Does the air we breathe influence our schizophrenia risk?

Schizophrenia affects millions of people around the world and is a chief contributor to disability. Researchers are still working to uncover all the risk factors that could facilitate the development of this condition. A new study suggests that air pollution may be one of them.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 20 million people all around the globe live with schizophrenia.

Hallucinations, persistent false beliefs, disordered thinking, and emotional disconnect chiefly characterize this mental health condition, and it is one of the main contributors to disability.

People who live with schizophrenia also have a higher risk of premature death compared with the general population.

Still, researchers are unsure of what causes this condition and why. So far, they argue that the top risk factor might be a person's genetic makeup, which interacts with environmental factors, such as social isolation and substance abuse.

The search for risk factors, however, continues, and a new study from Aarhus University in Denmark may have identified another one: exposure to air pollution during childhood.

Increasingly, researchers are showing that poor air quality may contribute not just to the development of pulmonary conditions — such as lung cancer or asthma — but also to the deterioration of brain health.

Recently, Medical News Today reported on a study linking exposure to poor air quality with cognitive functioning problems, including memory loss.

The current study — whose findings appear in JAMA Network Open — adds to the evidence that suggests researchers ought to take seriously ambient air pollution as a risk factor for brain and mental health.

Pollution increases schizophrenia risk
In the present study, the researchers analyzed data regarding 23,355 people — all born in Denmark between May 1, 1981, and December 31, 2002 — whose evolution they followed up from the participants' 10th birthday "until the first occurrence of schizophrenia, emigration, death, or December 31, 2012, whichever came first," as they state in the study paper.

The research team had access to information on the participants' genetic data — via The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, or iPSYCH — as well as the evolution of their mental health, and data on air pollution during their childhoods.

Of the total number of study participants, 3,531 developed schizophrenia.

The investigators' analysis indicated that individuals who had experienced exposure to high levels of air pollution growing up also had an increased risk of developing schizophrenia in adulthood.

"The study shows that the higher the level of air pollution, the higher the risk of schizophrenia," says senior researcher Henriette Thisted Horsdal, Ph.D.

"For each 10 micrograms per cubic meter [referring to the concentration of the pollutant nitrogen dioxide in ambient air] increase in the daily average, the risk of schizophrenia increases by approximately 20%," she adds.
 
"Children who are exposed to an average daily level above 25 micrograms per cubic meter have an approximately 60% greater risk of developing schizophrenia compared to those who are exposed to less than 10 micrograms per cubic meter."- Henriette Thisted Horsdal, Ph.D.

What this means, the researchers explain, is that if the average person's lifetime risk of schizophrenia is about 2%, people who have grown up in areas with the lowest levels of air pollution will have a risk of under 2%.

By contrast, those who have grown up in areas with the highest levels of air pollution have a lifetime risk of schizophrenia of approximately 3%.

While it is unclear why childhood exposure to air pollution appears to affect the schizophrenia risk, the investigators note that, according to their study, this environmental risk factor is independent of other risk factors for this condition, such as genetic risk.

"The risk of developing schizophrenia is also higher if you have a higher genetic liability for the disease," says Thisted Horsdal. But, she adds, "[o]ur data show that these associations are independent of each other."

"The association between air pollution and schizophrenia cannot be explained by a higher genetic liability in people who grow up in areas with high levels of air pollution," she continues.

Nevertheless, many questions about the potential relationship between schizophrenia and air quality remain unanswered, so the investigators emphasize the need for further research on this topic.

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Not to forget

Diagnosed back in 1906 for the first time, Alzheimer's disease is one of the diseases affecting the elderly, marked by a tremendous psychological impact on not only the patient but on their families and the primary care givers to great extents. September being world Alzheimer's month dedicated to bringing awareness about Alzheimer's and other dementia conditions which more than 50 million people worldwide suffer from today, September 21 is globally observed as World Alzheimer's Day. 

Alzheimer's Disease International informs that a new dementia case is registered every 3.2 seconds totaling up to 9.9 million cases worldwide per year. What is commonly perceived as the disease of chronic forgetfulness, dementia is a range of symptoms that are associated with deteriorating memory or other thinking skills, the most severe of which can affect regular mundane functioning of the affected person. Dementia, however, is not a specific disease but an umbrella under which Alzheimer's disease accounts for over two-thirds of all diagnosed cases. There happens to be over a hundred different forms of dementia besides Alzheimer's. The average age limit for the diagnosis of dementia is just 65, and this is young given latest medical care facilities and resultant life expectancy. 

On the flipside, this increased life expectancy also means more people being prone to be diagnosed with dementia because of the rising overall numbers of elderly people in the world. India has an imposing demographic dividend and this also implies a massive strength of elderly in India in the foreseeable future. As per census estimates, India's elderly population increased from 70 million to 104 million between 2001 and 2011. In 2011, the population over 60 years of age comprised 8.6 per cent of the total population. As the population ages, the burden of geriatric diseases will get heavier and preparedness for that is necessary, especially for degenerative diseases like dementia. A lack of awareness compounded by a dearth of specialists in geriatric diseases paints an unfortunate picture of the ailing elderly. Also considering a right to life with dignity, awareness of the disease is crucial to preparedness to deal with it.

