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Jan 27, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- BROILED OR BAKED FISH REDUCE STROKE RISK

The consumption of tuna or other broiled or baked fish is associated with a lower risk of stroke in the elderly, a Boston study finds. Eating one serving of fried fish or fish sandwich per week, however, increased the risk of a stroke by 10 percent, according to study leader Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of the Harvard School of Public Health. The study, published in Archives of Internal Medicine, found a 14 percent lower stroke risk with a consumption of broiled or baked fish one to three times per month, while eating broiled or baked fish one to four times per week reduced stroke risk by 28 percent.

CARDIOVASCULAR RISK LINKED TO DEMENTIA RISK

The same cardiovascular risk factors in middle age may also increase significantly the risk of dementia in old age, a U.S. study finds. Each of the four cardiovascular risk factors -- diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and smoking -- identified at ages 40 to 44 -- was associated with a 20 percent to 40 percent increased risk of dementia in later life. Those who had all four risk factors had a 237 percent greater risk of being diagnosed with dementia, according to the study published in Neurology. Those with diabetes are 46 percent more likely to develop dementia, while those with high total cholesterol are 42 percent more likely, with hypertension 24 percent more likely and those who ever smoked at midlife were 26 percent more likely to develop dementia, according to study author Rachel Whitmer of Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.

TOP U.S. HOSPITALS LISTED

HealthGrades, an independent healthcare quality organization, has named the top 5 percent of U.S. hospitals for clinical quality. The hospitals -- 229 out of nearly 5,000 -- were ranked based on the death and complication rates of Medicare patients for 28 common procedures. Medicare patients had a 12 percent to 20 percent better chance of surviving common procedures and diagnoses when compared with an average hospital, according to the third annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study. "These in-hospital survival differences are significant -- they cannot and should not be ignored," says Dr. Samantha Collier, HealthGrades' vice president of medical affairs.

CHILDREN OF OBESE MOMS, PRONE TO OBESITY

Philadelphia researchers suggest obesity prevention efforts should begin by age 4 for at-risk children. Researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania find by age 6, children of overweight mothers are 15 times more likely to be obese than children of lean mothers. The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed the strength of genetic influences and suggests that efforts to prevent obesity should focus on such children at risk, preferably by age 4. "We found dramatic increases in body fat between ages 3 and 6," said lead researcher Dr. Robert I. Berkowitz, of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "This suggests that some genes controlling body weight may become active during this period."

(EDITORS: For FISH, Kevin Myron at (617) 432-3952. FOR DEMENTIA, Marilee Reu at (651) 695-2789 or mreu@aan.com. For HOSPITALS, Scott Shapiro (720) 963-6584 or sshapiro@healthgrades.com. For CHILDREN, Joey Marie McCool at (267)426-6070 or McCool@email.chop.edu)