COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is an umbrella term for chronic progressive lung disease, such as emphysema and bronchitis. It is expected to become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2020, with cigarette smoking the primary factor in its development.
The researchers tracked the health of almost 43,000 men, who were already part of the US Health Professionals Follow up Study. This began in 1986 and involved more than 50,000 US health care professionals aged between 40 and 75, who were surveyed every two years.
They were asked questions about lifestyle, including smoking and exercise, diet and medical history. Dietary intake was assessed in detail every four years.
Eating patterns fell into two distinct categories: those who ate a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, whole grains and fish (Mediterranean diet); and those who ate a diet rich in processed foods, refined sugars, and cured and red meats (Western diet).
Between 1986 and 1998, 111 cases of COPD were newly diagnosed.
The Mediterranean diet was associated with a 50% lower risk of developing COPD than the Western diet, even after adjusting for age, smoking, and other risk factors.
And men who ate a predominantly Western diet were more than four times as likely to develop COPD, even after taking account of other influential factors.
The higher the compliance with a Mediterranean diet, the lower was the risk of developing COPD over the 12 year period.
Conversely, the higher the compliance with the Western diet, the higher was the risk of developing COPD.
bmj
According to the Health Protection Agency, the incidence of TB in the UK is increasing, with around 8,000 new cases a year. Cases in the UK are predominantly confined to the major cities and about 40 per cent of all cases are in London. TB is also a major global problem: an estimated one-third of the world's population , nearly two billion people , are infected. Nine million people a year develop the active disease worldwide, which kills two million each year.
"Most cases of TB in London arise from people who have already become infected with the bacteria but in whom it lies latent," says Professor Chris Griffiths from Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry. "Our results indicate that vitamin D supplementation may prevent reactivation of latent TB. Identifying people with latent TB and providing supplements could be an important strategy for tackling the disease."
Treatment is both very cheap , about 60p per dose or 10p per week , and safe. Vitamin D supplements could be prescribed for patients with or at risk of latent TB through GP surgeries.
Dr Martineau points out: "Our work adds to the growing evidence that vitamin D may have a wide range of important health benefits, including preventing falls and fractures and reducing risk of cancer and diabetes, as well as boosting the immune system against infection. Population-wide supplementation needs to be considered by public health planners."
"Milk and orange juice could be fortified with vitamin D, as in the US and Canada," he says. "At present only margarine is supplemented in the UK, and recent studies show that this is not an effective way to prevent vitamin D deficiency."
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