Road Traffic Noise and Incident Myocardial Infarction: A Prospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND Both road traffic noise and ambient air pollution have been associated with risk for ischemic heart disease, but only few inconsistent studies include both exposures. METHODS In a population-based cohort of 57 053 people aged 50 to 64 years at enrolment in 1993-1997, we identified 1600 cases of first-ever MI between enrolment and 2006. The mean follow-up time was 9.8 years. Exposure to road traffic noise and air pollution from 1988 to 2006 was estimated for all cohort members from residential address history. Associations between exposure to road traffic noise and incident MI were analysed in a Cox regression model with adjustment for air pollution (NO(x)) and other potential confounders: age, sex, education, lifestyle confounders, railway and airport noise. RESULTS We found that residential exposure to road traffic noise (L(den)) was significantly associated with MI, with an incidence rate ratio IRR of 1.12 per 10 dB for both of the two exposure windows: yearly exposure at the time of diagnosis (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-1.22) and 5-years time-weighted mean (95% CI: 1.02-1.23) preceding the diagnosis. Visualizing of the results using restricted cubic splines showed a linear dose-response relationship. CONCLUSIONS Exposure to long-term residential road traffic noise was associated with a higher risk for MI, in a dose-dependent manner

Better climate at Christiansborg

Translated from Danish (Ingenioren (Denmark) 1985 (39) 3 pp.)SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:6196.3(OA-Trans--2865)T / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Heavy-load resistance exercise during chemotherapy in physically inactive breast cancer survivors at risk for lymphedema:a randomized trial

Background: Due to long-standing concerns that heavy-load lifting could increase the risk of developing lymphedema, breast cancer survivors have been advised to refrain from resistance exercise with heavy loads. This study prospectively evaluated the effect of heavy-load resistance exercise on lymphedema development in women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer. Material and Methods: Physically inactive women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer (n = 153) were randomized to a HIGH (supervised, multimodal exercise including heavy-load resistance exercise: 85–90% 1 repetition maximum [RM], three sets of 5–8 repetitions) versus LOW (pedometer and one-on-one consultations) 12-week intervention. Outcomes (baseline, 12 and 39 weeks) included lymphedema status (extracellular fluid [bioimpedance spectroscopy] and inter-arm volume % difference [dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry], lymphedema symptoms [numeric rating scale 0–10]), upper-extremity strength (1 RM), and quality of life domains (EORTC- BR23). Linear mixed models were used to evaluate equivalence between groups for lymphedema outcomes (equivalence margins for L-Dex, % difference and symptoms scale: ±5, ±3% and ±1, respectively). Superiority analysis was conducted for muscle strength and quality of life domains. Results: Postintervention equivalence between groups was found for extracellular fluid (0.4; 90% CI −2.5 to 3.2) and symptoms of heaviness (−0.2; −0.6 to 0.2), tightness (−0.1; −0.8 to 0.6) and swelling (0.2; −0.4 to 0.8). Nonequivalence was found for inter-arm volume % difference (−3.5%; −17.3 to 10.3) and pain (−0.7; −1.3 to 0), favoring HIGH. Strength gains were superior in the HIGH versus LOW group (3 kg; 1 to 5, p <.05). Further, clinically relevant reductions in breast (−11; −15 to −7) and arm (−6; −10 to −1) symptoms were found in the HIGH group. Conclusion: Findings suggest that physically inactive breast cancer survivors can benefit from supervised heavy-load resistance exercise during chemotherapy without increasing lymphedema risk. Trial registration: ISRCTN13816000.</p

No evidence for adjustment of maternal investment under alternative mate availability regimes

Using treatments that mimic high and low availability of reproductive males, it was found that female three‐spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus, previously shown to adjust their mate choices when male mates were rare, did not alter their reproductive investment strategies. These results suggest that plasticity in investment is perhaps limited by physiological requirements or dependent on relatively extreme mate availability regimes. The probability of becoming reproductive, number of clutches per season (per female), initial clutch size and mass and the timing of reproduction were all independent of the experience a female had with mate availability. This suggests that pre‐copulatory plasticity in reproductive strategies may contribute more to variation in the strength and direction of sexual selection than reproductive investment in offspring