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Experts Explain How Vit D Deficiency Can Cause Heart Failure

A daily dose of sunshine, which stimulates production of Vitamin D in the body, is vital not just for the well-being of your bones but may also be good for your heart.

The problem of vitamin D deficiency affecting bone health is well known for decades. For some years, scientists have also seen vitamin D deficiency as a factor that determines health of your heart. Now Indian researchers have deciphered how exactly vitamin D deficiency can cause heart failure.

The new study has shown that vitamin D deficiency alone can lead to heart failure, possibly through insulin resistance. It has found that cardiac insulin leads to functional deterioration of heart in animals with low vitamin D levels.

The utilization of glucose and fatty acids – key fuels for energy generation in heart – is adversely affected due to insulin resistance in heart cells. Insulin plays a critical role in regulation of cellular metabolism in many tissues in the body.

To study if vitamin D deficiency could cause cardiac damage similar to other risk factors like consumption of high fats and high calorie food, researchers designed an experiment with rats. They manipulated diets of animals and divided them into three groups – one with adequate vitamin D, second set had vitamin D deficiency, while the third group was fed with high fat and high fructose diet.

At the end of 20 weeks, it was found that the hearts of vitamin D deficient animals were failing. They showed molecular and functional changes similar to the hearts of rats in high fat high fructose diet group. “The cardiac dysfunction caused by vitamin D deficiency alone was very similar to that by the other risk factor – high calorie diet – sometimes even to a greater extent in some parameters. For example, cardiac inflammation was higher in vitamin D deficiency diet than high calorie diet,” researchers have observed in the study.

Researchers found greater expression of genes involved in enlargement of cardiac muscles. These findings were confirmed when scientists measured heart wall thicknesses, chamber internal diameters and contracting capacity of heart. Left ventricular posterior wall thickness was found to be increased in rats with vitamin D deficiency. This happens when cardiac workload increases and turns pathological if no remedial measures are taken, finally progressing to heart failure. In such condition, the pumping action of the heart can no longer meet the metabolic demands of the body.

“We have shown the link between vitamin D deficiency and cardiac dysfunction and how it may lead to heart failure. Vitamin D and its signalling modulate myocardial insulin sensitivity, the insufficiency of which induces impaired glucose utilization, remodeling response, and heart failure,” explained a senior scientist.

The group, in its study in 2016 involving a South Indian population, had shown that low vitamin D levels were associated with diabetes as well as diabetes plus coronary artery disease. However, it had not provided any cause-effect relationship. “Our study now tackles exactly that issue with animal experiments and provides conclusive evidence,” Dr. added.

The new findings have both public health and therapeutic implications. The insights gained on how vitamin D signalling affects myocardial insulin sensitivity may help scientists design new drugs for management of heart failure by targeting activation of vitamin D receptor.

With vitamin D deficiency emerging as a risk factor for heart disease, public health policies will have to take note of it since metabolic disorders are already a major health challenge in India. “We have evidence to show that widespread vitamin D deficiency in Indians definitely contributes to insulin resistance and diabetes. Our previous research and ongoing work in Indian population have indicated that supplementation with vitamin D may help in ameliorating insulin resistance and decreasing blood glucose levels,” commented a Dr.

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Increased stress during examination associated with intake of junk food

While it becomes almost impossible to suppress those junk food cravings during university examinations, submitting to these cravings might not be the best thing to do. According to the recent study, increased stress during university examinations is associated with eating a poorer quality diet including less fruit and vegetables and more fast food.

"Stress has long been implicated in a poor diet. People tend to report overeating and comfort eating foods high in fat, sugar, and calories in times of stress. Our findings looking at the eating habits of students during exam periods confirm this stress-induced dietary deterioration hypothesis," said  lead researcher of the study.

According to the researchers, a healthy diet is needed for optimal academic and mental performance. "Unfortunately, our findings suggest that students have difficulties eating healthily and find themselves adopting bad eating habits, which over a few weeks can considerably affect your overall health and be difficult to change," the researcher asserted.

As part of the study, the researchers investigated the relationship between exam stress and change in dietary quality, and whether these associations were modified by psychosocial factors such as eating behaviour (emotional/external/restrained), food choice motive, taste preference, reward/punishment sensitivity, impulsivity, coping strategies, sedentary behaviour, and social support.

During the month-long exam period, participants found it harder to stick to a healthy diet, and only a quarter fulfilled the WHO recommended 400g of fruit and vegetables a day. What is more, students reporting higher levels of stress tended to snack more often.

The findings suggest that emotional eaters (who eat in response to negative emotions), external eaters (who eat in response to the sight or smell of food), sweet/fat lovers, people who are highly motivated by health (with health as a food choice motive), sensitive to reward and punishment, highly sedentary, and with higher stress levels are at greatest risk of making unhealthy food choices during this stressful time.

