Dementia patient ‘had 106 carers’

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18 May 2012
Last updated at 01:21 ET


By Eleanor Bradford
BBC Scotland Health Correspondent

Jeanette MaitlandJeanette Maitland said the turnover in carers was an affront to her husband’s dignity

A woman has claimed her husband, who had dementia, was given 106 different carers in a single year.

Jeanette Maitland said the constant stream of different faces sent by agencies working for Aberdeen’s social work department contravened her husband Ken’s basic human right to dignity.

Mr Maitland died from a dementia-related illness last week.

Aberdeen City Council has pledged to look into the concerns his wife has raised.

Mrs Maitland told BBC Scotland she initially wrote down the names of her husband’s carers so that she could get to know them.

She added: “I just started taking note of the names so I could remember properly and put a face to the name.

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I gave Mrs Maitland a personal assurance I would look into the concerns she raised”

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Valerie Watts
Aberdeen City Council chief executive

“Then each time a new face came so I kept writing, writing, writing, until we’re here where we are today with 106 carers.”

Until Mr Maitland’s recent admission to hospital he was allocated two carers four times a day to help his wife look after him at home.

Intensely private

She was given the impression that care would be provided by a core group of about 10 staff. Instead, she faced a constant stream of new people which her husband found extremely unsettling.

Mrs Maitland added: “Anyone who knows anything at all about dementia will know that they live in fear 87% of the time. Obviously the more regular the voice, the more regular the regime, the constancy of it all helps them to relax and be calm.”

Although she has no complaints about the overall standard of care, Mrs Maitland said her husband was an intensely private man who would have been horrified at the number of people who were involved in his bathing and personal care.

List of namesMrs Maitland began keeping a list of new care staff and the list grew longer and longer

She asked: “Where is respect for his dignity? I feel I should have sold tickets.”

Aberdeen City Council chief executive Valerie Watts said: “I would like to extend my sincere condolences to Mrs Maitland and her family following the sad loss of her husband Kenneth.

“I recently had a very positive meeting with Mrs Maitland where we spoke at length about the care package her husband received from Aberdeen City Council.

“I gave Mrs Maitland a personal assurance I would look into the concerns she raised and respond at the earliest opportunity.”

She added that council staff worked hard to deliver the best possible care package at all times.

Are you affected by the issues in this story? Please send us your comments and experiences.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-18110555#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Father wants ‘donation’ lessons

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17 May 2012
Last updated at 21:37 ET

Adrian Sudbury and Gordon BrownAdrian met Gordon Brown to tell him about his message on stem cell donation

A father who lost his son to leukaemia is calling for secondary schools and colleges to include one lesson on how to donate stem cells, blood and organs.

Keith Sudbury wants to raise awareness by making donation part of the curriculum for students aged 16 and over.

His son Adrian received a stem cell transplant which gave him an extra year of life, but died aged 27.

Blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan is supporting the idea of ‘Adrian’s Law’.

Adrian spent the last two years of his life campaigning for better education about stem cell donation.

He took a petition to Downing Street and met Gordon Brown to talk about the campaign to get more young people to register as donors.

With Adrian’s Law, his parents Kay and Keith want the message to reach more young people and they hope that there will be a Private Member’s Bill in the Commons to highlight its importance.

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We can grow the first generation of potential lifesavers.”

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Keith Sudbury

“We urgently need more people willing to donate blood and stem cells,” Keith Sudbury said.

“By taking this message to students 16 years and over we can grow the first generation of potential lifesavers who really understand what it means to donate blood, organs and stem cells.”

Match up

Targeting this age group is important because young people are much more likely to be selected as a match for a stem cell donation, and yet 18-30 year olds only make up 12% of the register.

The Anthony Nolan register is used to match donors willing to donate their blood stem cells to people who need life-saving bone marrow transplants – like leukaemia patients.

Only one in 1,000 people who join the stem cell register will get called to donate their stem cells, and it is a simple process.

There are two methods of extracting stem cells. The first is through a vein in the arm and the second is from the bone marrow in the pelvis.

“It’s a no brainer really. The more you educate people, the more people will join the register, the more matches you have and the more lives are saved,” Keith says.

‘Phenomenal’

There are currently almost 1,600 people in the UK waiting for a stem cell transplant and 37,000 worldwide.

But charity Anthony Nolan says they can only find a matching donor for half the people who come to them in desperate need of a transplant.

Henny Braund, chief executive of Anthony Nolan, said the response from presenting Adrian’s story in schools has been “phenomenal”.

