Baby boomer women 'drinking heavily'

Problem drinking among the young may be declining, but those over 50 are drinking more - and taking more drugs. say researchers.

Baby boomers are suffering the effects of easy access to cheap alcohol, experts say

More and more women over 50 are drinking heavily, prompting fears for their health, experts have said.

While risky drinking is in decline among other age groups, there is a "strong upward trend for episodic heavy drinking" among baby boomers.

Rahul Rao, visiting researcher at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Ann Roche, director of the National Centre for Training and Addiction at Flinders University in Australia, have published their research in The British Medical Journal.

They were particularly concerned about women whose drinking is prompted by retirement, bereavement, change in home situation or social isolation.

"Alcohol misuse in the older population may increase further as baby boomers get older because of their more liberal views towards, and higher use of, alcohol," the researchers wrote.

"A lack of sound alcohol screening to detect risky drinking may result in a greater need for treatment, longer duration of treatment, heavier use of ambulance services, and higher rates of hospital admission."

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, said that, while much had been made of a decline in youth drinking, not enough attention had been paid to the growing problem among older people.

He said: "The over 50s have seen a time when alcohol has become increasingly affordable and have been bombarded with sophisticated alcohol marketing messages telling them they can't live a fulfilling life unless alcohol is at the centre of it.

"What they haven't been told is that alcohol is linked to over 200 types of illness and injury, including seven types of cancer.

"If we are to turn the tide of alcohol harm we need measures which tackle the affordability, availability and promotion of alcohol, starting with the introduction of a minimum unit price which would reduce rates of death, illness and hospital admission numbers caused by alcohol."

Katherine Brown, director of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said: "This is the first generation in living memory that has had easy access to cheap alcohol in shops and supermarkets and now we are seeing the consequences in later life.

"We need to take stock of this situation and prevent future generations from developing alcohol problems in older age through price increases and stricter controls on alcohol promotions."

Mr Rao and Ms Roche also warned that doctors will need extra skills to cope with a "rapidly growing problem" of drug misuse among baby boomers.

They said doctors would need "improved knowledge and skills" in assessing and treating older people at risk of misusing opiate prescription drugs, cannabis, and, increasingly, gabapentinoid drugs used to treat neuropathic pain and anxiety.

Is A Fitness Downside to Statin Drugs?

Taking ldl cholesterol-reducing statin pills appeared to make exercise more tough and much less beneficial, a new look at in mice shows. Mice aren't human beings, obviously, however the observe does improve interesting questions about whether or not and the way statins may affect physical health in anybody.

Inside the experiment, statins had been very powerful in lowering cholesterol levels. However animals moved less if they had been taking statins than if they were now not taking the medicine. And when they did move, mice on statins developed fewer wonderful bodily adjustments inside their muscles than animals that have been now not given the drugs.

Statins are already one of the most widely prescribed drugs on earth, and their use is possibly to grow still greater in coming years. Last november, in an article published in jama, a group of scientists proposed that any adult past the age of forty with even a single chance factor for cardiovascular ailment begin taking a statin that allows you to lessen his or her chance of eventually developing heart disorder.

However statins are not with out dangers. They have been observed to boom the hazard for kind 2 diabetes. They also can bring about muscle aches and fatigue. In a few studies of humans taking statins, as many as 20 percent record good sized muscle ache, with the incidence rising even higher among folks who exercise whilst taking statins.

Such muscular pain and fatigue may be specifically consequential if they result in human beings being much less active. Different research suggest that cardio fitness, which depends to a massive diploma on how a good deal human beings move, may be a better predictor of existence span and even of dangers for coronary heart disorder than levels of cholesterol.

However many questions stay unanswered about how statins affect someone’s willingness and capacity to workout and additionally whether or not workout whilst on statins exacerbates any muscular issues.

So for the new examine, which was published in december in plos one, researchers on the university of illinois at urbana-champaign got down to systematically examine what happens to mice, animals that evidently love to run, in the event that they commenced taking statins.

The mice they chose to use had been bred to develop extremely excessive levels of cholesterol. (they used only male mice in this test, because the girl reproductive cycle can have an effect on cholesterol and pastime ranges. The scientists desire to take a look at ladies in later research.)

