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Drug-resistant superbugs spreading in European hospitals

Ingrid Torjesen

Tuesday, 30 July 2019

Antibiotic-resistant strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, an opportunistic pathogen that can cause respiratory and bloodstream infections in humans, are spreading through hospitals in Europe, research* published in Nature Microbiology has found.

Certain strains of K. pneumoniae are resistant to the carbapenem antibiotics that represent the last line of defence in treating infections and are therefore regarded as extremely drug resistant.

Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance, based at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University of Freiburg and their partners, analysed the genomes of almost 2,000 K. pneumoniae samples taken from patients in 244 hospitals in 32 countries.

They identified a small number of genes that, when expressed, can cause resistance to carbapenem antibiotics. These genes produce enzymes called carbapenemases, which “chew up” the antibiotics, rendering them useless.

Of concern to public health is the recent emergence of a small number of “high-risk” clones carrying one or more carbapenemase genes, which have spread rapidly. It is thought that the heavy use of antibiotics in hospitals favours the spread of these highly-resistant bacteria, which outcompete other strains that are more easily treatable with antibiotics.

Dr Sophia David, based at the Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance, said: “The ‘One Health’ approach to antibiotic resistance focuses on the spread of pathogens through humans, animals and the environment, including hospitals. But in the case of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, our findings imply hospitals are the key facilitator of transmission – over half of the samples carrying a carbapenemase gene were closely related to others collected from the same hospital, suggesting that the bacteria are spreading from person-to-person primarily within hospitals.”

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria samples were also much more likely to be closely related to samples from a different hospital in the same country rather than across countries – suggesting that national healthcare systems as a whole play an important role in the spread of these antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Despite the clear threat that carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae pose to patients, more effective infection control in hospitals, including consideration of how patients move between hospitals and hygiene interventions, will have an impact.

Professor Hajo Grundmann, co-lead author and head of the Institute for Infection Prevention and Hospital Hygiene at the Medical Centre, University of Freiburg, said: “We are optimistic that with good hospital hygiene, which includes early identification and isolation of patients carrying these bacteria, we can not only delay the spread of these pathogens, but also successfully control them. This research emphasises the importance of infection control and ongoing genomic surveillance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to ensure we detect new resistant strains early and act to combat the spread of antibiotic resistance.”

It is estimated that 341 deaths in Europe were caused by carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae in 2007; by 2015 the number of deaths had increased six-fold to 2,094. The high number of deaths is down to the fact that once carbapenems are no longer effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, there are few other options left. Infants, the elderly and immuno-compromised individuals are particularly at risk.

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Over-75s stopping statins face increased heart attack risk

Ingrid Torjesen

Wednesday, 31 July 2019

Stopping statins after the age of 75 increases the risk of heart attack by almost half and the risk of stroke by around a quarter, a study* published in European Heart Journal has found.

For the study, which is the first to evaluate the impact of discontinuing statins taken for primary prevention in older people, the researchers analysed data from the French national health insurance claims database and information on hospital diagnoses and clinical procedures. They were able to get comprehensive information on statin use, as statins are available by prescription only in France.

They looked specifically at all patients who had turned 75 between 2012 and 2014, who had been taking statins for at least 80% of the time in the previous two years. They included only people with good cardiovascular health in the analysis and excluded all those who had been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease and anyone who was taking other medications to treat or prevent heart or blood vessel problems.

In total 120,173 people aged 75 between 2012 and 2014 who had been taking statins continuously for two years were enrolled and followed for a maximum of four years (average of 2.4 years). During this time 14.3% (17,204 people) stopped taking statins for at least three consecutive months, and 4.5% (5,396 people) were admitted to hospital for a cardiovascular problem.

Those who discontinued their statins had a 33% increased risk of any cardiovascular event. The association was stronger for admissions to hospital for heart problems; there was a 46% increased risk of a coronary event, while the increased risk of a blood vessel problem, such as stroke, was 26%.

Dr Philippe Giral, an endocrinologist specialist in prevention of cardiovascular disease at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (part of Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris), Paris, France, who led the research said that although further, randomised studies are needed before guidelines can be updated, he would advise elderly people who are taking statins to prevent cardiovascular disease to continue taking them.

