The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Looking old linked to more heart risks Posted: 07 Nov 2012 04:45 AM PST WASHINGTON, Nov 7 — If you look old, you might be at higher risk of heart trouble.  A study has found that people with several visible signs of aging have a higher risk of developing heart problems. — AFP pic "The visible signs of aging reflect physiologic or biological age, not chronological age, and are independent of chronological age," Anne Tybjaerg-Hansen, senior author of the study and professor at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, said in a statement. Tybjaerg-Hansen presented the results at an annual conference held by the American Heart Association in Los Angeles. The study, focused on almost 11,000 people aged 40 and older, found that those who had three to four aging signs had a 57 per cent increased risk of heart attack and a 39 per cent increased risk for heart disease. Among the aging signs cited were a receding hairline at the temples, baldness at the crown of the head, earlobe creases and yellow fatty deposits around the eyelids. Over the course of 35 years of follow-up, 3,401 of the participants developed heart disease and 1,708 had a heart attack. "Individually and combined, these signs predicted heart attack and heart disease independent of traditional risk factors," said the American Heart Association. "Fatty deposits around the eye were the strongest individual predictor of both heart attack and heart disease." The risk of having a heart attack and developing heart disease increased with each additional sign of aging among both men and women, who made up 45 per cent of survey participants. The strongest individual predictor of both were fatty deposits around the eyes. The highest risks were observed among those in their 70s and those with several signs of aging. "Checking these visible aging signs should be a routine part of every doctor's physical examination," Tybjaerg-Hansen said. — AFP/Relaxnews |
| Liquor costs more at state-owned stores in US Posted: 07 Nov 2012 03:26 AM PST  Among the water-logged debris in front of this home, bottles of liquor, some unopened, sit atop a dresser in Bay Head, New Jersey, November 6, 2012 as recovery efforts continue in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. — Reuters pic As of February 2012, 18 control states in the United States set the price of liquor sold to their retail stores, and 13 of those also set the price for the general public. The other states sell liquor licenses to private business owners, who set their own prices. "We found that the average price of liquor is lower in license states. It was on average US$2 (RM6.10) lower per product, which is a 7 per cent difference," said lead author Michael Siegel, a researcher from the Boston University School of Public Health. Generally, in states and area that have considered putting control of liquor prices in the hands of private businesses, the public has supported privatization. But the researchers note that while control states tend to charge slightly more for liquor, they also make a lot more money from their liquor sales. "When legislators look at privatization, they just don't know how they're going to make up the money," said William Kerr, of the Public Health Institute's Alcohol Research Group in Emeryville, California, who was not involved with the research. The study, which appeared in the journal Addiction, compared the prices of 74 popular liquor brands in the 13 retail control states and 50 private stores in license states, finding that the prices varied by brand. But not all liquor prices were more expensive in control states. The researchers found that 21 brands were, on average, more expensive in license states. Siegel told Reuters Health that the average price difference between control and license states may be enough to influence how much people drink. "There is convincing evidence in the literature that control states have lower alcohol consumption than the license states," he said. He and his colleagues also wrote that control states have been found to have lower rates of heavy drinking and underage alcohol-related deaths. But that may be due to other reasons, such as access to alcohol and law enforcement. Past research has found that license states tend to have more liquor stores in one area, which the researchers say would be expected to drive down prices. Control states may also have higher prices because they have costs that aren't paid for by license fees or liquor sales taxes — both of which are collected by license states. — Reuters |
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