Luo
et al. identified 56 different variables that appeared to impact a
person’s SCA risk. Making lifestyle changes based on these variables
could potentially prevent up to 63% of SCA cases.
Spending more
time at a computer, drinking champagne/white wine and eating fruit were
all associated with a reduced SCA risk. On the other hand, negative
“fed-up” feelings, greater arm fat mass, a higher BMI, higher systolic
blood pressure and a lower education level were all associated with a
higher SCA risk.
The researchers did note that these findings
must be examined closely. For instance, spending more time at a computer
may not necessarily be helping patients—instead, it is more likely that
individuals who spend more time at a computer are more likely to have
more education in their background.
Even with that
caveat in place, however, it is clear that modifiable lifestyle factors
make a substantial impact on a person’s odds of SCA.
“Our study
identified a wide range of modifiable factors applicable to general
population, and adherence to corresponding interventions could produce
tremendous public health benefits,” the authors wrote. “Despite
potential overlap among the population attribution fractions of
individual risk factors, they might still be instructive because they
might indicate the benefits of the risk factor itself, as well as its
related factors.”
Click here for the full study.
