Altura

Neighborhood Healthcare and Altura are pleased to share a toolkit to supplement the Building Clinical Trial and Health Research Access for People of Color via Community Health Centers (CHCs) white paper. Its aim is to provide CHCs a range of options to support patients and increase diversity in and access to clinical studies of all types. Additionally, a call to action for life science companies and research organizations is included. To learn more and download the white paper and toolkit, please visit https://lnkd.in/g9kxmKVU To post a study on the HCP Studies research engagement platform for access by CHCs, patients and communities, please email: info@alturastudies.com.

Sleep apnea is known to wreak havoc with the body, contributing to heart problems, diabetes and liver disease. The sleep disorder also appears to have direct effects on brain health, a new study in the journal Neurology shows. People with sleep apnea appear to experience accelerated aging of the brain's white matter, which serves to connect the various regions of the brain, researchers reported. Sleep apnea also is associated with an increase in the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and thinking. Brain scans taken 10 years after the sleep test showed that those with the most sleep problems had greater brain volume in the hippocampus, results show. In fact, the size of the hippocampus increased with the number of sleep disruptions a person experienced, researchers said. Lower oxygen levels during sleep were also associated with increase hippocampal volume, as well as changes in white matter. "Both brain shrinkage and brain growth can harm memory and thinking by disrupting normal brain functions, increasing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia," said lead researcher Dr. Alberto Ramos. #health https://ow.ly/Q1E250UwhFa

Whether they're lifelong buddies or recently connected, close to home or miles away, a new poll from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging shows the key role that friends play in the lives and wellbeing of adults aged 50 and older. In all, 90% of people aged 50 and older say they have at least one close friend, and 75% say they have enough close friends. What's more, 70% of those with a close friend say they can definitely count on them to provide support in discussing their health. In addition, 47% of those with fair or poor mental health said they don't have enough close friends. Older adults in fair or poor physical or mental health were also much more likely to say it's harder to make friends now than earlier in life. They found that 79% of those with at least one close friend said that they can turn to them for emotional support, and that 50% had a friend who had encouraged them to make healthier choices like eating better and getting more exercise in the past year. In addition, 35% said a close friend had encouraged them to get a symptom checked out by a health professional, and 32% had a friend who had helped them when they were sick or injured. "When health care providers see older adults, we should also ask about their social support network, including close friends, especially for those with more serious health conditions," said poll director Jeffrey Kullgren. #olderadults https://ow.ly/3PaI50UwhEf

Can you literally step away from depression? A new global review of data published in the journal JAMA Network Open found that "increasing the number of daily steps, even at modest levels, was associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms". Compared to a baseline of 5,000 steps taken per day, folks who took even 1,000 more steps daily saw a 9% drop in their odds for developing depression, the researchers found. Those benefits quickly mounted up: Compared to folks walking 5,000 steps per day or less, those who walked 7,000 steps/day had a 31% lower odds for depression, the study found. "In addition, counts above 7,500 steps/d were associated with a 43% lower prevalence of depression," Estela Jimenez-Lopez wrote, and those trends held true for "all age groups, [and] females and males." The new findings add walking to many other forms of physical activity -- aerobics, weight training, yoga and even tai chi -- as ways to help keep depression at bay, the researchers said. The bottom line: "Setting goals for the number of daily steps may be a promising and inclusive public health strategy for the prevention of depression," the study authors concluded. #depression https://ow.ly/NNCC50UwhBV

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening for cervical cancer, with different approaches recommended for those aged 21 to 29 years and 30 to 65 years. These recommendations form the basis of a draft recommendation statement published online Dec. 10. Based on findings, the USPSTF recommends cervical cancer screening every three years with cervical cytology alone in women ages 21 to 29 years and every five years with hrHPV primary screening for women aged 30 to 65 years. For women aged 30 to 65 years, the USPSTF recommends continued screening every three years with cervical cytology alone or screening every five years with hrHPV testing combined with cytology as an alternative to primary screening. #CancerResearch https://ow.ly/IGiO50UtHNG

Colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, may be fueled by the food on our plates. Research published in Gut has uncovered a potential link between the Western diet – dominated by ultra-processed foods and unhealthy oils – and the chronic inflammation that drives tumor growth. "It is well known that patients with unhealthy diets have increased inflammation in their bodies," said Dr. Timothy Yeatman. "We now see this inflammation in the colon tumors themselves, and cancer is like a chronic wound that won't heal – if your body is living off of daily ultra-processed foods, its ability to heal that wound decreases due to the inflammation and suppression of the immune system that ultimately allows the cancer to grow." According to Yeatman, the findings emphasize the urgent need to reevaluate the components of the Western diet, which typically consists of excessive consumption of added sugars, saturated fats, ultra-processed foods, chemicals and inflammatory seed oils. #CancerResearch https://ow.ly/r30k50UtHL7

Over the past 45 years, cancer prevention and screening accounted for most cancer deaths averted for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers, according to a study published in JAMA Oncology. The researchers estimated that 5.94 million cancer deaths were averted for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers combined. Eight of 10 of these deaths (4.75 million deaths) were averted by cancer prevention and screening efforts. Screening accounted for one-fourth of breast cancer deaths averted. Screening nearly completely averted cervical cancer deaths. For colorectal cancer, 79 percent of deaths were averted because of screening and removal of precancerous polyps or early detection, while treatment advances averted 21 percent of deaths. Just over half of prostate cancer deaths were averted by screening (56 percent). #CancerResearch https://ow.ly/JUFX50UtHOH

In a recent review published in Nutrients, findings indicate that people with magnesium deficiency can lead to cardiovascular health conditions, making it critical to address the widespread inadequacy in magnesium intakes. Magnesium plays a crucial role in numerous bodily functions, including regulating heart health, which makes it vital for preventing cardiovascular diseases. Current surveys show that many adults have magnesium intakes below the recommended levels. According to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, around 45% of adults fall short of the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR), with higher deficiencies among women and those with poor dietary habits. A variety of studies provide strong evidence that mild to moderate magnesium deficiencies, as well as chronic latent deficiency, significantly contribute to the development and severity of cardiovascular diseases. Since many people do not regularly consume enough magnesium-rich foods to prevent deficiency, addressing this issue is a significant concern. #heart https://ow.ly/MTQX50UtHJX

Seniors who want to stay sharp as they age should hit the treadmill, elliptical or exercise bike as often as possible. A new study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that better cardio fitness in older age is linked to healthier brain aging. That sort of fitness preserves brain health as people age even if they carry genetic risk factors that make them vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease, researchers reported. The results showed those with better cardio fitness performed more ably across all the domains of brain function than those with worse fitness. This benefit was irrespective of their age and whether they carried the APOE4 gene, which dramatically increases risk of Alzheimer's. "These data emphasize cardiorespiratory fitness as an important health factor and therapeutic target for preserving multi-domain cognitive functioning in late adulthood," the researchers concluded. #heart #olderadults https://ow.ly/cjTm50UtHFz

New research shows that adopting a healthy diet can reduce the severity of chronic pain, presenting an easy and accessible way for sufferers to better manage their condition. Importantly, these findings were independent of a person's weight, meaning that despite your body composition, a healthy diet can help reduce chronic pain. "In our study, higher consumption of core foods – which are your vegetables, fruits, grains, lean meats, dairy and alternatives – was related to less pain, and this was regardless of body weight... Knowing that food choices and the overall quality of a person's diet will not only make a person healthier, but also help reduce their pain levels, is extremely valuable," said researcher Sue Ward. #health https://ow.ly/kVpu50Uqe5Y