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Taking regular lunchtime siestas could increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to research.

The study of 16,480 people, found those who napped were 26% more likely to get the condition than those who did not.

Several factors which may be behind the link included disrupted night-time sleep and an association between napping and reduced physical activity.

But a conference in Glasgow will hear that factors like genetics and being overweight are more significant.

The researchers will tell delegates at the Diabetes UK event that napping during the day may disrupt night-time sleep.

This could have an impact as short night-time sleep duration has been shown to be associated with an increased Type 2 diabetes risk.

‘Another step’

Waking up from napping also activates hormones and mechanisms in the body that stop insulin working effectively, the researchers said, and this could predispose people to Type 2 diabetes - which can develop when the insulin the body makes does not work properly.

Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, said: “We already know that people who are overweight or obese, and therefore more at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, can have problems sleeping.

“This new research could be another step towards explaining the possible link between disturbed sleep patterns and Type 2 diabetes.”

“However, in terms of being major risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes, disturbed sleep or napping are likely to remain less significant than already established risk factors such as being overweight, being over the age of 40 or having a history of diabetes in the family.”

Diabetes is a serious condition that can lead to long-term complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and amputation.

Short-term complications include hypoglycaemic episodes, which can lead to unconsciousness and hospitalisation if left untreated, and persistent high blood glucose levels can be fatal if untreated.

The research, conducted by scientists from the University of Birmingham and from Guangzhou Hospital in China, will be presented at Diabetes UK’s annual conference in Glasgow’s SECC.

One in three people with type 2 diabetes are given medication too soon, instead of being urged to eat better and do more exercise, a study suggests.

A study of 650 people in south west England found 36% were put on tablets within a month of being diagnosed, a Diabetes UK conference heard.

Yet UK guidelines recommend patients should first try to make lifestyle changes to control the condition.

The Royal College of GPs agreed diet and exercise should come first.

More than 400 people a day are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the UK.

It is often associated with obesity, and attempts in recent years to screen people for the disease has increased the number of people being diagnosed.

In the latest study, researchers found that in many patients lifestyle management was not given a chance, despite being widely recognised as being the initial first “treatment”.

Metformin is the first drug of choice, but more drugs can be added if that is not doing enough to control blood sugar levels.

The researchers found that 13% of participants were actually on two types of tablets within the first few weeks of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Lifestyle

Study author Dr Rob Andrew, a senior lecturer at the University of Bristol, said they had not expected the figures to be quite so high.

“There is quite clear guidance that says when you’re first diagnosed, you should have the opportunity to concentrate on lifestyle then if that doesn’t work the next stage is metformin.

“When people are diagnosed, they’re ready to make a lot of changes but if you give them a tablet, you’re saying it is not their lifestyle that is the problem.”

He added that incentive payments to encourage GPs to reduce blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes, a lack of NHS resources for lifestyle support and a cultural attitude that people will not make the necessary changes are probably all to blame.

Simon O’Neill, from Diabetes UK, said they were concerned that in some cases medication seemed to be the first port of call.

“A healthy, balanced diet and doing physical activity should always be the foundation of good diabetes management.

“Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition - the longer a person has diabetes, the more likely they are to need tablets, and eventually insulin.

“Even if people are on tablets, medication should not simply replace diet and physical activity.”

Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said there was probably a case of jumping in too quickly with pills.

“It is a reminder for GPs and nurses managing newly diagnosed diabetes that lifestyle advice is the most important component.”

He added that in some areas of the country there was a lack of resources for supporting behavioural changes.

source: bbc

Some time we feel our self angry, frustrating and irritating it is just because of stress. We can not ignore stress but we can manage stress in many ways. The best solution for dealing with stress is to breathe deeply but apart from these there are many other ways also of dealing with stress and everyday stressors.

1. Taking good nutrition and having good diet helps you in managing your stress easily. If you are taking a good diet and taking on time then it means that at least you are taking one major step for dealing with stress.

