Category Archives: Diabetes

(Reuters Health) - Women who got their first period at age 11 or earlier are at higher risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy, a recent Australian study suggests.

Being overweight is known to be a factor in early periods and also in whats known as gestational diabetes, but it did not fully explain the link between the two conditions, the researchers write in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Diabetes develops in as many as 9 percent of pregnant women in the United States and can carry serious health risks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mothers with gestational diabetes are more likely to have high blood pressure and go into premature labor, said lead study author Danielle Schoenaker, a research officer at The University of Queensland.

There are also consequences for the baby, which is more likely to grow faster and be larger at birth, Schoenaker told Reuters Health by email. In the longer term, both mothers and their children are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

To explore the link between womens age at first menstruation, known as menarche, and their risk of developing gestational diabetes, the study team analyzed data on nearly 5,000 women participating in the larger Australian Longitudinal Study on Womens Health between 2000 and 2012.

The women included in the analysis all reported a live birth during the study and had completed a questionnaire every three to four years, answering questions about when they had their first period and whether they were diagnosed or treated for diabetes during pregnancy. None had type 2 diabetes or a previous history of gestational diabetes at the start of the study.

The average age at which women got their first period was just under 13 years, researchers found.

Women who had their first period at or before age 11 were more likely to have been overweight in childhood, to engage in little physical activity as adults and to currently be overweight or obese.

Overall, 357 women, or about 7.5 percent of the participants, reported being diagnosed with gestational diabetes. These women were also more likely to be overweight or obese and to have a sedentary lifestyle at the beginning of the study.

Women who got their first period before age 11 were 51 percent more likely to develop gestational diabetes, compared with those who started menstruating at age 13.

This was true even after the researchers took into account things that might influence age at menarche or risk for gestational diabetes, including mothers education level, physical activity, previous children, a hormonal condition known as polycystic ovary syndrome and body mass index (BMI), a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

Chronic disease risk, such as risk of type 2 or gestational diabetes may be programmed much earlier in life by exposures occurring during developmentally sensitive periods such as puberty, infancy or even intrauterine life, said Dr. Dana Dabelea, a professor at the University of Colorado Denver who studies gestational diabetes but was not involved in this research.

Interventions to address these health issues may need to start earlier to address the risk of diseases like diabetes, Dabelea said by email.

Women with early menarche are at increased risk of diabetes later in life so they should take additional precautions, especially active lifestyles and maintaining a healthy body weight, to mitigate this increased risk, Dabelea said.

Supporting healthy environments and behaviors from early in life are important strategies, and promoting healthy eating and physical activity should be a priority for young mothers and schools, and for all women throughout their lives, Schoenaker said.

SOURCE: bit.ly/2n66XQ5 American Journal of Epidemiology, online March 5, 2017.

(Reuters Health) - - Pain and other symptoms of chronic sinus problems might cause sufferers to miss work or school but depression is their biggest source of lost productivity, a small study suggests.

Days may get a lot longer for some doctors in training after the group that oversees medical education in the United States rolled back controversial rules limiting the number of hours first-year residents may work.

NFL teams violated federal laws governing prescription drugs, according to a Washington Post story based on sealed court documents contained in a federal lawsuit filed by former players against the league and reviewed by the newspaper.

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Early first menstruation tied to pregnancy diabetes risk - Reuters

March 10, 2017 09:00 ET | Source: WellDoc Inc.

COLUMBIA, Md., March 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Digital health technology leader, WellDoc, announced today that Hope Warshaw, MMSc, RD, CDE, BC-ADM, a well-known and respected spokesperson who is passionate about improving the clinical and cost effectiveness of diabetes care and education, will join the Company in a consultative role. In this role, she will advise on further engagement with the expanding BlueStar user base, industry advocacy groups and business partners. Additionally, she will provide social media consultation and strategy, utilizing her long-term adoption and engagement with this medium with the diabetes community. BlueStar is WellDocs FDA-cleared, proven digital therapeutic, which provides real-time and timely individualized coaching and support, as well as diabetes educational tools that are actionable and personal.

Ms. Warshaw also recognizes the value novel devices and technologies bring to the evolution of healthcare delivery. She has been an involved member of the diabetes community for nearly four decades, and has been a strong advocate for diabetes educators and education, as well as for individuals living with diabetes.

