Thursday, November 30, 2006

Statins - could 7% of people have INCREASED risk of heart attack? - June 2004

Statins are not "wonder drugs" for all

  • 21:00 15 June 2004

The cholesterol-lowering "wonder" drugs known as statins may be less wondrous for people with two genetic variations, reveals a new study.

Nearly seven per cent of the population have genetic features which make statins an average of 20 per cent less effective at lowering cholesterol levels, found Daniel Chasman of Harvard Medical School in Boston, US and his colleagues.

The researchers now plan to study whether those seven per cent of statin takers end up having more heart attacks and cardiovascular disease due to their weak response to the drug.

Statins are the most potent and popular cholesterol fighting drugs. They work by clogging a protein enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase which helps manufacture cholesterol. While at least ten proteins are known to influence the metabolism of cholesterol, Chasman's team wanted to test if naturally occurring variations in the genes that encode these proteins also influence the effectiveness of statin therapy.

They studied DNA from 1536 volunteers who took a statin called pravastatin during a 24-week trial. The researchers analysed the DNA for single polynucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), DNA sequences which are used to track genetic differences between people.

In patients with two particular SNPs, both located in the gene for HMG-CoA reductase, statins were 20 per cent less effective at lowering total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein, also known as "bad" cholesterol.

Journal reference: Journal of the American Medical Association (vol 291, p 2821)

Statins - can lead to memory loss? - 06 December 2003

ONE day former astronaut Duane Graveline came back from a walk and failed to recognise his wife. He blamed this temporary bout of amnesia on the drug Lipitor, which he had been taking for several weeks. Doctors dismissed his fears, but six weeks after he started taking the drug again he suffered another bout of amnesia. This time he could not remember anything after high school, not even his children.

Graveline is one of a growing number of people who say they have suffered from amnesia and other nervous-system side effects after taking statins, the cholesterol-lowering drugs being prescribed to millions of people at risk of heart disease. And now a few researchers are starting to believe their claims.

Beatrice Golomb at the University of California, San Diego, who is studying the effects of statins on cognition and mood, says she has documented at least 100 cases of memory problems that might be due to statins, including 30 cases of transient amnesia. "It's probably fairly rare," she says. But with tens of millions of people taking the drugs worldwide, such problems could still affect thousands of patients. One of the reasons Golomb thinks statins are to blame is that in more than half the cases of amnesia, people suffered a second episode, a far higher relapse rate than normal.

Around 60 accounts of memory problems after taking statins were also found by a team from Duke University in North Carolina, who analysed the Medwatch database of drug side effects (Pharmacotherapy, vol 23, p 871). In some cases the patients' memory problems returned only when they resumed taking statins. This "re-challenge effect" is considered to at least hint at a causal relationship between a drug and a side effect.

Though statins are generally considered very safe, it would not be surprising if they affect neural function. The drugs block the synthesis of cholesterol, a key ingredient in cell membranes. Last year, a Danish study concluded that patients on statins have a substantially increased risk of polyneuropathy, a condition characterised by weakness and numbness in the extremities.

But many patients on statins are older and have a high risk of memory problems, P. Murali Doraiswamy of the Duke team points out. The key question is whether patients suffer a higher rate of memory problems than expected. Eight trials have shown no harmful or beneficial effect, he says. "No one should be discouraged from taking a statin because of such anecdotal reports. The benefits of statins far outweigh any possible risks."

Yet his team's paper concludes that "statins, in rare cases, may be associated with cognitive impairment, though causality is not certain". Golomb is convinced by the number of re-challenge effects she has seen that there is a causal link. But because these side effects are not recognised, doctors tell patients they're imagining things, she says.

From issue 2424 of New Scientist magazine, 06 December 2003, page 14

Wonder drugs - 24 November 2001

Wonder drugs

  • 24 November 2001
  • From New Scientist Print Edition

STEP aside aspirin—here come statins, the latest wonder drugs. A huge study has shown that one type of statin can reduce the chance of a heart attack or stroke by a third, yet causes no serious side effects.

Till now, statins have been prescribed only to people with high cholesterol levels. But the study showed that even people with low levels benefited. That means doctors should dish them out to far more people, the researchers say.

"Doctors need to be aware just how definite these results are," says Rory Collins of Oxford University, director of the seven-year Heart Protection Study involving 20,000 volunteers aged between 40 and 80. "There's no room for doubt—they're the sort of results you dream of," he says.

He wants existing guidelines on prescribing statins to be ripped up. "The default has changed, so doctors should now ask if there's a good reason not to give the drug," he says. It may not even be necessary to measure cholesterol levels beforehand, he says.

Statins don't come cheap, however. A year-long course of simvastatin, the drug given to the volunteers, costs £360. If people keep taking them for decades, it could stretch the resources of public health services such as Britain's NHS. But cheaper, generic versions might soon be available.

Patent protection for simvastatin doesn't expire until 2003, but for lovastatin, patents have already begun to run out. Though the drug is not licensed for use in Britain, Collins says the NHS should have a look at how to get generic versions of lovastatin.

"Even if the cost comes down significantly, the [huge] demand might mean we can't use them as liberally as we would like," says Peter Fellows, chairman of the British Medical Association's prescribing committee. And the BMA is recommending caution despite the spectacular results. "It's still possible there might be long-term effects that might not yet have come to light," Fellows says.

Statins work by blocking a liver enzyme that makes cholesterol. The liver compensates by withdrawing the harmful, artery-clogging cholesterol complex—called low-density lipoprotein—from the blood.

Presenting their findings last week in Anaheim, California, at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association, Collins and his colleagues said that simvastatin reduced heart attacks and strokes by a third among all those at risk. Contrary to expectations, it helped women and elderly people with heart problems, and diabetics.

Statins also reduced the need for surgery or balloon angioplasty to de-clog arteries, and the need for amputations triggered by poor blood flow to limbs, usually a result of smoking. Nor were there any serious side effects. The researchers didn't see any sign of the muscle wastage that in August led to the withdrawal of Baycol, a statin made by Bayer of Germany.

From issue 2318 of New Scientist magazine, 24 November 2001, page 7

Bayer pulls anti-cholesterol drug from Japan - August 2001

Bayer pulls anti-cholesterol drug from Japan

  • 12:58 24 August 2001
  • From New Scientist Print Edition.

Pharmaceutical giant Bayer has withdrawn its key anti-cholesterol drug from Japan - the drug's last remaining market - following concerns that it may be linked to more than 50 deaths worldwide.

Thirty one people in the US and others in Spain, France and Germany have reportedly suffered fatal muscle weakness after taking Lipobay (marketed as Baycol in the US). The drug was withdrawn from the US and other markets earlier in August.

Lipobay is a statin - a group of drugs used by millions of people around the world, primarily to reduce cholesterol. According to the US FDA, all statins have been associated with very rare reports of potentially fatal muscle weakness. But there have been more reports following the use of Lipobay than of any other statin.

Bayer says the side-effects are caused mostly by the simultaneous use of another anti-cholesterol drug called gemfibrozil. This drug is about to be launched in Japan.

With the withdrawal of Lipobay worldwide, analysts estimate that the Bayer group will lose about a quarter of its revenues. Families of the 52 deaths linked to the drug are reportedly planning to sue for compensation. The group's liability could run to an estimated $3 billion.

Statins block synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 - ATP production

Coincidentally, your article on statins arrived in the same mail delivery as my copy of the Australian Adverse Drug Reactions Bulletin (www.tga.gov.au/adr/aadrb.htm), which reported that the risk of depression from statins is about 1.4 per cent (7 October, p 46). You commented on the difficulty in determining the true benefit of these drugs, given the long time frames over which they are intended to be taken. We should all remember that similar time delays may well apply to discovering the true risks of statins.

From Richard Paterson

As James Kingsland wrote in his article on statins, "blocking of HMG CoA reductase inhibits the production of many other molecules beside cholesterol".

Statins also block the synthesis of coenzyme Q10. In a 30-day study using atorvastatin blood levels of CoQ10 were halved (Archives of Neurology, vol 61, p 889). This block was neither mentioned in Kingsland's article nor considered by the Clinical Trials Service Unit (CTSU) - whose report is at http://www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk/~hps/statin_paper.shtml - although three other antioxidants were included in the trial. CoQ10, an antioxidant, is a key component of the oxygen-driven electron transport system in mitochondria, and this system plays a large part in ATP (adenosine triphosphate) synthesis in all our cells except red blood cells.

ATP is the crucial energy source of heart and brain and its loss is ultimately responsible for deaths following myocardial infarction or ischaemic stroke.

The potential for a fall in CoQ10 was recognised long before these reports. A major drug company was granted a patent for combined CoQ10/statin therapy in 1990 - see US Patent 4933165 at www.uspto.gov. One can only speculate as to the reason why this was never taken up.

The reported side effects of statins in muscle and cognitive function could be the result of blocking CoQ10 synthesis.

Finally, the CTSU studied people who already had a substantial risk of death within five years. As your article said, the meta-analysis cranked out significant positive results, but there was no dramatic effect on outcome, even in these patients, at the doses which have to be used to minimise side effects.

So prescribing statins for almost everyone - or putting them in the tap water, as one madcap enthusiast in the UK suggests - could benefit only those who profit from selling them. If "you bet your life on" taking statins, you should insist on a coenzyme Q10 supplement. As the article suggests, there are alternatives such as a healthy lifestyle, boosting vitamin D and perhaps - for those whose can take it - low-dose aspirin.

