Health Notes
October 2004

Stress Management Increases the Ability to Recover and Heal
Patients with type 2 diabetes who incorporate stress management techniques into their routine care can significantly reduce their average blood glucose levels. This is the first large study to show that a simple, cost-effective treatment can have a meaningful therapeutic effect on the control of blood sugar, said the researchers. Such stress management techniques include instructions on how to identify everyday life stressors and how to respond to them with such techniques as progressive muscle relaxation and breathing exercises. Patients in the stress management group showed, on average, a 0.5 percent reduction on the hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test - a standard laboratory test used to determine average blood glucose levels in people with diabetes.

However, 32 percent of the patients in that group showed an even greater improvement by lowering their glucose level by 1 percent or more.

That amount of glucose level reduction is what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers sufficient when reviewing drugs seeking approval for diabetes control. Source:Diabetes Care January 2002

DEEP BREATHING CAN IMPROVE FITNESS
Simple breathing techniques can lower respiration rates and help cardiac patients to maintain healthy blood oxygen levels and become more physically fit. The study established an optimum healthy breathing rate of six breaths per minute.

Both heart patients and control subjects showed an increase in blood oxygen levels when asked to breathe at a rapid 15 breaths per minute. Oxygen levels in the blood increased in both groups when participants breathed at either three or six breaths per minute. This shows that breathing at a controlled pace results in deeper breaths and more oxygen in the blood.

Researchers suggest an ideal rate is six breaths per minute.

In a follow-up study, 15 cardiac patients were assigned to one of two experimental groups. One of the groups learned "complete yoga breathing," a style of respiration that encourages slow, deep breathing at a rate of about six breaths per minute. Those patients continued practicing the breathing method at home for an hour a day. After a month, the patients practicing the breathing technique breathed more slowly, had higher levels of blood oxygen, and performed better on exercise tests.

The authors conclude that their findings support other studies "that report beneficial effects of training respiratory muscles and decreasing respiratory work in (cardiac heart failure patients), or physical training in general." They suggest that "the effects of slow breathing could be additive to other forms of treatment." Source:The Lancet May 2, 1998;351:1308-1311

Children who are protected from asthma
Children who spend time in day care during their first year of life, or have older siblings, are protected from asthma. This research by Tom Ball. M.D., MPH UA Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, and Anne Wright, Ph.D., Research Professor of Pediatrics, was published last summer in the New England Journal of Medicine.

This finding may run counter to our current thinking, which is to try to create an antiseptic environment for our children. But it's the latest in a string of studies that show a little dirt and a few germs are good for us. "It's all part of the 'hygiene hypothesis," says Dr. Ball, "and may begin to explain the near epidemic increase in childhood asthma, particularly in industrialized countries."

The theory is that for the immune system to develop into a healthy one, it needs some practice early in life. Exposure to viruses by virtue of being around other children allows the immune system to become stronger and less allergic.

This finding is based on a 20-year research project of the Arizona Respiratory Sciences Center, where its researchers have followed 1,000 infants since birth. Over time researchers have collected information on the children's health and their environment, which allows them to study the relationships between the two. Dr. Wright has been guiding the project since its inception. "This incredible collection of information gives us great opportunities to learn exactly what factors influence whether a child will grow up to have allergies or asthma," Dr. Wright says.

Specifically, the researchers learned that children who were in day care the first six months of life, or have older siblings, were about half as likely to develop asthma as children who were not in day care and had no older siblings. "Parents with strong family histories of allergies and asthma may want to ensure that their children are exposed to other children early in life," says Dr. Ball.

Dr. Ball explains that the exposure to other children doesn't necessarily need to take place in a day care setting. But exposure to other children early in life is a good thing-for many reasons.

"This is not a recommendation for day care or larger families," Dr. Ball says. "But for those parents feeling guilty about the cold their child caught in day care, this study may provide some peace of mind." Source:Kate Maguire Jensen, MPH. is the director of Community Affairs of the Steele Memorial Children's Research Center in Tucson.

Anxious Kids and Breathing Disorders
Children with anxiety disorders, like adults, may have an abnormality in their respiratory system which affects their ability to control breathing pattern and rate. This might be seen in young children who have separation anxiety or older children who suffer from panic attacks or excessive worry.

Carbon dioxide is a gas present in room air. It is also exhaled by the body during respiration. Increased levels of carbon dioxide in the air or the body stimulate the brain to increase the rate of breathing. In normal individuals, mild changes in the level of carbon dioxide generally result in an unconscious increase in the rate of breathing. However, when carbon dioxide levels rise above a certain level, an individual may feel like they are suffocating. It appears likely that carbon dioxide plays a role in anxiety disorders. Source:Archives of General Psychiatry (1998;55:123-129)

The brain can adapt to loss of oxygen
A serious lung disease such as emphysema or lung cancer can deprive the brain of oxygen, with the person showing signs of confusion. The brain seems to compensate naturally for this, but when it gets a big dose of oxygen, it can reset itself to function normally. Damage does not appear to be permanent. Source:Abstract: Go to Journal Contents - March 2003 issue - last study in that issue. Pg95.