“Thousands of teenagers have signed up.

“Taking this to 700,000 young people a year would help change the culture around donation and save thousands of lives.

“Adrian’s Law will help young people grow into potential lifesavers.”

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18107151#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Dieting ‘safe for pregnant women’

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17 May 2012
Last updated at 21:36 ET

Pregnant woman eating saladPregnant women are already advised to eat healthily

Dieting in pregnancy is safe for women and does not carry risks for the baby, a review of research has suggested.

The British Medical Journal analysis looked at the findings from 44 previous studies involving more than 7,000 women.

The London-based team said following a healthy diet – and not eating for two – prevents excess weight gain and cuts the risk of complications.

But current guidelines do not advocate dieting or weight monitoring.

The advice from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), published in 2010, says: “Dieting during pregnancy is not recommended as it may harm the health of the unborn child.”

However women are advised to aim to reach a healthy weight before conceiving.

Babies’ weights ‘unaffected’

Half the UK population are either overweight or obese and the rates are rising.

And in Europe and the US, between 20% and 40% of women gain more than the recommended weight during pregnancy.

High weights are linked to complications such as pre-eclampsia, diabetes and high blood pressure as well as early delivery.

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We should be careful to note that the researchers are not advising women to lose weight during pregnancy”

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Dr Janine Stockdale,
Royal College of Midwives

This review, funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), compared diet, exercise or a combination of the two.

Dietary advice was based on limiting calorie intake, having a balanced diet and eating foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables and pulses.

The researchers then examined how much weight women gained during their pregnancies and if there were complications.

While each approach reduced a woman’s weight gain, diet had the greatest effect with an average reduction of nearly 4kg (8.8lbs).

With exercise, the average reduction in weight gain was just 0.7kg (1.5lbs). A combination of diet and exercise led to an average reduction of 1kg (2.2lbs).

Women following a calorie-controlled diet were significantly less likely to develop each of the complications considered, but the researchers say those findings need to be repeated in larger studies.

Babies’ birth weights were not affected by dieting.

‘Simpler and easier’

Dr Shakila Thangaratinam, a consultant obstetrician at Queen Mary, University of London who led the study, said: “We are seeing more and more women who gain excess weight when they are pregnant and we know these women and their babies are at increased risk of complications.

“Weight control is difficult but this study shows that by carefully advising women on weight management methods, especially diet, we can reduce weight gain during pregnancy.

“It also shows that following a controlled diet has the potential to reduce the risk of a number of pregnancy complications.”

She added: “Women may be concerned that dieting during pregnancy could have a negative impact on their babies. This research is reassuring because it showed that dieting is safe and that the baby’s weight isn’t affected.”

But in a commentary in the journal, women’s health experts from St Thomas’ Hospital in London – including Lucilla Poston who helped develop the NICE guidance, said it would be “premature” for the current guidance, which only recommends women be weighed at their first pregnancy check-up, to change.

Dr Janine Stockdale, research fellow at the Royal College of Midwives, said: “We should be careful to note that the researchers are not advising women to lose weight during pregnancy; this is about managing excessive weight or weight gain.

“If a woman is on target to gain the right amount of weight during her pregnancy, then ‘dieting’ and ‘calorie-controlled dieting’ as we commonly understand these terms, is not for her.

“We need to reassure women that under the care of a midwife or other health professional, weight management is safe.”

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18101423#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Well: Does Facebook Turn People Into Narcissists?

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Illustration by Andrew Kuo

Recently I tried to persuade a friend, a professional woman in her 40s, to create a Facebook account. Like many people, I’m a regular user, usually to post photos and updates of my daughter’s sports and academic accomplishments — and to keep track of friends and family. But my friend believed Facebook would drain her time. She said that if she couldn’t maintain friendships in the real world, she wasn’t interested in keeping up with the small details of people’s lives.

There has been a lot of scholarship devoted to the study of Facebook, sparking debate about the mental health and personality traits of frequent users. Most recently, research from Western Illinois University suggested, like other studies before it, that Facebook appeals to our most narcissistic tendencies. The study, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, asked 292 people to answer questions aimed at measuring how self-involved they were.

Those who frequently updated their Facebook status, tagged themselves in photos and had large numbers of virtual friends, were more likely to exhibit narcissistic traits, the study found. Another study found that people with high levels of narcissism were more likely to spend more than an hour a day on Facebook, and they were also more likely to post digitally enhanced personal photos. But what the research doesn’t answer is whether Facebook attracts narcissists or turns us into them.