At the start of the test, the scientists checked the animals’ modern cholesterol profiles, as well as their capability to dangle horizontally to a wall while being lightly tugged, a widespread way to decide muscular electricity and health. The scientists extensively utilized light electrical stimulation to measure how speedy the animals’ massive leg muscle tissues grew tired and not able to settlement, and that they executed tissue biopsies to gauge the underlying, mobile fitness of the muscle mass themselves.

Then the animals were assigned to an expansion of businesses.

Some have been injected with a statin drug, whilst others, serving as controls, were given a shot of salt water.

Some of the animals in each of these groups then were given get entry to to strolling wheels and allowed to exercise as they selected. Typical in their species, they all started out out enthusiastically walking, at the same time as the researchers tracked their mileage.

Others had been not given jogging wheels and remained sedentary throughout the examine.

After a month, the researchers repeated the tests from the study’s begin.

As could be expected, the animals on statins had lower levels of cholesterol now, not like the unmedicated mice, whether or not they exercised or no longer.

However the animals on statins also had spoke back to workout pretty in a different way than the alternative mice.

Maximum distinctly, they had run far fewer miles, with their interest ranges consistently declining during the experiment.

In addition they had lost grip energy, which, in keeping with the observe authors, can suggest no longer only muscle weakness however also pain or tenderness; in impact, if muscle tissues ache, it hurts to try and keep on.

Their large leg muscle mass also fatigued plenty earlier than the muscular tissues of walking animals no longer on statins.

Curiously, those statin-associated muscular problems have been no greater among the runners than many of the sedentary animals taking statins, the researchers discovered. Exercise itself had not made the muscle aches and fatigue worse.

However the statins had blunted a number of the expected exercising effects under the pores and skin, it became out. The runners now not taking statins had advanced large muscle fibers, in addition to ideal modifications inner muscle cells that caused more green manufacturing of electricity. They were more fit, at a cell stage.

Inside the runners taking statins, in the meantime, muscle fiber length had now not improved as an awful lot and cells had been slightly more efficient than on the start.

Whether those medicated mice were much less muscularly healthful because they had run less than the other mice or due to the fact the statins had come what may without delay made their muscle mass less in shape is not possible to tell from this look at, says marni boppart, a professor of body structure at the college of illinois who oversaw the experiment.

The take a look at additionally manifestly involved mice, no longer people.

But the effects are well worth bearing in thoughts in case you are taking statins or are advised to begin taking them.

“the outcomes from this take a look at endorse that statins may additionally lessen the choice to take part in a voluntary or prescribed exercise training program,” dr. Boppart says.

So speak on your medical doctor at period about the probably blessings and disadvantages of statins, she says, and let your doctor realize in case your muscle mass hurt otherwise you discover your self skipping exercises after starting the drug.

Is it true that prolonged use of Lipitor-type drugs can cause diabetes?

It’s actual. All medicines have side results, and severa research have shown that cholesterol-lowering statin tablets are linked to a small boom in the threat of type 2 diabetes, while they reduce the threat of coronary heart attacks.

The higher the dose of a statin, the extra the diabetes threat, said dr. Eric topol, director of the scripps translational technological know-how institute and chief academic officer at scripps health. However many coronary heart docs, which includes dr. Mary norine walsh, president-go with of the yankee college of cardiology, say situation approximately diabetes ought to now not deter patients from taking statins “in case you fall into the higher danger class” for coronary heart sickness.

Then again, a person who has in no way had coronary heart ailment and who has high cholesterol but no other threat elements is less in all likelihood to derive gain from a statin drug at the same time as still facing the hazard of diabetes, dr. Topol said, adding, “there you've got a totally tight gain-to-threat ratio.”

The meals and drug administration up to date its advisory about statins in 2012 to encompass warnings approximately the marginally expanded chance of better blood sugars and type 2 diabetes, primarily based in element on two huge analyses of earlier studies that controlled for diabetes risk elements like being overweight or being older. One found a nine percent increase within the threat of diabetes amongst statin customers, and the other a 12 percent growth, with a extra risk for the ones on extensive as opposed to mild doses of the medication.

Can Statins Cause Diabetes?

The 2012 f.D.A. Advisory additionally warns of other aspect results of statins, along with muscle harm, rare instances of liver harm and reports of memory loss and confusion.

