Previously, an analysis of stroke prevalence rates in the United States from 199 to 2004 revealed that middle-aged women (ages 35 to 54) were more than twice as likely as men of similar age to have a stroke. Amytis Towfighi, from the University of Southern California (USA), and colleagues analyzed data from women who participated in selected timeframes of the National Health and Nutrition Surveys (NHANES) study. The team found that 1.79% of women ages 35 to 54 who participated in the more recent NHANES study years, versus 0.63% in the earlier survey. The researchers further observed that women in the more recent study were "significantly more obese than women a decade prior," with increased BMI (28.6 versus 27.1) as well as waist circumference (4 centimeters greater), and higher glycated hemoglobin (an indicator of poor blood sugar control).

Abdominal obesity is a known predictor of stroke, especially in women, and extra pounds may be a key factor in the surge in the rates of midlife stroke in this population. This study underscores the importance to intensify efforts to curb the obesity epidemic

In the latest of studies studing the association between dietary food intake and the incidence of Type 2 diabetes, Raquel Villegas, from Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center (Nashville, Tennessee USA), and colleagues followed over 64,000 women residing in China, ages 40 to 70, for nearly 5 years, assessing their daily fruit and vegetable intakes and the onset of diabetes. Those women who consumed the most vegetables -- averaging 428 grams, or 15 ounces, daily -- had a 28% lower risk of developing the disease.

Analyzing data from a study involving 1,282 men and women ages 65 to 95 (participants in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam), Witte Hoogendijk, from the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center (The Netherlands), and colleagues found that low levels of vitamin D along with higher levels of parathyroid hormone were associated with higher rates of depression. Among those with major and minor depression, blood vitamin D levels were 14% lower, while parathyroid levels were 5% and 33% higher, respectively, as compared to study participants who were not depressive. The researchers comment that by boosting vitamin D intake (either by vitamin supplementation or increased exposure to sunlight), those prone to depression may be able to positively impact their mood.