The Well Column

The Well Column

Tara Parker-Pope on living well.

Last month, a study of 233 Facebook-using college students by researchers at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and the University of Hartford took a different approach. Were the students primarily writing self-promoting status updates? Or were they interested in others, clicking “likes” and posting comments on friends’ pages? How many Facebook friends did they collect?

In addition to measuring narcissism (Do you like being the center of attention or blending in with the crowd?), the researchers also measured a student’s sense of privacy. (Do you share information with a wide circle of friends or value your privacy?) The researchers found, to their surprise, that frequency of Facebook use, whether it was for personal status updates or to connect with friends, was not associated with narcissism. Narcissism per se was associated with only one type of Facebook user — those who amassed unrealistically large numbers of Facebook friends.

Instead, frequent Facebook users were more likely to score high on “openness” and were less concerned about privacy. So what seems like self-promoting behavior may just reflect a generation growing up in the digital age, where information — including details about personal lives — flows freely and connects us.

“It’s a huge oversimplification to say Facebook is for narcissists,” said Lynne Kelly, director of the school of communication at the University of Hartford and one of the study’s authors. “You share information about yourself on Facebook as a way to maintain relationships.”

The social medium of choice for the self-absorbed appears to be Twitter. The researchers found an association between tweeting about oneself and high narcissism scores. That finding alone, I think, is worth tweeting about.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=fc601da9776771c6d40e3dc5e6e4dc92

A Stem-Cell-Based Drug Gets Approval in Canada

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In a boost for the field of regenerative medicine, a small biotechnology company has received regulatory approval in Canada for what it says is the first manufactured drug based on stem cells.

The company, Osiris Therapeutics of Columbia, Md., said Thursday that Canadian regulators had approved its drug Prochymal, to treat children suffering from graft-versus-host disease, a potentially deadly complication of bone marrow transplantation.

“It’s really a good day for the concept and the hope behind stem cell therapies becoming a reality,” C. Randal Mills, the chief executive of Osiris, said in an interview.

Prochymal is a preparation of mesenchymal stem cells, which are obtained from the bone marrow of healthy young adult donors. The stem cells are separated out from the marrow and expanded in culture, so that one donation is enough to make as many as 10,000 doses.

Because these are adult stem cells, they do not raise the ethical concerns of embryonic stem cells, whose creation usually involves the destruction of human embryos.

Graft-versus-host disease occurs when the immune cells in a bone-marrow transplant see the recipient’s organs as foreign and attack them, causing potentially severe damage to the skin, liver and digestive tract. This happens most often when the donor is not an exact match for the recipient.

Doctors try using steroids or other drugs to damp the immune attack, but in many cases those don’t work, and the patient may die.

Prochymal is approved in Canada for children whose condition is not controlled by steroids. In a small trial, about 60 percent of such children had a clinically meaningful response to the drug, Osiris said.

“Any drug or a cell that has activity in the patients with severe disease is exciting and important,” said Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, director of the pediatric blood and marrow transplant program at Duke University Medical Center.

Dr. Kurtzberg, who helped Osiris present its case to Canadian regulators, said the drug has saved some children’s lives from graft-versus-host disease and could lead to more successful bone marrow transplants.

Osiris is not expected to gain much revenue from patients with a rare disease in Canada. But it is a welcome success for a 20-year-old company that has had its share of failures.

In 2009, Prochymal failed in two late-stage clinical trials, showing little to no advantage over placebo in treating graft-versus-host disease. The company is also trying to develop Prochymal as a treatment for Crohn’s disease, diabetes, heart attacks and other illnesses, but has had some failures there as well.

Sanofi, the big French company that had the rights to sell Prochymal outside North America, said in February that it had discontinued its work on the drug.

Dr. Mills, Osiris’s chief executive, said the company realized the drug was most effective in the most severe cases of graft-versus-host-disease that did not respond to steroids, leading it to do the small trial in children.

Dr. Mills said that the Food and Drug Administration indicated that it would require more data before approval, prompting Osiris to seek approval in Canada first. He said the company would apply to the F.D.A. later this year.

Stem cells are already used in medicine. Bone marrow or stem cell transplants are used to treat various cancers and genetic diseases. But those transplants are medical procedures, not products sold by a drug company.

There are cell therapies that have been approved by regulators, such as Carticel, a Genzyme product that uses a patient’s own cells to repair cartilage in injuries. Last year the F.D.A. approved a cord blood product for use in transplantation. Those products are not manufactured for off-the-shelf use like Prochymal is, Dr. Mills said.