“you and your medical doctor want to be aware of dangers,” stated dr. Walsh, and you can need to be assessed for diabetes. But she said, “it isn't always a reason no longer to take a statin in case you fall into the higher hazard category. The general benefit of statins for individuals who want them because of their cardiovascular threat a ways exceeds the danger of diabetes.”

Do Statins Cause Erectile Dysfunction?

Erectile dysfunction (ed) is a situation marked by using the incapability to acquire or keep an erection. The threat increases with age, affecting 12 percentage of men beneath 60, 22 percentage of men among 60 and sixty nine, and 30 percent of men over 70, in line with the country wide institute of diabetes and digestive and kidney diseases (niddk).

Sure conditions, inclusive of melancholy and low testosterone, are feasible causes of ed. There has even been debate that statins — a popular type of ldl cholesterol medicinal drug — can every now and then be responsible.

While researchers have regarded into the opportunity of statins as a motive for ed, different evidence has cautioned otherwise. The identical 2014 have a look at located that over the years, ed definitely stepped forward amongst men who were taking statins for high ldl cholesterol.

Moreover, the niddk says that clogged arteries can cause ed. If your medical doctor prescribes statins to take away plaque in the arteries, it is able to no longer be the medicine inflicting issues. Rather, the clogged arteries themselves can be the reason.

Blocked blood vessels (atherosclerosis) can also cause ed. It may be a sign of destiny coronary heart issues. In truth, a 2011 report found that ed is on occasion a warning signal that a patient may want to have a coronary heart assault or stroke inside the next five years.

Statins and Your Sex Life For Better Life

The technology on statins and sexual function is inconclusive, however it does seem that taking a statin may also occasionally have an effect on someone’s intercourse existence.

On the plus side, some men document progressed erections when their excessive ldl cholesterol became treated with statins, stated dr. Steven nissen, chairman of the department of cardiology on the cleveland clinic. It's far practicable that lowering ldl cholesterol improves the characteristic of the cells that line blood vessels, which can help erectile function, he stated.

But a 2008 report from the college of california, san diego, tells a unique story. Researchers looked at statin use and sexual characteristic in 1,000 males and females, 1/2 of whom have been given a statin and half of whom took a placebo. Over all, guys on statins were approximately two times as in all likelihood as those taking placebos to document that their ability to acquire orgasm had emerge as “truly worse” or “an awful lot worse.”

Dr. Beatrice golomb, a professor on the university of california, san diego, scientific college, who helped behavior that study, says docs don’t always take patients seriously after they communicate about aspect consequences, sexual or otherwise. In other studies, dr. Golomb observed that once patients complained approximately the maximum usually identified facet consequences of statins, their docs denied the possibility of a connection extra than 1/2 the time.

Clinical issues that lead to a statin prescription may also be in charge for adjustments in sexual function, stated dr. Natan bar-chama, director of male reproductive medicinal drug at mount sinai health center in big apple. Statins are typically prescribed for humans with ailments inclusive of diabetes or heart disease, which could motive erectile disorder. If the underlying sickness improves while a person takes statins, then erectile feature is possibly to enhance as properly, he said.

At the flip side, statins can motive side effects along with fatigue and muscle weak spot. All of us with the ones situations could be more likely to go through sexual problems, he said.

Due to the fact the technological know-how on statins and sexual function is so inconclusive, dr. Golomb stated, patients who do observe sexual problems have to speak to their medical doctors approximately whether the possibly advantages of statins are really worth the trade-off. Research has certainly shown that men under 70 with pre-existing coronary heart disorder live longer if they take statins, but the advantages are much less clear for girls, the ones without disorder and people over 70, she said.

“doctors want to be informed about and conscious of affected person issues,” dr. Golomb said. “make certain you've got a medical doctor who listens to you.”

A Fitness Downside to Statin Drugs?

Taking cholesterol-lowering statin pills appeared to make exercise extra tough and much less beneficial, a new examine in mice suggests. Mice are not human beings, glaringly, however the have a look at does boost exciting questions about whether and the way statins might affect bodily fitness in everybody.

In the experiment, statins had been very powerful in reducing levels of cholesterol. But animals moved much less in the event that they had been taking statins than if they have been not taking the drugs. And after they did circulate, mice on statins evolved fewer high-quality physical adjustments within their muscle tissue than animals that had been no longer given the drugs.

