Daily Archives: August 16, 2011
Depressed women ‘have increased risk of stroke’
Women with depression may also be at increased risk of having a stroke, US researchers suggest.
The research, in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, said doctors should be aware people with depression may neglect their general health.
UK stroke experts said depression alone was unlikely to increase stroke risk.
Indicator
The women, all aged 54-79, who were all taking part in the long-running Nurses’ Health Study which has been following women across the US since the mid 1970s.
In this study, the researchers looked at data from 2000 to 2006.
Smoking increases heart risk more in women than men
Women who start smoking increase their risk of a 
by more than men who take up the habit, according to a review of more than 30 years of research.
A study of 2.4 million people, published in the Lancet, showed a 25% difference in increased risk.
The reasons are unclear, say researchers.
The British Heart Foundation said the findings were “alarming” especially as women tended to smoke fewer cigarettes.
The World Health Organization lists heart disease as the world’s biggest killer, affecting more than seven million people each year.
The illness is largely down to lifestyle choice and smoking is one of the main causes. A study by the University of Minnesota showed women are at greater risk from smoking than men.
It analysed 75 sets of data produced by studies between 1966 and 2010.
More smokers in England are trying to quit
The number of smokers turning to the NHS for help to kick the habit has trebled in the last decade, data shows.
But despite nearly 788,000 using the services in England this year, less than half succeed, figures from the NHS Information Centre reveal.
And many of those who do quit – 384,000 in 2010/11 – later relapse.
This means a fifth of adults in England are smokers, even though more are using quit smoking services at a cost of £84.3m in 2010/11.
This is nearly half a million pounds more than in the previous year and almost £60m more than t10 years ago.
