Checkup Medical Column for Dec 15
A weekly round-up of news affecting your health:
HEALTHY EATING
Healthy eating has been linked to better self-esteem and fewer emotional and peer problems in children regardless of body weight, according to a large European study.
Researchers at The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, examined the diets and psychological well-being of 7,500 children aged two to nine from eight European countries.
"We found that in young children aged two to nine years there is an association between adherence to healthy dietary guidelines and better psychological well-being, which includes fewer emotional problems, better relationships with other children and higher self-esteem, two years later.
"Our findings suggest that a healthy diet can improve well-being in children," lead researcher Dr Louise Arvidsson said.
Adherence to the healthy dietary guidelines included limiting intake of refined sugars, reducing fat intake and eating fruit and vegetables.
At the beginning of the study period parents were asked to report how often per week their children consumed food from a list of 43 items.
Psychosocial well-being was assessed based on self-esteem, parent relations, and emotional and peer problems as reported by the parents in response to validated questionnaires.
They found that a higher Healthy Dietary Adherence Score (HDAS) at the beginning of the study period was associated with better self-esteem and fewer emotional and peer problems two years later.
A better self-esteem at the beginning of the study period was also associated with a higher HDAS two years later and associations between HDAS and well-being were similar for children who had normal weight and children who were overweight.
In particular, two to three servings of fish per week was found to be associated with better self-esteem and no emotional and peer problems. Intake of whole grain products were also associated with no peer problems.
The authors note these were only associations, but warrant further investigation.
"The associations we identified here need to be confirmed in experimental studies including children with clinical diagnosis of depression, anxiety or other behavioural disorders, rather than well-being as reported by parents," Dr Arvidsson said.
DEPRESSION
New research suggests a person's genes and upbringing contribute in fairly equal parts to people developing major depression.
A Swedish study published in journal JAMA Psychiatry looked at over 50 years of data from over two million children from five different family types and compared these to grown-up children who had major depression (MD).
The family types included: intact, adoptive, not-lived-with father, stepfather, and triparental.
They found that children were roughly equally likely to develop depression later in life, regardless of being raised by a biological parent or a step-parent with the disorder.
"The parent-offspring resemblance for treated MD arises from genetic factors and rearing experiences to an approximately equal extent. Both forms of cross-generational transmission act additively on the risk for MD in the offspring," the authors concluded.
CANCER
Analysis of all cancer deaths in Australia has found nearly 40 per cent were potentially preventable.
The findings mean about 16,700 cancer deaths each year could potentially be avoided, mostly through lifestyle changes, researchers say.
"By far the biggest preventable cause of cancer deaths in Australia is tobacco smoke. Cancer caused by smoking and passive smoking killed 9,921 people in 2013 and accounted for 23 per cent of all cancer deaths," the study's lead Professor David Whiteman at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute said.
The other major factors were poor diet, being overweight or obese, and infections, each of which caused about five per cent of all cancer deaths in 2013.
"Poor diet was responsible for 2,329 deaths from cancer, being overweight or obese for 1,990 deaths, and infections for 1,981 deaths," Professor Whiteman said.
"In line with these findings, the cancers responsible for the largest numbers of potentially preventable deaths were lung, bowel, cutaneous (skin) melanoma, liver, and stomach cancers."
NECK PAIN
Doing regular muscle strengthening exercises while at work can prevent and reduce neck pain, a University of Queensland study has found.
Most office workers will experience neck or shoulder pain, often as a result of prolonged stationary postures associated with computer use and sitting at a desk for long periods of time.
Globally, neck pain was ranked as the fourth most common disability, measured by years of life lost due to disability.
Researchers at UoQ reviewed 27 randomised controlled trials with office worker participants who took part in exercise and ergonomic interventions at the workplace.
"We found that when participants who experienced neck pain regularly took part in our exercises at their workplace, their pain was reduced, said PhD graduate and physiotherapist Dr Xiaoqi Chen from UQ's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.
"Those who took part in about two thirds of our strengthening exercise sessions showed greater reductions in neck pain, compared to those who were involved less," Dr Chen said.
He says the research, published in journal Physical Therapy, provides evidence for interventions at the workplace.
"Neck pain causes impact on the individual, and also on organisations and the healthcare system due to costs of required for treatment, reduced productivity, and workers' compensation claims," Dr Chen said.
