Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Increased Risk for Stroke, Heart Disease and Death

Researchers following 27,686 people, aged 50 and older with no history of cardiovascular disease, found that participants with low levels of vitamin D had a significantly higher risk for stroke, heart disease and death.

During the study participants were placed into three different groups based upon their levels of vitamin D: normal (more than 30 nanograms per milliliter), low (15 to 30 nanograms per milliliter), or very low (less than 15 nanograms per milliliter).

After one year of follow-up researches found that participants with very low levels of vitamin D were 77 percent more likely to die, 45 percent more likely to develop coronary artery disease and 78 percent more likely to have a stroke. As well, they were twice as likely to develop heart failure compared to people with normal vitamin D levels.

"We concluded that among patients 50 years of age or older, even a moderate deficiency of vitamin D levels was associated with developing coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke and death," study co-author Heidi May, an epidemiologist with the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, said in a news release from the center.

"This is important because vitamin D deficiency is easily treated. If increasing levels of vitamin D can decrease some risk associated with these cardiovascular diseases, it could have a significant public health impact. When you consider that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in America, you understand how this research can help improve the length and quality of people's lives," May added.

Because this was an observational study, a definitive link between vitamin D levels and heart disease couldn't be established, but the findings point to the need for further research, said study co-author Dr. Brent Muhlestein, director of cardiovascular research at Intermountain's Heart Institute.

"We believe the findings are important enough to now justify randomized treatment trials of supplementation in patients with vitamin D deficiency to determine for sure whether it can reduce the risk of heart disease," Muhlestein said in the news release.

Vitamin D is obtained from sunlight and by consuming fatty fish or fortified dairy products such as milk.

Reference: http://healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=633048

Eye-Friendly Toys for a Safe Holiday Season

As the holiday season approaches, it is important to select eye-safe and age appropriate toys for all the good little boys and girls on your list. In general in is important to avoid toys with sharp, pointed ends, rough edges or pieces. Blocks are a great gift for almost any age as long as their corners and edges are blunted to reduce the risk of eye injury. Also, to avoid eye injuries, beware of long-handled toys, such as mops, brooms, stick horses, and gardening toys like rakes and hoes. If you do buy a long-handled toy, check to make sure that these have rounded handles and watch children under 2 closely with such toys.

Avoid BB guns, slingshots, dart guns and arrows for children under 6. Ideally, these toys should be avoided completely, especially when there are younger children in the house. If that is not possible, supervise any child with these toys, because have the potential to be harmful. While BB’s and the darts from a dart gun may not break the skin, they are small enough to penetrate the eye and can cause blindness.

Be careful to avoid toys that may be age appropriate for an older child but could be dangerous for a younger sibling. Always supervise children in situations when they might share an inappropriate toy with a younger child.

Great toys for children under age 2 that stimulate visual development improve hand-eye coordination and demonstrate spatial relationships include:

*brightly colored mobiles
*stuffed animals
*activity gyms
*blocks, balls
*stacking and nesting toys
*buckets and measuring cups
*puzzles
*shape sorters
*musical toys

Appropriate and eye-friendly toys for children over age 2 include:

*child-sized household items like brooms
*vacuums
*rakes
*lawn mowers
*refrigerator and stove sets and outside toys like sandboxes
*riding toys and backyard gyms and swings

Some toys may simply be found to be unsafe and be recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). For a list of toy recalls, call (800) 638-2772 or visit www.cpsc.gov.

Smokers Have Triple The Risk of Sight Loss

A smoker is three times more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) than a non smoker. In fact, ARMD is the leading cause of blindness among adults over the age of fifty. The link between smoking and ARMD has now been shown to be as strong as that between smoking and lung cancer. Non-smokers who live with smokers have been shown to have double the risk for developing ARMD.

Despite these facts, the public seems unaware of the connection between smoking and danger to their eyesight. A survey of 1023 adults in the UK showed that only 7% knew that smoking could affect their eyesight. When informed that ARMD and smoking were linked, over 41% of smokers questioned said they would quit smoking, if they thought it would harm their vision. Another 28% said they would cut down the number of cigarettes smoked per day to protect their eyesight.

The good news is that studies have shown that among smokers who have given up the habit for more than 20 years, the risk of developing ARMD is similar to that of nonsmokers. Perhaps campaigns to raise awareness about smoking and its potential to cause blindness would be more effective than those stressing its risks for heart disease and lung cancer. Campaigns in Australia and New Zealand have already started and results have been encouraging.


References:

http://www.medwire-news.md/51/38714/General_Medicine/Smokers_have_double_risk_of_sight_loss.html

http://www.medwire-news.md/51/44926/General_Medicine/Second-hand_smoke_linked_to_eye_disease.html

http://www.preventblindness.org/news/releases/091809_1.html

http://www.esrezaeian.com/armdandcnv.htm

Heart Disease Linked to Macular Degeneration

A recent study has found that patients with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) have an increased risk of coronary heart disease, but not stroke. Patients with ARMD were found to have a 50% greater risk of heart disease than those without out it according to a report in Opthalmology. According to researchers, "This provides further support that age-related macular degeneration is associated with underlying systemic vascular disease." Increasingly evidence is mounting to suggest that heart disease and ARMD may share similar risk factors and common mechanisms.