探花直播 of Cambridge - MRC Epidemiology Unit

探花直播Cambridge Awards 2024 for Research Impact and Engagement

zs332 — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 10:27:01 +0000

Meet the winner of the Cambridge Awards 2024 for Research Impact and Engagement and learn more about their projects.

Boost your life in 2025: Top tips for a healthier body and mind from Cambridge experts

jg533 — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 09:16:07 +0000

Five Cambridge experts share their top tips on ways to boost your body and mind, backed up by their own research

Are weight loss jabs the solution to the obesity crisis?

jg533 — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 10:50:43 +0000

Almost two thirds of UK adults are overweight or obese. Are weight loss drugs the solution? Cambridge experts share their opinions.

Cambridge scientists elected as Members of the European Molecular Biology Organisation

jg533 — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 12:00:56 +0000

Five Cambridge researchers join the community of over 2,100 leading life scientists today as the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) announces its newest Members in its 60th anniversary year.

Sleeping over eight hours a day associated with greater risk of stroke

cjb250 — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 21:00:00 +0000

Previous studies have already suggested a possible association between sleep and risk of stroke, but today鈥檚 study, published in the journal Neurology, is the first to provide detailed information about the British population and to examine the relationship between a change in sleep duration over time and subsequent stroke risk.

Researchers from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the 探花直播 of Cambridge followed just under 10,000 people aged 42-81 years of age from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)鈥揘orfolk cohort over 9.5 years. During 1998-2000 and then again four years later, they asked the cohort how many hours on average they slept in a day and whether they generally slept well.
Almost seven out of ten participants reported sleeping between six and eight hours a day, whilst one in ten reported sleeping for over eight hours a day. Participants who slept for less than six hours or more than eight hours were more likely to be older, women and less active.

Over the almost ten year period of the study, 346 participants suffered a stroke, either non-fatal or fatal stroke. After adjusting for various factors including age and sex, the researchers found that people who slept longer than eight hours a day were at a 46% greater risk of stroke than average. People who slept less than six hours a day were at an 18% increased risk, but the small number of people falling in this category meant the association was not statistically significant*.

Participants who reported persistently long sleep 鈥� in other words, they reported sleeping over eight hours when asked at both points of the study 鈥� were at double the risk of stroke compared to those with persistently average sleep duration (between six and eight hours a day). This risk was even greater for those whose reported sleep increased from short to long over the four years 鈥� their risk was close to four times that of people who maintained an average sleep duration.

In addition to studying the EPIC-Norfolk cohort, the researchers carried out a study of combined data from 11 other studies related to identify the association between sleep duration and patterns of stroke risk. Their final analysis, including 560,000 participants from seven countries, supported the findings from the EPIC-Norfolk cohort study.

Yue Leng, a PhD candidate at the 探花直播 of Cambridge, says: 鈥淚t鈥檚 apparent both from our own participants and the wealth of international data that there鈥檚 a link between sleeping longer than average and a greater risk of stroke. What is far less clear, however, is the direction of this link, whether longer sleep is a symptom, an early marker or a cause of cardiovascular problems.鈥�

While older people have less work and fewer social demands and therefore often have the option of sleeping longer, previous research has shown that in fact, they tend to sleep on average for shorter periods.

探花直播researchers say it is unclear yet why the link between sleep and stroke risk should exist. Lack of sleep has been linked with factors such as disrupted metabolism and raised levels of the 鈥榮tress hormone鈥� cortisol, all of which may lead to higher blood pressure and increased stroke risk. However, the current study suggests that the association between longer sleep duration and higher risk of stroke was independent of normal risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Professor Kay-Tee Khaw, senior author on the study, adds: 鈥淲e need to understand the reasons behind the link between sleep and stroke risk. What is happening in the body that causes this link? With further research, we may find that excessive sleep proves to be an early indicator of increased stroke risk, particularly among older people.鈥�

探花直播study was supported by the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK.

* 探花直播absolute risk of stroke was 4.1% for less than six hours鈥� sleep, 3.1% for six to eight hours, and 5.3% for over eight hours. Note: these figures are before adjustment for age, sex, etc. 鈥� figures for after adjustment were not available.

Reference
Leng, Y et al. Sleep duration and risk of fatal and nonfatal stroke: A prospective study and meta-analysis. Neurology; 25 Feb 2015

People who sleep for more than eight hours a day have an increased risk of stroke, according to a study by the 探花直播 of Cambridge 鈥� and this risk doubles for older people who persistently sleep longer than average. However, the researchers say it is unclear why this association exists and call for further research to explore the link.

It鈥檚 apparent both from our own participants and the wealth of international data that there鈥檚 a link between sleeping longer than average and a greater risk of stroke

Yue Leng

Alex

Sleeping lady

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Lack of exercise responsible for twice as many deaths as obesity

cjb250 — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 19:00:00 +0000

Physical inactivity has been consistently associated with an increased risk of early death, as well as being associated with a greater risk of diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Although it may also contribute to an increased body mass index (BMI) and obesity, the association with early death is independent of an individual鈥檚 BMI.