Statins are already one of the most extensively prescription drugs on the earth, and their use is in all likelihood to develop nevertheless extra in coming years. Ultimate november, in an editorial posted in jama, a collection of scientists proposed that any adult beyond the age of forty with even a single hazard factor for cardiovascular ailment start taking a statin for you to reduce his or her chance of sooner or later growing heart disorder.

If implemented widely, that advice could vastly increase the number of humans using the medication.

However statins aren't with out risks. They have been observed to increase the hazard for kind 2 diabetes. They also can bring about muscle aches and fatigue. In some research of human beings taking statins, as many as 20 percent document enormous muscle pain, with the incidence rising even higher among folks that exercise whilst taking statins.

Such muscular soreness and fatigue could be in particular consequential in the event that they result in people being less energetic. Other research suggest that cardio fitness, which depends to a huge diploma on how much humans circulate, may be a better predictor of life span and even of risks for coronary heart sickness than levels of cholesterol.

However many questions stay unanswered approximately how statins affect someone’s willingness and capability to exercising and also whether exercise at the same time as on statins exacerbates any muscular issues.

So for the brand new observe, which was published in december in plos one, researchers at the university of illinois at urbana-champaign got down to systematically look at what occurs to mice, animals that naturally love to run, if they began taking statins.

The mice they chose to apply have been bred to broaden extremely high cholesterol levels. (they used only male mice on this test, since the woman reproductive cycle can have an effect on cholesterol and pastime ranges. The scientists desire to take a look at girls in later studies.)

At the start of the experiment, the scientists checked the animals’ cutting-edge cholesterol profiles, as well as their capacity to dangle horizontally to a wall while being gently tugged, a fashionable manner to decide muscular electricity and health. The scientists extensively utilized light electrical stimulation to measure how quickly the animals’ large leg muscular tissues grew worn-out and unable to settlement, and they accomplished tissue biopsies to gauge the underlying, cell fitness of the muscle tissue themselves.

Then the animals were assigned to a selection of companies.

Some were injected with a statin drug, whilst others, serving as controls, were given a shot of salt water.

Some of the animals in each of these organizations then had been given access to running wheels and allowed to exercising as they selected. Common of their species, all of them commenced out enthusiastically running, even as the researchers tracked their mileage.

Others were no longer given running wheels and remained sedentary for the duration of the look at.

After a month, the researchers repeated the assessments from the take a look at’s start.

As might be predicted, the animals on statins had lower levels of cholesterol now, in contrast to the unmedicated mice, whether they exercised or now not.

However the animals on statins additionally had replied to exercise quite in a different way than the other mice.

Maximum pretty, that they had run a ways fewer miles, with their hobby levels consistently declining at some stage in the experiment.In addition they had lost grip energy, which, in step with the look at authors, can imply now not only muscle weakness but additionally pain or tenderness; in effect, if muscle mass ache, it hurts to try to keep on.

Their huge leg muscle tissues also fatigued a lot in advance than the muscular tissues of going for walks animals not on statins.

Curiously, these statin-associated muscular problems had been no extra a few of the runners than some of the sedentary animals taking statins, the researchers located. Exercise itself had now not made the muscle aches and fatigue worse.

But the statins had blunted some of the predicted exercise consequences underneath the skin, it became out. The runners not taking statins had evolved large muscle fibers, as well as desirable changes inside muscle cells that caused extra efficient production of power. They have been more healthy, at a mobile level.

Inside the runners taking statins, in the meantime, muscle fiber length had no longer extended as a great deal and cells had been barely greater efficient than on the begin.

Whether these medicated mice had been less muscularly healthful because they'd run much less than the opposite mice or because the statins had someway without delay made their muscle groups much less match is impossible to tell from this observe, says marni boppart, a professor of body structure at the college of illinois who oversaw the test.

The examine also glaringly worried mice, not humans.

However the results are well worth bearing in mind in case you are taking statins or are cautioned to begin taking them."the results from this examine propose that statins may reduce the preference to take part in a voluntary or prescribed exercising education software,” dr. Boppart says.

So talk in your medical doctor at length approximately the possibly benefits and drawbacks of statins, she says, and permit your doctor recognize in case your muscle tissues harm otherwise you find yourself skipping workout routines after beginning the drug. Read More