“To patients, we would say that if you are regularly take statins for high cholesterol, we would recommend you don’t stop the treatment when you are 75. To doctors, we would recommend not stopping statin treatment given for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases in your patients aged 75,” he said.

The researchers found an unexpectedly low statin discontinuation rate (14.3%) among the people they studied, but believe this is probably due to the fact that they included only people who had been taking statins continuously for the previous two years. A recent meta-analysis** of data from 40 countries found a 40% non-adherence rate among statin users aged 65 years and older, and the overall French population of 75-year-olds, from which the people in this study were derived, had a similar rate of non-adherence among statin users: 44% had not taken statins for at least 80% of the time in at least one of the preceding two years.

Commenting on the study, Professor Kausik Ray, chair in public health, Imperial College London, said: “A previous analysis, from a collaboration called the Cholesterol Treatment Triallists Collaboration and published in the Lancet earlier this year, suggests that in randomised trials older patients taking statins derive similar relative benefits to younger patients taking the medication.”

He added: “A specific randomised trial called STAREE, in Australia, is evaluating this from a trial perspective.”

“Old age itself – particularly reaching the age of 75 and above – puts people at increased risk of a heart attack or stroke,” Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director, British Heart Foundation, said.

“Age should not be a barrier to prescribing these potentially life-saving drugs to those people who are likely to benefit.”

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Is Caffeine Fueling Your Anxieties?

By Robert Preidt
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, July 19, 2019 (HealthDay News) — If you struggle with anxiety, you might want to skip that second cup of coffee, new research suggests.

For some people, caffeine may help with concentration and provide an energy boost, but it can cause problems for those with general anxiety disorder, said Dr. Julie Radico, a clinical psychologist with Penn State Health.

“Caffeine is not the enemy,” she said in a university news release. “But I encourage people to know healthy limits and consume it strategically because it is activating and can mimic or exacerbate the symptoms of anxiety.”

Low doses of caffeine are in the range of 50 to 200 milligrams (mg). Consuming more than 400 mg at once may lead to feeling overstimulated and anxious, and bring on symptoms such as racing heart, nausea or abdominal pain.
Anxiety is a common problem, but many patients and their doctors don’t think about caffeine as a potential contributing factor, said Dr. Matthew Silvis, vice chair of clinical operations in the division of family medicine at Penn State Health.

“We want people to consider whether there may be a connection between their caffeine consumption and anxiety,” he said.

As well as being a potential problem for people with anxiety, caffeine can interact negatively with medications for seizure disorders, liver disease, chronic kidney disease, certain heart conditions or thyroid disease, Silvis noted.

“Medical disorders that a patient may already have can become more difficult to control,” he said.

In terms of amounts of caffeine, an average cup of home-brewed coffee has about 100 mg, compared with 250 mg in a tall Starbucks coffee and as much as 400 mg in energy drinks. A can of Mountain Dew has 55 mg while a can of Coca-Cola has 35 mg.

Many vitamin and sports or nutritional supplements also contain caffeine, but many people don’t think to check the labels of those products, Silvis added.

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A common skin bacterium put children with severe eczema at higher risk of food allergy

In a new study published today in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, scientists from King’s College London have found that young children with severe eczema infected with Staphylococcus aureus (SA) bacterium, are at a higher risk of developing a food allergy.

Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is a bacterium that can be found in the nose and the skin of healthy individuals.

However, SA is more common in sufferers of eczema, especially severe eczema.

When someone has an allergy, their immune system mistakes a harmless substance (such as eggs or peanuts) as an intruder and overreacts in response. Their body produces a molecule or else antibody known as Immunoglobin E (IgE).

When IgE encounters the intruder on the skin or within the body it releases chemicals, such as histamine that cause the allergic reaction.

The team of scientists found that young children with severe eczema who are infected with SA produce more IgE against peanut, egg and milk indicating they have a food allergy to each of these.

These children were also more likely to have their egg allergy persist at the age of 5 or 6 years in comparison to children that did not have SA present.

Lead author Dr Olympia Tsilochristou from King’s College London said: “This is significant as most children with egg allergy usually outgrow this at an earlier age.

