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

More information

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‘Cash for Lower Cholesterol’ Program Works With Doc-Patient Teams

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

SUNDAY, Nov. 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — What if you could get paid to improve your health? That was the premise behind a new study that offered cash rewards to help people lower their cholesterol levels.

Surprisingly, the program was only successful when both the doctor and patient were paid to work together to achieve the common goal, the study found. Patients who shared a financial incentive with their doctor to lower their levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol achieved a statistically significant reduction after a year of treatment, the study authors said.

LDL cholesterol levels didn’t significantly drop if the cold hard cash was offered to either the patient or the doctor alone, the study revealed.

These results provide fresh evidence for the value of shared decision-making between doctor and patient, said lead author Dr. David Asch, a professor of medicine and executive director of the Center for Health Care Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

“It makes sense. It does take two to tango,” Asch said. “The physician has to prescribe the medication, and the patient has to take it. They both have to follow through on their roles for this to work.”

At the same time, the findings raise questions about the value of straight “pay-for-performance” incentives offered to physicians, where doctors receive cash bonuses if they achieve certain health goals among their patients, Asch added.

“There’s been an enormous amount of attention placed on pay-for-performance, without a lot of evidence,” he said. “It’s largely untested, and this study shows that we may need more clever designs that incorporate both the doctor and the patient.”

The findings were published in the Nov. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study involved 340 primary care physicians at three northeastern U.S. medical clinics, and just over 1,500 of their patients.

All of the study volunteers were provided with an electronic pill bottle to track whether they took their cholesterol-lowering medications (statins) on schedule. Each physician/patient team was placed into one of four groups. In one group, doctors were offered up to $1,024 for each patient whose cholesterol met a target goal. The second group offered the same cash reward to patients who took their medication on time, but nothing for doctors.

The third group offered shared incentives, with both doctors and patients eligible for bonus cash if they held up their end of the bargain. And finally, the fourth group served as a control group that was offered no cash bonuses at all. (Patients and doctors in all groups, including the control group, were paid $355 just to participate in the trial.)

Only patients in the shared physician-patient incentives group achieved reductions in LDL cholesterol levels that were statistically different from those in the control group, the researchers found.

However, the difference was just 8.5 mg/dL, which amounts to only a 4 percent reduction in cardiovascular events such as strokes or heart attacks, said Dr. Pam Morris, chair of the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Committee for the American College of Cardiology.

“It was a very modest effect,” said Morris, an assistant professor and director of preventive cardiology at the Medical University of South Carolina. “It raises questions about the cost-effectiveness of this model.”

Morris also noted that most patients failed to take their medication even when offered cash bonuses. Average adherence rates were 39 percent in the shared-incentive group, and 34 percent in the patient-incentive group.

“I found really shocking the incredibly poor adherence across all groups, even for those with financial incentives,” she said. “They were being offered money. What does it take to get the type of adherence to therapy that will improve health? What more do we need to do?”

Asch agreed that the effects of financial incentives were not as big as he had hoped, but pointed out some factors that make the patients’ improvement more significant than it might otherwise appear.

For one thing, people recruited for the study already were receiving treatment for high heart risk and elevated cholesterol. “These were not easy patients,” Asch said. “To get into the study, you had to be something of a hard case. We targeted the hardest cases to treat.”

At the same time, the control group received electronic pill bottles along with everyone else, which could have given those patients a subtle reminder to take their cholesterol-lowering drugs on time, he said. The control group had an adherence rate of 27 percent.

“We did not compare the rest of the patients against nothing,” Asch said. “We compared them to people who’d been given electronic pill bottles.”

The research team now is embarking on a cost-effectiveness analysis to see if these cash incentives would pay for themselves in improved care and decreased medical costs, Asch said.

If the improvements in health prove worth the cost, Asch said he could imagine employers or insurance companies offering such incentives to drive down future costs of health care.

“The stakeholder who winds up holding the ‘hot potato’ of financial risk at the time might be the one who’s willing to pay the cost,” he said.

More information

For more about cholesterol, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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Heart Disease Deaths Declining Among Those With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Study

SUNDAY, Nov. 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Heart disease-related deaths among Americans with rheumatoid arthritis are on the decline, according to a new study.

Rheumatoid arthritis patients are two times more likely than the average person to develop heart disease, but the new research finds that efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat heart disease at an early stage in these patients are paying off.

Mayo Clinic researchers analyzed heart disease deaths within 10 years of rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis for two groups of people. The first group included 315 people diagnosed between 2000 and 2007. The second group included 498 people diagnosed in the 1980s and 1990s. About two-thirds of the patients were women and their average age was 60.

Between 2000 and 2007, 2.8 percent died of heart disease, compared to 7.9 percent in the 1980s and 1990s, according to the findings, which are to be presented Sunday at the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, in San Francisco.

Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

The rate of death from one specific type of heart disease — coronary artery disease — was 1.2 percent among those diagnosed between 2000 and 2007, compared to 4.7 percent among those diagnosed in earlier decades.

More research will be needed to explain the declines. Study lead author and rheumatologist Dr. Elena Myasoedova said in a Mayo Clinic news release that potential factors include “earlier and more vigilant screening for heart problems, improved treatment for heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis, and in general, more attention to heart health in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.”

