Want to avoid tooth decay? Sleep with your mouth shut

Sleeping with mouth open can increase risk of tooth decay

People who sleep with their mouth open are more likely to face more dental problems than those who sleep with their mouth shut, warns a study. Researchers from the University of Otago, New Zealand, enlisted 10 healthy people and made them wear mouth pieces to measure pH levels in their saliva. pH level can tell the acidity or basicity of a water-based solution like saliva. Half the participants were asked to wear a nose clip to stimulate mouth breathing. The other half slept with their mouth closed. The pH levels in the first group had dropped to 3.6 after four days. Teeth starts losing its minerals when pH levels drop below 5.5 and becomes more vulnerable to decay and infection. The study was published in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation. Read more here.

Workers with injuries face greater risk of losing job

Injured workers are more likely to lose their job within six months of an injury, a US study claims. Researchers from Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston went through the data gathered by a ‘Work, Family and Health Network’ study involving 1,331 nursing home workers from 30 nursing homes in the New England region of US. The participants were interviewed four times every six months. Participants reported whether they had been injured at work in the first six months and how many times. When the study team examined the administrative data from the nursing homes they found that 30% of workers who had been injured at work were fired in less than a year’s time. Researchers feel they are fired because the employees didn’t feel they could do their job with the same efficiency they showed before injury. The study was published in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine journal. Read more here.

Healthy lifestyle can avert dementia risk

The risk of brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia has fallen by 22% in the last two decades due to better lifestyle, claims a British study. Researchers from Cambridge University examined two-decade-old health records of British population and found that 8.3% of the population above 65 years was suffering from dementia then. An examination of the current health records of people above 65 years revealed that only 6.5% of the population suffered from dementia. Researchers believe the decline is largely due to improved education, better living conditions, and healthy diet. Dementia is a degenerative disorder that gradually weakens a person’s thinking, memory and ability to reason. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. The study will be presented at American Association for the Advancement of Science. Read more here.

People with mental disorder more likely to develop diabetes

A US study claims the gene responsible for mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression can affect the working of pancreatic beta cells and lead to type-2 diabetes. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School have identified the gene as DISC1, which works by controlling the activity of a specific protein (GSK3B) which plays a critical role for the survival of beta cells which stores and releases insulin. Researchers feel their findings will help in the discovery of new mechanisms for the treatment of both conditions. The study was published in the FASEB journal. Read more here.

Compiled by Abhijit Ahaskar