Osiris announced the approval after regular stock trading ended. After hours, the stock rose 14 percent to $6.00.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=a481404bdb647a6fb8f9119fd7d240d8

Rare Genetic Mutations May Underpin Diseases

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It now appears that large numbers of very rare genetic mutations may underlie common human diseases like schizophrenia and cancer. But because the mutations are so rare, costly studies involving large numbers of patients would be needed to identify their role in each disease.

Until recently, rare mutations have been hard to catalog because of the difficulty of distinguishing an unusual mutation from an error in the DNA decoding process.

Now, however, a new generation of decoding machines allows each DNA unit in a genome to be examined 20 or more times, eliminating most errors.

The two reports in Science are particularly extensive surveys which establish that rare mutations are abundant in the human genome. Since most are likely to be deleterious, rare mutations could account for much of the burden of human disease, the authors say.

One of the surveys was conducted by Jacob A. Tennessen and Joshua M. Akey of the University of Washington in Seattle and colleagues, the other by a team led by Matthew R. Nelson and Vincent Mooser of GlaxoSmithKline.

Both groups attribute the abundance of rare variants to the explosion of human populations after the invention of agriculture some 10,000 years ago. Because the population expansion is so recent, in evolutionary terms, natural selection has not had time to eliminate the harmful mutations.

The Seattle team calculates that in every individual, 313 genes out of the 25,000 in the human genome carry rare mutations that alter the function of the protein specified by the gene. The GlaxoSmithKline team, which looked just at a category of genes likely to make good drug targets, calculates that a rare variant occurs in one out of every 17 DNA units, of which the human genome has some three billion.

These findings may help explain why it has proved so hard to isolate the genetic roots of disease. Until now, researchers have looked only at common mutations as possible contributors to the risk of common diseases.

This approach was in one sense dictated by technology; for many years, common mutations were the only ones that could be worked with. But a theory developed to justify the approach — the “common disease, common variant” hypothesis — held that some mutations exerted their bad effects late in life, after people had had their children, and had become common because natural selection was powerless to act against them.

But the theory was wrong. Common variants have turned out to explain only a fraction of the genetic risk of common disease. The opposite hypothesis, the “common disease, rare variant” idea, “has become increasingly credible,” the GlaxoSmithKline team writes.

Jonathan Pritchard, a geneticist at the University of Chicago who drew attention to the possible role of rare variants in 2001, said it seemed a likely bet that rare variants were contributing to an important fraction of disease. In addition, many common variants may contribute risks that are too small to have shown up in current surveys, he said. But in either case, detecting the roots of common disease will prove much more difficult than envisaged under the “common variant, common disease” scenario. Mutations with small effect must be studied in large numbers of patients to be detectable. Even if the effects of some rare variants can be measured, assessing the significance of the millions that stud each individual’s genome will be challenging.

Though the cost of decoding an individual’s genome is fast approaching a mere $1,000, the difficulty of interpreting its mutations now seems much greater than before, raising doubts as to how soon genome sequencing will become a routine medical test. But Dr. Pritchard said personal genomics may soon be valuable in specific situations, like pediatric cases, cancer and the genetics of response to drugs.

Another complication underlined by the two new surveys is that many rare mutations, because they are so recent, are specific to particular populations, with Africans and Europeans having sets that do not overlap much. This means that medical knowledge about rare mutations may have to be developed independently for each population.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e11f6e54c58d8a1f8fedabc4d0275ac1

Cannabis laws ‘need changing’

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Dan WhitworthBy Dan Whitworth
Newsbeat reporter


Cannabis plants growing inside a special tent

Growing small amounts of cannabis should be decriminalised, according to the charity Release.

It campaigns for reform of the drug laws and says arresting people who grow fewer than 12 plants, for personal use, is a waste of police time and effort.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) admits that tackling small growers is not a priority.

Medical experts say it can cause psychological problems and smoking it can lead to diseases like lung cancer.

Release, though, wants growing cannabis to be treated like breaking the speed limit or parking on double yellow lines.

‘Getting by’

That would make it punishable with a fine but no criminal record.

Lee, who wouldn’t give his surname, says he has seven cannabis plants in a specially-designed growing tent in his spare bedroom.

Full of powerful lights, water trays, extractor fans and with an overpowering smell of strong cannabis Lee freely admits to breaking the law.

