[RESEARCH] New onset and persistent symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder self reported after deployment and combat exposures: prospective population based US military cohort study
Objective To describe new onset and persistence of self reported post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in a large population based military cohort, many of whom were deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Design Prospective cohort analysis.
Setting and participants Survey enrolment data from the millennium cohort (July 2001 to June 2003) obtained before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Follow-up (June 2004 to February 2006) data on health outcomes collected from 50 184 participants.
Main outcome measures Self reported post-traumatic stress disorder as measured by the posttraumatic stress disorder checklist—civilian version using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition criteria.
Results More than 40% of the cohort were deployed between 2001 and 2006; between baseline and follow-up, 24% deployed for the first time in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. New incidence rates of 10-13 cases of post-traumatic stress disorder per 1000 person years occurred in the millennium cohort. New onset self reported post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms or diagnosis were identified in 7.6-8.7% of deployers who reported combat exposures, 1.4-2.1% of deployers who did not report combat exposures, and 2.3-3.0% of non-deployers. Among those with self reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder at baseline, deployment did not affect persistence of symptoms.
Conclusions After adjustment for baseline characteristics, these prospective data indicate a threefold increase in new onset self reported post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms or diagnosis among deployed military personnel who reported combat exposures. The findings define the importance of post-traumatic stress disorder in this population and emphasise that specific combat exposures, rather than deployment itself, significantly affect the onset of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after deployment.
Post-op diabetes risk factors
Filed under: Research
In the January 2007 issue of the the journal Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD), French scientists published an article suggesting a link between certain risk factors and new-onset diabetes mellitus (NODM) following liver transplantation.
Specifically, a history of impaired fasting glucose, obesity and hepatitis C infection -- when paired with the use of an of immunosppressant -- was shown to be associated with an increased risk of NODM.
The study, conducted by a team of researchers at the Hospital Paul Brousse in Villejuif, France, included 211 patients from 10 transplant centers who had undergone a liver transplant between October of 2003 and June of 2004. The patients' records were reviewed and their fasting blood sugar levels were recorded 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after the surgery. Those patients with NODM had their date of diagnosis noted, in addition to the immunosuppressive treatment and diabetes management they received.
The results demonstrated an incident of NODM of 22.7 percent, with most cases being diagnosed within three months after transplant surgery. Moreover, 12.4 percent of the patients with normal glucose levels before the surgery developed impaired fasting glucose.
No Benefit Found for Post-Stroke Tight Glucose Control
Filed under: Type 1, Type 2, Childhood, Adult Onset, Research
British researchers have found that tight glucose control during hospitalization for a stroke may not improve survivalThe study involved 933 patients enrolled within 24 hours of a stroke who had glucose in the range of 6.0 to 17 mmol/l. Participants received saline solution or continuous glucose, potassium, insulin infusions to reduce their blood glucose. Patients were monitored every two hours with glucose adjusted if needed every eight hours. The researchers found that both treatment and placebo groups had improvement in glucose levels. The treatment group had an overall mean 0.57 mmol/l reduction in glucose over 24 hours while glucose levels also fell spontaneously with simple saline hydration. There was also no difference in the secondary outcome of disability. There was a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure in the treatment group. A researcher noted, "In the majority of patients, treatment with a simple saline infusion will correct mild to moderate hyperglycemia."
The saline and glucose relationship is similar to the way the noninvasive glucose monitors measure blood sugar (aka Glucowatch)., This relationship between sodium and glucose in the blood moves inverse. When your sugar levels are elevated, your sodium is down. When you force sodium into your blood, your sugar is suppressed. Doctors must proceed with caution in light of this study. When it comes to aggressively lowering glucose, especially after a trauma, it could be more harmful than helpful.
Lifestyle strategies for your healthiest heart
Filed under: Women Heart Health, Men Heart Health, Aging Heart Health
We often post tips and facts about having a healthy heart, but over at That's Fit, I think this post sums up what you need to do to have a healthy heart. Here's what they recommend:- Get a good night's sleep
- Get active -- this especially includes resistance training
- Drink wine in moderation
- Eat fish, or some other source of Omega 3's
- Floss regularly
- Quit smoking
- Take a daily walk
- An aspirin a day can take the heart problems away -- but talk to your doctor first.
The immediate benefits of quitting smoking
Filed under: Prevention, Smoking, Women Heart Health, Men Heart Health
When considering exercise, we know that we won't see significant changes in our fitness level for several weeks. Even so, we know that the minute we step onto that treadmill or take that first step out our door, we're improving our fitness levels. After all, you can't reach your goal if you never start. But what about bad habits? How quickly can we reverse the damage done by years of unhealthy living?Jonathon over at That's Fit recently wrote a post about what happens to your body when you quit smoking. Within minutes, your health starts to improve as your blood pressure drops. In as little as 8 hours, the carbon monoxide levels in your blood will drop by half and oxygen levels will normalize. Within two days, you'll have cut your risk of a heart attack. It really is amazing how quickly your body responds to the absence of cigarettes.
