The Week India - July 29, 2018

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10 THE WEEK · JULY 29, 2018

HEALTH

EXERCISE HELPS CHILDHOOD

CANCER SURVIVORS TO LIVE LONGER

Exercise may help adult survivors of childhood cancer live longer. Adult survivors of

childhood cancers are known to have an increased risk of death from cancer recurrence,

early heart disease or new cancers and have a life expectancy that is generally 10 years less

than the general population.

The study published in JAMA Oncology sought to examine whether exercise reduces this risk.

The study included 15,450 adult cancer survivors who had been diagnosed with cancer

before age 21 years. Half of them were at least 26 years old at the start of the study.

During an average follow up of 9.6 years, 1,063 of them died.

The participants’ exercise levels and intensity were scored based on a measure known as

metabolic equivalent of task (MET) hours per week. About 70 per cent of the participants did

not exercise.

At 15 years, all-cause mortality was almost 11.7 per cent for those who did not exercise at

all. The rate was 8.6 per cent for those who achieved three to six MET hours per week; 7.4

per cent for 9 to 12 MET hours a week; and 8 per cent for 15 to 21 MET hours per week.

Among a subset of 5,689 survivors, those who increased their exercise significantly over an

eight-year period had a 40 per cent lower risk for all-cause mortality during the study period.

“Vigorous exercise in early adulthood and increased exercise over eight years was associated

with lower risk of mortality in adult survivors of childhood cancer,” the study concluded.

A new drug to treat excessive bleeding after

childbirth could save the lives of thousands of

women, especially in low- and lower-middle-

income countries, according to a study led by

the World Health Organisation.

Postpartum haemorrhage is the most

common cause of maternal death. Nearly

70,000 women die each year from PPH, which

also increases the risk of their babies dying

within one month.

Currently the drug of choice to prevent PPH

is oxytocin. But oxytocin has to be stored and

transported at 2–8 degrees Celsius, which is

not practical in many countries due to poor

refrigeration facilities and unreliable power

supplies.

The new drug, heat-stable carbetocin, is as

NEW DRUG COULD SAVE MANY

MOMS DURING CHILDBIRTH