Monday April 17, 2006
Simplicity at heart
All it takes is a brisk walk every day to lower your risk of heart attack, LOH FOON FONG learns
MALAYSIANS ABROAD
Name Lee I-Min
Age: 45
Hometown: George Town, Penang
Education: Methodist Boys School, Penang; National University of Singapore, Singapore; Harvard University, United States
Profession: Lecturer/epidemiologist
Current base: Boston, Massachusetts
Years abroad: 20
EPIDEMIOLOGIST Dr Lee I-Min is interested in the simple things that people can do to reduce the risk of developing life-threatening cardiovascular diseases and cancers.
Her research on physical activity and health in 1999, which won her the Young Epidemiologist Award from the Royal Society of Medicine’s (Britain), shows that moderate intensity physical activity (such as brisk walking) for at least 30 minutes a day can substantially lower the risks of developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes and certain kinds of cancer, in particular, colon and breast cancer in women.
The activity need not be conducted in a single session but can be broken up into 10 to 15 minute sessions in a day, said Dr Lee, 45, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, United States.
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Dr Lee I-Min: ‘A main challenge for me is to be able to convince the public that these simple measures of moderate intensity physical exercise can make a difference to health.’ |
While many biological systems are the same in men and women, as seen in the benefits of the 30-minute/day moderate intensity physical activities, there are also some fundamental biological differences (the most obvious is differences in reproductive hormones).
“An example is the role of aspirin in preventing cardiovascular disease in healthy men and women,” said Dr Lee, who is also a medical doctor by training and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
“In healthy men, low-dose aspirin has been found to be effective in lowering the risk of a first heart attack, but not of a first stroke. However, in healthy women, we found that low-dose aspirin significantly reduced stroke rates but not heart attack rates. Only in women 65 years of age and older did we observe reductions in risks of first heart attack and first strokes.”
These findings from the Women’s Health Study were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Interestingly, Dr Lee’s lifestyle has also changed as a result of her research work.
“I am not particularly talented in sports. Growing up in Malaysia, it was always too hot to be physically active. Moreover, my parents emphasised books over sports. When I first came to the United States, I was pretty much a couch potato,” she said.
“However, when I started doing research on physical activity and gave talks and lectures, people often asked me, ‘What do you do for physical activity?’ It was embarrassing to say, ‘Nothing.’ So, to give more credence to my words, I started running and working out at the gym. I don’t run fast but I do it regularly. So if I can change to become active, so can anyone,” she said.
Besides running, Dr Lee also walks, occasionally skis, ice-skates/roller blades, plays tennis and goes hiking. She also loves good chocolates and watching sports. Living in the United States has taught her to appreciate American football and baseball.
When she was younger, she was more interested in computer science but she switched to medicine after Form Six. She studied medicine at the National University of Singapore and then, left for the United States in September 1986. She is now a permanent resident there.
“I did not intend to work abroad this long. I came to further my studies at Harvard University and when I graduated, I was offered a chance to complete post-doctoral training at Harvard and, subsequently, an assistant professor position at Harvard,” she added.
“At Harvard, I have been very privileged to work with some of the top scientists in the field and be involved in some very exciting research projects. This makes it hard to tear myself away from the university and my colleagues.”
She conducts research, writes scientific papers, reviews scientific papers and book chapters from other scientists, teaches Harvard students as well as students from other universities, prepares seminars for the university as well as other universities/ institutions in the United States and other parts of the world.
She has been invited to speak in Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Britain, Finland, Greece, Canada, Brazil and Argentina. She also provides advice to graduate students and doctors who are interested in doing research. She serves on the editorial board of the Harvard Women’s Health Watch (which publishes health information for the general public) and Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (which publishes scientific research).
“The main challenges for me is to be able to find enough time to accomplish all that needs to be done and convince the public that these simple measures of moderate intensity physical exercise can make a difference to health,” said Dr Lee.
“I try to prioritise what needs to be done, and not to over-commit myself. On the second challenge, I try to speak widely at both professional meetings and meetings with the general public to disseminate this information.”
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