middle-aged

A number of studies have pointed to a link between depression and type 2 diabetes, but a new study indicates that this is not as straightforward as it seemed. The large Canadian study involving 2,525 adults aged 40-69 has found that it is not depression alone that increases the risk of developing diabetes, but depression in conjunction with metabolic risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels,.

The study found that those with metabolic symptoms but not depression were around four times more likely to develop diabetes than normally healthy people, while those with both depression and metabolic risk factors were more than six times more likely to develop diabetes. The combined effect of depression and metabolic symptoms was greater than the sum of the individual effects. But those with depression alone had no more risk than normally healthy people.

There are probably two main causes for this effect. One is that, as evidence shows, people suffering from depression are less likely to adhere to medical advice aimed at tackling metabolic symptoms. This makes the metabolic symptoms worse, which can exacerbate the symptoms of depression, and so it goes, in a horrible negative cycle.

The second reason is that some forms of depression are associated with changes in the body's metabolic systems which can lead to weight gain, high blood pressure and problems with glucose metabolism. Some antidepressant medications can also cause weight gain.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/mu-hdm041216.php

Schmitz, N., Deschenes, S. S., Burns, R. J., Smith, K. J., Lesage, A., Strychar, I., … Wang, J. L. (2016). Depression and risk of type 2 diabetes: the potential role of metabolic factors. Mol Psychiatry. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/mp.2016.7

Data from a five-year sleep study involving 161 Caucasian, 121 African American and 56 Chinese non-shift working women aged 48-58 has found that going to bed later, and having greater variability in bedtime, were associated with higher insulin resistance, and greater bedtime advance (going to bed earlier) was associated with higher body mass index (BMI).

Changes in bedtime, and later bedtimes, were partly due to shifts in bedtime at the weekend.

Diabetes risk increases in midlife women, and this finding suggests that irregular sleep schedules may be an important factor. Metabolic health was better in women who had more regular sleep schedules, including regular bedtimes across weekdays and weekends."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/aaos-sli020116.php

Taylor BJ, Matthews KA, Hasler BP, Roecklein KA, Kline CE, Buysse DJ, Kravitz HM, Tiani AG, Harlow SD, Hall MH. Bedtime variability and metabolic health in midlife women: the SWAN Sleep Study. SLEEP 2016;39(2):457–465.

Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that affect how quickly cells age. With age, they shorten, and as their structural integrity weakens, the cells age and die quicker. Telomere length thus is a biomarker of cellular age. Stress is also thought to shorten telomere length.

A year-long study that looked at the effects of three healthy behaviors in 239 post-menopausal, non-smoking women has found that women who engaged in lower levels of healthy behaviors showed a significantly greater telomere shortening for every major life stressor that occurred. However, stress didn't lead to greater shortening in those women who maintained active lifestyles, healthy diets, and good quality sleep.

Shorter telomeres have become associated with a broad range of aging-related diseases, including stroke, vascular dementia, cardiovascular disease, obesity, osteoporosis diabetes, and many forms of cancer.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-07/uoc--hlm072414.php

Puterman, E., Lin, J., Krauss, J., Blackburn, E. H., & Epel, E. S. (2015). Determinants of telomere attrition over 1 year in healthy older women: stress and health behaviors matter. Molecular Psychiatry, 20(4), 529–535. http://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2014.70

A Finnish study involving 2,570 middle-aged men (42-60) has found that men sleeping less than 6 hours or more than 10 hours suffer from low-grade inflammation (indicated by levels of C-reactive protein) more often than persons sleeping 7-8 hours per night. Additionally, the serum levels of zinc, and the zinc/copper ration, were lowest in those sleeping less than 6 hours, while copper levels were highest in those sleeping more than 10 hours.

It has been suggested that high serum copper concentration is linked to pro-oxidative stress, found in many chronic diseases.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/uoef-lsa091415.php

Luojus, M. K., Lehto, S. M., Tolmunen, T., Elomaa, A.-P., & Kauhanen, J. (2015). Serum copper, zinc and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in short and long sleep duration in ageing men. Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, 32, 177–182. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2015.07.008

In a study involving 52 sedentary, overweight, middle-aged men and women (aged 45-65), both exercise and calorie restriction had positive — and equal — effects on insulin sensitivity, but a combination of both had twice as much benefit for glucoregulation as either single approach. All three programs were designed to achieve about the same amount of weight loss (6-8%).