Falmouth, Cornwall, UK

From issue 2576 of New Scientist magazine, 04 November 2006, page 25

So far we only have isolated case reports or uncontrolled studies suggesting that giving supplements of coenzyme Q10 can prevent or minimise adverse effects of statins such as induced muscle pain and fatigue (Web letters, 4 November). Medical authorities believe it is premature to support the widespread use of CoQ10 in patients treated with statins. Hopefully this issue will be addressed in a large-scale controlled study.

Institute of Biochemistry
From issue 2577 of New Scientist magazine, 11 November 2006,

Why some have lost faith in Science

THE triumph of science explains, more than any other single factor, the west's enormous lead over other civilisations in technology, innovation, living standards and military might. Yet since the 1920s, and more particularly since 1970, western misgivings about science have greatly increased. Attacks have come from left and right, from intellectuals and anti-intellectuals, from the media and angry protesters, from Bible-bashers and New Age gurus. Westerners appear to have lost faith in reason and science. Why has science for the past 600 years been virtually a western monopoly, and what explains its decline in standing today?

The answer to both questions is the same. Some time between the 13th and 15th centuries, Europe pulled well ahead of the rest of the world in science and technology, a lead consolidated in the following 200 years. Then in 1687, Isaac Newton - foreshadowed by Copernicus, Kepler and others - had his glorious insight that the universe is governed by a few physical, mechanical and mathematical laws. This instilled tremendous confidence that everything made sense, everything fitted together, and everything could be improved by science.

This was crucial. In medieval and early modern Europe, when science made its greatest strides, scholars believed that the secrets of the universe could be unravelled because they had been implanted by a reliable and all-powerful creator-God who had written nature's rules in a dependable way. In other words, the full emergence of science required belief in one all-powerful God, whose perfect creation awaited rational, scientific explanation. This condition was peculiar to Christianity. In other religions there is no consistently rational creator; the universe is inexplicable, unpredictable. Still, it took Christians more than a thousand years to invent modern science, the development of which was uniquely encouraged by Europe's economic expansion after 1000, driven by a network of free city states.

By 1900, the status of science had never been higher, but over the course of the 20th century it faced two huge challenges. One was internal to science, as the Newtonian universe broke down and advances in physics revealed a baffling and inscrutable universe, ruled by mystery, uncertainty and chance. Up to 1900, science had made the world easier to understand; thereafter it made it more difficult.

The other challenge was external: a much more critical view of science adopted by the rest of society. Science revealed a darker side. Suspicions arose that it was dehumanising and the tool of dictators. Then came the atom bomb. Since the 1960s, evidence has begun to pile up that science's triumphs are poisoning the planet.

The result is a widespread western, and especially American, descent into superstition. About 40 per cent of Americans believe that Genesis accurately describes the creation. There is an apparent belief in magic that has had no parallel since the Middle Ages. The growing anti-intellectualism has no western precedent at all. We are witnessing the elevation of emotion over reason, of personal conviction over hard thinking.

Does this loss of faith in science matter? Science seems impervious to attack. To a greater degree than ever, the world is being shaped by it. Scientific advance is unstoppable, constant and cumulative. There is no "alternative" science, no Buddhist science, no New Age science, no relativist science, no fundamentalist science. The funds for science keep coming, as does a ready supply of highly educated scientists.

There is an apparent belief in magic that has had no parallel since the Middle Ages

But pause. Reflect on the inspirations for modern science: belief in God and belief in humanity, a rational world view, and optimism about humanity's place in the cosmos. Science, it seems, has disposed of much of what made it successful. It has eaten away at its thought-foundations: its contribution to human meaning, the human spirit and the non-material richness of civilisation has shrivelled.

Let's be clear: science will continue, driven by the search for profit and by humanity's ineradicable intellectual curiosity. There is little justification to abandon our trust in rationality and in science, for the best forms of civilisation depend utterly on them. But in losing the idea that science helps us all make sense of the world, the west has forfeited one of its main sources of optimism, success and commitment to a humane society.

Will science continue to lose its shine. Not necessarily. The notion that science deprives life of meaning is, after all, erroneous. Neither can science disprove the existence of God. What we may call the "lonely hypothesis" - that there is no rational and good God, and probably no God at all, that humankind is a speck of insignificance on the edge of a vast, pointless universe - has its own splendour, inspiration and self-justification. If nothing else will supply meaning in the universe, the existence and achievements of human intellect, creativity and love are quite enough.

Richard Koch is a businessman and author. Chris Smith (Lord Smith of Finsbury) is a former UK minister of culture. Their thesis on science and five other causes of western success is described in their book Suicide of the West, just published by Continuum
From issue 2557 of New Scientist magazine, 24 June 2006, page 25

The Comprehensible Cosmos by Victor Stenger

WHERE do the laws of physics come from? It is one of the most fundamental questions in science. Most physicists say that nature's laws have an objective existence - that they exist "out there" in some Platonic realm, independent of human beings - but there is one who begs to differ. According to Victor Stenger of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the laws that orchestrate the universe are human inventions. And that's not even his most controversial claim.

Stenger is not trying to belittle the laws of physics. He is as convinced as the next physicist that they are an immensely powerful means of encapsulating a vast range of natural phenomena in terms of simple relationships. Stenger, however, draws the reader's attention to the bedrock on which those laws are founded: symmetry.

Symmetry concerns itself with the aspects of an object that remain unchanged when something is done to it. A starfish, for instance, looks the same when rotated through a fifth of a complete turn about its centre, so it is said to have 72-degree rotational symmetry. In 1918, the German mathematician Emmy Noether made the surprising and remarkable discovery that many of the dynamical laws of physics are nothing more than consequences of underlying symmetries. For instance, the law of conservation of energy, which says that energy cannot be created or destroyed, turns out to be a direct consequence of time-translation symmetry - the fact that, all things being equal, you will get the same result if you carry out an experiment tomorrow as you did today.

Noether, who really ought to be a household name, had found what might be the single most powerful idea in science. For it turns out that symmetry is a guiding light that can lead us to new laws of physics. For instance, symmetries that Noether herself never dreamed of - those not of real space and time but of abstract mathematical spaces - are responsible for the laws of quantum theory, the most wide-ranging and fruitful natural edicts ever known.

So if the laws of physics are based on symmetries, what does that really tell us? According to Stenger, it tells us that the laws are nothing more than a means of correlating phenomena so that they appear "independent of viewpoint". There is nothing to stop us from writing down laws that are dependent on our viewpoint - that are different in New York and London or from yesterday to today - but they would be far more complicated and difficult to use.

The laws of physics are simply human inventions motivated by our desire for a viewpoint-independent picture of the universe, Stenger argues. And that's just the beginning. Next he reveals the remarkable fact that the symmetries that lead to the laws of physics are exactly the same as those that would apply if the universe were completely empty. They are the symmetries of the void.

All of this leads Stenger to the biggest cosmic question of all: how did something come from nothing? The answer is simple, he says. Since the laws of physics are the laws of nothing, we require only nothing to come from nothing, which is hardly a difficult step!

The universe may share the same laws as nothing, but it is categorically not a void. It has matter, energy and a vast amount of structure. Where did it all come from? Here comes Stenger's most contentious claim. Something came from nothing, he says, because something is more stable than nothing. In the beginning, there was the void, governed by the laws of the void, but the void changed into something more structured - rearranged nothing, if you like - just like featureless water changing into crystalline ice because at low temperatures ice is more stable than water.

Something came from nothing because it is more stable than nothing

This is heady stuff. You might find it hard to take in, but Stenger has written a fascinating and thought-provoking book. With 151 pages of technical supplements - nearly half the book - it is a feast for both the specialist and the dedicated general reader.

From issue 2558 of New Scientist magazine, 01 July 2006, page 53

Charge as you go, for laptops and phones

WOULDN'T it be great if your cellphone or laptop started to charge as soon as you walked into your house of office? A phenomenon called "evanescent coupling" could make charging your electronic gadgets this easy.

Researchers have been looking for a wireless charger for some time. One idea is to use electromagnetic induction - passing an electric current through a coil to create a magnetic field that induces a current in a neighbouring coil. This is the way devices like electric toothbrushes are charged, and has been proposed as the basis of a universal re-charger pad before (New Scientist, 22 January, p 21). The snag as far as mobile devices are concerned is that the charger and device must be in close contact with each other for it to work. Alternatives such as transmitting electromagnetic waves in all directions to reach any device would be hugely wasteful.

"Placing one wireless source in each room could provide universal coverage"

Instead, Marin Soljacic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wants to use evanescent coupling, which allows electromagnetic energy trapped at a source to be tapped by a drain device if the two have the same resonant frequency. "The energy is trapped at source, until I bring a device that has the same resonant frequency close to it. Only then can the energy tunnel through," says Soljacic.

Soljacic and colleagues Aristeidis Karalis and John Joannopoulos have carried out numerous computer simulations to see if the idea will work. They discovered that a small copper ring could be constructed with a resonant frequency that would allow it to trap electromagnetic energy at a frequency of 3 to 4 megahertz without emitting radio waves to its surroundings.

Alternating current from the mains is converted to this frequency and injected into the ring, which consists of an inductor loop and a capacitor. The current travels round the ring, generating a magnetic field as it passes through the inductor loop and an electric field as it passes through the capacitor. The magnetic field extends up to 5 metres around the ring, and the switching between electrical and magnetic states makes the circuit resonate at the required frequency.

