A recent study reveals that intensive diabetes treatment can improve periodontal disease inflammation. Researchers found that two weeks of intensive diabetes treatment under hospitalization for patients with type 2 diabetes significantly improved not only blood sugar control but also PISA, an indicator of gum disease inflammation. Furthermore, the improvement in PISA was related to factors such as insulin secretion capacity and the severity of diabetes complications and comorbidities before diabetes treatment. These findings suggest that early intervention in diabetes is crucial for improving gum disease in diabetic patients.
Read more …Getting to the root of the problem: Intensive diabetes treatment reduces gum disease inflammation
A new study has found that more than half of Black and Hispanic infants were born into very low-opportunity neighborhoods, and that babies born into these neighborhoods had a 16-percent greater risk of being born preterm. The study sheds new light on the health consequences of structural racism and historically discriminatory practices -- such as redlining and disproportionate exposures to pollutants -- that continue to shape modern-day neighborhood conditions and circumstances.
Read more …Lower neighborhood opportunity may increase risk for preterm birth
The cumulative adversity index for people quantifies numerous measures of hardship, such as poverty and stress to understand health and longevity over the individual's lifespan. A similar tool could help scientists who study and want to conserve animal populations by identifying the most influential stressors to mitigate. Biologists have created the first cumulative adversity index for yellow-bellied marmots. They found that as in humans, adversity early on had lifelong consequences and reduced their life expectancy.
Read more …Hardship early in life can affect health and longevity -- even for marmots