People who carry too much weight around the
middle may be putting a burden on their lungs, a new study finds.
Researchers who reviewed the health of 120,000 people in France found that those
who were obese around the abdomen had worse lung function.
The researchers, writing in The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical
Care Medicine, defined abdominal obesity as a waist circumference of 35 inches
or greater for women and 40 inches or greater for men. The effect on the lungs
was found even after body mass index - a measure of overall fitness - was taken
into account.
The study, led by Dr. Natalie Leone of the National Institute for Health and
Medical Research in France, noted that impaired lung function could be a signal
of serious health problems in the future, including cardiovascular disease.
Abdominal obesity is one part of a cluster of symptoms that make up a condition
known as metabolic syndrome.
There are several explanations for why extra weight around the waist might make
the lungs work less well, the study said.
It may simply be that the added fat gives the
lungs less room to expand. But it may also be that the fat cells act to increase
inflammation throughout the body, including in the lungs.
Ambulance stethoscopes may pose risk
Stethoscopes carried by ambulance crews are not always cleaned as often as they
should be, and as a result they may be exposing some patients to drug-resistant
bacteria, a new study reports.
Researchers who looked at stethoscopes used by emergency medical services
workers in New Jersey found that a significant number carried methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, bacteria known as MRSA that are resistant to standard
drugs.
Some of the ambulance workers could not recall the last time the instruments had
been cleaned, said the researchers, whose report appears in the current issue of
Prehospital Emergency Care.
The study's lead author, Dr. Mark A. Merlin of Robert Wood Johnson Medical
School, said it was unclear how big a threat MRSA on a stethoscope posed to a
patient. But as incidents of infection by the bacteria become more common, and
with the possibility that it will become more resistant to antibiotics, it is
important to reduce its spread, he said.
Researchers asked ambulance crews arriving at an emergency department over a
24-hour period to let their stethoscopes be tested. They also asked when the
instruments had last been cleaned.
Of 50 stethoscopes tested, 16 had the bacteria, which a simple alcohol swab is
usually enough to kill, the researchers said.
Source : New York Times News Service
