United States: A study that has been published recently established that stroke patients have a higher chances of developing dementia by 80 percent compared with individuals who have not been subject to stroke.

Key Findings

Researchers found that around 19 percent of people who have experienced stroke subsequently developed dementia during an average six-year follow-up, significantly higher than of those without stroke, only 13 percent; details published in the journal Neurology on Dec. 4, as reported by HealthDay.

“Moreover, our study revealed that the hazard rate of dementia after stroke was twice the likelihood of a subsequent stroke,” said Dr. Raed Joundi, who is an assistant professor in medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada.

“While much research has been focused on reducing the risk of a second stroke, our findings make it clear that that more research also is needed on developing interventions to help prevent dementia after stroke,” Joundi added in a journal news release.

Study Details

In the study, only those strokes which are classified as ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes have been considered.

The team estimated that there were virtually 175,000 people who had suffered a stroke in Ontario and matched them to the same number of people who did not. The participants of the study were 69 years old on average.

It showed that stroke survivors had approximately 3.3 percent dementia incidence per one hundred person-years while the incidence among people without stroke was 1.9 percent. Person-years, terms used in epidemiologic research, reflect the total number of people in the study and the total time each participant was under observation.

After callibrating for other potential risk factors such as age, sex, hypertension, and diabetes, people with stroke were 76% more likely to develop dementia, according to the study outcomes.

Global Implications

The risk also evolved and was at its highest point in the moments right after a stroke, according to the investigators.

The study revealed that stroke survivors had a 2.5 fold risk to develop dementia in the first year of their stroke, 50 percent risk at five years and 30 percent after twenty years, as reported by HealthDay.

“Since dementia incidence is on the increase all over the world, and more people are living after a stroke, it is crucial to examine how stroke increases the risk of dementia,” Joundi said.

United States: The choice may be bittersweet, but the evidence is clear: The new findings reveal that consumption of dark chocolate eliminates the risks that are associated with type 2 diabetes.

Regular Consumption Lowers Diabetes Risk

Consequently, the investigators discovered that those who consumed at least five helpings of dark chocolate weekly saw their risk of blood sugar disease fall by 21 percent. Moreover, the higher the amount of dark chocolate consumed, the better it was – each portion reduced the risk of developing diabetes by 3 percent, as reported by HealthDay.

However, repeated consumption of milk chocolate meant long-term weight gain, which is bad for people with diabetes.

“However, our results point out that not all chocolate is the same,” said lead author Binkai Liu, who is a doctoral student at the Harvard T.H.Choalaria School of Public Health in Boston’s Department of Nutrition.

“For anyone who loves chocolate, this is a reminder that making small choices, like choosing dark chocolate over milk chocolate, can make a positive difference to their health,” Liu added in a Harvard news release.

Decades of Research Back the Findings

To that end, his team looked at information on the health and diet of about 192,000 health professionals participating in two large-scale prospective cohort studies.

In three decades of follow-up of the study, 19,000 of the participants had type 2 diabetes. Among the total of nearly 112,000 people, close to 5,000 of the respondents focused on the consumption of dark and milk chocolate, the report said.

However, further analysis allowed determining the difference between dark and milk chocolate in terms of fat content.

Expert Insights on Chocolate Choices

“Craig and others were definitely pleased to witness the distinction made between dark and milk chocolate and their effects on diabetes and sustainable weight change,” researcher Qi Sun of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, as reported by HealthDay.

“Even though dark and milk chocolate have similar levels of calories and saturated fat, it appears that the rich polyphenols in dark chocolate might offset the effects of saturated fat and sugar on weight gain and diabetes,” Sun added. “It’s an intriguing difference that’s worth exploring more.”

United States: The McDonald’s quarter pounder: E. coli outbreak has reached its conclusion as the CDC officially suspends its participation. 

Outbreak Linked to Quarter Pounder Slivered Onions

An outbreak across 14 states in October involving McDonald’s slivered onions from the popular menu item affected at least 100 people, which is why the company temporarily stopped the sales of the burger in the stated regions. Leaders claimed that the onions were provided by the implicated California-based produce-growing company Taylor Farms, as reported by The Hills.

McDonald’s brought back the quarter-pounder a week later after the company and suppliers sourced a new supplier for the 900 affected franchises. 

McDonald’s management assured the public of separate incidents of E.coli as their outbreak did not stem from the ground beef breakout in the same period. 

Public Health Response and Outcomes

As a result of the measures observed and implemented by the Restaurant, the CDC periodically kept low public health risk warnings in the entire month of November. The CDC concluded the outbreak on December 3rd, 2020, with one death and 34 hospitalizations due to the pathogen, as reported by The Hills.

Commitment to Recovery and Customer Trust

Officials from McDonald’s company claimed to the media that their goal was to regain customers’ confidence, and they committed more than $100 million to assist affected franchises. They are not reflecting on their preparation processes and have no answer to questions related to legal proceedings or legal cases at the moment.