According to the researchers, to fight against stress-induced eating, prevention strategies should integrate psychological and lifestyle aspects including stress management (eg. emotion regulation training, mindfulness, yoga), nutritional education with techniques for self-effectiveness, awareness of eating-without-hunger, and creating an environment that stimulates a healthy diet and physical activity.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/    

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Prevent Alzheimer’s with a Healthy Lifestyle

While the medical world has urgently been seeking to cure Alzheimer’s disease with pharmaceuticals, studies in this field have discovered that prevention is also worth exploring. Researchers have found that everyday behaviors, which unlike genetics are within our control, can boost brain reserves and therefore help delay or even prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s or dementia.

1. Exercise regularly

Research reveals that your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease can be reduced by 50% with regular exercise. Exercise also helps slow down deterioration when you have already begun developing cognitive problems.
Start small: Exercise can be overwhelming for those who don’t do it regularly. You can start by taking the stairs or walking when you are talking on your cell phone.
10 minutes, 5 times a week: This seems like a lot, but it can include activities that get your heart pumping, such as cleaning, gardening or doing laundry. You can also walk, try an aerobics class, or swim.
Protect your head: Trauma to the head increases your chances of developing cognitive issues. Sports such as football and boxing are more extreme examples, but even a fall from a bicycle can have an effect. Wear the correct headgear and fasten your seat belt in cars.
Balance and coordination: Similarly, you can help prevent future head injuries caused by falling, by including exercises that help you focus on balance and coordination. Yoga, Tai Chi, or any exercise using balance balls or discs can help keep you agile. 

2. Be well-rested

Restful sleep on a regular basis helps your brain work best. Deep sleep is necessary for memory formation and retention. Sleep deprivation slows your thinking and has been shown to increase the chances of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms.
Regular sleep schedule: Our brain’s clock responds well to regularity. Make sure to go to sleep and wake up at a similar time each day to correspond with your natural circadian rhythms.
Smart napping: Napping can interfere with your regular sleep and make your insomnia worse. If you do nap, make sure it’s for no more than 30 minutes and do so in the early afternoon.  
Bedroom sanctity: Ban computers and televisions from the bedroom as these stimulants distract you from sleep.
Relaxing bedtime routine: Having pre-bedtime activities such as having a bath, light stretching, dimming the lights, praying, or writing in a journal can help signal your brain that it’s time for restorative sleep. 

3. Keep mentally stimulated

People who are mentally active have been found to be more protected against developing Alzheimer’s and dementia. Any activities requiring communicating, interacting or organizing have proven tremendously helpful.
Learn a new skill: Learning a new skill helps make larger deposits in the brain reserves. Try studying a new language, learn to play an instrument, read, or take up a new hobby.
Memory exercises: Memorization builds your memory connections. Start with memorizing something small like capital cities or a rhyme, then progress to poems and mnemonics.
Brain games: Try riddles, crossword puzzles or strategy games. Play board or card games, word games like Scrabble or Boggle, or number puzzles like Sudoku. All of these help build your capacity to retain cognitive associations.
The 5 Ws: Keep your neurons firing by asking yourself ”Who, what, where, when and why?”. Follow this up by writing down your daily experiences.
Go off routine: Varying habits helps create new brain pathways. Take a new route, use your non-dominant hand, or rearrange a storage system in your home. 

4. Eat healthily

A nutritious diet optimizes your brain’s performance. Changes to your diet can help keep you protected against brain deterioration.
Skip trans-fats and saturated fats: Choose lean meats, less processed foods, skim or fat-free dairy products, and reduce your intake of fried foods.
Adopt a Mediterranean diet: This diet, consisting of fish, nuts, whole grains, olive oil, fresh fruit and vegetables, with the occasional glass of wine or piece of dark chocolate, is good for your heart. A healthy heart helps lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Eat fish and avocado: Both are filled with omega-3, a good fatty acid, which researchers have discovered may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. 
Opt for 4-6 small meals: Eating more regularly helps maintain a consistent blood sugar level. 
Think rainbow: Eat an abundance of colorful fruits and vegetables to achieve a diet high in antioxidants and vitamins. Reduce the white shades of your diet too: Carbohydrates high in sugar or refined flour lead to higher glucose levels which can inflame your brain.
Drink tea: Green tea has been shown to be excellent for a focused memory and mental alertness which can slow the aging of the brain.

5. Maintain an active social life

Research has found those with a socially active life are better protected against Alzheimer’s. Often as you get older, your support system shrinks and you’re unlikely to seek new relationships: 

1. Call or email your friends. If you’re more tech-savvy, connect via social networks like Facebook.
2. Make weekly dates to see your friends, and partake in a shared hobby, go for a walk together or chat over a cup of tea.
3. Take group classes at a local college or gym.
4. Get your partner or family members to try something new with you.
5. Join social clubs or go to the local community or senior center.
6. Get out of the house: volunteer, go to the park, visit museums or other public places.                                                         
   THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                
    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                                             FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                               
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