If a device fitted with a ring with the same resonant frequency enters the room, this magnetic field induces an electric current in its inductor loop. This travels round the second ring, constantly switching between electrical and magnetic states, just like the first ring. The energy can then be drawn off as current by a wire in the device, to begin charging. Placing one source in each room could provide coverage throughout a home or office.

Soljacic presented the results at the American Institute of Physics Industrial Physics Forum in San Francisco on 14 November. The team is now trying to develop a prototype device.

From issue 2578 of New Scientist magazine, 18 November 2006, page 28

E O Wilson: Reach Across the Science - Religion divide!

E O Wilson has a similar evolutionary viewpoint to Richard Dawkins but his tactics regarding working with Christians to save the planet seem diametrically opposed. Whilst Dawkins wants to do away with religion entirely, Wilson wants scientists to work with the religious to save the Creation - meaning biological diversity, ecosystems and species.

Listen: Podcast 1 | Podcast 2

From New Scientist September 30th 2006

Often cited as Darwin's true heir, E. O. Wilson has an audacious strategy for saving the planet: encourage evangelical Christians and scientific secularists to unite in caring for the ecosystems and biodiversity that he calls the Creation in his latest book. Ivan Semeniuk asked him if he has a prayer of succeeding when religious fundamentalism extends to the White House

After siding so strongly with science, you are now trying to reach across the science-religion divide. Why?

I offer the hand of friendship and I am presumptuous enough to do so on behalf of scientists - secular scientists. I feel that the time has come to put aside the culture wars, declare a truce and see if we can't meet on common ground where both sides can engage enthusiastically for our separate reasons.

What does the religious community offer?

There are 5000 members of 3 largest Humanist Organisations in the USA compared to 30 million members of the US National Association of Evangelicals. If only 1 per cent of those decide that they really would like to add conservation to the way they act out their religious beliefs in the world, that's 300,000 new conservationists. That's overwhelming.

The other reason is passion. Moral passion is what most evangelicals bring to the table. They believe, they care, and they really will work according to their beliefs. I think that having the living environment on their agenda for serious consideration and protection, with scientists playing the role of fact-gatherers and expositors of the problem, for example climate change or extinction of animal species, could be an extraordinarily strong combination.

Are you really optimistic that the religious community will listen?

I'm optimistic and getting more so all the time. When I made this move to approach the religious community and especially the huge block of evangelicals in this country, I was not aware of the extent of the greening movement that has begun at the political as well as the religious level. The political climate is favourable: there appears to be a mood growing to change the direction of the US. That, combined with the gradual greening that's occurring, leads me to be optimistic. And I'm particularly optimistic if, on the critical problem of saving the Creation - meaning biological diversity, ecosystems and species - we can combine science and religion, the two most powerful social forces in the world.

So what would you like to see happen?

A re-greening of America. I think the country is beginning to show a faint pastel green and I think it's growing greener every month. The phenomenal success of Al Gore's recent book and film about global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, is evidence that the American public is receptive to greening. And there is a mood already among many religious people that something has to be done about the environment. What's lacking is concern about the loss of the Creation. Why is that? Because people don't quite understand it yet. It's a more difficult concept to get your mind around.

Your book is written in the form of a letter or an appeal to a Southern Baptist pastor. Is that character someone familiar to you?

My "pastor" is abstracted from the Southern Baptist pastors I knew as a child. I grew up in the faith. As I like to say: "I answered the altar call and I went under the water." I can understand the culture very well, and in spite of the very stark, non-religious world view that I state upfront so as to put my cards on the table, I hope I come across as someone who is basically understanding, respectful and congenial in discussing subjects on common ground.

Having started out as a believer, how did you lose your faith and end up among the secularist scientists?

It happened to me in much the way that Darwin said it happened to him. He describes how he left England on the Beagle in 1831 as a devout Christian - I suppose now he would be called a fundamentalist - and then, in gradual degree, he pushed it away. He doesn't give specifics of what each of those little steps were, but you get the impression that most of it was unconscious, until finally he was a secularist. That's what happened to me in my teens. I didn't really have a knock-down drag-out fight with a fundamentalist parent or pastor. I just drifted away.

Is the spiritual approach to nature a conscious effort to speak the same language as the religious community?

I feel inside every word of that book. I do have a feeling that the spiritual side of the understanding of the Creation is powerfully ingrained - at least the potential is powerfully ingrained. Most of the scientists I know who actually work on biodiversity and conservation share that feeling. You can hear it in their voices. It's a powerful motivating force. Spirituality in this case does not mean religiosity. The great majority of scientists, I suspect, are secular. Yet they speak, when you get down to bedrock, in what you would call spiritual terms.

If the love of nature is innate, why is nature in such crisis and why is it so difficult to communicate the importance of conservation?

You've put your finger on it. There appears to be a hierarchy of drives in humans. The biggest concern is always survival and reproduction, and protection of clan and family. For most of human history, humans have had to struggle against nature to survive. Then with the Neolithic revolution we learned how to break nature by cultivating plants, clearing land and building surpluses of resources and developing technologies. But along the way, there has been this deep connection to having a natural environment, even if it's just to exploit it.

It took a few thousand years of adoring gardens, loving exploring, expanding into unspoilt environments and so on to bring us up short with the recognition that we've gone too far. We broke nature and now we're smashing it and getting rid of humanity's biggest heritage.

A sceptical religious leader might say that science and technology helped us destroy nature, so they should get us out of this mess.

Yes, they should. Science and technology combined with Palaeolithic obstinacy have brought us to this point. Now science and technology combined with a determination to save this world for future generations and a morality broadened to include saving the Creation has to get us out.

What about the evangelicals who argue that the world is coming to an end and therefore doesn't need saving?

The extremists among the evangelical community really do see the world as just a way station from which humanity is destined to ascend to heavenly bliss (the Rapture) or to remain and eventually go to hell. The movement that has taken that line is called the Dispensational movement, and I'm sorry to say it's quite strong in the US.

So who are they?

Dispensationalists believe that the Rapture will come in their lifetime or even any day now, in which those saved by redemption through Jesus will go bodily to heaven. All this is in the Book of Revelation, which is interpreted literally by the Dispensationalists to mean that the condition of the world is of little concern - that in fact, the sooner it deteriorates the sooner comes the Rapture.

The evangelicals that I've spoken with, including significant leaders in the evangelical movement, do not agree with that. I'm hopeful that while there are millions of Dispensationalists, nonetheless they will stay a relatively small fraction of the religious community.

How would you answer a religious leader who says scientists should give a little ground on teaching intelligent design so that young people better appreciate the Creation and lead the flock toward a greener future?

I would say that compromise and trading over world views and fundamental beliefs is not what I want to talk about, nor what I think would lead to any productive result. I'm interested in finding common ground that we can form an alliance on.

But suppose you had to answer.

OK. Let me say that it would be very much against the interests of organised religion to press the matter. Scientists agree almost unanimously that intelligent design is not science because it is based on a proposition which has negative evidence. Because scientists have not yet solved all complex systems, especially biological ones, believers in intelligent design say that you have to turn to another explanation which can only be supernatural.

The opposition to this is not a conspiracy of scientists who want to keep religion out - quite the contrary. The currency of science, its silver and its gold, is discovery. You are a scientist if you make original discoveries. You are a success if you make important discoveries. So they're not in any conspiracy, they just won't accept what they would consider worse than bad science - non-science.

What's your advice for adults who want to instil a love of nature in children?

Early exposure in pleasant circumstances is the best way to make a naturalist. Take a child into the field and encourage him or her to become an explorer, adventurer and treasure hunter in the environment. Little children are savages, they are Palaeolithic creatures with a strong desire to explore on their own or in small groups. It's well established that between the ages of 9 and 12 children have an innate desire to build tree houses or little retreats where they can be on their own - preferably in the woods if they have access to them.

They should also be turned loose in places where they can bring back a frog or a snake or spider in a jar. With that kind of experience you can make a lifelong naturalist and build a culture that doesn't turn away from modern technology and the accoutrements of western civilisation, but one that enriches it by adding a love of nature.

From issue 2571 of New Scientist magazine, 30 September 2006, page 54-56
Profile

Edward Osborne Wilson's love of nature developed as a child in the countryside around Mobile, Alabama. He became passionate about insects, especially flies. A shortage of insect pins during the second world war led him to switch from flies to ants, which could be stored in vials. He graduated from the University of Alabama, going on to a PhD in entomology at Harvard University. He caused a furore in 1975 with Sociobiology, which was vilified by various groups as the "new eugenics". Among his other well-known works are Biophilia, The Ants (with Bert Hölldobler) and Consilience. His latest book, The Creation, is published by W. W. Norton

Monday, November 27, 2006

Every 5 minutes somebody in the UK dies from a heart attack



A chest pain is your body saying call 999!

View the British Heart Foundation campaign launched 26th November 2006.

A huge poster already spotted at Eastcote last week.

Download the Doubt Kills campaign poster here

Listen to the first Doubt Kills radio advert here

Listen to the second Doubt Kills radio advert here

Coronary heart disease is Britain’s biggest killer. Almost one in five men and one in six women die from this disease.

However, for people with diabetes the risk is much higher. Among those who have diabetes,women have a greater risk of developing coronary heart disease than men. Women with diabetes are three to five times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than women without diabetes. Men with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than men without diabetes.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Sharon will live to 88

On 29th November Sharon's total cholesterol level was 4.97 mm/L. (target <5.0), Glucose (diabetes test) 4.9mm/L (target <6.0).

