Lower Cholesterol May Lessen Risk of Some Cancers

THURSDAY, Nov. 5 (Health.com) — Most people know that healthy cholesterol levels can help protect your heart. But new research suggests another potential benefit: a lower risk of developing some types of cancer.

In fact, low total cholesterol is associated with about 60% less risk of the most aggressive form of prostate cancer, and higher levels of good cholesterol (HDL) may protect against lung, liver, and other cancers, according to two studies published this week in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

That’s quite a reversal of fortune for low cholesterol, which has, in the past, been associated with a higher cancer risk. The new studies suggest that low cholesterol may not deserve its bad reputation, earned from a series of studies in the 1980s that said people with low cholesterol might be at risk of cancer.

In fact, cholesterol may drop in people with undiagnosed cancer, meaning that low cholesterol may be a result—not a cause—of cancer.

In the first study, men with HDL cholesterol above roughly 55 mg/dL had an 11% decrease in overall cancer risk, including lung and liver cancer. (HDL levels between 40 and 50 are average for men.) The study, conducted by National Cancer Institute (NCI) researchers who looked at about 29,000 male smokers in Finland over an 18-year period, is the largest to show a relationship between HDL and cancer.

"Very few studies measured [HDL], and any relationship between HDL and overall cancer risk had therefore not been adequately evaluated," the NCI's Demetrius Albanes, MD, the lead author of the study, said at a press briefing.

While the findings are new and intriguing, more research needs to be conducted to confirm a link between HDL and cancer risk reduction.

“[It’s] a very new, exciting question, but we need to do a great deal more research before we have any clear answers," says Eric Jacobs, PhD, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society, who co-wrote an editorial accompanying the studies. For his part, Dr. Albanes stressed that the results need to be confirmed, especially in women and nonsmokers.

View the original article here

Lower Stroke Death Risk in Close-Knit Neighborhoods

Study Suggests Health Benefits for People Who Have Supportive Neighbors

April 14, 2011 -- Seniors who live in supportive neighborhoods in which they have frequent opportunities to interact with friends and neighbors may have a reduced risk of dying from a stroke compared to those who live in less sociable neighborhoods, new research suggests.

“Social isolation is unhealthy on many levels, and there is a lot of literature showing that increased social support improves not just stroke, but many other health outcomes in seniors,” study researcher Cari Jo Clark, ScD, of the University of Minnesota, says in a news release.

“What is unique about our research is that we have taken this to the neighborhood level instead of just looking at the individual.”

The researchers at the University of Minnesota and Rush University in Chicago studied 5,789 seniors living in three adjacent neighborhoods in Chicago. Of those in the study, 62% were African-American and 60% women. The average age was 75.

The research team interviewed the participants about their neighborhoods and interactions with neighbors. After 11 years, 701 people had suffered a stroke for the first time and 186 people had died from a stroke.

The researchers set out to measure what they called neighborhood “cohesiveness” by asking such questions as how often the people saw neighbors and friends talking -- outside in the yard or on the street.

They also asked the study participants whether they took care of each other, such as doing yard work for one another or helped watching children, and whether the people in the neighborhood looked out for neighbors or called if they noticed a problem.

The researchers also asked whether people knew neighbors by name, whether they had friendly talks at least once a week, and whether they could call on their neighbors for help or a favor, such as lending a cup of sugar.

For each single point in the scoring system for neighborhood cohesion, stroke survival increased 53%.

Stroke incidence didn’t differ among neighborhoods, but survival did. It was far better for those living in cohesive neighborhoods, regardless of gender.  However, the difference in stroke survival was only seen in white study participants. This difference was not seen in African-American participants.

“Obviously, a complex set of factors influences health in older adults and we need to be careful drawing conclusions from these data,” Clark says.  “Other research also has shown that the health-protective effects of cohesive neighborhoods may be stronger in whites. We plan to conduct future studies to try to understand these findings.”

The researchers say one reason seniors who suffer strokes may be more likely to survive in closer-knit neighborhoods is that others looking out for them might assist in getting help sooner if stroke symptoms occur.

“I think this indicates that a positive neighborhood social environment is as important to senior health as stress or even crime, but it is really a complex issue,” Clark says. “Nonetheless, it underscores the positive aspects of close neighbors and neighborhoods and should help bolster efforts to improve such cohesiveness.”

“Given the importance of neighborhood environments to older individuals and the fact that the population is rapidly aging, the characteristics of neighborhoods are and will continue to be of relevance to public health policies,” the researchers conclude.

The study is published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

View the original article here