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By ELIZABETH MANNING
UPI Science News
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ANOTHER REASON TO EAT YOUR FRUITS
AND VEGGIES: Add "reduction in stroke risk" to the list: eating more fruits
and vegetables can lower that risk by more than 30 percent, Harvard researchers say.
Using data culled from over 114,000 men and women, Kaumudi Joshipura of the Harvard
School of Public Health in Boston and colleagues looked for a link between fruit
and vegetable consumption and risk for ischemic stroke. They found that those who
ate six or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day had a 31 percent lower risk
than those who ate less than three servings. Most effective were citrus fruits, citrus
juice, green leafy vegetables, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and such similar
vegetables. Ischemic stroke represents 80 percent of all cases of stroke, and is
caused by a clot in an artery in the brain.
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CHINA FACES SMOKING EPIDEMIC: China
is faced with a swelling smoking epidemic that is expected to kill millions of people.
A survey conducted by American and Chinese researchers and published in the Journal
of the American Medical Association finds an estimated 300 million men and 20 million
women smoke in China. Researchers Dr. Gonghuan Yang of the Chinese Academy of Preventive
Medicine and Dr. Jonathan Samet of Johns Hopkins School of Public Health predict
that in 20 years' time at least 2 million people will die each year from smoking-related
diseases. It also indicated that more than 50 million people who are currently smoking
will die prematurely from the effects of tobacco use. The World Health Organization
says at China's current level of tobacco consumption, more than 800,000 people die
there each year, 2,000 daily, of tobacco-related diseases. Health officials say one
of the only ways to stamp out China's smoking epidemic is to slap a heavy tax on
tobacco. China is the world's top producer and consumes about 30 percent of the world's
tobacco.
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HEART-RHYTHM DEFECT MAY EXPLAIN
DROWNINGS: At least some of the more than 400 unexplained drownings per year may
be caused by a defect in the heart's rhythm, say researchers at the Mayo Clinic.
The defect, called long-QT syndrome, means the heart requires a longer than normal
period to reset itself between beats. Day-to-day life is generally unaffected, says
Dr. Michael Ackerman of the Rochester, Minn., clinic. However, certain triggers like
intense physical exertion or being startled can set off fainting spells, seizures
and even death. Ackerman and his colleagues base their hypothesis on a case study
of a 19-year-old woman, a strong swimmer who died after nearly drowning. Molecular
testing revealed not only she, but also her apparently healthy sister and mother,
carry the genetic defect. Long-QT syndrome can be treated lifelong medication such
as a beta-blocker. The Mayo researchers' findings appear in the New England Journal
of Medicine.
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HOUSTON SMOG LEVEL MAY SMOTHER
L.A.'S: When it comes to dirty air, Houston is now set to pull ahead of Los Angeles,
perennial leader among the nation's cities in ozone air pollution. According to statistics
published by the Houston Chronicle, Los Angeles and Houston have been tied at 43
each for the number of days in which at least one ozone reading moved above the national
health standard's one-hour maximum level of 125 parts per billion. Houston has closed
the gap since August, when climate changes favored production of ozone pollution
in Texas but suppressed ozone-producing conditions in Southern California. Houston
also appears to finish the year with the highest individual ozone reading, at 211
parts per billion compared to 170 so far this year for Los Angeles. Houston's dubious
achievements presents problems for Texas officials, who could lose federal transportation
funding if they can't come up with an effective plan to bring ozone levels back down
by 2007.
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