Shorter height directly linked to higher risk of heart disease - study

WASHINGTON -- The shorter you are, the more your risk of coronary heart disease, according to a new study out Wednesday that attributed the link in part to genetics, rather than purely to nutrition or lifestyle factors.

The study, published online in the U.S. journal New England Journal of Medicine, examined 180 genetic variants that affect height in almost 200,000 persons with or without coronary heart disease, which is the commonest cause of premature death worldwide.

It showed that for every change in height of 6.5 cm caused by these variants the risk of coronary heart disease changed on average by 13.5 percent.

"The more height increasing genetic variants that you carry the lower your risk of coronary heart disease and conversely if you were genetically shorter the higher your risk," Christopher Nelson, one of the researchers from Britain's University of Leicester said, in a statement.

For example, compared to a 1.68-meter tall person, a 1.52-meter tall person on average has a 32 percent higher risk of coronary heart disease because of their relatively shorter stature.

Lead author Sir Nilesh Samani, professor of cardiology at the University of Leicester, said: "For more than 60 years it has been known that there is an inverse relationship between height and risk of coronary heart disease."

"Now, using a genetic approach, researchers ... have shown that the association between shorter height and higher risk of coronary heart disease is a primary relationship and is not due to confounding factors," Samani said.

Coronary heart disease is the condition where the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle become narrowed due to a deposition of fatty material, or plaque, in the walls of the arteries. If a blood clot forms over the plaque then the artery can become completely blocked suddenly giving rise to a heart attack.

The researchers said further exploration of genes that affect height may suggest new ways to reduce the risk of heart disease.

"While we know about many lifestyle factors such as smoking that affect risk of coronary heart disease, our findings underscore the fact that the causes of this common disease are very complex and other things that we understand much more poorly have a significant impact," Samani said.

"While our findings do not have any immediate clinical implications, better and fuller understanding of the biological mechanisms that underlie the relationship between shorter height and higher risk of coronary heart disease may open up new ways for its prevention and treatment."

 source: interaksyon.com

US to ban artificial trans fat in processed foods

WASHINGTON DC -- Artificial trans fat, which has been linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease, will be banned in food supply by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA announced its preliminary determination in a statement that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, are not "generally recognized as safe" for use in food.

The agency said the preliminary determination is based on available scientific evidence and the findings of expert scientific panels.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said: "While consumption of potentially harmful artificial trans fat has declined over the last two decades in the United States, current intake remains a significant public health concern."

Hamburg added that the ban on use of trans fats in processed food could prevent an additional 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year in the United States.

Consumption of trans fat raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, increasing the risk of coronary heart disease. The independent Institute of Medicine (IOM) has concluded that trans fat provides no known health benefit and that there is no safe level of consumption of artificial trans fat.

The IOM also recommends that consumption of trans fat should be as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet.

In recent years, many food manufacturers and retailers in the U S have voluntarily decreased trans fat levels in many foods and products they sell.

However, trans fat can still be found in some processed foods, such as certain desserts, microwave popcorn products, frozen pizzas, margarine, and coffee creamers. Numerous retailers and manufacturers have already demonstrated that many of these products can be made without trans fat.

Since trans fat is required to be listed on the Nutrition Facts label of foods in 2006, trans fat intake among American consumers has declined from 4.6 grams per day in 2003 to about 1 gram per day in 2012, the FDA said.

The agency has opened a 60-day comment period on this preliminary determination to collect additional data and to gain input on the time potentially needed for food manufacturers to reformulate products that currently contain artificial trans fat should this determination be finalized.

Following a review of the submitted comments, if the FDA finalizes its preliminary determination, PHOs would be considered "food additives" and could not be used in food unless authorized by regulation, the agency said.

The FDA said its preliminary determination is only with regard to PHOs and does not affect trans fat that naturally occurs in small amounts in certain meat and dairy products.

source: interaksyon.com