By Katie Pickles, Health Editor

Published: 19:21 EDT, 26 September 2023 | Updated: 03:06 EDT, 27 September 2023

By Kate Pickles Health Editor

Published: 19:10 EDT, 26 September 2023 | Updated: 20:24 EDT, 26 September 2023

• Molnupiravir is given to thousands of vulnerable patients to treat against Covid
• The antiviral, made by US pharma giant Merck, forces mutations in the virus

By Emily Craig

Published: 19:28 EDT, 25 September 2023 | Updated: 20:44 EDT, 25 September 2023

Doctors have hit back against a controversial study that linked diet soda to autism.

Research by the University of Texas (UT) found boys diagnosed with autism were three times as likely to have mothers who drank diet soda daily while pregnant or breastfeeding.

They theorized that aspartame, the popular sugar substitute found in Diet Coke, may release toxins that cause oxidative stress in cells and tissues — a process linked to autism. 

But Dr Deirdre Tobias, a nutritionist at Harvard University who was not involved in the research, told DailyMail.com it was ‘shocking that the authors would feel confident enough in this design to draw those conclusions.’

Dr Rachel Moseley, principal academic in psychology at Bournemouth University in the UK, told DailyMail.com: ‘It would be highly premature and irresponsible to suggest a relationship between aspartame and autism based on this study. As every scientist knows, correlation between two things does not mean that the one causes the other.’

Dr Tobias said the study was ‘extremely flawed’ because the data was collected retrospectively and based on the mother’s memory of how much aspartame they consumed.

Dr Moseley added that the sample size is small and was recruited from a panel of parents with an autistic child.

‘Since autism has a large genetic component, having one autistic child is already associated with a higher risk of having another autistic child,’ she said.

‘Moreover, the authors did not rigorously confirm whether either or both of the parents were themselves autistic.’

In the study, the diets of mothers of 235 children with autism spectrum disorder were compared to a control group of mothers of 121 children who didn’t have autism.

The mothers completed questionnaires that asked: ‘While you were pregnant or breastfeeding your child, how often did you drink diet drinks containing artificial sweeteners?’

Diet Coke, Diet Dr Pepper, Diet Sprite, Crystal Light, sugar-free Kool-Aid, and Slim-Fast were suggested as prompts.

Each mother was also asked: ‘While you were pregnant or breastfeeding your child, how many little packets of low-calorie sweeteners (such as Sweet ‘N Low, Equal or Splenda) did you use in your coffee, tea, or other foods and beverages?’

Intake of the three leading sweeteners — Equal/Nutrasweet (blue), Splenda (yellow), and Sweet’N Low (pink) — was recorded. 

The researchers found that males diagnosed with autism disorder were between 3.1 and 3.5 times more likely to have mothers who reported an aspartame intake equivalent to one or more diet sodas a day during pregnancy or breastfeeding, compared with male controls. 

The association was greatest among males with non-regressive autism — where the condition is apparent before 18 months, also known as early onset.

The study did not find a statistically significant trend in autistic girls.

Conditions such as obesity and diabetes in mothers are associated with an increased risk of autism in children and may also influence a decision to use diet products. 

The researchers did not collect data on these risk factors, nor smoking, drinking, birth weight, prematurity, or the age of the parents. They did have data for household income, educational attainment, and ethnicity, which they adjusted for in the results.

Dr Tobias added that the three artificial sweeteners they examined are ‘completely different compounds, metabolized very differently in humans, and have been extensively evaluated for their safety. 

‘Thus, the fact that the signal for aspartame was essentially the same as the other chemicals further points to the bias in this study, perhaps due to errors in the mothers’ recall or other factors related to women who chose diet sodas.

‘It is extremely unlikely that any association they are observing has anything to do with the chemical aspartame itself.’

The study was published in the journal Nutrients.

During pregnancy, aspartame can cross the placenta and accumulate in fetal tissue. 

The substance can also cross into breastmilk, but other studies have suggested the mother’s body rapidly breaks it down.

Autism affects one in 36 children, meaning that more than 90,000 children are born annually with the developmental disorder in the US.

It is characterized by problems with social communication and interaction, difficulty expressing oneself and repetitive behaviors and interests.

Autism is a lightning rod issue and often comes up in antivaxxer messaging. 

