Fitbits can help predict flu outbreaks

The Fitbit on your wrist not only counts your steps and minutes of sleep, it can also help tell if you're coming down with the flu — and warn health authorities to get ready to help. A study in the United States has found that heart rate and sleep data from wearable fitness tracker watches can predict and alert public health officials to real-time outbreaks of flu more accurately than current surveillance methods. The study used data from more than 47,000 Fitbit users in five U.S. states. The results, published in The Lancet Digital Health journal, showed that by using Fitbit data, state-wide predictions of flu outbreaks were improved and accelerated. The World Health Organisation estimates that as many as 650,000 people worldwide die of respiratory diseases linked to seasonal flu each year.

Hookah smoking linked to increased risk of stroke

Tobacco smoke from a hookah may form blood clots, and can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke, according to a first-of-its-kind study in mice.  The study, published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, found that tobacco smoke from a hookah caused blood clots to form within an average of about 11 seconds, compared to five minutes for clotting without an exposure. "Hookah smoking, which is becoming more popular in Western countries, is perceived as less harmful than cigarettes, yet hookahs carry a toxic profile that is thought to be comparable or to even exceed that of traditional cigarettes," said the study co-author Fadi Khasawneh.

Blue light may help heal mild traumatic brain injury

Early morning blue light exposure therapy may aid the healing process of people impacted by mild traumatic brain injury, according to a study.  

Mild traumatic brain injuries, or concussions, are often the result of falls, car accidents and sports participation. "Daily exposure to blue wavelength light each morning helps to re-entrain the circadian rhythm so that people get better, more regular sleep," said William D. Killgore, a psychiatry professor at the University of Arizona, US. — Agencies