Sharon took the 10minute Eons.com test to see how long she could live.

Sharons' Calculator age is:

88

personal

+0.25 years

People who are optimistic about their aging fare much better. Turn your attitude around about your aging and you could add a quarter of a year to your life

lifestyle

+1.0 year

Minimizing or cutting out your caffeinated coffee consumption completely could provide you with about a year more in life expectacy

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If it is ok with your doctor, taking an 81 mg aspirin every day improves your heart and brain health and could help you delay or escape a heart attack or stroke. Taking an aspirin each day, perferably in the evening, could add 1 year to your life expectancy.

+0.5 years

Ultraviolet rays present in sunlight and tanning beds greatly increase your risk of skin cancer, including melanoma. They also increase wrinkles. Minimizing your sun exposure could add half a year to your life expectancy

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There is a clear link between the inflammation of gum disease and heart disease. Do a good job of flossing daily and you could add half a year to your life expectancy.

nutrition

+0.5 years

You are already making an effort to cut back on your carbs. Further cutting back the carbs in your diet (basically anything white and French fries) to a serving every other day could add half a year to your life expectancy

+1.0 year

Changing your daily dietary intake so that you get to and maintain a healthy weight could add 1 year to your life expectancy (though you probably will gain more years, depending on how heavy you are and this is taken into account when we calculate your body mass index)

+0.5 years

Increasing your exercise regimen (more than 30 minutes a day) to at least 4 days a week could add half a year to your life expectancy

medical

+0.5 years

Being in touch with your health care provider annually is very important for screening and preventing illness. Getting the appropriate blood tests on a regular basis could add a half a year

+0.5 years

Getting your blood pressure checked annually could add half a year to your life expectancy

PERSONAL

Gender

Being female gives you a head start in the longevity marathon. Women usually have heart attack or stroke about 10 years later than men and 85% of centenarians are women and 15% are men. After menopause (average age 51 years), this advantage seems to diminish and therefore some scientists speculate that estrogen plays a role in this advantage. Another theory holds that chronic iron deficiency (due to menstruation) gives a woman her advantage. Iron is critical to our cells' ability to produce age-accelerating free radicals that also predispose to heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and cancer.

Next steps

The following actions and potential problems to be checked for are general guidelines for the general public. There may be instances where a particular recommendation does not pertain to a particular patient because of their unusual circumstances. Furthermore, in some cases something might need to be checked or examined at a younger than usually recommended age because of a familial predisposition or predisposing environmental exposure or behavior. The following is not meant to be an all-inclusive list and it is wise to have a detailed discussion with your health care provider to come up with a plan of prevention and screening that fits your particular circumstances.

  1. Each year, with your heath care provider, be sure to cover the following.
    • Medical history and physical exam
    • Tobacco use
    • Diet and exercise counseling
    • Alcohol and substance abuse
    • Sex-related concerns
    • Vision screen and hearing test
    • Depression screen
    • Osteoporosis prevention counseling and calcium and vitamin D intake
    • Self examination counseling (e.g. skin and breast exam)
    • Driver safety counseling (e.g. seat belt use, assessment of driving safety record)
  2. And, have the following checked by physical examination and/or laboratory evaluation annually:
    • Obesity screening and counseling (body mass index and waist size)
    • Blood pressure
    • Breast exam and mammogram
    • Stool for any blood (requires a special test to detect trace, invisible amounts)
    • Total blood cholesterol (and specifically HDL and LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels)
    • Electrocardiogram (ECG) if you are at increased risk for heart disease (increased risk would be the case if you have two or more of the following: a family history of heart attack, elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes or smoking)
    • Pap smear for women who have a cervix (testing can be less than annual if recommended by physician)
    • Screen for sexually transmitted diseases (STD) if you are at risk. Risk factors include history of prior STD, new or multiple sex partners, inconsistent use of barrier contraceptives, use of injection drugs. STD tests may include HIV, syphilis, and gonorrhea.
  3. Be sure that the following is performed regularly at the recommended intervals:
    • Check for osteoporosis with urine test and DEXA scan. Determine the frequency of this test with your physician
    • Colorectal cancer screening
    • Flexible Sigmoidoscopy, every five years
    • Complete colon examination by colonoscopy, every 10 years (no need to perform sigmoidoscopy in the tenth year when colonoscopy also examines the sigmoid colon)
    • Tuberculin skin test (PPD) every 1-3 years depending upon your risk of being exposed to tuberculosis
    • Exercise treadmill test (ETT) if at increased risk for heart disease (for example: family history, smoker, high blood pressure, diabetes, or poor cholesterol profile) or if otherwise felt to be warranted by your health care provider
    • Screen for ovarian cancer using transvaginal ultrasound and rectovaginal pelvic exam for women who are at risk for ovarian cancer (can include (a) having a family history with at least one first-degree relative with ovarian cancer or a first-degree or second-degree relative with breast, ovarian, or colorectal cancer.
Next steps

Marital Status

Interestingly, New England Centenarian Study data suggest that marriage or having a partner in your life has different effects upon your life expectancy depending upon whether you are a man or woman. In the case of a woman, being or having been married does not provide a distinct survival advantage, at least in the ability to achieve exceptional old age. An unusual proportion of the female centenarians never married (about 15%). Perhaps personality features that lead to perseverance, independence, and assertiveness provide a survival advantage. Such women may also be particularly good at managing stress. On the other hand, nearly 100% of the male centenarians are married or were only recently widowed.

Next steps

Proximity of Family

Having reasonably frequent contact with family or friends who are like family to you can be an important feature of your ability to manage stress well and is probably a life expectancy extender. Extended family cohesiveness and frequent contact is a notable feature of centenarian families. Researchers have noted that people who do not belong to cohesive families have fewer coping resources and increased levels of social and psychological stress. Psychological stress is associated with heart disease, various cancers and increased mortality risk.

Next steps

How Do You Cope With Stress?

Excellent! Managing your stress in such a way that it doesn't eat away at you, and in your case actually acts as a motivator is tremendous. Your ability to manage stress effectively will substantially improve your life expectancy and increase the number of healthy years ahead of you.

Next steps

Sleep Habits

It is terrific that you are getting adequate and quality sleep. Adequate sleep is also a sign of good health.

Education

Those added years of education will likely increase your life expectancy for obvious reasons such as your being a more informed consumer of health care and your being more likely to partake in healthy behaviors such as not smoking and having a healthy diet. Regarding your brain health, continue to participate in cognitively challenging activities, exercising parts of your brain that haven't been used so much - new activities that are difficult (what neuropsychologist Paul Naussbaum terms .novel and complex.). Learn a new language or musical instrument; if you don't have time for these most potent activities, try crosswords, Scrabble, bridge, sculpture or painting, but when you get good at something, move on to another cognitively challenging activity. Cognitively challenging activities as an adult, have been shown to delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease and to slow its progression.

Next steps

Hours on the Job

A recent Japanese study of the relationship between work hours and heart attack risk revealed that men who worked, on average, 11 hours or more a day had twice the risk of heart attack. Interestingly though, those who worked less than 7 hours a day were also at increased risk. If you find your current workload comfortable and that you are taking advantage of your leisure time to perform healthy and enjoyable activities, good for you and keep up the good work!

Next steps

Brain Strengthening

Excellent! Your brain strengthening activities can help you delay or escape memory loss and perhaps Alzheimer's disease.

Next steps

LIFESTYLE

Smog

Ahhh. Take a deep breath of that clean fresh air! It is wonderful and life expectancy-enhancing that you live in a smog-free environment.

Coffee

You are drinking too much coffee. You may have many reasons for this degree of consumption including trouble with sleep, withdrawal headaches, the taste, and so on. Gradually replacing your coffee with tea is one method of weaning yourself off. There are effective methods for the majority of people and the effort is worthwhile in improving quality and quantity of life. Excessive coffee can be a sign of increased stress. Stress can lead to a hormonal imbalance, which can physically stress and age numerous organs. In addition, coffee predisposes the stomach to chronic inflammation of the stomach and ulcers. Such chronic inflammation leads to release of substances that raise the risk of heart disease. Tea, and especially green tea, on the other hand, has been noted for its significant antioxidant content, and tea drinkers in general appear to be healthier.

Tea

Try to give tea a chance. You may find that it grows on you. Regular tea consumption is a healthy habit that may actually be life extending. The antioxidants in tea may decrease your risk of heart disease and cancer. Tea contains a powerful class of antioxidants known as polyphenols. It is controversial whether green tea has more bioavailable polyphenols than black tea. Either way however, you can't go wrong.

Second-hand Smoke

Avoiding second hand smoke is a very important habit. Because second hand smoke is even more toxic than the filtered smoke that smokers inhale, it takes less of a 'dose' or exposure to be toxic to your lungs and your body in general. Thus, keep avoiding the secondhand smoke as you have been doing. Second hand smoke is more toxic than what the smoker gets because it is unfiltered. Such exposure is clearly a substantial cause of cancer, heart disease, asthma and other lung diseases.

Aspirin

Perhaps you cannot tolerate an aspirin a day because it hurts your stomach, you get ringing in your ears, or you have a propensity for bleeding. On the other hand, if you really don't have a reason to not take an aspirin a day, consider taking one daily. 81 mg of Aspirin per day has been noted to significantly decrease heart disease risk. This benefit may be due to the anti-blood clotting effects of aspirin. Chronic inflammation may also play a role in heart disease and therefore, aspirin's effect on inflammation may also be helpful.