The study also indicated that both exercise and calorie restriction improve regulation of glucose levels through weight loss, but also through mechanisms that are independent of weight loss.

What all this suggests is that, even if you're maintaining a healthy weight, how much you eat, and whether you exercise, are factors that have health implications.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-05/slu-ido050615.php

Weiss, E. P., Albert, S. G., Reeds, D. N., Kress, K. S., Ezekiel, U. R., McDaniel, J. L., … Villareal, D. T. (2015). Calorie Restriction and Matched Weight Loss From Exercise: Independent and Additive Effects on Glucoregulation and the Incretin System in Overweight Women and Men. Diabetes Care, 38(7), 1253–1262. http://doi.org/10.2337/dc14-2913

A Canadian study comparing neighborhoods that varied in “walkability” found that people living in neighborhoods with greater walkability had an average 13% lower likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes over 10 years, compared to those living in less walkable neighborhoods. However, walkability was only protective in those who were younger and middle aged; those who were age 65 or older saw no benefit from living in a walkable neighborhood.

Over the ten years of the study, the incidence of diabetes fell 7% in the most walkable neighborhoods, but rose 6% in the least walkable neighborhoods. Similarly, the incidence of excess weight (being overweight or obese) fell by 9% in the most walkable neighborhoods and rose 13% in the least walkable neighborhoods.

People who lived in the most walkable neighborhoods were three times more likely to walk or bicycle and half as likely to drive as a means of transportation.

The study was presented at the American Diabetes Association's 74th Scientific Session.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-06/ada-dn060214.php

A Greek study involving 386 middle aged patients (average age 61) with arterial hypertension has found that those who had a midday nap had lower systolic BP than those who didn't. Their average systolic BP readings were 4% lower when they were awake (5 mmHg) and 6% lower while they slept at night (7 mmHg) than non-midday sleepers .

Moreover, midday sleepers had pulse wave velocity levels that were 11% lower and left atrium diameter was 5% smaller — suggesting there is less damage in the arteries and heart. Additionally, midday sleepers had greater dips in blood pressure during the night (which is a good thing), and they took fewer antihypertensive medications.

Longer naps were better than shorter.

The research was presented at the 2015 ESC Congress.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-08/esoc-mna082815.php

A British study involving 165 healthy nonsmoking adults (aged 40–70) has found that a diet based on UK health guidelines could reduce risk of a heart attack or a stroke by up to a third, compared to a traditional British diet

The predicted risk of cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years for the participants was estimated to be about 8% in the men and 4% in the women. Participants followed their diets for 12 weeks. Those on the modified diet ate oily fish once a week, more fruit and vegetables, replaced refined with wholegrain cereals, swapped high-fat dairy products and meats for low-fat alternatives, and restricted their intake of added sugar and salt. Participants were asked to replace cakes and cookies with fruit and nuts and were also supplied with cooking oils and spreads high in monounsaturated fat.

The average body weight in the group on the modified diet fell by 1.3 kg; that in the control group rose by 0.6 kg. Waist circumference was 1.7 cm lower in the dietary group compared to the control group. There were also significant falls in systolic blood pressure/diastolic blood pressure (4.2/2.5 mm Hg for daytime and 2.9/1.9 mm Hg for night time) and average heart rate. Cholesterol fell by 8%. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (a marker for inflammation) was 36% lower. There was no significant change in markers for insulin sensitivity. Much of the fall in blood pressure could be accounted for by the drop in sodium.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/kcl-hdr031715.php

Reidlinger, D. P., Darzi, J., Hall, W. L., Seed, P. T., Chowienczyk, P. J., & Sanders, T. A. (2015). How effective are current dietary guidelines for cardiovascular disease prevention in healthy middle-aged and older men and women? A randomized controlled trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 101(5), 922–930. http://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.097352