Less the social support, more the likelihood of premature death
Women with less social support are likely to die premature. A study that explored the impact of perceived social support on cardiovascular disease and mortality, found that postmenopausal women, aged 50-79, with higher perceived social support were less likely to die during the course of the study – there was no significant link between increased social support and CVD. Researchers found that when women reported a very low level of social support, it predicted about a 20 percent greater risk of death during those same 10 plus years, compared to those reporting very high levels of social support.
Stop smoking to reduce rheumatoid arthritis risk
Smoking is a main risk factor for developing the most common form of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other inflammatory diseases; however, until now there was no clear answer if quitting smoking would delay or prevent the disease or if smoking had permanently and irrevocably altered the smoker’s risk to the disease. For the first time, researchers have found that behaviour change can delay or even prevent the most severe form of rheumatoid arthritis. Their findings demonstrate that changing the behaviour, like sustained smoking cessation, can reduce risk of developing seropositive rheumatoid arthritis, which is the more severe form of the disease.