2. Sleep is very important for good health. Your health has direct link with your stress and stressors. If you are taking plenty of sleep it means you are providing your body relaxation.

3. Doing exercise provides your body lot of satisfaction. Exercise not only helps you in dealing with stress but it also maintains the physical structure of your body.

4. Laughing is good for health, after a brief laugh you feel relaxed. You can also take part in conversation with your friends, family members and your co-workers.

5. Take some time out from your busy work schedule for relaxation. Although there are different tools for relaxation but the most cheap and effective tool is that you must spend some time alone. But spending some time alone doesn’t mean that you lock yourself alone in a dark room. Doing this will only increase the level of your stress. Garden or seaside’s are places to consider when you are looking to spend some time alone.

These are few important steps which can help you in dealing with stress and everyday stressors. Follow them and you will be in a peaceful state of mind. A peaceful state of mind means that you are in a relaxed state and stress free.

As we all are aware that life is becoming faster and hectic day by day. People are facing enormous amount of work load each and every day. Therefore every person is facing stress problem. It is important for you to understand that you must design some strategies for getting rid of your stress. I will be sharing some knowledge with you that how you can design or select a strategy for dealing with your stress.

If you want to manage your stress then no one will help you in doing so apart from you. It is important for you to get rid of your stress as quick as you can because it can affect your health and can cause some health problems like headaches, digestion problem, heart disease, high blood pressure, depression, lack of concentration and other major diseases.

Now days there are many articles published in news papers, internet regarding stress.

They provide information and about the various techniques that how can u manage your stress and even they provide you proper guidelines for designing strategies for getting rid of your health.

Most of the time the reason for stress is not similar, it may be from work, traffic jam, financial situations and etc. The most common symptoms of stress one could feel are laziness, feeling sleepy and weariness.

The most common and easy strategies which you can adapt for getting rid of your stress can be breathing deeply, exercising daily and involving in conversations with your family members and friends.

Apart from all this you can design your own strategies for getting rid of stress according to your problem or stressor.

Feeling angry, not working, anxious, and lack of concentration are mostly due to unwanted stress. It is Important for every one to get rid of it no matter which way. This piece of writing will let you identify the stressors in your life and let you overcome these stressors.

To target stress one should solemnly know its meanings, it’s not a disease, it does not pose any external symptoms. It is a kind of virus which infects your life style, it does not means that your life style is responsible for stress.

It emerges with over burden of work as well as unwanted events like loosing job, divorce etc., are the main reason of being infected by it. If stress is not targeted on time than it can create too much fast heart rate even heart disease and High blood pressure, also problems in digestion, etc.

Most of the people are unaware there fore feeling more and more stressed and are being easily infected by this virus. This creates hurdles for men to live a good life.

The symptoms of stress are usually of many kinds but the most significant two are as follows. Psychosomatic symptoms like Allergies, Asthma, and Hypertension etc. Also some Psychiatric symptoms like Anxiety, Fatigue, Depression, muscle tension, Isolation etc.

It’s very easy to get rid of it just Take a Pause from the fast life and passively Prepare yourself to fight against Stress and also try to make your mind live in present state rather than being in past or future state. It will help you became more and more active. Take Baby steps in the beginning and in the End you will learn all the basics of stress management.

