Guest guest Posted May 12, 2000 Report Share Posted May 12, 2000 Acuman1 wrote: > Now, this is interesting.... > David Molony > >-------------------- > >Tuesday May 9 1:34 PM ET > > > >Men With Phlegm at Greater Risk of Death > > > >TORONTO (Reuters Health) - Healthy, middle-aged men who have persistent > >phlegm are at greater risk of dying from any cause compared with their > >phlegm-free counterparts, according to study findings presented here during > >the 96th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society. > > > > > > > >Although researchers cannot explain their findings, ``we do think that > >they are important,'' Dr. Knut Stavem told Reuters Health in an interview. > >He added that given phlegm is ``a fairly simple symptom to measure, people > >should take these symptoms seriously'' and doctors should at least ``be > >aware that patients (with persistent phlegm) have a higher mortality risk > >than others.'' > > > > > > > >Stavem and colleagues from the Central Hospital of Akershus, Nordbyhagen, > >Norway, looked at apparently healthy men aged 40 to 59 who had been followed > >for an average of 23 years. The men had completed a questionnaire between > >1972 and 1975 in which they reported the presence of breathlessness when > >hurrying or walking up a slight hill, and of having phlegm on most days > >for as much as 3 months a year. > > > > > > > >``We controlled for physical fitness by a symptom-limited exercise test, > >which is normally not done in other similar studies,'' Stavem said. The > >researchers also took into account for age, smoking status, lung function, > >blood pressure and cholesterol. > > > > > > > > Speak your mind > > > > Discuss this story with other people. > > > > [start a Conversation] > > > > (Requires Messenger) > > > > > > > >At the end of the 23-year follow-up, 24% of the men had died, and 54% had > >died due to cardiovascular causes. > > > > > > > >When the group compared men who reported no symptoms of phlegm with those > >who reported having relatively persistent phlegm, they observed that > symptom-free > >men were 41% less likely to die from noncardiovascular causes as those > >who had persistent phlegm. > > > > > > > >The men without phlegm were also 29% less likely to die of any cause than > >men with phlegm. The risk of dying of cardiovascular disease was the same, > >regardless of phlegm problems. > > > > > > > >``Breathlessness showed the same pattern but it was a weaker predictor > >(of mortality risk),'' researchers report. ``We usually think that phlegm > >is related to chronic bronchitis or smoking, but in our study, we show > >that phlegm is an independent predictor of noncardiovascular and all-cause > >mortality, independent of age, FEV1 (a measure of lung function), physical > >fitness, smoking, systolic blood pressure and serum cholesterol,'' Stavem > >confirmed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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