I've never been a smoker, but I wish that someone would write a post about what happens when you quit eating processed sugar, or what happens when you start working out. For me, knowing that changes are taking place, even if they aren't reflected in ways I can see, are hugely motivating. What do you think?
Men: Smoking can harm your unborn children
Filed under: Smoking, Men Heart Health
In a recent post on our sister blog, That's Fit, Jonathon Morgan wrote a post on the fact that male smokers can damage the genetic makeup of their offspring. I am always happy to see research done in equal measures on both males and females. So often, only men (as in a large number of heart attack studies) or only women (as in the effects on unborn children) are used in studies.It takes two to tango, so to speak, and it just makes sense that what men do translates to their babies. Doing studies on the effects that fathers have on their offspring is welcome. There have been studies that show that men who drink a lot can affect their unborn children. What we do very rarely affects only ourselves in real life. Knowing that smoking can affect their offspring might get some men, who are not taking the warnings of harming their own health seriously, to quit smoking. I believe that there are many men out there who truly believe that they are invincible, and do not heed warnings about the effects of smoking. I also believe that a large number of those men will think twice about lighting up when it can harm their children.
We are, of course, assuming that men who smoke can "make" babies in the first place. Men should also remember that smoking can lead to impotence. Men who started smoking in their teens can be impotent in their 30s or 40s. So, guys, if you want to make healthy babies, butt out!
Smoking harms the aorta
Filed under: Prevention, Smoking, Women Heart Health, Men Heart Health, Aging Heart Health
One of the perks of writing for That's Fit and The Cardio Blog is that every single day I am reminded of the health consequences of my bad habits. Just hearing -- again, and again, and again -- exactly how carrying extra weight or eating those horribly addictive Oreos that used to sit in my snack cupboard, or skipping my daily walk to watch reruns of The Sopranos effects my health has truly helped me finally quit several bad habits and create healthier new ones. I'm telling you this because I am going to write yet another post about smoking and how bad it is for you. If you're a smoker, you know smoking is bad for you and hearing that it's bad for you may annoy you or make you skip this post altogether. But I'm telling you from experience that sheer repetition of this fact will eventually break through your denial and get you to finally quit that pack-a-day habit. So even if you think you've heard it all before, please keep reading.
So here it is: smoking hurts your aorta. It causes inflammation, which can lead to hardening of the arteries, which can lead to aneurysms, which can lead to heart attack and death. You need your aorta -- it's the main artery that carries blood to your body, and when you smoke you damage it. Unfortunately, there are also other diseases that can cause this kind of damage, but smoking is something you can control. Talk to your doctor today to get help "butting out" for good.
Taking care of women's hearts
Filed under: Heart Centers Online, Research, Women Heart Health
As you may know, The Cardio Blog is being retired today. It's been an honor to write for this blog, and I hope that the information we brought to you was useful and informative. Since this will be my last post for The Cardio Blog, I thought I'd write about a topic that is near and dear to my heart (pun, lamely, intended): women's heart health. We've seen it in the headlines again and again -- women, and often their doctors, don't always prioritize their health, and this seems to be especially an issue when it comes to heart health. But the fact is that heart disease is public enemy number one for women, and we all need to better understand and deal with our risk factors.
So I'll leave you with this post from Her Daily News. In it, they talk about Heart Truth, the National Institute of Health's campaign to bring heart education to women. They also include a checklist of questions to take to your doctor, as well as a list to help you understand your own risk. Do yourself -- and your heart -- a favor today and read through the questions to determine if you need to do more to protect your health.
Thanks for reading The Cardio Blog, and don't forget to come visit us at That's Fit for all of the latest news in health and fitness!
Form and Function: Cell organelles
I am a Licensed Practical Nurse with five years' experience in this profession. I believe it is essential to go back to the basics in all things in order to really understand them. I am fascinated by how our bodies work and I hope I can get my readers to share my fascination. I hope we all learn new things and marvel again at the things we already know. This feature -- which includes a closing section on how disease affects the topic in question -- will run on The Cancer Blog on Wednesdays, and The Cardio Blog and The Diabetes Blog on Thursdays. [The contents in this post are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or substitute for professional medical care.]We start with the cell, because so much of what happens to us when we get sick, and how we get healthy again, can be explained by what happens on a cellular level. The cell is extremely complex and I will only touch on the basics in these posts, but at least we can have a rudimentary understanding.
Structure of cells
A cell has three basic parts:
1) Plasma membrane: A membrane lies at the border of cells and consists of lipids and proteins. See my post of 23 May on the cell membrane
2) Cytoplasm: All the cellular contents between the plasma membrane and the nucleus and can be further divided into the Cytosol and Organelles. We will discuss the organelles in today's post.
3) Nucleus: Technically an organelle, but usually considered separately because of its numerous and diverse functions.
Organelles
Organelles are specialized structures that evolved to perform specific functions. We could probably discuss each organelle in a separate post, because each one has it's own characteristic shape and function. i decided to keep this very basic and just list the different organelles, what they look like and what their basic function is. We will also just look at the "famous" organelles. There are other organelles, but the ones we discuss will give us a good understanding of what goes on inside the cell.