Sunscreen

You are doing a poor job of protecting yourself from the sun and therefore from accelerated aging of your skin as well as from deadly skin cancers such as melanoma. But you could do better. You should regularly apply sun block, at least SPF 15 or higher when you are out in the sun. Some dermatologists recommend reapplication every two hours. You should also have a regular skin (dermatology) check-up and perform a monthly self-examination for changing, new or growing lesions of your skin. For guidance on a self-exam, see [http://www.skincheck.com/]. The association between sun exposure and accelerated skin aging are clear. The ultraviolet rays in sunlight directly damages DNA. More sun means more wrinkles sooner. It also means a higher risk of deadly skin cancer. Excessive sun exposure may also have toxic consequences for the body in general.

Flossing

You need to floss your teeth. There are benefits that go far beyond better breath, but don't underestimate the benefits of good breath! Diligent and regular flossing means keeping your teeth and very possibly reducing your risk of heart attack. Recent scientific evidence reveals that chronic gum disease leads to the release of inflammatory, toxic substances and certain bacteria into the blood stream which potentiate plaque formation in arteries and ultimately lead to heart disease. This process probably also increases the risk of stroke and accelerated aging.

Next steps

NUTRITION

Your Weight

Your calculated body mass index would indicate that you are likely a bit overweight. If you are in fact lean and this calculation is off because of your unique build and greater than expected amount of muscle, then this assumption is incorrect and you should add a few years to your calculated longevity (with our apologies!). However, if to be honest, you are a bit overweight, then you should do what you can to get down to a lean (as little fat as possible) body weight. Even being just a bit overweight significantly increases your risk for diseases that markedly impact upon your longevity, including heart trouble, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, stroke and dementia. You are almost at a good weight. As you age, you may find it more challenging to keep the weight off. You will find, if you aren't doing it already, that getting into a regular regimen of weight training to maintain or build muscle mass will be very helpful in keeping the weight off. Of course diet is also important and lowering your consumption of carbohydrates is helpful. Diet advice is covered by the questions related to carbohydrates and sweets.

Fast Food

Your answer suggests that you avoid fast food restaurants and preserved meats. You are already going a long ways towards a healthy diet. Keep it up! Fast food, generally fried foods and hamburgers, are high in calories and saturated fats. These will make you gain weight and they increase your risk for heart disease, stroke and perhaps cancer. Some studies suggest that 90% of all human cancers are environmentally induced, 30-40% of these by diet. Preserved and cured meats (bacon, sausage, lunch meats, etc.) are the largest source of nitrites in our diet. Nitrites lead to the formation in our bodies of nitrosoamines, which are important environmental oxidants and probable carcinogens. For instance, there is a suggestive association between nitrosamines and stomach cancer.

Next steps

Calcium Intake

Continue to do your best to insure that you are getting plenty of calcium from your diet and if needed, from a vitamin or calcium supplement. The recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D are 1,500 mg calcium and 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day. Supplements vary according to their efficacy and side effects. The following is a summary:

  • Calcium Citrate, more on the expensive side, can be taken with and without food and is generally not associated with gas or bloating.
  • Calcium carbonate (like Tums) is less expensive but is more difficult to absorb and can be associated with gastrointestinal upset and is better to take with food.
  • Oyster shell, bone meal or dolomite should generally be avoided since they can be associated with toxic metals.
  • Calcium gluconate, calcium lactate, calcium phosphate and other calcium compounds generally have lower amounts of calcium and thus you have to take greater volumes of the supplement.

In addition to dairy products, calcium-fortified juices, breads and cereals are also excellent sources. On the other hand, large quantities of salty foods and meat can significantly increase the amount of calcium lost in the urine. Some foods high in calcium also contain oxalic acid, which interferes with calcium absorption. Spinach is such a food. Do know that even adequate amounts of calcium intake cannot guarantee prevention of osteoporosis. Strength training is also a very helpful measure. All women going through menopause should get their bone density checked by their doctor to check if they have osteoporosis or appear to be heading in that direction. Vitamin D is necessary for the body to absorb the calcium we get in our diets. Our skin naturally makes vitamin D in the presence of sunlight. As we get older, our skin becomes less able to manufacture vitamin D. Also, people who live in areas that get less sunlight during the winter months and/or stay indoors a lot are more likely to be vitamin D deficient. As a result, vitamin D deficiency is actually common. Besides lower calcium levels, vitamin D deficiency can cause annoying symptoms like aches and muscle weakness. Vitamin D deficiency can be avoided by taking in 1,000 IU per day of a vitamin D supplement.

Meat Intake

Good for you. A diet that minimizes meat is healthier. Less meat in the diet is conducive to less heart disease and risk for heart attack and stroke. Furthermore, there are nutritional sources of antioxidants in foods that replace meat in a person's diet especially the polyphenols present in certain vegetables and fruits and the omega-3 fatty acids in fish that help lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol thus decreasing their risk for heart attack and stroke. Weighing red meat against vegetables and fish or skinless poultry, red meat loses out when it comes to your health. The American Heart Association recommends a diet that minimizes meat in the diet and emphasizes these alternatives. Vegetarian dishes, in addition to being an alterative to meat, also have antioxidants that protect the heart and brain. Interestingly, the vascular risk associated with red meat may be related to the fact that it is the major source of iron in our diet. The iron present in vegetables, like spinach, is relatively bio-unavailable. As you will read in greater detail, under the topic of iron supplements, iron plays a critical role in our cells' ability to produce harmful free radicals that likely potentiate aging and age-related illnesses.

Dessert

You are doing much better than the average person in demonstrating restraint from eating those desserts and candy bars. By staying away from these foods that have little in the way of nutritional value and yet significantly increase propensity for obesity and therefore heart attack, stroke, cancer and diabetes, anyone will make great gains in their life expectancy and the proportion of their lives spent in good health. Most desserts and certainly candy bars are high in saturated fats and calories. Both are terrible for you predisposing for weight gain, heart disease, stroke and diabetes. By helping you become obese, they also increase your risk of various cancers.

Carbohydrate consumption:

Not only are the number of calories you eat important, but the type of calories are important as well. Grains, pastas, fruits, and starchy vegetables like potatoes are the most common carbohydrate foods. Simple carbohydrates like white bread, potatoes (especially French fries), pasta, white rice and sugar as well, cause the body to produce insulin in response to elevated levels of glucose in the blood. The insulin in turn induces the storage, instead of burning, of fat. Other foods like fats, protein, and more complex carbohydrates like whole grain foods and fiber are less prone to turn on the production of insulin. The glycemic index of food is a ranking of foods based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels and thus the production of insulin. Carbohydrate foods that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes causing blood sugar and insulin to rise fast and high. Carbohydrates that breakdown slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low glycemic indexes. The lower the glycemic index, the less likely that food is going to contribute to the production of fat. There are numerous books and websites that provide the glycemic indices for foods and drinks. However the general food groups noted above are a good start in your education.

Diet and Your Weight

Cutting down on the amount you eat is one of the most important interventions you can do to have a dramatic impact on your health. For many people, eating too much is the main reason they are overweight. For others, it is more difficult than just not eating so much and a consultation with a diet expert may be warranted. Be conscientious about how much you eat. Become a calorie counter. Don't eat till you are full. Stop before you get there. There are also several helpful websites on the internet that are dedicated to helping people lose weight and then maintain a healthy weight. See: ShapeUp America!Obesity is associated with inefficient energy production and an increased production of oxygen free radicals within cells, thus leading to an increased risk of various cancers, heart disease and accelerated aging. It may also lead to diabetes.

Next steps

Iron Intake

It is probably good to continue to stay away from iron supplements and foods that are high in iron content, specifically red meat, if you can. Taking an iron supplement might potentiate your aging and risk for age-related diseases. There is growing evidence from animal and human studies that iron levels are related to aging and age-associated diseases. As a critical component of mitochondrial free radical generation, iron has been proposed by some to be a key modulator of rate of aging and susceptibility to age-related diseases. The available epidemiological evidence suggests that elevated iron levels are involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Menstrual blood loss and resultant iron deficiency might be protective against vascular disease and even contribute to the premenopausal survival advantage of women over men. Further studies are needed to determine whether there are cardiovascular benefits or risks associated with blood donation. Men may have the opportunity to be more female-like in their risk for vascular diseases by regularly donating blood, which could induce an iron deficiency. Blood donation has actually been associated with a decreased risk of atherosclerosis. The primary source of iron in our diet is red meat and this should be avoided as well.

Exercise

Good Job. You are already making a great effort at getting that exercise into your daily routine. If you can increase the frequency even one day to three times a week, the added benefits to your physical and mental health could be substantial. Don't forget to be balanced in how much aerobic exercise you do versus strength training. Both are very important. Also, if you are doing a lot of high impact workouts, gauge how much wear and tear you are putting on your weight-bearing joints so that you don't set yourself up for premature osteoarthritis. Exercise leads to more efficient energy production by your cells and less oxygen radical formation (which speeds up aging and increases your risk for heart disease, stroke and cancer). Muscle is a tremendously efficient burner of fat and maintaining muscle mass has many benefits. Therefore, strength training is important. Depending upon how much one weighs, we generally loose a third of a pound of muscle every year after age 30, which is replaced by fat. The great news is that for most people, muscle loss can be completely reversed no matter what your age, by regular strength training.

