HEALTH NOTES

■ SNORING loudly could be an early warning for dementia and memory problems.

Scientists from Sydney University found people with obstructive sleep apnoea, which affects half a million Brits, mostly commonly middle-aged overweight men, did worse in memory tests.

Professor Sharon Naismith said: “Between 30 and 50 per cent of the risk for dementia is due to modifiable factors, such as depression, high blood pressure, obesity and smoking.

“In recent years, researchers have recognised that various sleep disturbances are also risk factors.”

■ A LANDMARK study has been launched to look at the impact of diet on how effective cancer drugs are for patients with the disease.

Led by one of the world’s leading oncologists, the team at Columbia University Medical Centre in New York will track 40 patients in the first stage, looking at the impact of a high-fat, lowcarbohydrate diet.

Researchers believe diet could be crucial to survival chances, but so far most research has focused on developing more drugs.

Lead author Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee says: “Physiologically, we’re discovering that not every calorie is equal.”

■ SOME skinny people are carrying hidden fat and are unhealthier than larger people, a study has found.

A Swedish firm scanned 6,000 Brits and found that fat distribution was key, and some with a low body mass index (BMI) of 21 had quite a lot of it.

Tommy Johansson, head of Swedish health firm Amra, says: “When we looked at people with a BMI of 21, which is considered healthy, we found many had lots of fat around their abdomen, sharply raising the risk of diabetes and heart attack.”