Continue reading the main story

Arresting people who grow small amounts of cannabis for personal use is a waste of police time, effort and money

Niamh Eastwood
Executive Director, Release

“It’s a way to make ends meet,” he admits.

“I’ve worked since I was 16, paid my taxes and [now] is the first time I’ve been unemployed in 15 years.

“It’s just a way of making money because of the cost of fuel, food and living.

“It’s just a way of getting by.”

Release doesn’t believe selling cannabis for money should be decriminalised.

But it does want small-scale growing for personal use or passing the drug on to friends for free to be made a civil offence.

Dangerous drug

Niamh Eastwood, executive director of the charity, says: “We are criminalising thousands of people every year and that has to end.

“Small-scale growing of cannabis for personal use or social supply (passing onto friends for free) means that people are not part of the black market which is driven by organised crime and violence.

“Secondly it reduces the risk of young people being exposed to harder drugs.

“Thirdly, arresting people who do it is a waste of police time, effort and money.”

Medical experts though, like Dr Owen Bowden-Jones from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, say cannabis is a dangerous drug and can cause severe psychological problems.

“It doesn’t matter if people are growing one or 1,000 [plants],” he says.

“The issue here is the strength of the cannabis.

“It’s the strength of the cannabis that determines the risk and the risks include anxiety, paranoia, hearing voices and of course the health risks of smoking, which include emphysema and lung cancer.”

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/18079562#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Rise in ambulance delays at A&E

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17 May 2012
Last updated at 07:03 ET

South East Coast Ambulance ServiceAmbulance waiting times at some hospitals have doubled in three years

Ambulances are spending 50% more time outside hospitals in Kent, Sussex and Surrey, the BBC has learned.

South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) figures show ambulances had 36,000 hours “handover time” in 2011/12, 50% more than three years ago.

The College of Paramedics said it was a major risk to patient safety.

James Pavey, from SECAmb, said the service was working with hospitals to reduce any delays in admitting patients to hospitals.

“We’ve seen this hospital handover delay problem growing over the last few years,” he said.

‘Extreme times’

“This has a knock-on effect, so if we’re waiting at a hospital to hand over our patient, we’re not out providing the pre-hospital care.”

He said the usual handover time was 15 minutes, but paramedics had “seen delays at extreme times of two to three hours”.

Ambulances arriving at the Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford have seen average waiting times double in the last two years, with almost 5% of patients waiting more than an hour before being admitted.

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Hospitals are often running at virtually full capacity”

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Howard Catton
Royal College of Nursing

The hospital said: “There has been a general increase in AE attendances and a very busy period in February 2012.

“The average number of ambulance attendances at AE rose from 65 per day in February 2011 to 72 per day in February 2012.”

Handover times at the East Surrey Hospital in Redhill have more than doubled over the two years with just under 10% of patients waiting more than an hour.

But at the Conquest hospital in Hastings, waiting times have fallen.

‘Dangerous situation’

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: “Everyone deserves to be seen quickly when they arrive at hospital. It is unacceptable for patients to be left waiting in ambulances outside the hospital in order to avoid waiting time targets.

“That’s why we have changed the system and introduced new measures to ensure patients are seen quickly.

“Hospitals need to ensure they have proper plans in place to deal with high demand and we are doing everything we can to support them in treating patients as swiftly as they can.”

Howard Catton, from the Royal College of Nursing, said: “We are seeing an increase in demand at accident and emergency. Hospitals are often running at virtually full capacity.

“You need to have some free beds so you don’t have a log jam.”

The College of Paramedics, which represents ambulance crews, said: “Some members have stated that they feel the situation is dangerous on occasions and is unsustainable due to the extra operational burden it places on ambulance services.

“The college feels that situations like this present unacceptable levels of risk and is not only worried about patient safety but is also concerned about the welfare and stress this situation places on paramedics and other pre-hospital clinicians.”

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18100172#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Computer game for stroke patients

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17 May 2012
Last updated at 09:10 ET

Danny MannDanny Mann says he is looking forward to playing the game with his grandchildren

Scientists at Newcastle University have developed a computer game designed to help stroke victims recuperate.

The Circus Challenge game, created with a computer game studio, aims to help patients recover motor functions.

Players use wireless controllers to perform virtual circus acts such as lion taming and plate spinning.

It is hoped the PC-based game will serve as a cheaper and more effective alternative to existing treatments, with patients able to play at home.

The project received a £1.5m grant from the Health Innovation Challenge Fund, a partnership between the Wellcome Trust and the Department of Health, to allow further development.