Next steps

MEDICAL

Bowel Movements

Having a bowel movement at least once every two days may be associated with decreased risk of colon cancer. Keeping gut transit time under 20 hours seems to decrease the incidence of colon cancer, probably by decreasing the contact time between the gut lining and cancer-potentiating substances in the diet. These substances influence DNA damage and repair and therefore probably also influence the rate of aging as well. Epidemiological studies in humans and animal studies suggest that increasing dietary fiber will reduce the risk of certain cancers perhaps by increasing the frequency of bowel movements. On the other hand, recent reports indicate that the association may not be as clear as once believed. In addition to increased transit time and therefore less contact between carcinogens and the bowel wall, perhaps other factors that increase transit time such as regular exercise might be the real reason for decreased cancer risk.

Self-Examination for Cancer

Excellent. Early detection of breast cancer is so critical and monthly self-examination is an important step in catching the disease early enough. Please refer to the American Cancer Society's website on breast cancer which discusses many aspects of the disease including how to detect it early with monthly self examination (they have a very clear set of instructions on how to do the exam) and other steps women need to take including an annual mammogram from age 40 on (or earlier, if you are at increased risk).

Next steps

Cholesterol Tests

Not knowing what your HDL level should be considered a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. It means you are not availing yourself of some key information to decrease your risk for these diseases. HDL cholesterol is known as the "good" cholesterol because a high level of HDL cholesterol appears to protect against heart attack. Medical experts think that HDL tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it is processed, dumped in the intestine and then passed from the body. Some experts believe that excess cholesterol is removed from blockages in our arteries by HDL, thus slowing the build-up. However, low HDL cholesterol levels (lower than 40 mg/dL) may result in a greater risk for heart disease and stroke. For more information about cholesterol, other risk factors and treatment, go to the American Heart Association's website.

Next steps

It is apparent you are interested in your health and future well-being because you are taking this questionnaire. Now you need to take the next steps that include diligent screening. Get your cardiovascular disease risk factors, including your LDL cholesterol level, checked. A high level (higher than 130 mg/dL) of low-density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, reflects an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. That's why LDL cholesterol is often called "bad" cholesterol. When too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can lead to the formation of plaque in the blood vessels that feed the heart and the brain. When enough of this blockage occurs, a heart attack or stroke can occur.

High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension is a silent killer. Unless the pressure is very, very high, you may not have any symptoms. Hypertension if caught early and before it gets to high is curable in many cases through pharmacological and non-pharmacological means. Thus, it behooves you to get your blood pressure checked. Please don't put this off.

Diabetes

Of course, it is great that you don't have diabetes. Lower your risk by losing weight if you are overweight. Get your blood sugar checked at least every three years and watch for some of the more common symptoms of diabetes including excessive and persistent thirst, voiding large amounts of urine frequently with normal amounts of fluid intake, and/or unexplained weight loss.

Heart Attack

It is great news that you have not had a heart attack. Hopefully you have been avoiding or minimizing the risk factors for heart attack (also called heart disease or coronary artery disease). Here are the typical risk factors that you can modify: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes (improve your sugar control), being overweight, lack of exercise or cigarette smoking. 90% of heart attack victims have at least one of these risk factors so you might be setting yourself up for a heart attack in the future if you have one or more of these risk factors.

Next steps

Check-Ups

Regular checkups are so important. The frequency of checkups depends on your age and what if any medical or other clinically relevant problems you might have. Generally, anyone age 40 or older should be having annual checkups. Please set up an appointment for a checkup as soon as possible. A conscientious program of screening and prevention are key to living into old age in good health.

Next steps

FAMILY

Family History of Heart Attack of Diabetes

You are lucky to not have heart attack or diabetes running in your family. Now do a good job of taking advantage of those genes and don't do things that could predispose you to the disease nonetheless, such as being obese, smoking and not exercising regularly.

Family History of Cancer

You are lucky to apparently not have cancer running in your family. Now do a good job of taking advantage of those genes and don't do things that could predispose you to cancer nonetheless, such as being obese, smoking, etc.

Family Longevity

Your family history is telling you that you should be extra diligent in entering into a program of prevention and screening with your doctor. Do what you can to prevent various age-related problems and illnesses and screen for these while you have a chance of either curing them or minimizing their impact upon you.

We use maternal age (when you last had a child) to gauge how slowly and well your reproductive system is aging, which tells us something about how the rest of you is doing. If you don't have children in the future, then perhaps the age at which you go through menopause will be a good marker, though there have been no studies thus far linking older age at menopause with exceptional longevity.

I could live to 92!


I took the 10minute Eons.com test to see how long i could live.

Chris Street Calculator age is:

92!

Recommendations:

lifestyle

+1.0 year

Minimizing or cutting out your caffeinated coffee consumption completely could provide you with about a year more in life expectancy

+1.0 year

If it is ok with your doctor, taking an 81 mg aspirin every day improves your heart and brain health and could help you delay or escape a heart attack or stroke. It is best to take the aspirin every day rather than your occasional habit of taking aspirin. Taking an aspirin each day, perferably in the evening, could add 1 year to your life expectancy.

+0.5 years

There is a clear link between the inflammation of gum disease and heart disease. Do a good job of flossing daily and you could add half a year to your life expectancy.

nutrition

+0.5 years

It is unclear if your current weight puts you at increased risk for heart disease or cancer. None the less, by no longer being overweight you would likely improve your overall health and could increase your life expecatancy by half a year or more.

+0.25 years

The more you can get fast foods out of your diet the better. While you are already doing a pretty good job of doing so, completely removing fast foods from your diet could add a quarter of a year to your life expectancy

+0.5 years

You are already making an effort to cut back on your carbs. Further cutting back the carbs in your diet (basically anything white and French fries) to a serving every other day could add half a year to your life expectancy

medical

+0.5 years

Increasing the frequency of your bowel movements to at least once every two days could add half a year to your life expectancy.

+1.0 year

Decreasing your bad cholesterol (called LDL cholesterol) to a normal or even lower level could increase your life expectancy by a year

+0.5 years

Decreasing your systolic blood pressure (the first of the two numbers) to 120 or even lower could add half a year to your life expectancy

+0.25 years

Getting your blood sugar checked could add a quarter of a year to your life expectancy

PERSONAL

Gender

As a man, compared to women, you likely need to be more diligent about good health habits. If they develop heart attack or stroke, men tend to do so about ten years earlier than women. The reason for how and why women have this advantage is unclear. One possibility is that women make much more estrogen than men and this hormone might be associated with some protective effect, though this has in no way been proven. Another possibility is that chronic iron deficiency (due to menstruation) gives a woman her advantage. Iron is critical to our cells' ability to produce age-accelerating free radicals that also predispose to heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Men can `menstruate` every eight weeks by donating a pint of blood at their local hospital or other blood bank center. Eight weeks is the recommended period (no pun intended) of time between donations. Donating blood has certainly not been proven to improve cardiovascular risk, though the downside, while performing a good deed, would seem to be minimal.

Next steps

The following actions and potential problems to be checked for are general guidelines for the general public. There may be instances where a particular recommendation does not pertain to a particular patient because of their unusual circumstances. Furthermore, in some cases something might need to be checked or examined at a younger than usually recommended age because of a familial predisposition or predisposing environmental exposure or behavior. The following is not meant to be an all-inclusive list and it is wise to have a detailed discussion with your health care provider to come up with a plan of prevention and screening that fits your particular circumstances.

  1. Each year, with your heath care provider, be sure to cover the following.
    • History and physical exam
    • Tobacco use
    • Diet and exercise counseling
    • Alcohol and substance abuse
    • Sex-related concerns
    • Vision screen and hearing test
    • Depression screen
    • Self examination counseling (e.g. skin)
    • Driver safety counseling (e.g. seat belt use, assessment of driving safety record)
  2. And, have the following checked by physical examination and/or laboratory evaluation annually:
    • Obesity screening and counseling (body mass index and waist size)
    • Blood pressure
    • Prostate exam (and serum prostatic specific antigen or PSA, if there is a family history of prostate cancer, being of African-American descent, consumption of a high-fat diet, or having had a vasectomy).
    • Stool for any blood (requires a special test to detect trace, invisible amounts)
    • Total blood cholesterol (and specifically HDL and LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels)
    • Electrocardiogram (ECG) if you are at increased risk for heart disease (increased risk would be the case if you have two or more of the following: a family history of heart attack, elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes or smoking)
  3. Be sure that the following is performed regularly at the recommended intervals:
    • Colorectal cancer screening
    • Flexible Sigmoidoscopy, every five years
    • Complete colon examination by colonoscopy, every 10 years (no need to perform sigmoidoscopy in the tenth year when colonoscopy also examines the sigmoid colon)
    • Tuberculin skin test (PPD) every 1-3 years depending upon your risk of being exposed to tuberculosis
    • Tetanus vaccination every five years
    • Exercise treadmill test (ETT) if at increased risk for heart disease (for example: family history, smoker, high blood pressure, diabetes, or poor cholesterol profile) or if otherwise felt to be warranted by your health care provider.
Next steps

Marital Status

Congratulations, New England Centenarian Study data suggest that in the case of men, being married provides a survival advantage.

Next steps

Proximity of Family

Having reasonably frequent contact with family or friends who are like family to you can be an important feature of your ability to manage stress well and is probably a life expectancy extender. Extended family cohesiveness and frequent contact is a notable feature of centenarian families. Researchers have noted that people who do not belong to cohesive families have fewer coping resources and increased levels of social and psychological stress. Psychological stress is associated with heart disease, various cancers and increased mortality risk.

Next steps

How Do You Cope With Stress?