“We do not know yet the exact mechanisms that lead from eczema to food allergy however our results suggest that the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus could be an important factor contributing to this outcome.”

These results build on the earlier ones from the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) study which demonstrated that infants who were at a high-risk of developing peanut allergy but consumed a peanut?containing snack throughout the study were prevented from later developing a peanut allergy.

In this current study, scientists found that children with SA on their skin and/or nose were more likely to develop peanut allergy despite them being fed with peanut from early ages as part of the LEAP study protocol.

Co-author Professor du Toit said: “These findings indicate that SA may have reduced the chance of young infants gaining tolerance to peanut, even if peanut was eaten in early childhood.”

Professor Lack, who conceived and led the LEAP study, said that “SA could be considered as an additional risk factor for the development of food allergy.”

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7 Best Natural Ingredients for Your Skin

By Liesa Goins

The beauty world is brimming with high-tech devices and cutting-edge ingredients, but when it comes to handling some of the most common skin care problems, newer isn’t always better. In some cases, simple natural options might be as effective as scientifically engineered solutions.

“Many of my patients practice ‘clean’ eating and want to extend that philosophy to their skin care routine,” says Papri Sarkar, MD, a dermatologist in Brookline, MA. “Finding effective clean beauty products isn’t as simple as finding organic produce at the grocery store, but it’s easier than ever before to find something that will fit your needs.”

We asked experts to share the ingredients that are the best of both worlds — naturally based and science-backed.
Coconut Oil
Benefits: Hydration, anti-inflammatory. There’s growing science supporting the use of this plant fat as a topical skin soother. Recent research shows that extra virgin coconut oil suppresses some of the body’s natural inflammatory agents while making the skin a better barrier. “Many people love coconut oil products to help fight dry, itchy skin and skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis,” says Laurel Naversen Geraghty, MD, a dermatologist in Medford, OR. “Some of my psoriasis patients swear by overnight coconut oil scalp treatments worn under a plastic shower cap.” But Geraghty warns against putting coconut oil on blemish-prone areas because it may worsen acne.

Find it in: Jars in the cooking aisle.

Gotu Kola (Also Known as Centella asiatica)
Benefits: Wound healing. This ancient herb often used in Asian cuisine is now a part of modern skin care due to its wound-healing benefits, says Michelle Wong, PhD, a cosmetics chemist and creator of the Lab Muffin Beauty Science blog. Chemicals in the plant boost blood supply to injury sites and strengthen the skin. Researchers have found that when skin injuries in rats are treated with Centella asiatica, the sites showed higher healing. The combination of amino acids, beta carotene, fatty acids, and phytochemicals help speed healing time, making it a helpful way to treat injuries.

Find it in: Wong likes La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 Soothing Repairing Balm ($15) and Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Cream ($48).
Green Tea
Benefits: Sun protection, anti-aging. The connection between drinking green tea and improved health has been suggested for years, but it may also help to use the plant on the skin. “Green tea has good results in terms of photoprotection and anti-aging benefits,” says Jeanine Downie, a dermatologist in Montclair, NJ. The polyphenols in green tea have antioxidant properties as well as soothing abilities that help treat sun-damaged skin and offer a way to address the signs of sun damage, she says.

Find it in: Downie likes sunscreen containing green tea, such as Paula’s Choice Skin Balancing Ultra-Sheer Daily Defense Broad Spectrum SPF 30 ($23).

Oatmeal
Benefits: Anti-inflammatory, eczema relief. “Oatmeal contains anti-inflammatory and anti-irritant chemicals called avenanthramides,” Wong says. “It also has moisturizing beta glucans and starches. It’s the reason why oatmeal baths are so effective for conditions like eczema and rashes.” But not all oatmeal is created equal, Geraghty says. “Colloidal oatmeal is powder that’s derived from grinding and preparing oats into very tiny, specific sizes,” she says. This size and quality of oats is what makes the ingredient so therapeutic and able to blend with water to form the soothing paste when mixed with water.
“I like colloidal oatmeal products because they’re gentle and safe, and studies show they don’t tend to cause allergies or irritation,” Geraghty says. “I’ve found that if my eczema patients develop gentle skin care habits and regularly slather on a thick moisturizer containing colloidal oatmeal, they don’t need topical steroids as much or as often.”

