The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Study: Physical activity strongest predictor of survival in old age Posted: 31 Aug 2012 08:26 AM PDT STOCKHOLM, Aug 31 — In yet another study to underscore the importance of exercise in healthy aging, researchers have found that keeping physically fit can add up to six years to a person's lifespan, making physical exercise the strongest predictor of survival. For the study, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University kept track of 1,800 Swedes aged 75 and older for 18 years, between 1987 and 2005.
After analysing everything from their education, social network and lifestyle behaviour, the researchers concluded that of all the leisure activities, the level of physical activity was most strongly associated with survival. Results were published in the British Medical Journal yesterday. Overall, the average rate of survival among participants who regularly swam, walked or did aerobics and had a moderate to rich social life was 5.4 years longer than those who led sedentary, solitary lives. That figure rose to six years for men. Survivors were also more likely to be women, highly educated and non-smokers. Meanwhile, a study suggested that growing old gracefully starts in young adulthood, after US researchers found that maintaining a healthy lifestyle during a person's 20s can help lower the risk of heart disease in middle age. — AFP-Relaxnews |
| Midwives, nurses can safely perform abortions Posted: 31 Aug 2012 07:39 AM PDT  Having trained nurses and midwives perform abortions could also allow some women to get care before they would be able to see a doctor. — Reuters pic Researchers analysed five studies that compared first-trimester abortion complications and side effects based on who performed the procedures in close to 9,000 women — and typically found no differences. "As access to abortion is increasingly restricted, the including of non-physicians in the pool of providers is really vital because fewer and fewer people will have access as there are more and more barriers," said Amy Levi, a professor of midwifery at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Having trained nurses and midwives perform abortions could also allow some women to get care before they would be able to see a doctor — and earlier access typically means fewer complications and better outcomes, Levi said. That's especially the case in developing countries, where doctors who perform abortions may be few and far between. In studies conducted in clinics and hospitals in Asia, Africa and the United States, procedures supervised by nurses or midwives and doctors had similar rates of incomplete abortion, incorrect determination of the foetus' age and complications — such as bleeding and injuries to the uterus. For example, in one study of about 1,400 women getting an abortion in Vermont or New Hampshire, there were complications in 2.2 per cent of procedures with a physician assistant and 2.3 per cent with a doctor. Nathalie Kapp from the World Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland, and her colleagues said the findings don't apply to nurses and midwives who perform abortions without access to emergency care nearby, or to abortions done after the first trimester. They published their findings in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive health organisation, 39 states require abortions to be performed by a licensed physician. And Levi, who was not involved in the new study, said only a few allow non-physicians to perform abortions both surgically and medically (with drugs). But the findings are "really powerful" in other parts of the world, where unsafe abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal death and non-physician providers far outnumber doctors, said Levi, who wasn't involved in the new study. They are also consistent with her expectations after working for a California-based programme that trains nurse practitioners, midwives and physician assistants to perform abortions safely. "Access to safe abortion is imperative for reducing maternal mortality worldwide," Levi said. "We need to keep the conversation embedded in women's health care, which is where it belongs, and I think this kind of data will help." — Reuters |
In the follow-up period, 92 per cent of the participants died, while half of them lived longer than the age of 90.| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Features To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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