Excellent! Managing your stress in such a way that it doesn't eat away at you, and in your case actually acts as a motivator is tremendous. Your ability to manage stress effectively will substantially improve your life expectancy and increase the number of healthy years ahead of you.

Next steps

Sleep Habits

It is terrific that you are getting adequate and quality sleep. Adequate sleep is also a sign of good health.

Education

All those years of education will likely increase your life expectancy for obvious reasons such as your being a more informed consumer of health care and your being more likely to partake in healthy behaviors such as not smoking and having a healthy diet. Regarding your brain health, continue to participate in cognitively challenging activities, exercising parts of your brain that haven't been used so much - new activities that are difficult (what neuropsychologist Paul Naussbaum terms 'novel and complex'). Learn a new language or musical instrument; if you don't have time for these most potent activities, try crosswords, Scrabble, bridge, sculpture or painting, but when you get good at something, move on to another cognitively challenging activity. Cognitively challenging activities as an adult, have been shown to delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease and to slow its progression.

Next steps

Hours on the Job

A recent Japanese study of the relationship between work hours and heart attack risk revealed that men who worked, on average, 11 hours or more a day had twice the risk of heart attack. Interestingly though, those who worked less than 7 hours a day were also at increased risk. If you find your current workload comfortable and that you are taking advantage of your leisure time to perform healthy and enjoyable activities, good for you and keep up the good work!

Next steps

Optimism

Your optimism likely has a real impact upon your longevity! According to Dutch investigators who, over a decade, tracked 1,000 people ages 65 to 85, people who are open to opportunities and possibilities have a 55 percent lower risk of death; in doing so, you end up less stressed, happier, healthier and more long-lived.

Brain Strengthening

Excellent! Your brain strengthening activities can help you delay or escape memory loss and perhaps Alzheimer's disease.

Next steps

LIFESTYLE

Smog

Ahhh. Take a deep breath of that clean fresh air! It is wonderful and life expectancy-enhancing that you live in a smog-free environment.

Coffee

You are drinking too much coffee. You may have many reasons for this degree of consumption including trouble with sleep, withdrawal headaches, the taste, and so on. Gradually replacing your coffee with tea is one method of weaning yourself off. There are effective methods for the majority of people and the effort is worthwhile in improving quality and quantity of life. Excessive coffee can be a sign of increased stress. Stress can lead to a hormonal imbalance, which can physically stress and age numerous organs. In addition, coffee predisposes the stomach to chronic inflammation of the stomach and ulcers. Such chronic inflammation leads to release of substances that raise the risk of heart disease. Tea, and especially green tea, on the other hand, has been noted for its significant antioxidant content, and tea drinkers in general appear to be healthier.

Tea

Good job on the tea drinking! Regular tea consumption is a healthy habit that may actually be life extending. The antioxidants in tea may decrease your risk of heart disease and cancer. Tea contains a powerful class of antioxidants known as polyphenols. It is controversial whether green tea has more bioavailable polyphenols than black tea. Either way however, you can't go wrong.

Second-hand Smoke

Avoiding second hand smoke is a very important habit. Because second hand smoke is even more toxic than the filtered smoke that smokers inhale, it takes less of a 'dose' or exposure to be toxic to your lungs and your body in general. Thus, keep avoiding the secondhand smoke as you have been doing. Second hand smoke is more toxic than what the smoker gets because it is unfiltered. Such exposure is clearly a substantial cause of cancer, heart disease, asthma and other lung diseases.

Aspirin

Taking an aspirin daily has been shown to decrease the risk of heart attack by half. Try to increase your intake to daily. The benefit of an aspirin each day may be due to the anti-blood clotting effects of aspirin. Chronic inflammation may also play a role in heart disease and therefore, aspirin's effect on inflammation may also be helpful.

Sunscreen

You are doing a good job protecting yourself from the sun and therefore from accelerated aging of your skin as well as deadly skin cancers such as from melanoma. Just because you do protect yourself, this does not mean you should not have a regular skin (dermatology) check up and perform a monthly self-examination of your skin. You should also perform a monthly self-examination for changing, new or growing lesions of your skin. For guidance on a self-exam, see [http://www.skincheck.com/]. The association between sun exposure and accelerated skin aging are clear. The ultraviolet rays in sunlight directly damages DNA. More sun means more wrinkles sooner. It also means a higher risk of deadly skin cancer. Excessive sun exposure may also have toxic consequences for the body in general.

Flossing

You need to floss your teeth. There are benefits that go far beyond better breath, but don't underestimate the benefits of good breath! Diligent and regular flossing means keeping your teeth and very possibly reducing your risk of heart attack. Recent scientific evidence reveals that chronic gum disease leads to the release of inflammatory, toxic substances and certain bacteria into the blood stream which potentiate plaque formation in arteries and ultimately lead to heart disease. This process probably also increases the risk of stroke and accelerated aging.

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NUTRITION

Your Weight

Your calculated body mass index indicates that you are likely overweight. If you are in fact lean (minimal amount of fat) and this calculation is off because of your unique build and greater than expected amount of muscle, then this assumption is incorrect and you should add a few years to your calculated longevity (with our apologies!). If, to be honest, you are a bit overweight, then you should do what you can to get down to a lean (as little fat as possible) body weight. Being overweight significantly increases your risk for diseases that markedly impact upon your longevity, including heart trouble, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, stroke and dementia. As you age, you may find it more challenging to keep the weight off. You will find, if you aren't doing it already, that getting into a regular regimen of weight training to maintain or build muscle mass will be very helpful in keeping the weight off. Of course diet is also important and lowering your consumption of carbohydrates is helpful. Diet advice is covered by the feedback for the questions related to carbohydrates and sweets.

Fast Food

You are doing a relatively good job at avoiding fast foods. However, it would be good if you could cutback even more? maybe just a few times a month. Fast food, generally fried foods and hamburgers, are high in calories and saturated fats. These will make you gain weight and they increase your risk for heart disease, stroke and perhaps cancer. Another potential risk factor for cancer is preserved meats. Fast food, generally fried foods and hamburgers, are high in calories and saturated fats. These will make you gain weight and they increase your risk for heart disease, stroke and perhaps cancer. Some studies suggest that 90% of all human cancers are environmentally induced, 30-40% of these by diet. Preserved and cured meats (bacon, sausage, lunch meats, etc.) are the largest source of nitrites in our diet. Nitrites lead to the formation in our bodies of nitrosoamines, which are important environmental oxidants and probable carcinogens. For instance, there is a suggestive association between nitrosamines and stomach cancer.

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Calcium Intake

Continue to do your best to insure that you are getting plenty of calcium from your diet and if needed, from a vitamin or calcium supplement. The recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D are 1,500 mg calcium and 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day. Supplements vary according to their efficacy and side effects. The following is a summary:

  • Calcium Citrate, more on the expensive side, can be taken with and without food and is generally not associated with gas or bloating.
  • Calcium carbonate (like Tums) is less expensive but is more difficult to absorb and can be associated with gastrointestinal upset and is better to take with food.
  • Oyster shell, bone meal or dolomite should generally be avoided since they can be associated with toxic metals.
  • Calcium gluconate, calcium lactate, calcium phosphate and other calcium compounds generally have lower amounts of calcium and thus you have to take greater volumes of the supplement.

In addition to dairy products, calcium-fortified juices, breads and cereals are also excellent sources. On the other hand, large quantities of salty foods and meat can significantly increase the amount of calcium lost in the urine. Some foods high in calcium also contain oxalic acid, which interferes with calcium absorption. Spinach is such a food. Do know that even adequate amounts of calcium intake cannot guarantee prevention of osteoporosis. Strength training is also a very helpful measure. All women going through menopause should get their bone density checked by their doctor to check if they have osteoporosis or appear to be heading in that direction. Vitamin D is necessary for the body to absorb the calcium we get in our diets. Our skin naturally makes vitamin D in the presence of sunlight. As we get older, our skin becomes less able to manufacture vitamin D. Also, people who live in areas that get less sunlight during the winter months and/or stay indoors a lot are more likely to be vitamin D deficient. As a result, vitamin D deficiency is actually common. Besides lower calcium levels, vitamin D deficiency can cause annoying symptoms like aches and muscle weakness. Vitamin D deficiency can be avoided by taking in 1,000 IU per day of a vitamin D supplement.

Meat Intake

Good for you. A diet that minimizes meat is healthier. Less meat in the diet is conducive to less heart disease and risk for heart attack and stroke. Furthermore, there are nutritional sources of antioxidants in foods that replace meat in a person's diet especially the polyphenols present in certain vegetables and fruits and the omega-3 fatty acids in fish that help lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol thus decreasing their risk for heart attack and stroke. Weighing red meat against vegetables and fish or skinless poultry, red meat loses out when it comes to your health. The American Heart Association recommends a diet that minimizes meat in the diet and emphasizes these alternatives. Vegetarian dishes, in addition to being an alterative to meat, also have antioxidants that protect the heart and brain. Interestingly, the vascular risk associated with red meat may be related to the fact that it is the major source of iron in our diet. The iron present in vegetables, like spinach, is relatively bio-unavailable. As you will read in greater detail, under the topic of iron supplements, iron plays a critical role in our cells' ability to produce harmful free radicals that likely potentiate aging and age-related illnesses.