Find it in: Wong likes Aveeno colloidal oatmeal products like their Soothing Bath Treatment, ($10).

Shea Butter
Benefits: Anti-inflammatory, itch relief. Derived from the nut of a shea tree, shea butter is an ingredient in many moisturizers. “It seems to hydrate skin effectively because it’s loaded with fatty acids,” Geraghty says. These nutrients have a calming and anti-inflammatory effect on the skin. She says shea butter might be most useful for treating and soothing eczema. Clinical studies using shea butter as a treatment for eczema in children showed less itching within 4 weeks, and another study with adults showed improvement in 2 weeks. Geraghty points out another plus of the natural moisturizer: Shea butter doesn’t seem to cause skin allergies often, which makes it right even for the most sensitive skin types.

Find it in: Geraghty likes Dove Cream Oil Shea Butter Body Lotion ($6) and L’Occitane Pure Shea Butter ($38).
Soy
Benefits: Inhibits pigmentation, improves collagen production. Soybeans contain a variety of plant-based chemicals that impact the skin. Among them are antioxidants, fatty acids, and isoflavones. The legume also produces estrogens or phytoestrogens that address skin conditions related to menopause.

“One of the reasons we believe that a woman’s skin turgor and brightness decreases after menopause is because of decreased estrogen,” Sarkar says. “Topical estrogens have been shown to help decrease UV-induced pigmentation and can improve collagen synthesis.” She says soy won’t offer as robust results as retinoids, but it’s another option for patients looking to address these conditions. The isoflavones in soy also offer sun protection that can help address pigmentation to keep skin even, according to research.

Find it in: Sarkar likes Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer ($13).

Tea Tree Oil
Benefits: Anti-microbial, blemish-fighting. The herbal remedy derived from tea tree leaves has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects that help combat a range of germs, fungus, and bacteria, Geraghty says. “The fact that tea tree oil helps combat bacteria-driven acne means it may help reduce the inflammatory type of blemishes — the tender pustules or inflamed pink papules,” she says. But the topical treatment doesn’t have much effect against deep cystic acne or comedones. Geraghty also warns about the potential for irritation when using tea tree oil on the skin. She suggests monitoring areas for signs of redness and a rash.
Find it in: Geraghty likes Biossance Squalane + Tea Tree Detox Mask ($39).

A Final Note
As is the case when trying any new treatment, it’s a good idea to run something by your dermatologist to make sure you’re using a natural therapy the right way, Geraghty says. “Coconut oil can worsen breakouts, for example, and some treatments are completely unproven — they wouldn’t be worth it.”

The Scoop: Split Up With Split Ends
Fight your hair’s No. 1 enemy with these pro tips from Shaun Surething, lead stylist and co-owner of Seagull Salon in New York City.

Fine hair: For all hair types, but especially fine hair, sleeping with a humidifier is an absolute must. Hair splits because it is dry, and fine hair splits the easiest. “If you can take the financial leap, a good humidifier with a digital display is great,” says Surething. “Keeping the humidity level higher will help keep moisture in the hair and prevent it from splitting.”
Wavy hair: Swap your cotton pillowcase for satin, which allows waves to glide freely over the pillow rather than snag on cotton fibers. If you prefer cotton pillowcases, consider wrapping your hair in a satin scarf before you drift to sleep, Surething suggests.

Curly hair: As fun as it is to change the look of your hair, remember that using hot tools and styling tools too much can cause ends to split. Surething says to always start gently, from the bottom, when combing or brushing. Never yank at tangles, because it can cause tearing and splitting of the strand. Shield ends from heat with a thermal-protecting spray.
Coarse hair: On coarse, kinky hair, it’s more difficult to keep in moisture, so weekly masks and hydrating conditioners are paramount. “These products lock in moisture and keep a barrier between your hair’s cuticle and the elements, including rain, snow, and sun,” says Surething.

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Diabetes drug cuts cardiovascular and kidney problems

By Jo Carlowe

A large international trial has linked the use of the drug dulaglutide with a reduction in cardiovascular events in middle-aged and older people with type 2 diabetes.