In a recent poll, one-quarter of American adults said they believed the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism – a widely studied and discredited claim that emerged in the 1990s.

Claims that shots can lead to autism have been peddled by anti-vaxxers for almost 25 years, but the link has been repeatedly disproven.

The disgraced British physician Andrew Wakefield made the claim in a now-retracted 1998 Lancet study.

Dr Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, publicly described the research as ‘fundamentally flawed’ in 2004 – nine years after it was published.

Dr Horton alleged that Andrew Wakefield, the gastroenterologist behind the paper, was paid by a group pursuing lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers.

The prestigious medical journal finally retracted the paper in 2010.

Just three months after his paper was pulled, Wakefield was banned from practicing medicine in Britain by the General Medical Council.

In 2011, the British Medical Journal conducted a damning probe into the findings of Wakefield’s original study.

Its investigation found only two of the 12 children included developed autistic symptoms after being vaccinated – as opposed to the eight Wakefield claimed.

Since then, studies involving millions of children have failed to find a link between the MMR vaccine and the neurodevelopmental disorder.  

MARKET REPORT: AstraZeneca boosted by breast cancer drug trial

By Hugo Duncan

Updated: 13:10 EDT, 23 September 2023

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Genetics, healthy eating or just plain luck are among the factors thought to be behind living to see your 100th birthday.

But despite the uncertainty around how to reach this milestone, there are a record number of centenarians living in England and Wales, data for the Office for National Statistics revealed this week.

In 2021, nearly 14,000 people lived to 100 in England and Wales — up by more than  a quarter in just a decade.

Here, longevity experts and Britain’s centenarian’s share the secrets to living a long and healthy life. 

Staying active

Keeping fit and active has long been highlighted by experts as a way of keeping your muscles, joints and mind healthy.

But it could also be a way of boosting your life expectancy. 

‘Evidence shows that being more physically active can lower the risk of depression and dementia, heart disease, stroke, Parkinson’s and some cancers’, Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, told MailOnline. 

But it’s not just about lifting weights and running marathons.

Simply moving more, taking the stairs or carrying shopping counts. 

Ms Abrahams said: ‘It’s simply about moving more each day, in whatever way works, within our own capabilities.

‘Outdoors exercising is said to have more benefits, so you could try joining walking groups, a walk in the country or just walk to the shops instead of driving, any kind of activity is better than no activity at all.’

‘It’s never too late to get active, so try to boost your daily physical activity’, says Ruth Goss, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

It not only improves blood pressure, it also lowers cholesterol, keeps weight under control and gives your mental health a boost, all ways of warding off diseases.

If you find an activity you enjoy, you are more likely to stick with it, advises Ms Goss.

Health chiefs recommend completing 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week, such as a brisk walk, swimming or cycling.

But our ability to keep up this amount of exercise can get trickier as we age. 

‘Where I live, I have plenty of stairs so even if I don’t go out, I’m active’, says Lauretta Boston, from London, who celebrated her 100th birthday in October 2022. 

Ms Boston, who told the ONS about her life and experience of being a centenarian, said: ‘There are things I find difficult to do because I am lumbered with a body that won’t do what I want it to do.’

But still driven to stay well and active Lauretta visits the shops. 

She said: ‘I have a little shopping trolley I can take to the shops and it’s nice to pick out what I want and go to the till.’

Living by the sea

Everyone enjoys the beach but moving to the sea-side could set you up to live to you’re 100th birthday, data suggests. 

Coastal areas have the highest proportion of centenarians, according to ONS data with a high proportion living on the south coast. 

But experts are not 100 per cent sure why.

It could be because centenarians living by the sea are ‘already healthy and wealthy people’ and choose to retire in coastal areas, a spokesperson the International Longevity Centre told MailOnline. 

It added that once in these areas, older people ‘are able to have a relatively high standard of living, heat their homes, have a good diet, exercise and have plenty of family and friends’.

Coastal environments are not only better for helping people get outside and be more active, but they also help to reduce stress, experts say. 

Spending time outside in nature can also improve your mood, reduce stress, improve physical health and improve self-esteem, according to mental health charity Mind. 

Getting enough sleep 

It’s not a mystery that getting enough shut-eye each night can improve your mood the next day. 

But good quality sleep could also add years to your life. 

Sleep is essential to helping memory and processing information, as well as removing waste products from brain cells, regulating your metabolism and maintaining the immune system.

Adults should be getting between six and eight hours a night, according to the NHS.

However, as we get older it can be hard to get enough sleep. 

‘Sleep patterns change as we get older and lack of sleep can directly affect the way we feel’, says Ms Abrahams.

She added: ‘If you’re having difficulty sleeping, try cutting back on daytime naps and reduce the amount of caffeine you drink. 

‘Try to make time to relax and unwind each evening, perhaps by reading a book, listening to the radio, or having a bath.’

Learning a new skill 

Keeping your mind sharp by learning a new skill could boost your brain power in old age. 

Whether it is learning to play an instrument or a new language, exercising your brain by stimulating the learning process can help improve your overall health. 

Knowledge has been shown to pay off in a 2014 study which found that learning two or more languages in adulthood can slow down age-related cognitive decline.  

‘Being positive and open, willing to try new things, and engaged with what’s going on around us have been shown to be important in sustaining our wellbeing as we get older’, says Ms Abrahams. 

She suggests learning something new or joining a new club can help you to ‘retain a sense of purpose’.

She said: ‘Volunteering to help others, joining a local group of some kind or learning a new skill like a language or musical instrument are just a few examples of things worth considering if you’re looking at how to retain a sense of purpose and get the most out of life.’

Staying social

Just like learning a new skill, staying social can also keep your mind active. 

It’s been shown that older people who socialise daily, weekly or monthly have a significantly greater chance of a longer life than those who socialised the least or not at all.

The long-term study by researchers from Sichuan University West China Hospital looked at data for 28,563 Chinese people who were asked about their socialising habits.

Experts say this could be because spending time with friends and family can relive stress and anxiety.

It also encourages people to get outside and be more physically active. 

Ms Abrahams said: ‘Spending time with others can help you feel more connected and less anxious. 

‘Spending time with family or friends can remind you of happy memories, while meeting new people gives you the chance to share different experiences, thoughts and ideas.’

Age UK encourages people to join clubs, volunteer in the community or even connect with others safely online. 

Ms Boston also puts her long life down to having plenty of friends and family around.

She said: ‘I live alone, but I never get lonely. I never seem to have enough time, because everything is a big effort and I’m so slow. It takes me time to do everything, so the days seem short. I also have my music and my family and friends.

‘My sister is 94 and I have had friends who also lived a long time. Two of them lived to 90 and one to 102, but unfortunately they have passed on. That’s what happens. 

‘Friends I have made more recently don’t know me as well as friends I knew when I was young. They can be very good friends but can only really see you as you are now.’

Eating well and stay hydrated  

Eating a healthy and balanced diet is a known way of slashing your risk of cancers and circulatory diseases.

More than 6million deaths globally could be avoided just by reducing the intake of processed foods, trans and saturated fats and added salt and sugar, according to Dr Xinyao Liu, from the Central South University, 

Dr Liu, who was the study author on research published in the European Heart Journal – Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes, also told Diabetes UK that these heart-related disease deaths could also be reduced if people increased their intake of fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and wholegrains.  

Ms Goss, of the BHF, also urges people to eat theses foods to help protect their heart and reduce their risk of a heart attack or stroke.

She told MailOnline: ‘Time and again the Mediterranean diet comes out on top, with studies linking it to longer life expectancy. 

‘This includes fish as well as plenty of fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils with fat from unsaturated sources.’

Experts say what we eat and drink gets even more important as we get older. 

Ms Abrahams said: ‘It’s good to remember that one person’s nutritional needs can be very different from another’s. Finding a balance that’s enjoyable, varied, manageable and sustainable for you is important.’

She added: ‘Sometimes we may find that we lose our appetite as we get older, unintentional weight loss can be harmful so it’s important that we continue to eat, something is better than nothing.

‘It’s important to drink enough to avoid dehydration and make sure our bodies function as they should. The official recommendations are to drink 6-8 cups of fluid a day – that’s about 1.5 litres or 2.5 pints. All hot and cold drinks count towards hydration.’

Have regular check ups 

Staying on top of eye tests, hearing check ups and dental appointments can help catch diseases and infections early on. 

As we age, our eyesight and hearing changes which can cause a loss of balance and affect quality of life. 

