Category Archives: Lifestyle

Exposure to Dioxins Can Impact Thyroid Function

Dioxins are highly toxic compounds that are primarily produced by industrial processes, and their persistence in the environment makes them a significant public health concern. They can be released into the air during natural processes as well, such as forest fires and volcanoes.  Today people are exposed to dioxins primarily by eating food, in particular […]

Obesity: What Part Does Immunity Play in It

Researchers have shown that obesity in experimental models led to senescence of macrophages, an immune cell subtype within fat or adipose tissue. Many of the macrophages within obese tissue were senescent and those senescent cells may be a significant driver of fat tissue fibrosis. These findings suggest that obesity accelerates cellular or biological immune aging […]

Thirdhand Smoke Linked to Skin Diseases

Thirdhand smoke, or THS, comprises the residual pollutants from tobacco smoke that remain on surfaces and in dust after tobacco has been smoked. It can remain on indoor surfaces indefinitely, causing potentially harmful exposure to both smokers and non-smokers. Researchers have found that acute exposure of the skin to THS elevated biomarkers is associated with […]

Sleep Could Impact Your Risk for Developing Dementia

New research finds significant links between three measures of sleep disturbance and the risk for developing dementia over a 10-year period. The results associate sleep-initiation insomnia (trouble falling asleep within 30 minutes) and sleep medication use with higher risk for developing dementia. The investigators also found that people who reported having sleep-maintenance insomnia (trouble falling […]

Physical Activity at Different Times of the Day Can Affect the Body in Different Ways

Physical activity at the right time of the day seems able to increase fat metabolism, at least in mice.  Physical activity at different times of the day can affect the body in different ways since the biological processes depend on the circadian rhythms of the cells. To ascertain how, researchers studied the adipose tissue of […]

Ultra-Processed Foods May Play a Part in Feeling Anxious

Although ultra-processed foods are convenient, low cost, quick to prepare or ready-to-eat, these industrial formulations of processed food substances contain little or no whole food. They result from extensive ‘physical, biological, and chemical processes’ that create food products that are deficient in original and natural food.  Researchers explored a nationally representative sample of the United […]

Low Sexual Satisfaction in Middle Age May Serve as an Early Warning Sign for Future Cognitive Decline

A study, which tracked associations between erectile function, sexual satisfaction and cognition in hundreds of men aged 56 through 68, found that declines in sexual satisfaction and erectile function were correlated with future memory loss. The study explored the relationship between physical changes like the microvascular changes relevant for erectile function, and psychological changes, such […]

Obesity Increases Risk of Mental Disorders in All Age Groups

Being obese significantly increases the chances of also developing mental disorders.  “We analyzed a population-wide national registry of inpatient hospitalizations in Austria from 1997 to 2014 in order to determine the relative risks of comorbidities in obesity and identify statistically significant sex differences,” explains Elma Dervic of the Complexity Science Hub. Consequently, it became evident […]

Older People Have Better Mental Well-Being Than 30 Years Ago

This was observed in a study conducted at the Gerontology Research Center in Finland. The study examined differences in depressive symptoms and life satisfaction between current 75- and 80-year-olds and the same-aged people who lived in the 1990s. The results showed that 75- and 80-year-old men and women today experience fewer depressive symptoms than those […]