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By Nancy Lapid, Health Science Editor

Hello Health Rounds readers! Women tend to exercise less than men, but a new study found they can attain the same health benefits with less exertion and reduce the risk of heart problems and death by more than men with equal amounts of exercise. We also highlight a large study demonstrating the health risks of too much niacin, and a study showing that solar-powered oxygen machines can save children’s lives in areas that lack electricity. 

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Women who exercise regularly get greater reductions in risks for death and cardiovascular complications than men with similar levels of exertion, a new study shows. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

Women can get the same health benefits from exercise as men with less effort, while equal amounts of exertion reduced the risk of death by more for women, a large study found.

For the same amount and frequency of regular aerobic exercise, mortality risk was reduced by 24% in women and 15% in men, researchers reported on Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Women who exercised regularly also had a 36% reduced risk for a fatal heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular event, while men had a 14% reduced risk.

Patterns were similar for mortality benefits from muscle-strengthening activities as well, the researchers found.

“Women have historically and statistically lagged behind men in engaging in meaningful exercise,” said study coauthor Dr. Martha Gulati of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in a statement.

For the study, leisure-time physical activity was reported by 412,413 U.S. adults, ages 27-61, who participated in a national health survey from 1997 to 2019. During that time, there were 39,935 deaths, including 11,670 from cardiovascular causes.

The risk of dying was lower for all adults engaging in any regular exercise than for inactive adults, researchers found.

Among those who reported moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity, such as brisk walking or cycling, men reached their maximal survival benefit from about five hours of such activity per week.

Women achieved the same degree of survival benefit from exercising slightly less than two and a half hours per week and continued to get further benefit for up to 300 minutes a week.

Similarly, men reached their peak benefit from muscle-strengthening activity, such as weightlifting or core body exercises, by doing three sessions per week, while women gained the same amount of benefit from about one session per week.

An accompanying editorial noted that an observational study based on self-reported data is not entirely reliable.

Still, Gulati said, the finding that “women can get more out of each minute of moderate to vigorous activity than men do… (is) an incentivizing notion that we hope women will take to heart.”

Read more about exercise and health on Reuters.com

• “No limit” – the more exercise the better, heart health study finds

Supplements containing the essential nutrient niacin were previously recommended for lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol, but a new study finds too much of the B vitamin can promote heart disease rather than help prevent it.

In lab experiments, researchers discovered that an end-product of the body’s breakdown of niacin, called 4PY, promotes blood vessel inflammation and damage that could contribute to cardiovascular disease risk, they reported on Monday in Nature Medicine.

“For decades, the United States and more than 50 nations have mandated niacin fortification in staple foods such as flour, cereals and oats to prevent disease related to nutritional deficiency,” study leader Dr. Stanley Hazen of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio said in a statement.

 “The clinical benefits (of niacin) have always been less than anticipated based on the degree of LDL reduction,” Hazen said. “This led to the idea that excess niacin caused unclear adverse effects that partially counteracted the benefits of LDL lowering.”

Out of more than 4,000 individuals with stable heart disease, high 4YP levels found in roughly one in four participants were strongly associated with development of heart attack, stroke and other adverse cardiac events, the study found.

 “The main takeaway is not that we should cut out our entire intake of niacin, that’s not a realistic approach,” Hazen said. “Given these findings, a discussion over whether a continued mandate of flour and cereal fortification with niacin in the U.S. could be warranted.”

Broader use of over-the-counter supplements made with different forms of niacin have become popular because of presumed anti-aging properties, Hazen noted. He said patients should consult with their doctors before taking over-the-counter supplements.

Solar-powered oxygen delivery can improve children’s survival in parts of the world that lack electricity to run oxygen concentrating machines, a new study shows.

At 20 rural health facilities in Uganda, 2,409 children under the age of 5 with breathing problems and low levels of oxygen in their blood participated in the study.

Roughly 1,400 children were treated between June 28, 2019 and Nov. 30, 2021, after researchers installed solar-powered oxygen concentrators. The others were treated before the solar-powered machines were available.

Roughly half the children received oxygen therapy in the early period, compared with 99% after the machines were available, according to a report in The Lancet.

The death rate within 48 hours of admission was 5.1% before solar power and 2.9% afterward.

“This study could serve as a model for scale-up of solar-powered oxygen as one solution to oxygen insecurity in lower- and middle-income countries,” the research team said.

An editorial published with the study noted that while the per-patient treatment costs are very low, the total cost of the technology and implementation was $15,000 upfront and $1,120 yearly for maintenance.

“The benefits of oxygen therapy for various infectious respiratory diseases might appeal to government actors. However, any approach must emphasize the long-term benefits to the overall health system for such an infrastructural investment,” the editorial said.

This newsletter was edited by Bill Berkrot. Additional reporting by Shawana Alleyne-Morris.

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