Ms Abrahams said: ‘Eyesight changes as we age and can lead to a trip or loss of balance. Get your eyes and glasses checked regularly, at least every two years to detect any vision problems early.

‘Problems with your ears can severely affect your balance, and the risk of hearing loss increases with age. Talk with your GP if you notice hearing changes are affecting your day-to-day living or social life.’

But these check ups will also flag early signs of cancer. 

Whether you have a full set of teeth or dentures its still important to go for regular check-ups at the dentist. 

‘Your dentist will help make sure there are no problems developing and help prevent future problems. At the dentist, you can also get checked for signs of mouth and neck cancer’, says Ms Abrahams. 

Ms Goss also stresses the importance of knowing your numbers and keeping on top of your blood pressure and cholesterol, if you want to live into old age. 

The nurse said: ‘Prioritising your heart health at every age is one of the best ways to increase your chances of living a long and healthy life. 

‘If you smoke, consider quitting as this is one of the best steps you can take for your overall health, and the earlier you quit the bigger the benefit. 

‘Knowing your numbers – blood pressure and cholesterol – can also help you to spot the early warning signs and take steps to ward off future problems including heart attacks and strokes.’

One million more patients attended A&E in the past year amid strikes, record waits for routine care and difficulties accessing a GP, figures show.

Health leaders say people have turned to emergency departments because it is one part of the NHS where they know the ‘lights are on’ and they will be seen.

But the surge in demand meant more patients waited longer than the target of four hours to be treated, admitted or discharged.

There were 25.34 million attendances at A&E in England in 2022/23, up 4 per cent from 24.37 million in 2021/22, according to NHS Digital.

Some 29.2 per cent of patients spent more than four hours in A&E in 2022/23, up from 23.3 per cent the year before.

Meanwhile, a record 1,789,130 patients spent over 12 hours in A&E – up 80 per cent in a year and up 491 per cent since 2020/21.

Patients in the poorest areas of the country are almost twice as likely to attend A&E as those in the wealthiest areas, the figures also show.

The figures were released yesterday as junior doctors walked out of hospital for the second day in a row. They are also due to strike again today.

The junior doctors provided emergency care on Wednesday but did not spare A&Es yesterday or today.

Almost 1million routine appointment and operations have been cancelled as a result of NHS industrial action since December, with waiting lists now at a record 7.7 million.

It has resulted in patients turning up to A&E in agony after facing delays to their care.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents healthcare organisations, said: ‘A&Es have been under enormous pressure for years, with people naturally gravitating towards “where the lights are on” and where they know they will be seen in a relatively short time frame.

‘But it’s not just A&Es that are under pressure and that is the problem.

‘With general practice and primary care also facing huge demand, we know that patients may turn towards urgent and emergency care should they struggle to get a GP appointment at a time suitable to them.

‘As well as this we have an aging population with increasingly complex needs, a neglected and under resourced social care sector, and an elective care waiting list currently standing at 7.7m, all of which has consequences for A&Es which provide a safety net for the entire system.

‘For instance, many of those on waiting lists might develop complications to their condition and so seek help from urgent care.’

He added: ‘The data for last year shows the scale of the effects ever growing demand is having on A&E and on patients, with over 410,000 people waiting over half a day for admission, up from 98,000 the previous year, and this isn’t even from time of arrival, so a patient could’ve been waiting much longer.

‘But with too few staff, beds, or capacity and availability in alternative services, health leaders can only do so much.

‘This level of demand is unsustainable, so we need to see a greater focus on prevention and resourcing for community care to help relieve some pressure, keep patients healthy and out of hospital, and enable them to get care closer to home.’

Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, the patient watchdog, said: ‘People continue to wait many hours for care, often in crowded waiting rooms, with little or no information on when they will be seen.

‘However, people who received care for a life threatening illness or injury were still confident in the quality of care.

‘Undoubtedly, urgent and emergency services have been under unprecedented pressure for the last few years amid the pandemic, industrial action, record waiting times for hospital treatment and struggles to access GP care.

‘People will go to A&E if there is nowhere else to go, leading to increased treatment and care because they couldn’t get help sooner.’

Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said: ‘These figures show trusts are working incredibly hard to respond to rising demand by seeing more patients than ever before.