Endoplasmic reticulim (ER): A network of membranous tubules that extend from the nuclear membrane to the cell membrane. The ER can further be subdivided into a rough and smooth. The rough ER is continuous with the nuclear membrane and has an outer surface studded with ribosomes. The ER function is to be a passageway for the transport of materials within the cell. It also synthesizes lipids and proteins.
Ribosomes: These are either floating bodies for the internal needs of the cell or attached to the ER for transport out of the cell. Ribosomes are the sites for protein synthesis.
Golgi apparatus: Besides having a cool name (named after the scientist that discovered it), it refines and moderates proteins produced in the ER prior to transport and packages materials for secretion from the cell. It is a series of membranous sacs, described as looking like a stack of pita bread.
Mitochondria: These organelles are roughly bean-shaped with inner membranes. They are (literally) the powerhouses of the cell. They break down sugar molecules into energy. Tissues that need a lot of energy, like muscles, have more of these organelles in their cells .
Lysosomes: They are single membrane structures and have a membrane. The lysosome breaks down larger molecules into smaller molecules and it also digests old cell parts. It is the waste manager of the cell. It has powerful digestive enzymes to break down the waste.
Chromatin: Fibers composed of protein and DNA molecules. It contains the genetic information for protein synthesis. It is the heredity material in cells
Sentriole: A pair of rod shaped structures perpendicular to each other. It plays an important part in cell division. It organizes the spindle fibers during cell division.
These are some of the most common organelles. It is easy to understand that what goes on in the cell can have a huge impact on tissues and systems and therefore on the disease process.
How does it affect you?
There are studies about the various organelles and their impact on diabetes. One study links type 2 diabetes and dementia through the mitochondria, for example. It is clear that research into the form and function of organelles will yield a lot of answers in the years to come.
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Form and Function: Cell organelles
Filed under: Research, Women Heart Health, Men Heart Health
I am a Licensed Practical Nurse with five years' experience in this profession. I believe it is essential to go back to the basics in all things in order to really understand them. I am fascinated by how our bodies work and I hope I can get my readers to share my fascination. I hope we all learn new things and marvel again at the things we already know. This feature -- which includes a closing section on how disease affects the topic in question -- will run on The Cancer Blog on Wednesdays, and The Cardio Blog and The Diabetes Blog on Thursdays. [The contents in this post are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or substitute for professional medical care.]We start with the cell, because so much of what happens to us when we get sick, and how we get healthy again, can be explained by what happens on a cellular level. The cell is extremely complex and I will only touch on the basics in these posts, but at least we can have a rudimentary understanding.
Structure of cells
A cell has three basic parts:
1) Plasma membrane: A membrane lies at the border of cells and consists of lipids and proteins. See my post of 23 May on the cell membrane
2) Cytoplasm: All the cellular contents between the plasma membrane and the nucleus and can be further divided into the Cytosol and Organelles. We will discuss the organelles in today's post.
3) Nucleus: Technically an organelle, but usually considered separately because of its numerous and diverse functions.
Organelles
Organelles are specialized structures that evolved to perform specific functions. We could probably discuss each organelle in a separate post, because each one has it's own characteristic shape and function. i decided to keep this very basic and just list the different organelles, what they look like and what their basic function is. We will also just look at the "famous" organelles. There are other organelles, but the ones we discuss will give us a good understanding of what goes on inside the cell.
Endoplasmic reticulim (ER): A network of membranous tubules that extend from the nuclear membrane to the cell membrane. The ER can further be subdivided into a rough and smooth. The rough ER is continuous with the nuclear membrane and has an outer surface studded with ribosomes. The ER function is to be a passageway for the transport of materials within the cell. It also synthesizes lipids and proteins.
Ribosomes: These are either floating bodies for the internal needs of the cell or attached to the ER for transport out of the cell. Ribosomes are the sites for protein synthesis.
Golgi apparatus: Besides having a cool name (named after the scientist that discovered it), it refines and moderates proteins produced in the ER prior to transport and packages materials for secretion from the cell. It is a series of membranous sacs, described as looking like a stack of pita bread.
Mitochondria: These organelles are roughly bean-shaped with inner membranes. They are (literally) the powerhouses of the cell. They break down sugar molecules into energy. Tissues that need a lot of energy, like muscles, have more of these organelles in their cells .
Lysosomes: They are single membrane structures and have a membrane. The lysosome breaks down larger molecules into smaller molecules and it also digests old cell parts. It is the waste manager of the cell. It has powerful digestive enzymes to break down the waste.
Chromatin: Fibers composed of protein and DNA molecules. It contains the genetic information for protein synthesis. It is the heredity material in cells
Sentriole: A pair of rod shaped structures perpendicular to each other. It plays an important part in cell division. It organizes the spindle fibers during cell division.
These are some of the most common organelles. It is easy to understand that what goes on in the cell can have a huge impact on tissues and systems and therefore on the disease process.
How does it affect you?
Features of mitochondrial diseases have been shown to mimic the symptoms of heart disease. Researchers are looking at the possible connections and are trying to find out if restoring the mitochondrial "dysfunction" can prevent or cure heart disease.Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments