(Press-News.org) Adopting a healthy lifestyle is strongly linked to a lower risk of irritable bowel syndrome or IBS for short, finds research published online in the journal Gut.
Of the big 5 healthy behaviours, not smoking, a high level of vigorous physical activity, and getting enough sleep were independently associated with keeping the condition at bay.
Characterised by abdominal pain, bloating, and abnormal bowel habit, IBS is thought to affect up to 1 in 10 people worldwide. Exactly what causes IBS isn’t fully understood, but disordered functioning of the gut–brain axis has a key role in the symptoms, explain the researchers.
Previously published research has linked individual lifestyle factors with a heightened risk of IBS, and the researchers wanted to find out if a combination of these factors might ward off the condition.
They therefore looked at the big 5 healthy behaviours—never smoking; at least 7 hours of sleep every night; a high level of vigorous physical activity every week; a high quality balanced diet every day; and moderate alcohol intake—among middle aged participants (average age 55) of the UK Biobank.
The final analysis included 64,286 people, just over half of whom (55%) were women, and who had completed at least two 24-hour dietary recall questionnaires.
During an average monitoring period of just over 12.5 years, 961 (1.5%) cases of IBS were recorded.
Of the total sample, 7604 (12%) said they didn’t do any of the 5 healthy lifestyle behaviours, while 20,662 (32%) reported one; 21,901 (34%) reported two; and 14,101 (22%) reported 3 to 5 behaviours at the start of the monitoring period.
After accounting for potentially influential factors, the higher the number of healthy behaviours, the lower was the risk of IBS.
One behaviour was associated with a 21% lower risk, while 2 were associated with a 36% lower risk; and 3 to 5 were associated with a 42% lower risk.
Although of a smaller size than when combined, 3 healthy behaviours were independently associated with a lower risk of IBS: never smoking (14% lower); high level of physical activity (17% lower); and a good night’s sleep (27% lower).
Further in depth analysis showed that these associations were independent of age, sex, employment status, residential area, gut infection, family history of IBS or other lifestyle choices.
This is an observational study, and as such, can’t establish cause, added to which it relied on self-report, which may not always be accurate and older people, so may not be applicable to younger age groups. Nor was it possible to account for any lifestyle changes over time during the monitoring period.
Nevertheless, the researchers point out: “Although lifestyle modification is recommended as a means of managing IBS symptoms, its potential role in preventing the onset of the condition has not been given due attention.”
And they conclude: “IBS has a complex aetiology, involving biological, genetic, psychosocial and environmental factors. Our findings underscore the value of lifestyle modification in the primary prevention of IBS and suggest that healthy lifestyle choices could significantly attenuate the effects of aetiological factors on the incidence of IBS.”
END
Adopting healthy lifestyle strongly linked to lower irritable bowel syndrome risk
Especially not smoking, plenty of vigorous exercise, and getting enough sleep
2024-02-21
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Avid appetite in childhood linked to later eating disorder symptoms
2024-02-21
An enthusiastic response to food in early childhood may be linked to a higher likelihood of experiencing eating disorder symptoms in adolescence, according to a new study led by researchers at UCL and Erasmus University Rotterdam.
The study, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, looked at survey data from 3,670 young people in the UK and the Netherlands to investigate how appetite traits in early childhood might relate to the likelihood of developing eating disorder symptoms up to 10 years later.
The researchers found that a particularly high food responsiveness, defined as the urge to eat when you see, smell ...
Red light can reduce blood glucose levels, says study
2024-02-21
The researchers found that 670 nanometres (nm) of red light stimulated energy production within mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses within cells, leading to increased consumption of glucose. In particular, it led to a 27.7% reduction in blood glucose levels following glucose intake, and it reduced maximum glucose spiking by 7.5%.
While the study was conducted in healthy individuals, the non-invasive, non-pharmacological technique has the potential to have an impact on diabetes control after meals, as it can reduce damaging fluctuations of blood glucose in the body that contribute to ageing.
The study also highlights the significant long-term consequences for human health, including ...
UT-Battelle donates $186,000 to support SEEED’s green construction program
2024-02-21
Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s managing contractor, UT-Battelle, presented a donation of $186,000 to Socially Equal Energy Efficient Development, or SEEED, to support the nonprofit’s third green solar home as part of their Green Construction Program.
“We are committed to serving the communities that we live in,” UT-Battelle CEO and ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer said. “Our partnership with SEEED has provided a tremendous opportunity to share our scientific expertise, and we are excited that our support will help make this green solar home become a reality.”
Streiffer joined SEEED for a groundbreaking ceremony in Knoxville, Tenn., at the home project ...
Spinning, magnetic micro-robots help researchers probe immune cell recognition
2024-02-21
Researchers at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and the Department of Chemistry at the University of Chicago have engineered tiny, spinning micro-robots that bind to immune cells to probe their function. The robot, or “hexapod,” gives scientists a new, highly adaptable way to study immune cells and to aid in the design of immunotherapies against cancer, infection, or autoimmune diseases.
Each hexapod robot has six arms containing molecules that might be recognized as foreign by the immune system — such as protein fragments from a tumor, virus, or ...
Helping patients with low income overcome eating disorders
2024-02-21
Individuals with eating disorders who have low income are frequently misdiagnosed and lack adequate access to appropriate therapy, according to researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Their paper, published in The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist on Feb. 19, identified the barriers to care that come with having low income and offered guidelines on how therapists can make accommodations for these patients to improve diagnoses and access to treatment.
Approximately 30 million people in the United States experience ...
Preventing relapse by restoring an opioid-weakened brain pathway governing behavior
2024-02-21
Medical University of South Carolina scientists report in Neuron that they have uncovered a way to restore an opioid-weakened brain pathway in a preclinical model.
With funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, the MUSC research team, led by neuroscientist James Otis, Ph.D., used advanced neuroscience tools to return a pathway between the thalamus and basal ganglia to healthy functioning in mice. As a result, this restoration prevented mice that were opioid-dependent from seeking or self-administering heroin. Results also suggested that sustained opioid use was the cause of this weakened pathway, rather than being caused by ...
Water quality monitor, locust-inspired electronic nose under development
2024-02-21
By Beth Miller
Two teams of engineers led by faculty in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis will work toward developing products to monitor drinking water quality and to detect explosives with an electronic nose with one-year, $650,000 Convergence Accelerator Phase 1 grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Barani Raman, professor of biomedical engineering, and Daniel Giammar, the Walter E. Browne Professor of Environmental Engineering, will lead teams of researchers from Washington University and other institutions and entities funded under the NSF’s Convergence Accelerator program, designed to address national-scale ...
Child tax credits provided significant relief to families experiencing economic shocks during COVID
2024-02-21
Contact:
Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu
Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu
##
As a proposal to reinstate expanded Child Tax Credits (CTC) in the United States awaits a vote in the Senate, a new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researchers reveals that the now-expired 2021 CTC expansion benefitted families experiencing financial setbacks due to health or employment challenges spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published in the journal Health Affairs Scholar, the study found that monthly advance payments included in the 2021 CTC ...
Plasma scientists develop computer programs that could reduce the cost of microchips and stimulate American manufacturing
2024-02-21
Fashioned from the same element found in sand and covered by intricate patterns, microchips power smartphones, augment appliances and aid the operation of cars and airplanes. Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are developing computer simulation codes that will outperform current simulation techniques and aid the production of microchips using plasma, the electrically charged state of matter also used in fusion research. These codes could help increase the efficiency of the manufacturing process and potentially stimulate ...
Novel combination therapy offers promising results for treatment-refractory hepatoblastoma
2024-02-21
Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common liver cancer in children. Researchers and physicians in the field are concerned because in the last decade HB has been rising rapidly worldwide and has seen the most rapid increase among all pediatric solid tumors.
A team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine has been working on improving therapies for this devastating disease. They recently reported in the Journal of Hepatology a novel treatment strategy that produced encouraging results in animal models.
“High-risk disease leads to high rates of relapse and mortality,” said first author Dr. Andrés F. Espinoza, general ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Preschool education: A key to supporting allophone children
CNIC scientists discover a key mechanism in fat cells that protects the body against energetic excess
Chemical replacement of TNT explosive more harmful to plants, study shows
Scientists reveal possible role of iron sulfides in creating life in terrestrial hot springs
Hormone therapy affects the metabolic health of transgender individuals
Survey of 12 European countries reveals the best and worst for smoke-free homes
First new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years
Certain HRT tablets linked to increased heart disease and blood clot risk
Talking therapy and rehabilitation probably improve long covid symptoms, but effects modest
Ban medical research with links to the fossil fuel industry, say experts
Different menopausal hormone treatments pose different risks
Novel CAR T cell therapy obe-cel demonstrates high response rates in adult patients with advanced B-cell ALL
Clinical trial at Emory University reveals twice-yearly injection to be 96% effective in HIV prevention
Discovering the traits of extinct birds
Are health care disparities tied to worse outcomes for kids with MS?
For those with CTE, family history of mental illness tied to aggression in middle age
The sound of traffic increases stress and anxiety
Global food yields have grown steadily during last six decades
Children who grow up with pets or on farms may develop allergies at lower rates because their gut microbiome develops with more anaerobic commensals, per fecal analysis in small cohort study
North American Early Paleoindians almost 13,000 years ago used the bones of canids, felids, and hares to create needles in modern-day Wyoming, potentially to make the tailored fur garments which enabl
Higher levels of democracy and lower levels of corruption are associated with more doctors, independent of healthcare spending, per cross-sectional study of 134 countries
In major materials breakthrough, UVA team solves a nearly 200-year-old challenge in polymers
Wyoming research shows early North Americans made needles from fur-bearers
Preclinical tests show mRNA-based treatments effective for blinding condition
Velcro DNA helps build nanorobotic Meccano
Oceans emit sulfur and cool the climate more than previously thought
Nanorobot hand made of DNA grabs viruses for diagnostics and blocks cell entry
Rare, mysterious brain malformations in children linked to protein misfolding, study finds
Newly designed nanomaterial shows promise as antimicrobial agent
Scientists glue two proteins together, driving cancer cells to self-destruct
[Press-News.org] Adopting healthy lifestyle strongly linked to lower irritable bowel syndrome riskEspecially not smoking, plenty of vigorous exercise, and getting enough sleep