To measure the link between physical inactivity and premature death, and its interaction with obesity, researchers analysed data from 334,161 men and women across Europe participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study. Between 1992 and 2000, the researchers measured height, weight and waist circumference, and used self-assessment to measure levels of physical activity. 探花直播participants were then followed up over 12 years, during which 21,438 participants died. 探花直播results are published today in the American Journal of Clinical Exercise.

探花直播researchers found that the greatest reduction in risk of premature death occurred in the comparison between inactive and moderately inactive groups, judged by combining activity at work with recreational activity; just under a quarter (22.7%) of participants were categorised as inactive, reporting no recreational activity in combination with a sedentary occupation. 探花直播authors estimate that doing exercise equivalent to just a 20 minute brisk walk each day 鈥� burning between 90 and 110 kcal (鈥榗alories鈥�) 鈥� would take an individual from the inactive to moderately inactive group and reduce their risk of premature death by between 16-30%. 探花直播impact was greatest amongst normal weight individuals, but even those with higher BMI saw a benefit.

Using the most recent available data on deaths in Europe the researchers estimate that 337,000 of the 9.2 million deaths amongst European men and women were attributable to obesity (classed as a BMI greater than 30): however, double this number of deaths (676,000) could be attributed to physical inactivity.

Professor Ulf Ekelund from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the 探花直播 of Cambridge, who led the study, says: 鈥淭his is a simple message: just a small amount of physical activity each day could have substantial health benefits for people who are physically inactive. Although we found that just 20 minutes would make a difference, we should really be looking to do more than this 鈥� physical activity has many proven health benefits and should be an important part of our daily life.鈥�

Professor Nick Wareham, Director of the MRC Unit, adds: 鈥淗elping people to lose weight can be a real challenge, and whilst we should continue to aim at reducing population levels of obesity, public health interventions that encourage people to make small but achievable changes in physical activity can have significant health benefits and may be easier to achieve and maintain.鈥�

Reference
Ekelund, U et al. Activity and all-cause mortality across levels of overall and abdominal adiposity in European men and women: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study (EPIC). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 14 Jan 2015

A brisk 20 minute walk each day could be enough to reduce an individual鈥檚 risk of early death, according to new research published today. 探花直播study of over 334,000 European men and women found that twice as many deaths may be attributable to lack of physical activity compared with the number of deaths attributable to obesity, but that just a modest increase in physical activity could have significant health benefits.

This is a simple message: just a small amount of physical activity each day could have substantial health benefits for people who are physically inactive

Ulf Ekelund

Thomas Leuthard

Walk Alone...

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Yoghurt cuts risk of type 2 diabetes

fpjl2 — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 12:33:47 +0000

Published in the journal Diabetologia, the study showed that eating yoghurt in place of a portion of other snacks such as crisps also reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

探花直播study found that higher consumption of yoghurt, compared with no consumption, can reduce the risk of new-onset type 2 diabetes by 28%, and that higher consumption of low-fat fermented dairy products 鈥� including all yoghurt varieties and some low-fat cheeses 鈥� also reduced the relative risk of diabetes by 24% overall.

According to lead researcher Dr Nita Forouhi, from the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the 探花直播 of Cambridge: 鈥淭his research highlights that specific foods may have an important role in the prevention of type 2 diabetes and are relevant for public health messages.鈥�

探花直播research was based on the large EPIC-Norfolk study, which includes more than 25,000 men and women living in Norfolk, UK.

It compared a detailed daily record of all the food and drink consumed over a week at the time of study entry among 753 people who developed new-onset type 2 diabetes over 11 years of follow-up with 3,502 randomly selected study participants.

This allowed the researchers to examine the risk of diabetes in relation to the consumption of total dairy products as well as individual dairy products.

Total dairy, total high-fat dairy or total low-fat dairy consumption was not associated with new-onset diabetes once important factors like healthier lifestyles, education, obesity levels, other eating habits and total calorie intake were taken into account. Total milk and cheese intakes were also not associated with diabetes risk.

However, those with the highest consumption of low-fat fermented dairy products (such as yoghurt, fromage frais and low-fat cottage cheese) were 24% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes over the 11 years, compared with non-consumers.

Previous studies on the link between dairy product consumption (high fat or low fat) and diabetes have proved inconclusive, prompting this more detailed assessment of diary product consumption.

Type 2 diabetes is common and its incidence is increasing. In 2013, there were 382 million people worldwide with diabetes and by 2035 that number will increase to 592 million, according to the International Diabetes Federation.

While this type of study cannot prove that eating dairy products causes the reduced diabetes risk, dairy products do contain beneficial constituents such as vitamin D, calcium and magnesium. In addition, fermented dairy products may exert beneficial effects against diabetes through probiotic bacteria and a special form of vitamin K (part of the menaquinone family) associated with fermentation.

鈥淎t a time when we have a lot of other evidence that consuming high amounts of certain foods, such as added sugars and sugary drinks, is bad for our health, it is very reassuring to have messages about other foods like yoghurt and low-fat fermented dairy products, that could be good for our health,鈥� said Dr Forouhi.

Eating more yoghurt can reduce the risk of new-onset type 2 diabetes, researchers at Cambridge have found.

It is very reassuring to have messages about other foods like yoghurt and low-fat fermented dairy products, that could be good for our health

Nita Forouhi

jules:stonesoup

Home made yoghurt

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