Hope is a leader and advocate in the field of diabetes education, and we are excited that she is joining us as a consultant. She brings invaluable insight and counsel to our team, which already encompasses individuals who are passionate about providing solutions to improve diabetes care and self-management, said Kevin McRaith, CEO of WellDoc. Like many of us at WellDoc, Hope is focused on advocating for people with diabetes. Her participation alongside the WellDoc team will help ensure our users needs are consistently top-of-mind as we further enhance BlueStar and work to make it broadly available in the marketplace.

Ms. Warshaw is an accomplished author, having written books and articles for publications that are centered around nutrition and diabetes. She is also the Immediate Past President of the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE)joining already highly recognized diabetes educators at WellDoc including Malinda Peeples (AADE Past President) and Janice MacLeod (Former AADE Regional Chapter President).

Its an exciting time at WellDoc as the Company focuses on rolling out BlueStar broadly, and there are many opportunities in the area of diabetes management, community building and advocacy, said Ms. Warshaw. WellDoc is leading the charge in digital health to tackle type 2 diabetes by arming individuals with a robust tool to help them manage their condition to achieve significant health outcomes.

About WellDoc WellDoc is the leading digital health company revolutionizing chronic disease management to help transform lives. Our groundbreaking digital health technology is guiding individuals through the complicated journey of living with chronic diseases, with a goal of improving their health and helping them to be more balanced. We are the first digital health company based on a life science business model, and our foundation is built on randomized clinical trials that demonstrate significant clinical outcomes. We have mastered diabetes management by taking an aggressive and innovative approach that utilizes sophisticated logic and precise algorithms, and integrates the most advanced mobile technology, behavioral insight, and diabetes education for those living with type 2 diabetes. Our FDA-cleared, proven digital therapeutic, BlueStar, provides real-time and timely individualized coaching and support, as well as diabetes educational tools that are actionable and personal. Our clinical evidence shows a 1.7 to 2.0 point A1C reduction for adults living with type 2 diabetes who used BlueStar. For more information, visit http://www.WellDoc.com and http://www.BlueStarDiabetes.com.

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Diabetes Education Expert and Registered Dietitian Hope Warshaw Joins WellDoc as Consultant - GlobeNewswire (press release)

Alexa? Help pharma find patient solutions.

Thats what Merck & Co. is aiming for in its new partnership with Amazon Web Services to developdigital voice-enabled solutions for people living with chronic diseases.

Using Amazon Lex, the brains behind the Amazon Echo device and its well-known voice-enabled assistant Alexa, Merck plans to initially work on diabetes. Its first initiative will be a call to entrepreneurs, techies and industry types foran innovation challenge expected to begin within the next month.

The yet-to-be-named challenge will be run by strategy and innovation consultancyLuminary Labs. While specifics havent been released, the call to action will be open to solutions broadly enough that innovators of all stripes can come up with really novel ideas but being narrow enough to provide guidance and carefully evaluate submissions, said Sara Holoubek, founder and CEO of Luminary Labs.

An independent jury will evaluate the submissions based on their use ofvoice-enabled technology thataddresses Type 2 diabetes patient issues.

Merck's long-term planis to create tools for otherchronic diseases using the same Amazon Lex platform and the voice-enabled Alexa home system.

Analysts estimate Amazon will sell more than 110 million Amazon Echo devices over the next four years, and many are already pointing to healthcare as an important item on Alexa'seventual to-do list.

Users will soon go far beyond turning on lights or calling an Uber, and will venture deeper into healthcare, helping people better manage treatments and communicate with caregivers," Luminary noteson its website. "From reminding people of their nutrition plans to scheduling their insulin dosages, the Merck-sponsored Alexa challenge will call on developers to push the boundaries of voice technology for people with diabetes."

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Merck aims to put Amazon's Alexa to work on voice-enabled diabetes tools - FiercePharma

MannKind Corp. will sponsor a new television series this summer on the effects of poorly managed diabetes and its impact on people with the disease.

Reversed will air on Discovery Life Channel. It was created and will be hosted by Charles Mattocks, a celebrity chef and diabetes advocate.

MannKind is continually seeking platforms to increase awareness around the challenges, opportunities and success people living with diabetes encounter on a daily basis, said Michael Castagna, the companys chief commercial officer, in a statement.

The show will follow the lives of individuals affected by diabetes and their struggle to change their diet, exercise and mindset about the disease. It will feature experts such as diabetes educators, endocrinologists, therapists, nutritionists, and trainers, as well as celebrity guests who are also living with diabetes, to help encourage the contestants.