The clinical trial* followed more than 9,900 people in 24 countries. During more than five years of follow-up, cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes were reduced by 12% in people taking dulaglutide compared to people taking a placebo.

This effect was seen in both men and women with or without previous cardiovascular disease. In addition, during the same period, the drug reduced the development of kidney disease by 15%.

The trial was led by the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, Canada. Two papers describing the cardiovascular and kidney results of the trial were published in the journal The Lancet from the study called the Researching Cardiovascular Events with a Weekly Incretin in Diabetes (REWIND) trial.

“Compared to others, people with diabetes have twice the rate of cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes, and up to 40% of people with diabetes develop kidney disease,” said Hertzel Gerstein, principal investigator for the study, professor of medicine at McMaster and deputy director of the PHRI.

“The REWIND trial shows that dulaglutide can safely reduce these events while improving diabetes control and modestly lowering weight and blood pressure in middle-aged people with type 2 diabetes.”

Dulaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist that is injected once per week.

The drug was well tolerated, modestly reduced weight, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and blood pressure, and modestly increased heart rate.

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Oral Novo Nordisk diabetes drug poses no more heart risk than placebo: study

(Reuters) – An experimental oral form of a Novo Nordisk drug for type 2 diabetes posed no greater risk of serious heart problems or death than a placebo in patients at high risk for such complications, according to data from a large study presented on Tuesday.
Patients with type 2 diabetics and either heart disease or at high risk for heart problems who received the drug semaglutide in pill form had a combined rate of heart attack, stroke or heart-related death of 3.8% compared with 4.8% for placebo, successfully demonstrating non-inferiority.

Death from any cause occurred in 1.4% of semaglutide patients and 2.8% for placebo, according to data from the 3,183-patient trial presented at the American Diabetes Association meeting in San Francisco and published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

While the drug led to a lower rate of death and other heart problems, the trial was not designed to show statistically significant superiority, only that semaglutide was as safe as, or non-inferior to, placebo. Similar drugs have also shown an ability to cut the risk of cardiovascular problems.

“The drug is safe,” Dr. Mansoor Husain, director of the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute who led the study, told Reuters Health in a phone interview.

“This is the first orally-available GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist and that’s a pretty big deal,” Husain said, noting the fear many patients have for injections. “Just being able to take a pill every day makes it much more accessible.”

Semaglutide, which stimulates insulin production, is seen as an important growth driver for Novo Nordisk, which funded the study known as Pioneer 6.
The Danish drugmaker already sells an injectable once-weekly version of the drug under the brand name Ozempic at a cost of about $800 per month, according to the website goodrx.com. The oral version is a once-a-day tablet.

Novo filed for U.S. approval for oral semaglutide in March. It is seeking priority review in hopes of getting approval within six months.

All trial participants were at high risk of cardiovascular problems because they were at least 50 years old with established heart disease or chronic kidney disease, or at least age 60 with cardiovascular risk factors. They were followed for a median of 15.9 months. The trial was designed to end after a combination of at least 122 heart attacks, strokes and deaths had accrued.

Individual cardiovascular events in the composite also showed no significant differences.

The rate of non-fatal heart attack was 2.3% with semaglutide versus 1.9% with placebo, while the rate of non-fatal stroke was 0.8% with the drug and 1.0% for placebo. The odds of death from any cardiovascular cause were 0.9% in the semaglutide group and 1.9% in the placebo group.

“We did see a 50% reduction in cardiovascular death and all-cause mortality, but these were secondary endpoints,” Husain said. The main goal of the study “was just to demonstrate safety,” he said.

He cautioned people should not to read too much into the apparent reduction in the death risk. “We urge caution because they’re small numbers and it’s a relatively short-duration study.”

The rate of patients dropping out of the trial was higher for those who received semaglutide – 11.6% compared with 6.5% for placebo – with gastrointestinal problems such as nausea and vomiting being the driving force. Those are common side effects for the GLP-1 class of diabetes medicines.