‘This is remarkable given the relentless pressure on urgent and emergency care services and the wider sector.

‘However, demand continues to outstrip capacity, which means too many patients are having to wait longer for care and treatment.

‘Shortages of staff, beds and equipment, as well as the need for proper investment in the NHS estate, social care, and more preventative support, are putting the health service under an alarming level of stress.

‘Strikes are also piling on the pressure. By the end of this week, more than a million patients will have had their appointments and procedures pushed back due to industrial action.

‘This is incredibly distressing for all involved as trust leaders and their staff are unable to give patients the timely, high-quality care they deserve.’

Cancer-battling grandfather, 82, with just weeks to live is reunited with best man who was his closest friend in childhood after 60 years apart

• Jimmy Fraser, 82, went on a quest to find his childhood best friend after cancer
•  He managed to track down Tam Kerr, who immigrated to Canada 50 years ago

By Matt Drake

Published: 13:46 EDT, 20 September 2023 | Updated: 17:05 EDT, 20 September 2023

Millions of Americans are unknowingly being exposed to toxic smoke from vapes and cigarettes on a regular basis, a study suggests.

Researchers at the University of Florida testing the blood of 13,000 people found evidence of nicotine exposure in 51 percent of participants.

Of this group, a whopping 67.6 percent had insisted they were not breathing in smoke from vapes or cigarettes.

The findings suggest 56million Americans — or nearly one in five adults — are unwittingly taking in this smoke.

The team warned there was ‘no safe level’ of this smoke to breathe in, saying it raises the risk of heart and lung problems and cancer. Separate research suggests it could even cause smaller testicles.

Vaping has taken off in the US with more than nine million Americans now using the devices, with popularity surging to as many as one in four high schoolers.

Cigarette smoking also remains reasonably common with 28million Americans lighting up regularly, mostly in the Midwest and South. The habit has virtually disappeared in some areas, however, such as Manhattan.

Smoke from cigarettes and vapes may linger in the air for hours after it is released in indoor and poorly ventilated areas, risking others breathing it in.

Dr Ruixuan Wang, a public health expert who led the study, warned: ‘There is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure, and long-term exposure can increase the risk of many chronic conditions.

‘[These include] coronary heart disease, respiratory disease and cancers.’

She added: ‘We want people to be aware of their exposure so they can take protective actions.’

For the study, researchers analyzed data from the US National Health Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2013 and 2020.

This survey is carried out annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help assess the health of the nation.

For their study, the researchers looked at a nationally-representative sample of survey data on Americans reporting second-hand smoking — breathing in fumes from smokers and vapers. 

They also looked at data from blood tests for cotinine, which is a byproduct of nicotine made by the body after someone breathes in smoke. It can linger in the blood for days.

Researchers found that, overall, 34.6 percent of participants under-reported their exposure to nicotine.

They also found that the levels of cotinine in the blood of people reporting second-hand smoke exposure was higher than among those who were not reporting this. 

Dr Jennifer LeLaurin, a biomedical expert and senior author of the study, added: ‘It could be the case that for low-level exposure, maybe you don’t notice it. 

‘You’re in a public setting, and maybe you’re not even aware someone is using tobacco around you. Maybe it’s so minor you forgot.

‘There’s also the possibility that some of the respondents were aware of some secondhand smoke exposure but chose not to report it due to the stigma.’

It comes after a study in mice suggested that exposure to smoke from vapes makes your testicles smaller and lowers your sperm count.

In research on male rats, experts from Turkey tested what effect exposure to smoke from e-cigarettes and normal cigarettes had on the rodents’ sexual health.

They measured how much sperm the animals could make, what their testicles looked like under a microscope and markers of stress in the blood and genitals.

The authors wrote: ‘It should be considered that although [e-cigarette] liquid has been introduced as harmless in smoking cessation studies, it could increase oxidative stress and cause morphological changes in the testicle.’ 

But regular cigarettes – which have long been tied to male infertility – were even worse in terms of lowering sperm count and disrupting sexual function. 

• More than 100,000 operations and appointments may be cancelled from strike
• Walkouts will be repeated next month to coincide with Tory party conference 

By Kate Pickles Health Editor

Published: 19:57 EDT, 19 September 2023 | Updated: 02:47 EDT, 20 September 2023