Feeling Stressed is never a worrying indication; it shows how speedy your life is and how worth while it is for others, this small article will nearly change the way how you feel stressed.
Most of the time unwanted stress might have created a cloudy space in your mind. You might be unable to get rid of it. There are many ways of stress relief, but mainly categorized in physical and mental ways.
The Best Mental way for stress relief is to change the way of Perceiving  the stress, Most of the people take it as a negative thing where as the truth is that it is not a negative thing it is a positive indication, which shows about how important your life is for others and even for yourself . After reading this article you might be able to understand the real meaning of stress.
All those acts which let you feel relaxed are usually considered as the Physical ways of stress relief, mainly the stress impacts all the body parts and causes them to work abnormally which enables more stress to flow. 5 important tips for stress relief are as follows.
1. Just don’t feel too low; try to make your shoulders relaxed, you should notice that when ever you are stressed your shoulders change their position and try to hike up, so be aware of it and always let your shoulders be relaxed. Try to drop to a comfortable position. You might have to lower your shoulders many times because they tend to attain the same position.
2. Try to relax your back; this enables you to overcome stress. Your shoulders do even relax when you relax your back. This also let you feel less pain and less pain equals less stress.
3. After following the above steps Imagine that you were ice and now you are melting. As you melt, all of your stress melts and slides down to the floor. It evaporates. There is no stress left.
4. Breathing ways also affect your stress levels; you can feel less stressed by just changing the way you breathe. Just breathe more deeply and slowly it will work as a stress buster.
5. Arrange to have a relaxation massage from someone who cares about you. This step can be followed once in 2-3 days.
Try these 5 important tips for stress relief, the more you feel good the more you are relaxed. Try to take things positively.

The UK is seeing an explosion of diabetes linked to growing obesity rates, experts reported. From 1997 to 2003 there was a 74% rise in new cases of diabetes. And by 2005, more than 4% of the population was classed as having diabetes - nearly double the rate of 10 years earlier.

The bulk of cases are type 2 diabetes -which is linked to being overweight or obese - the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reports.

The findings suggest that rates of diabetes are increasing at a faster rate in the UK than they are in the US, where prevalence of the disease is already one of the highest in the world.

Of more than 42,642 people who were newly diagnosed with the disease between 1996 and 2005, just over 1,250 had the inherited “insulin-dependent” type 1 diabetes, and more than 41,000 had later-onset type 2 disease, which is linked to lifestyle.

While the numbers of new cases of type 1 diabetes remained fairly constant over the decade, the numbers of new cases of type 2 diabetes did not.

These shot up from 2.60 to 4.31 cases per 1,000 patient years, equivalent to an increase of 69% over the decade.

The researchers from Spain and Sweden who analysed the data from almost five million medical records say the trends are not due to increased screening or the UK’s ageing population, but from rising obesity rates.

Over the course of the study, the proportion of patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who were obese increased by a fifth.

The researchers said: “Our results suggest that, although the incidence of diabetes remains lower in the UK than in the USA or Canada, it appears to be increasing at a faster pace.”

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum said projections suggested the worst was yet to come: “Rates of obesity and diabetes will continue to rise unless we do something urgently.”

Douglas Smallwood, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: “This research is a sad indictment of the current state of the UK’s health. Sadly, the statistics are not surprising as we know that the soaring rates of type 2 diabetes, are strongly linked to the country’s expanding waistline.

“Research shows that losing weight can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58%. It is imperative that we raise awareness of the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet and doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day if we want to make any headway in defusing the diabetes time bomb.”

Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said: “Early detection and treatment are crucial. We must do whatever we can to find the half-million people who don’t know they’ve got it.”

There are currently over 2.5 million people with diabetes in the UK and there are more than half a million people with diabetes who have the condition and don’t know it.

Type 2 diabetes usually appears in people over the age of 40, however, recently, more children are being diagnosed with the condition, some as young as seven.

The NHS is spending £1m an hour - 10% of its yearly budget - treating diabetes and its complications, according to Diabetes UK.

A Department of Health spokesperson said the rise in recorded diabetes cases was partly due to improvements in diagnosis, along with rising rates of obesity and an ageing population.

As a result, more people were getting the support, advice and treatment required to prevent or delay complications.

“We are committed to working with the NHS to help prevent people from developing diabetes,” the spokesperson added.

source: bbc

Majority of the people are facing stress problem. Most of them assume that their work is providing them stress, their dealing, mouth words, annoying employees and etc are the major stressors. You carry all your stress to home from work and mix it up with your social life; as a result you will be mentally and physically disturbed and frustrated.