‘Trapeze artist’

One patient, who suffered a stroke in February, said the game was “something different which encourages me to keep going with my therapy”.

Danny Mann, 68, from Dudley, Northumberland, said the game compared favourably with the “dull” exercises he had previously been instructed to complete.

“This is the first time I’ve ever played a video game – I mean, I don’t even own a computer.

“When I got the controllers I tried being a trapeze artist – something I never expected to try at my time of life,” he said.

Mr Mann said he was looking forward to furthering his recovery by playing the game with his grandchildren.

‘Engrossed in competition’

Janet Eyre, Professor of Paediatric Neuroscience at Newcastle University, said the game would help meet the shortfall of trained therapists who stroke victims must normally work with on a frequent basis as part of their rehabilitation.

“With our video game, people get engrossed in the competition and action of the circus characters and forget that the purpose of the game is for therapy.”

Professor Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer and chief medical adviser at the the Department of Health, said the newly-developed technology was a “remarkable innovation in the NHS”.

“The government is committed to supporting such work and bringing breakthroughs from every area – even video gaming – to the front line of patient care,” she said.

Circus Challenge becomes more difficult as players gain more strength as their recovery progresses. The tasks require both gross and fine motor skills and can be performed by people in wheelchairs.

About 80% of stroke patients do not fully regain their arm and hand functions, however it is hoped there will be some improvement on this figure as patients are able to continue their rehabilitation at home.

In the UK, 150,000 people suffer a stroke every year, costing the economy an estimated £4bn in care and loss of income.

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-18102299#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Well: Coffee Drinkers May Live Longer

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Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Your morning cup of coffee may start to taste even better after a major government study found that frequent coffee drinkers have a lower risk of dying from a variety of diseases, compared with people who drink little or no coffee.

The report, published online in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, analyzed the coffee-drinking habits of more than 400,000 men and women ages 50 to 71, making it the largest-ever study of the relationship between coffee consumption and health.

Previous studies have offered conflicting results on the relative benefits or harms associated with regular coffee consumption. While coffee contains caffeine, a stimulant that may temporarily increase heart rate and blood pressure in some people, coffee also contains hundreds of unique compounds and antioxidants that may confer health benefits. Further confusing much of the research into coffee is the fact that many coffee drinkers are also smokers, and it has been difficult to untangle the relative health effects of coffee and cigarettes.

To learn more, researchers from the National Institutes of Health analyzed diet and health information collected from questionnaires filled out by 229,119 men and 173,141 women who were members of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) between 1995 and 1996. The respondents were followed until 2008, by which point 52,000 had died.

As expected, the researchers found that the regular coffee drinkers in the group were also more likely to be smokers. They ate more red meat and fewer fruits and vegetables, exercised less and drank more alcohol – all behaviors associated with poor health.

But once the researchers controlled for those risks, the data showed that the more coffee a person consumed, the less likely he or she was to die from a number of health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, infections and even injuries and accidents.

Over all, the risk of dying during the 14-year study period was about 10 percent lower for men and about 15 percent lower for women who drank anywhere from two cups to six or more cups of coffee a day. The association between coffee and lower risk of dying was similar whether the coffee drinker consumed caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee.

Neal D. Freedman, the study’s lead author and an investigator for the National Cancer Institute, cautioned that the findings, based on observational data, show only an association between coffee consumption and lower risk for disease, so it isn’t known whether drinking more coffee will lead to better health. As a result, Dr. Freedman said that people should be conservative in interpreting the data, but that regular coffee drinkers can be reassured.

Is coffee good for you? Join in the discussion below.

“It’s a modest effect,” he said. “But the biggest concern for a long time has been that drinking coffee is a risky thing to do. Our results, and some of those of more recent studies, provide reassurance for coffee drinkers that this isn’t the case. The people who are regularly drinking coffee have a similar risk of death as nondrinkers, and there might be a modest benefit.’’

The researchers also looked at death rates from cancer during the study period and found no link between coffee consumption and cancer risk among women. There was a slightly higher risk of cancer death among men who drank several cups of coffee a day, but Dr. Freedman said the effect was small and may be due to chance. Additional research will analyze associations between coffee drinking and various types of cancer.

Dr. Freedman said the next step is to learn more about the various compounds in coffee and how they may be related to improved health.

“It’s estimated there are 1,000 or more compounds in coffee,’’ said Dr. Freedman. “All of these could affect health in different ways. It might be due to one of the many compounds in coffee, or a number of them working together.”

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=0c4d6fe7e1f6385485060ba14db28faa