Dessert

Wow, such restraint! You should be proud of yourself and keep it up. Certainly, it is understandable if you have diabetes or significant heart or cerebrovascular disease (stroke and dementia) that you are staying away from sweets. By staying away from these foods that have little in the way of nutritional value and yet significantly increase propensity for obesity and therefore heart attack, stroke, cancer and diabetes, anyone will make great gains in their life expectancy and the proportion of their lives spent in good health. Most desserts and certainly candy bars are high in saturated fats and calories. Both are terrible for you predisposing for weight gain, heart disease, stroke and diabetes. By helping you become obese, they also increase your risk of various cancers.

Carbohydrate consumption:

Not only are the number of calories you eat important, but the type of calories are important as well. Grains, pastas, fruits, and starchy vegetables like potatoes are the most common carbohydrate foods. Simple carbohydrates like white bread, potatoes (especially French fries), pasta, white rice and sugar as well, cause the body to produce insulin in response to elevated levels of glucose in the blood. The insulin in turn induces the storage, instead of burning, of fat. Other foods like fats, protein, and more complex carbohydrates like whole grain foods and fiber are less prone to turn on the production of insulin. The glycemic index of food is a ranking of foods based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels and thus the production of insulin. Carbohydrate foods that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes causing blood sugar and insulin to rise fast and high. Carbohydrates that breakdown slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low glycemic indexes. The lower the glycemic index, the less likely that food is going to contribute to the production of fat. There are numerous books and websites that provide the glycemic indices for foods and drinks. However the general food groups noted above are a good start in your education.

Diet and Your Weight

Good for you! You are doing better or at least aiming for a goal better than more than 60% of the country who are at least overweight. Being overweight is a significant risk factor for many age-related diseases as well as various cancers. Keep up the good work. Stay lean! Obesity is associated with inefficient energy production and an increased production of oxygen free radicals within cells, therefore leading to increased risk of various cancers, heart disease and accelerated aging. It may also lead to diabetes.

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Iron Intake

It is probably good to continue to stay away from iron supplements and foods that are high in iron content, specifically red meat, if you can. Taking an iron supplement might potentiate your aging and risk for age-related diseases. There is growing evidence from animal and human studies that iron levels are related to aging and age-associated diseases. As a critical component of mitochondrial free radical generation, iron has been proposed by some to be a key modulator of rate of aging and susceptibility to age-related diseases. The available epidemiological evidence suggests that elevated iron levels are involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Menstrual blood loss and resultant iron deficiency might be protective against vascular disease and even contribute to the premenopausal survival advantage of women over men. Further studies are needed to determine whether there are cardiovascular benefits or risks associated with blood donation. Men may have the opportunity to be more female-like in their risk for vascular diseases by regularly donating blood, which could induce an iron deficiency. Blood donation has actually been associated with a decreased risk of atherosclerosis. The primary source of iron in our diet is red meat and this should be avoided as well.

Exercise

Wow, you are being terrific about exercising. Don't forget to be balanced in how much aerobic exercise you do versus strength training. Both are very important. Also, if you are doing a lot of high impact workouts, gauge how much wear and tear you are putting on your weight-bearing joints so that you don't set yourself up for premature osteoarthritis. Exercise leads to more efficient energy production by your cells and less oxygen radical formation (which speeds up aging and increases your risk for heart disease, stroke and cancer). Muscle is a tremendously efficient burner of fat and maintaining muscle mass has many benefits. Therefore, strength training is important. Depending upon how much one weighs, we generally loose a third of a pound of muscle every year after age 30, which is replaced by fat. The great news is that for most people, muscle loss can be completely reversed no matter what your age, by regular strength training.

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MEDICAL

Bowel Movements

Having a bowel movement at least once every two days may be associated with decreased risk of colon cancer. Keeping gut transit time under 20 hours seems to decrease the incidence of colon cancer, probably by decreasing the contact time between the gut lining and cancer-potentiating substances in the diet. These substances influence DNA damage and repair and therefore probably also influence the rate of aging as well. Epidemiological studies in humans and animal studies suggest that increasing dietary fiber will reduce the risk of certain cancers perhaps by increasing the frequency of bowel movements. On the other hand, recent reports indicate that the association may not be as clear as once believed. In addition to increased transit time and therefore less contact between carcinogens and the bowel wall, perhaps other factors that increase transit time such as regular exercise might be the real reason for decreased cancer risk.

Self-Examination for Cancer

Good for you. Self-examination is critical in detecting this cancer before it is too late. Most testicular cancers occur between the ages of 15 and 40. But, this cancer can affect males of any age, including infants and elderly men. In about 90% of cases, men have a painless or an uncomfortable lump on a testicle, or they may notice testicular enlargement or swelling. Men with testicular cancer often report a sensation of heaviness or aching in the lower abdomen or scrotum. Make sure you are performing the exam correctly by visiting the American Cancer Society's Testicular Cancer Resource Center.

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Cholesterol Tests

Good job on knowing what your level is! And, congratulations on having a level that places you at lower risk for developing atherosclerosis or plaque in the arteries. HDL cholesterol is known as the "good" cholesterol because a high level of HDL cholesterol appears to protect against heart attack. Medical experts think that HDL tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it is processed, dumped in the intestine and then passed from the body. Some experts believe that excess cholesterol is removed from atherosclerotic plaque by HDL, thus slowing the build-up. However, low HDL cholesterol levels (lower than 40 mg/dL) may result in a greater risk for heart disease and stroke. For more information about cholesterol, other risk factors and treatment, go to the American Heart Association's website.

Next steps

Good job on knowing what your level is! That is a first important step. But then you might also know that people with a LDL level 135 or higher are at increased risk of developing plaque in the blood vessels that lead to the heart and brain, thus making them at higher risk of developing heart attack or stroke. There are a number of steps that you can take to lower your LDL level, including diet, exercise, not smoking, weight loss and certain medications. A high level (higher than 130 mg/dL) of low-density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, reflects an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. That's why LDL cholesterol is often called "bad" cholesterol. When too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can lead to the formation of plaque in the blood vessels that feed the heart and the brain. When enough of this blockage occurs, a heart attack or stroke can occur.

Blood Pressure

A systolic of 130 to 139 is borderline elevated. You and your health professional need to keep on eye on this. Try to get your pressure down with weight loss if you are overweight, a healthy diet, stress management and exercise. If your pressure continues to increase, you may need to bring it down with medication. Blood pressure results from two forces. The first force is created as your heart pumps blood into the arteries and through the circulatory system and this is the systolic pressure. The second is created as the arteries resist the blood flow and this is the diastolic pressure. A systolic blood pressure greater than 140 is considered high, meaning that the person is at increased risk for heart attack and stroke. The risk climbs thereafter in proportion to the pressure.

You have a good diastolic blood pressure. Centenarians generally have a history of a diastolic blood pressure in this range for most of their lives.

Diabetes

Like high blood pressure, a person can have diabetes for a long time and not know it, thus it is very important that children and adults are regularly screened. Get your blood sugar checked at least every three years and watch for some of the more common symptoms of diabetes including excessive and persistent thirst, voiding large amounts of urine frequently with normal amounts of fluid intake, and/or unexplained weight loss. Diabetes occurs because a person's body does not make enough insulin and/or because the cells and tissues in their body are relatively resistant to the insulin they produce (and so the insulin is less effective). As a result, diabetics can have large amounts of glucose (sugar) in their circulation. By far and away, the more common form of diabetes is Adult Onset Diabetes and this is often associated with obesity. This form is often well controlled (meaning the blood glucose level is kept normal) with weight loss, diet and/or oral medication (though sometimes injected insulin is needed). Sometimes insulin injections are necessary. The other form of diabetes is called juvenile diabetes, which more often occurs in children and requires insulin injections. Good control has been shown to decrease risk of heart and kidney disease and diabetic eye problems, all unfortunate problems associated with diabetes. Like high blood pressure, a person can have diabetes for a long time and not know it, thus it is very important that children and adults are regularly screened for it. The good news is that people are living long, productive and basically otherwise normal lives given the excellent treatments available.

Heart Attack

It is great news that you have not had a heart attack. Hopefully you have been avoiding or minimizing the risk factors for heart attack (also called heart disease or coronary artery disease). Here are the typical risk factors that you can modify: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes (improve your sugar control), being overweight, lack of exercise or cigarette smoking. 90% of heart attack victims have at least one of these risk factors so you might be setting yourself up for a heart attack in the future if you have one or more of these risk factors.

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Check-Ups

Regular checkups are so important. The frequency of checkups depends on your age and what if any medical or other clinically relevant problems you might have. Generally, anyone age 40 or older should be having annual checkups. Please set up an appointment for a checkup as soon as possible. A conscientious program of screening and prevention are key to living into old age in good health.

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FAMILY

Family History of Heart Attack or Diabetes

Heart attack and/or diabetes appear to run in your family. You should be extra diligent about screening for and minimizing risk factors that make a heart attack or stroke more likely. Modifiable risk factors for heart attack include: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes (improve sugar control), being overweight or cigarette smoking. It is very important that you work closely and regularly with your doctor in any plan to reduce your risk for heart attack or stroke. Do not simply rely upon this advice alone.

Family History of Cancer

You are lucky to apparently not have cancer running in your family. Now do a good job of taking advantage of those genes and don't do things that could predispose you to cancer nonetheless, such as being obese, smoking, etc.

Family Longevity

Getting into one's eighties is pretty good. Still, your family history is telling you that you should be extra diligent in entering into a program of prevention and screening with your doctor. Do what you can to prevent various age-related problems and illnesses and screen for these while you have a chance of either curing them or minimizing their impact upon you.