If you are not successful in handling stress then it will affect your health in forms like headaches, digestion problem, heart disease, high blood pressure, depression, lack of concentration and other major diseases.

There are hundreds of steps and tips that you can use to solve the problem. Listed below are some important tips for handling stress at work.

First important thing which has to be considered when it comes to handling stress is that you must handle and manage it by yourself. By the use of this tool you can manage your stress easily. Let’s see through which ways you can handle your stress at work:

• Planning
• Avoidance
• Ignorance

Make a habit to relax half an hour every day or enjoy with your friends, family members or kids (if you have any).

Determine what event distress you, after determining try to avoid them as much as you can, if it is not possible to avoid then try to do less.

There are many companies offering seminars to their employee on the topic of handling stress at work. In that seminar they are discussing the factors through which you can manage stress at work.

After reading this article I am sure that you will be able to understand the term handling stress at work.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) the body taked with approvind drugs for NHS has given the go ahead for a kidney cancer drug which can increase survival by a year.

A full report about this was on the BBC, excertp follows:

Sunitinib is one of the first drugs to be approved under new guidance urging a more liberal approach to treatments which only marginally extend life.

The decision applies to England and Northern Ireland. Wales has already approved the drug, but it is still not available in Scotland.

NICE’s chief executive Andrew Dillon said it had listened to the public.

“Many people have made the point very strongly that they regard the ability of the NHS to extend life as being of special importance,” he told the BBC.

“And so we looked at the way our advisory committees go about valuing extension to life.

“We wanted to make sure that they had enough flexibility in all circumstances to make a recommendation where drugs have the ability to give people some additional life.”

Sunitinib, known commercially as Sutent, was originally rejected last year for the treatment of advanced kidney cancer along with three other drugs.

Final advice on the use of these three drugs - as well as sunitinib - will be issued in March.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said it took into account the offer of the manufacturer, Pfizer, to provide the first cycle of sunitinib free to the NHS when making its decision.

The average daily cost of sunitinib is about £75, with an average six-week cycle costing in excess of £3,000.

Early last month, NICE agreed to extend the threshold at which drugs for terminally ill patients are deemed cost-effective.

Last year renal cancer experts criticised draft proposals to deny four treatments to patients with advanced kidney cancer, because they only extended life by a matter of months.

NICE said that while Avastin (bevacizumab), Nexavar (sorafenib), Sutent (sunitinib) and Torisel (temsirolimus) provided “significant gains” in survival, they did not meet cost effectiveness criteria.

The full story can be read on BBC’s website

BBC health correspondent just filed a report linking cervical cancer to deprivation.

Cervical cancer is more common among women living in the most deprived areas of England than their affluent counterparts, research shows.

Data from the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) found diagnosis levels were twice as high in deprived areas.

Experts believe lower uptake of cervical screening in deprived areas is probably key.

It is hoped a new vaccine programme could cut cervical cancers sharply.

The NCIN analysis, based on more than 25,000 cases of cervical cancer, found that in the most deprived areas 12 women per 100,000 were diagnosed with the disease between 2000 and 2004.

In contrast, in the most affluent areas only six per 100,000 women were diagnosed in the same time period.

The most deprived areas included Newcastle and Liverpool, while the most affluent included parts of Surrey and the south coast.

Lead researcher Professor David Forman, from the University of Leeds, said: “These striking figures show there is still much more that needs to be done to tackle cancer in low-income communities.

“Cervical cancer is a largely preventable disease - the national screening programme will pick up most cases before they even develop into cancer.

“Our figures suggest that women living in poorer areas are less likely to attend cervical screening than women who are better-off, so they are more likely to develop the disease.”

Professor Forman said other factors such as higher rates of smoking, and earlier onset of sexual activity might also contribute to raised cervical cancer rates in deprived areas.

You can read the full story here