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Gene mutation evolved to cope with modern high-sugar diets

The gene variant became more common in humans after cooking and farming became widespread, and might now help people avoid diabetes, according to the findings published in eLife.

“We found that people differ in how efficiently their bodies can manage blood sugar levels, resulting from an evolutionary process that seems to have been brought about by changing diets,” said the study’s lead author, Professor Frances Brodsky, Director of UCL Biosciences.

The researchers were investigating the CLTCL1 gene, which directs production of the CHC22 protein that plays a key role in regulating a glucose transporter in our fat and muscle cells.

After people eat, the hormone insulin reacts to higher levels of blood glucose by releasing the transporter to remove glucose from the blood, taking it into muscle and fat tissue. Between meals, with the help of the CHC22 protein, the glucose transporter remains inside muscle and fat so that some blood sugar will continue to circulate.

The research team, consisting of specialists in population genetics, evolutionary biology, ancient DNA and cell biology, analysed human genomes as well as those of 61 other species, to understand how the gene producing CHC22 has varied throughout evolutionary history.

In humans, by looking at the genomes of 2,504 people from the global 1000 Genomes Project, they found that almost half of the people in many ethnic groups have a variant of CHC22 that is produced by a mutated gene, which became more common as people developed cooking and farming.

The researchers also looked at genomes of ancient humans, and found that the newer variant is more common in ancient and modern farming populations than in hunter-gatherers, suggesting that increased consumption of carbohydrates could have been the selective force driving the genetic adaptation.

By studying cells, the researchers found that the newer CHC22 variant is less effective at keeping the glucose transporter inside muscle and fat between meals, meaning the transporter can more readily clear glucose out of the blood. People with the newer variant will therefore have lower blood sugar.

“The older version of this genetic variant likely would have been helpful to our ancestors as it would have helped maintain higher levels of blood sugar during periods of fasting, in times when we didn’t have such easy access to carbohydrates, and this would have helped us evolve our large brains,” said first author Dr Matteo Fumagalli, who began the study at UCL before moving to Imperial College London.

“In more recent years, with our high-carb diets that often provide us too much sugar, the newer variant may be advantageous,” Dr Fumagalli added.

The researchers say that while this genetic variant does not play a direct role in the development of diabetes, having the older variant may make people more likely to develop diabetes, and it may also exacerbate insulin resistance involved in diabetes.

“People with the older variant may need to be more careful of their carb intake, but more research is needed to understand how the genetic variant we found can impact our physiology,” added Professor Brodsky.

Co-author Professor Mark Thomas (UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment) added: “Our analyses strongly suggest that we have found yet another example of how prehistoric changes in dietary habits have shaped human evolution. Understanding how we have adapted to these changes doesn’t only inform us about why people lived or died in the past, but also helps us to better understand the relationship between diet, health and disease today.”

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (USA), Wellcome and the Medical Research Council (UK).

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Bedroom Light at Night Might Boost Women’s Weight

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 10, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Women, beware: Sleeping with a light on or the TV going in your bedroom could make you put on weight.

That’s the finding of new research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. While the study doesn’t prove that sleeping with a light on causes weight gain, it suggests the two may be linked, the researchers said.

“Turning off the light while sleeping may be a useful tool for reducing a possibility of weight gain and becoming overweight or obese,” said lead author Dr. Yong-Moon Mark Park. He is a postdoctoral fellow at the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Park said that exposure to artificial light at night may suppress the sleep hormone melatonin and disrupt the natural sleep-wake cycle.

“It also may disturb day-to-day variations of stress hormones and affect other metabolic processes in ways that contribute to weight gain,” Park added.

Keeping a light on might also result in poorer sleep. Shorter sleep could prompt you to exercise less and eat more, he noted.

For the study, Park’s team relied on self-reported data from nearly 44,000 women, aged 35 to 74. They weren’t shift workers, daytime sleepers or pregnant when the study began.

Women who slept with a light on were 17% more likely to gain 11 pounds or more over five years, the study found. And the level of artificial light seemed to matter, Park said.

“For example, using a small nightlight was not associated with weight gain, whereas women who slept with a light or television on were,” he explained.

The findings didn’t change when researchers accounted for women’s diet and physical activity, which suggests that light during sleep may be important in weight gain and obesity.

Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center in New Haven, Conn., reviewed the findings. He said the link between exposure to artificial light at night and obesity may not indicate that one causes the other.

“As with any study of association, two findings are true — true, but not directly related,” he said.

The key takeaway relates to poor sleep, Katz suggested.

“Sleep deficiency and impairment is a known obesity risk factor, for reasons ranging from mood and reduced restraint, to changes in hormonal balance,” he said.

It’s also possible that reliance on artificial light at night and obesity are both linked to other factors, such as “loneliness, anxiety or some form of social insecurity,” Katz said.

The report was published online June 10.

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Diet Sodas May Not Help Kids Cut Calories

By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 2, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Kids who favor diet sodas over sugary ones don’t consume fewer calories over the course of a day, a new study finds.

And they average 200 more calories daily than their peers who choose water, according to the results of a survey of over 7,000 U.S. children and teens.

Experts said the findings support what’s already recommended by groups like the American Heart Association: Ideally, kids should be drinking water instead of sugar-laden beverages — or artificially sweetened ones.

“Water is best, and we should be promoting it over low-calorie sweetened beverages,” said lead researcher Allison Sylvetsky, an assistant professor at George Washington University’s School of Public Health, in Washington, D.C.

Unfortunately, a survey published just last week suggests this could be an uphill battle. On any given day, one in five American youngsters don’t drink any water at all, the Penn State researchers found.

That said, the latest results — published May 2 in the journal Pediatric Obesity — do not prove that reduced-calorie drinks are bad.

The findings come from a one-time survey, Sylvetsky said, so there are unanswered questions. For example, kids drinking low-cal beverages might have switched from sugary varieties, and were actually consuming fewer calories than they used to. In that case, the beverages would be a positive influence.

Julie Stefanski, a registered dietitian who was not involved in the study, made another point.

“It’s possible that the children who are drinking low-calorie beverages are already individuals who prefer a larger quantity of food, and parents were trying to make changes to reduce their overall calorie intake,” said Stefanski, who is a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

However, she noted, there is evidence that beverages can sway food choices.

“In some studies in adults, it’s been found that artificial sweeteners caused a craving for more sweet foods,” Stefanski said. “This isn’t an automatic association, but if your taste buds are wired to always expect a sweet sensation, plain water might help to decrease that craving for sweets.”

In the survey, the teens were asked to recall what they’d eaten and had to drink the previous day.

Kids who’d had at least 4 ounces of water, and little to no sugary or artificially sweetened drinks, were considered water consumers.

On average, those kids had the lowest calorie intake for the day, and consumed the least amount of sugar and added sugar. In comparison, their peers who had low-calorie sweet drinks — at least 4 ounces for the day — consumed 200 more calories, on average.

That put them on par with kids who’d had sugar-sweetened drinks. (Any beverage dubbed sugar-free, diet, light, low-calorie or no-calorie was categorized as a low-calorie sweetened drink.)

On the other hand, kids who drank diet beverages were doing better in some ways, the study found. They consumed less daily sugar for the day — including added sugars — than those who drank sugar-sweetened beverages.

So the fact that their calorie intake was the same is not necessarily a bad thing, according to Sylvetsky — if those calories came from nutritious foods.

“We weren’t able to look at overall diet quality,” she said. “We’d like to do that in a future study.”

The Calorie Control Council, which represents the low-calorie food industry, said the study has too many unknowns to draw conclusions.

“These results do not challenge the existing evidence that [low-calorie sweetened beverages] are one of many helpful tools in weight management and overall calorie reduction,” the group said in a statement.

The study did not prove a cause-and-effect link, other diet and lifestyle factors weren’t measured, and self-reported results can be biased, the council explained.

Stefanski said it’s always important to consider a child’s overall diet when deciding whether beverage “swaps” are needed.

But, she stressed, “parents should definitely steer clear of foods or drinks with a lot of added sugar.”

If your child turns her nose up at water, Stefanski said, there are ways to “jazz it up” — like adding lemon, or slices of strawberry or cucumber.

“Younger kids can help to cut up the fruit or vegetables and create their own fancy color combos,” she suggested.