STUDY: Men who unwind after work with a mug of beer or a glass of wine may be less likely to develop type 2 diabetes

JOURNAL: Diabetes 2001;50:2390-2395

AUTHORS: Dr. Katherine M. Conigrave

ABSTRACT: Men who unwind after work with a mug of beer or a glass of wine may be less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than their teetotaling peers, results of a new study suggest.

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COMMENTARY: Researchers found that men who consumed 15 to 29 grams (g) of alcohol daily had a 36% lower risk of diabetes over 12 years, compared with men who did not drink and with men who were lighter drinkers. Findings were similar when it came to beer, white wine or liquor.

Heavy drinkers, or those who consumed more than 50 g of alcohol daily, were 39% less likely to develop diabetes, although there were few men in the study who consumed this much alcohol, the researchers note. For this reason, the findings may not apply to all heavy drinkers, according to investigators led by Dr. Katherine M. Conigrave from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.

Fifty grams of alcohol is roughly equivalent to three or four 12-ounce cans of beer, three or four 5-ounce glasses of wine, or three or four shots of hard liquor.

The report in the October issue of Diabetes also indicates that drinking on at least 5 days of the week provided the best insurance against developing diabetes, even when the amount of alcohol consumed was minimal. Men who drank no more than twice during the week did not have a lower risk of diabetes, the investigators found.

Their findings are based on information from nearly 47,000 middle-aged and elderly male health professionals who answered questions about their drinking habits. Body mass index (a measure of weight in relation to height) and age did not alter the results.

"Decisions about alcohol consumption should consider the full range of benefits and risks to an individual. The data suggest that a reduction in type 2 diabetes may be among the benefits of regular moderate consumption.

The results support those of earlier studies showing an association between moderate alcohol consumption and a lower risk for some chronic disorders, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes, the authors note.

The findings suggested that frequent alcohol consumption conveys the greatest protection against type 2 diabetes, even if the level of consumption per drinking day is low.

STUDY: Kids who are overly hygienic appear to be at increased risk of developing wheezing

JOURNAL: Archives of Disease in Childhood 2002;87:26-29.

AUTHORS: Dr. Andrea Sherriff

ABSTRACT: Kids who are overly hygienic appear to be at increased risk of developing wheezing--a symptom of asthma--and the allergy-related skin condition eczema, according to new study findings.

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COMMENTARY: Dr. Andrea Sherriff of the University of Bristol, UK, and her colleagues based their results on surveys of more than 9,000 parents, who indicated how often their 15-month-old children bathed and washed their faces and hands.

The investigators found that children with the highest degree of personal hygiene--those who washed their faces and hands more than five times per day, cleaned before meals, and bathed more than two times each day--were the most likely to develop eczema and wheezing between the ages of 30 and 42 months.

The relationship between hygiene and allergies spanned different hygiene levels. As the level of hygiene increased, so did the risk of developing eczema or wheezing.

Increasing levels of hygiene appeared to be especially linked to a risk of developing severe eczema, the authors note in the current issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood. In infants and young children, eczema manifests as intensely itchy, red patches that can ooze and crust over. The condition is treated with ointments and antihistamines, and avoidance of substances that trigger the condition.

Sherriff's team found that taking into account additional factors that might influence the results, such as family history of allergies or contact with furry pets, did not affect the relationship between hygiene and the allergy symptoms.

The link between hygiene and allergies is in step with the so-called "hygiene hypothesis"--the theory that a lower exposure to germs affects the immune system's development in such a way that it is more prone to allergic reactions.

For example, previous studies have found that adults who had grown up on a farm were less likely to develop allergies, while young children exposed to older siblings at home and those who attend day care also have a lower risk of allergies and asthma.

This study should not be interpreted as a call to parents to abandon all hygiene practices. We do not want to go back to the days of infectious diseases--which we have eradicated partly because of improved hygiene. Just don't over do it.

STUDY: People who are more spiritual are better able to deal with the discomforts and limitations of chronic disease

JOURNAL: American Geriatrics Society

AUTHORS: S. Chung

ABSTRACT: People who are more spiritual are better able to deal with the discomforts and limitations of chronic disease than their less-spiritual counterparts. That's the conclusion of a Johns Hopkins study presented at the American Geriatrics Society's annual meeting.

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COMMENTARY: Recent studies have suggested that acutely ill people with strong religious faith or an optimistic personality may get better quicker or live longer than people who lack those traits. The aim of the Hopkins study was to assess the relation between spirituality, disease severity and perceptions of well-being in patients with chronic disease.

To do so, the researchers examined data on 77 patients aged 30 or older who had suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for a minimum of 2 years. Spirituality was defined as "the capacity of an individual to stand outside of his/her immediate sense of time and place and to view life from a larger, more detached perspective."

While being spiritual did not lessen the effects of the arthritis, reduce pain or improve mobility, people who were more spiritual tended to be happier and feel better about their general health, the study found.

Putting this into practice could be as simple as teaching relaxation skills, meditation and yoga, said Hopkins investigator S. Chung. The way we define spirituality, it's not necessarily a particular faith orientation, but certain things like feeling like a part of the community by volunteering. And for elderly people, there's so many things that could be done to make them feel part of the mainstream of things.

Having a belief system can really help to lower stress and during times of sickness and health.

STUDY: DHEA supplementation decreased the number of flare-ups and reduced disease severity

JOURNAL: Arthritis and Rheumatism (2002;46:2924–7)

AUTHORS:

ABSTRACT: Supplementing with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is beneficial for women with systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), according to a report in Arthritis and Rheumatism (2002;46:2924–7)

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COMMENTARY: The results indicate that DHEA supplementation decreased the number of flare-ups and reduced disease severity in women with active lupus.

DHEA is a steroid hormone manufactured in the adrenal glands, ovaries, and testes. Blood levels of DHEA are low in many people with lupus, and some scientists believe that DHEA deficiency may be a contributing factor to the development of the disease. DHEA modulates the activity of the immune system, which tends to be overly aggressive in individuals with lupus.

STUDY:

JOURNAL: Journal of Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing (2002;29:295–300)

AUTHORS:

ABSTRACT: Topical application of honey is beneficial in the treatment of wounds and burns.

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COMMENTARY: A number of properties inherent to honey might contribute to its ability to fight infection and promote healing.

Its high sugar content allows it to draw infection and fluid from wounds by a process called “osmosis.” Honey prevents bacterial growth through its acidic pH and through the work of an enzyme that produces small amounts of hydrogen peroxide.

Its ability to keep the area around a wound moist and protected promotes fast healing and prevents scarring.



Honeys also contain components from the specific plants used by the bees in their production, and it is speculated that some of these components might further add to the antibacterial and wound-healing effects of certain honeys. The process of pasteurization, used to sterilize commercial honeys, destroys the enzyme involved in the production of hydrogen peroxide, rendering these honeys less antibacterial.

Raw honeys maintain their enzymes, and honeys produced for therapeutic use are sterilized through an irradiation process that does not damage their constituents. There are currently two therapeutic honeys available: Medihoney of Australia and Active Manuka Honey of New Zealand. Both are derived from bees using the flowers of tea trees (Leptospermum spp.) as their