Mattocks, a nephew of Bob Marley, said, My uncle made an impact on the world through music and my vision is to impact health. Reversed is about changing the behavior of those with diabetes.

MannKind, the Valencia-based maker of Afrezza, an inhalable form of insulin, is working with Mattocks production company, Bella & Elle Media LLC.

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MannKind Corp. to sponsor TV series on tackling diabetes - Santa Clarita Valley Signal

Can sweat patches revolutionise diabetes? BBC News And in extra tests on mice, the sensor was hooked up to a patch of tiny needles to automatically inject diabetes medication. The team at the Seoul National University were trying to overcome the need for "painful blood collection" needed in diabetes ... and more »

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Can sweat patches revolutionise diabetes? - BBC News

By Karen Pallarito

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, March 7, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly half of all deaths from heart disease, stroke and diabetes in the United States are associated with diets that skimp on certain foods and nutrients, such as vegetables, and exceed optimal levels of others, like salt, a new study finds.

Using available studies and clinical trials, researchers identified 10 dietary factors with the strongest evidence of a protective or harmful association with death due to "cardiometabolic" disease.

"It wasn't just too much 'bad' in the American diet; it's also not enough 'good,'" said lead author Renata Micha.

"Americans are not eating enough fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, vegetable oils or fish," she said.

Micha is an assistant research professor at the Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston.

The researchers used data from multiple national sources to examine deaths from cardiometabolic diseases -- heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes -- in 2012, and the role that diet may have played.

"In the U.S. in 2012, we observed about 700,000 deaths due to those diseases," Micha said. "Nearly half of these were associated with suboptimal intakes of the 10 dietary factors combined."

Too much salt in people's diets was the leading factor, accounting for nearly 10 percent of cardiometabolic deaths, according to the analysis.

The study identifies 2,000 milligrams a day, or less than 1 teaspoon of salt, as the optimal amount. While experts don't agree on how low to go, there is broad consensus that people consume too much salt, Micha noted.

Other key factors in cardiometabolic death included low intake of nuts and seeds, seafood omega-3 fats, vegetables, fruits and whole grains, and high intake of processed meats (such as cold cuts) and sugar-sweetened beverages.

Each of these factors accounted for between 6 percent and 9 percent of deaths from heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

"Optimal" intake of foods and nutrients was based on levels associated with lower disease risk in studies and clinical trials. Micha cautioned that these levels are not conclusive. Optimal intake "could be modestly lower or higher," she explained.

Low consumption of polyunsaturated fats (found in soybean, sunflower and corn oils) accounted for just over 2 percent of cardiometabolic deaths, according to the study. High consumption of unprocessed red meats (such as beef) was responsible for less than one half of 1 percent of these deaths, the analysis showed.

The take-home message: "Eat more of the good and less of the bad," Micha said.

Vegetable intake, for example, was considered optimal at four servings per day. That would be roughly equivalent to 2 cups of cooked or 4 cups of raw veggies, she said.

Fruit intake was deemed optimal at three daily servings: "For example, one apple, one orange and half of an average-size banana," she continued.

"And eat less salt, processed meats, and sugary-sweetened beverages," she said.

The study also found that poor diet was associated with a larger proportion of deaths at younger versus older ages, among people with lower versus higher levels of education, and among minorities versus whites.

Dr. Ashkan Afshin is acting assistant professor of global health at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

"I commend the current study's authors for exploring sociodemographic factors, like ethnicity and education, and their role in the relationship of diet with cardiometabolic disease," said Afshin, who was not involved in the study.

"This is an area that deserves more attention so that we may fully understand the connection between diet and health," he said.

The study doesn't prove that improving your diet reduces risk of death from heart disease, stroke and diabetes, but suggests that dietary changes may have an impact.

"It is important to know which dietary habits affect health the most so that people can make healthy changes in how they eat and how they feed their families," Afshin said.

The study was published March 7 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In an accompanying journal editorial, researchers from Johns Hopkins University urged caution in interpreting the findings.

According to Noel Mueller and Dr. Lawrence Appel, the results may be biased by the number of dietary factors included, the interaction of dietary factors and the authors' "strong assumption" that evidence from observational studies implies a cause-and-effect relationship.

Still, the editorialists concluded that the likely benefits of an improved diet "are substantial and justify policies designed to improve diet quality."

