The sooner you smoke after waking, the greater your risk of developing lung cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Researchers recruited 252 healthy smokers and examined several behaviours they thought reflected the urge to smoke. The research team also measured each participant’s continine level, both in plasma and urine. Continine is a derivative of nicotine that is manufactured in the body and has been linked to a higher risk of lung cancer. The concentration of continine in the body can vary widely, according to past studies, depending on how often a smoker smokes or other behaviours.
The team’s hypothesis was that, smoking immediately or soon after waking from sleep could lead to higher continine levels, which can not only affect health, but also affect a smoker’s chances of quitting.
The participants were separated into low and high groups depending on smoking behaviours — the low group waited at least 30 minutes after waking to smoke and smoked 20 or fewer cigarettes a day. Members of the high group smoked their first cigarette within 30 minutes of waking, but a had a wide range in how many they smoked each day.
Between the two groups, there was very little variation in continine levels due to cigarette frequency. However, levels of the derivative went down as time of first cigarette increased from 437 nanograms per millilitre within five minutes of waking to 215 nanograms per millilitre in individuals who waited more than an hour.
The research author said the reason for the change in continine levels wasn’t entirely clear and that more research is needed to find it.
One small factor in the health of an infant has been shown to markedly decrease the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), according to a new study — listening to your doctor.
Published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, the study concludes that parents are most likely to lay infants to sleep on their backs if they have been told to do so by a doctor.
Buoyed by several studies that showed putting babies to sleep on their backs limited SIDS deaths, the “Back to Sleep” campaign was launched in 1994, encouraging parents to adopt the practice. The result was a steep drop in the number of SIDS deaths, but that number has since plateaued. A research team led by Dr. George Lister decided to examine the reasons why a caregiver might not follow the recommendation and came up with three — fear the infant would choke in the position, concerns for the child’s comfort and whether a physician had ever told the caregiver to always put the baby to sleep on its back.
The team analyzed the results of the National Infant Sleep Position Study, in which 1,000 phone interviews were conducted every year. Between 2003 and 2007, the team found only 54 per cent of participants had been told by a physician to place the baby to sleep in the appropriate position. Parents who did follow sleeping guidelines were unlikely to express concerns about their infant’s comfort or risk of choking. They also reported being told how to put their infant to sleep by a physician.
“Physicians need to be proactive by consistently telling parents and caregivers that infants must always be placed on their backs and on a firm mattress to sleep, even for naps,” Lister said.
Treatment for depression using specific anti-depressants can lead to changes in personality that have nothing to do with alleviating symptoms of the condition, according to a new study.
Dr. Tony Zang of Northwestern University recruited 240 adults with major depressive disorder and divided them into groups — 120 were randomly assigned to take the SSRI paroxetine (Paxil) for 12 months, while 60 received cognitive therapy and another 60 were given a placebo. Personalities and depressive symptoms were assessed prior to, during and after treatment.
All participants showed improvement, but it was the individuals taking paroxetine that experienced a significant reduction in neuroticism and increase in extraversion, in some cases up to almost seven times compared to the other two groups.
The authors argue their research adds evidence against the state-effect hypothesis, which proposes any personality changes that occur are part of the alleviation of depression.
Eternal question answered
Is it more painful to dive right into a cold lake or slowly wade in? Should you confront emotional situations immediately or wait for the right time?
These and many other situations have been analogized to removing a Band-Aid quickly with the belief the pain will be less severe than slowly removing it. A group of Australian researchers has finally answered the question of which technique is least physically painful.
Researchers applied Band-Aids to medical students at James Cook University then removed the Band-Aid using either a fast or slow technique. Students were asked to rate the pain on a zero-to-10 scale with zero being no pain at all and 10 being the worst pain the person had ever felt in their life.
It turns out removing the bandage quickly was less painful — participants rated the pain on average as 0.92 compared to 1.58 for the slow technique. Women experienced less pain than men, either because of a higher threshold for pain or because men have more body hair.
“A high body hair score was, not surprisingly, associated with higher pain scores,” said co-author Carl O’Kane.
The study was published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