Other Mayo Clinic studies being presented at the meeting found that, compared to people in the general population, rheumatoid arthritis patients have less diversity of gut bacteria and much higher levels of certain types of gut bacteria, as well as much higher use of narcotic pain medicines, regardless of disease severity.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases has more about rheumatoid arthritis.

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Studies Explore Link Between Diet, Rheumatoid Arthritis

SUNDAY, Nov. 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Your diet may influence your chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis, two new studies suggest.

The results show “that a healthy diet may prevent [rheumatoid arthritis] development, and our team is interested in conducting further studies to look at why diet is associated with this risk,” said lead investigator Dr. Bing Lu, an assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

One study included nearly 94,000 American women, aged 25 to 42, who provided information about their diet every four years between 1991 and 2011. During that time, nearly 350 of them developed rheumatoid arthritis.

Those who ate a typical North American diet — high in red and processed meat, refined grains, fried food, high-fat dairy and sweets — were more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than those who ate a diet high in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, poultry and fish, the study found.

In the other study, the same research team analyzed other data from the women’s study and found that following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans can lower the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. Those guidelines are intended to help people make informed food choices and be physically active to maintain a healthy weight and reduce their risk of chronic disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disorder, is characterized by pain, stiffness and swelling in multiple joints. The cause is unknown, and it can lead to joint damage and deformity. More women develop it than men.

The studies were to be presented Saturday at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting in San Francisco.

Until now, evidence for diet playing a role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis has been inconsistent and conflicting, Lu said in a college news release. “The prior studies based on individual nutrients and food groups may not have enough power to detect small effects,” Lu explained.

However, the new research only finds an association between healthy eating and lower odds for rheumatoid arthritis. It doesn’t establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

Also, data and conclusions presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases has more about rheumatoid arthritis.

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3-D Computer Modeling Might Improve Children’s Heart Transplants

SUNDAY, Nov. 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A new 3-D computer modeling system may help surgeons choose the best-sized donor heart for children who need a heart transplant, new research finds.

To develop the system, researchers first created a library of 3D images using MRI and CT scans. The images included scans of the hearts of healthy children weighing up to 99 pounds. The library was then used to predict the best donor body weight to ensure the proper heart size for recipients.

The researchers then compared before and after images from infants who already had a heart transplant. They found that their 3D imaging system accurately pinpointed an appropriate heart size.

The findings were to be presented Sunday at the American Heart Association annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

“Three-D reconstruction has tremendous potential to improve donor size matching,” study author Jonathan Plasencia, a doctoral student at Arizona State University’s Image Processing Applications Lab, said in an American Heart Association news release.

“We feel that we now have evidence that 3-D matching can improve selection and hope this will soon help transplant doctors, patients, and their parents make the best decision by taking some of the uncertainty out of this difficult situation,” he added.

Currently, proper heart size is assessed by comparing the donor’s and recipient’s weight and then choosing an upper and lower limit based on the size of the recipient’s heart. However, this is an imprecise method and variations in donor heart size can have a major effect on how well the recipient does, the researchers said.

“As the virtual library grows, the ability to accurately predict donor heart volumes will improve, and analyzing future transplant cases using 3-D matching will allow us to predict the true upper and lower limits of acceptable donor size,” Plasencia said.

He added that the new model may result in more effective organ allocation across the country. And, the prediction model may also minimize the number of acceptable organs that are ultimately discarded due to improper size, he said.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about heart transplant.

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Smoggy Days Linked to Most Severe Type of Heart Attack

SUNDAY, Nov. 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Air pollution increases the risk of a serious heart attack for those who have heart disease, a new study suggests.

Researchers examined data on thousands of people treated for heart attack in and around Salt Lake City between 1993 and 2014. Their aim was to see how air pollution affects heart attack risk and which type of heart attack in particular.

The study found a strong association between bad air quality — above 25 micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic meter of air — and increased risk of STEMI heart attack, the most dangerous type of heart attack. But the study did not prove that poor air quality causes this type of heart attack.

STEMI heart attack occurs when a heart artery is completely blocked and a large portion of the heart muscle can’t receive blood. Without quick treatment, a patient can suffer irreparable heart damage or death, the researchers explained.

“Our research indicated that during poor air quality days, namely those with high levels of PM2.5, patients with heart disease are at a higher risk of suffering from a STEMI heart attack,” study author Dr. Kent Meredith, a cardiologist at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City, said in an institute news release.

“By making this association, physicians can better counsel their heart patients to avoid exposure to poor air quality, and thus decrease their chances of suffering a heart attack on days that they are potentially at highest risk,” he added.

The researchers advised heart patients to become familiar with the color-coded Air Quality Index. Yellow means the air is moderately healthy, orange is unhealthy for sensitive groups, and red is unhealthy.

“The study suggests that during many yellow air quality days, and all red quality air days, people with known coronary artery disease may be safer if they limit their exposure to particulate matter in the air by exercising indoors, limiting their time outdoors, avoiding stressful activities, and remaining compliant with medications,” Meredith said.

“These activities can reduce inflammation in the arteries, and therefore make patients less sensitive to the fine particulate matter present on poor air quality days,” he concluded.

The study was to be presented Sunday at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

Data and conclusions presented at meetings have not been through the rigorous peer review required of published studies and should be considered preliminary.

More information

The American Heart Association has more about air pollution and heart disease.

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