Unfaithfulness in men may be associated with higher risk of cardiovascular events

The authors of this study from Italy performed an extensive Medline search for “unfaithfulness,”“extramarital affairs,”“infidelity,” and “men.”

How common is unfaithfulness in men?

As expected the results were variable. Some surveys reported that 1.5–4% of married men had extramarital coitus in any given year, others that 23.2% of men have cheated during their current relationship.

Lifetime prevalence of unfaithfulness was between 15% and 50%.

What are the factors related to unfaithfulness?

Men with extramarital affairs more frequently have a dysfunctional primary relationship.

Parenthood and conflicts within the family are associated with a higher risk of having an affair.

Unfaithful men display a higher androgenization, larger testis volume, higher sexual desire, and better sexual functioning.

What are the clinical implications of unfaithfulness in men?

Some studies have suggested that having an extramarital affair could have a negative impact on cardiac morbidity and mortality. Unfaithfulness in men seems to be associated with a higher risk of major cardiovascular events.

References

Fisher AD, Bandini E, Rastrelli G, Corona G, Monami M, Mannucci E, and Maggi M. Sexual and cardiovascular correlates of male unfaithfulness. J Sex Med, 2012.

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Long term exposure to air pollution linked to coronary events - BMJ video

You can read the research study at the BMJ website: http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.f7412



Throughout the world particulate air pollution is estimated to cause 3.1 million deaths a year and 22% of disability adjusted life years (DALY) due to ischaemic heart disease. Several cohort studies have reported that long term exposure to air pollution is associated with mortality, in particular cardiovascular mortality.

The ESCAPE Study (European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects) was conducted between 2008 and 2012 to quantify the associations between exposures and health outcomes. The study design included prospective cohort studies and meta-analysis of the results. The cohorts were in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Italy.

100,000 people were enrolled and followed for 11 years. Participants were free from previous coronary events at baseline.

A 5 μg/m3 increase in estimated annual mean PM2.5 was associated with a 13% increased risk of coronary events, and a 10 μg/m3 increase in estimated annual mean PM10 was associated with a 12% increased risk of coronary events.

Long term exposure to particulate matter is associated with incidence of coronary events.

Norepinephrine Causes Fewer Adverse Events Than Dopamine in the Treatment of Shock

Both dopamine and norepinephrine (Levophed) are recommended as first-line vasopressor agents in the treatment of shock. There is a continuing controversy about whether one agent is superior to the other.

Although there was no significant difference in the rate of death between patients with shock who were treated with dopamine as the first-line vasopressor agent and those who were treated with norepinephrine, the use of dopamine was associated with a greater number of adverse events.

References:

Comparison of Dopamine and Norepinephrine in the Treatment of Shock. NEJM, 2010.

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