Health Highlights: June 28, 2008

The University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers said their findings support a theory that a fatigued person's cardiovascular system has to work harder when trying to complete tasks,UPIreported.

"Individuals who experience chronically exaggerated cardiovascular responses are believed to be at greater health risk than individuals who do not. Thus, the implication is that chronic fatigue may pose a health risk under some performance conditions," said study leader Rex Wright.

-----

DNA Repair Capacity Affects Lung Cancer Risk in Non-smokers

A lack of DNA repair capacity may be a cause of lung cancers that occur in non-smokers, say researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. About 15 percent of lung cancers occur in non-smokers.

The researchers found that non-smokers with less efficient DNA repair ability were almost twice as likely to develop lung cancer, compared to non-smokers with normal DNA repair capacity,United Press Internationalreported.

Non-smokers with the lowest DNA repair capacity were more than three times more likely than average to develop lung cancer.

"Our findings demonstrate that suboptimal DNA repair capacity together with secondhand smoke exposure are strong lung cancer risk factors in lifetime never smokers,"UPIquoted lead author Olga Gorlova as saying in a prepared statement.

The study appears in the journalCancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

-----

Unsafe Water Causes Many Diseases, Deaths: WHO

More than 9 percent of diseases and 6 percent of deaths worldwide are caused by unsafe water, says a World Health Organization report released Thursday. Dengue fever and diarrhea are among the diseases that can be transmitted via water.