WebMD News from HealthDay

SOURCES: Renata Micha, R.D., Ph.D., assistant research professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston; Ashkan Afshin, M.D., Sc.D., acting assistant professor of global health, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle; March 7, 2017, Journal of the American Medical Association

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Poor Diet Tied to Heart Disease, Diabetes Deaths - WebMD

by BARBARA MORSE SILVA, NBC 10 NEWS

New biomedical research shows promise in fighting a complication of diabetes.

Richard Clements, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at Brown University and one of the researchers on this project, which was recently funded by the Brown University-based Advance Clinical and Translational Research initiative.

The lab-based, very preliminary research is looking at the vascular system in diabetics and why the blood vessels dont always dilate to accommodate increased blood flow. Thats important for several reasons.

"That can lead to a whole host of problems, said Clements. Vascular problems, coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease as well as higher blood pressure."

As part of this research, discarded tissue from diabetic and non-diabetic patients is being used.

"That we can then take and mount in this set up and then we can give it all sorts of drugs without having to worry about patient safety because it's not in the patient anymore," explained Clements.

And then they can, in this lab, measure which drugs improve the condition. Right now, this research is only in the lab. But, eventually, it will involve animal and then human testing.

"This is kind of the beginning stages of what could, 10 years down the line, turn into some sort of treatment," said Clements.

This is one of the first pilot awards from the Brown University-based Advance Clinical Translational Research initiative, which received funding from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

The total of this five-year program award is $19.5 million. Its purpose is to fund collaborative research involving multiple partners, depending on the project, including researchers from Brown University, Lifespan, Care New England, the Providence VA Medical Center, URI and the Rhode Island Quality Institute.

Originally posted here:
Health Check: Research into diabetes complication - Turn to 10

Researchers at New York University's School of Medicine found that diabetes increased the risk of cancer death among Asians by an average of 26 percent, a statistic similar in the West.

Data for the new study drew on an analysis of 770,000 people with Type 2 diabetes throughout East and South Asia. Diabetics were followed for an average of 13 years to see if they developed cancer and what types. During that time more than 37,300 cancer deaths were identified.

Yu Chen, an epidemiology professor at the NYU School of Medicines Department of Population Health who was the study's lead author, says Asians with Type 2 diabetes are more likely to be diagnosed with rarer cancers than Westerners, including cancers of the liver, thyroid and kidney which was double the risk compared to non-diabetics in Asia.

There was also a 2.7 percent increased risk of cancer of the endometrium and a 1.7 percent higher risk of breast cancer among diabetic Asians compared to those who were not diabetic.

The number of cancers of the gallbladder and bile ducts in Asia were comparable to those in the West, according to Chen. Those sites are closer in the body to the pancreas, where insulin is made.

Chen thinks there may be several mechanisms at work, but data suggests that insulin may in some way stimulate the growth of cancer.

Patients with diabetes that have high levels of insulin, some cancers are very sensitive to insulin, so it may promote the tumor growing, she said.

The findings were published in the journal Diabetologia.

Chen said the study was undertaken because there's been little research on an association between diabetes and cancer in Asia.

She said the research suggests Type 2 diabetes should be added to the list of cancer risk factors, along with diet and cigarette smoking.

Cancer prevention needs to take into account for diabetes the lifestyles related to diabetes [which] may reduce the risk of diabetes and also cancer, she said.

Chen suggested that diabetics should receive more cancer screenings, in addition to medical interventions to reduce the risk of diabetes overall.

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Study: Diabetes Linked to Cancer in Asia - Voice of America

Forbes

Can Silicon Valley Cure Diabetes With Low Carbs And High Tech? Forbes Imagine a treatment for Type 2 diabetes that requires neither surgery, medication nor calorie restriction, but rather relies on adherence to a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet, tracked by regular finger-stick checks of blood chemistry, and guided ... With $37 million in funding, health startup Virta aims to cure type 2 diabetes by watching what you eatTechCrunch Virta Health Launches to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes as New Study Demonstrates Reversal Possible without SurgeryBusiness Wire (press release) all 3 news articles »

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Can Silicon Valley Cure Diabetes With Low Carbs And High Tech? - Forbes

Low carbohydrate diets should be considered for diabetes ... Science Daily Following a reduced carbohydrate diet can help to lower blood glucose levels, providing a safe and effective strategy for managing diabetes, new research ... and more »

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Low carbohydrate diets should be considered for diabetes ... - Science Daily