| Health Buzz: Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise Posted: 19 Oct 2011 09:04 AM PDT Malaria Vaccine Could Save Millions Scientists said Tuesday they've developed the first vaccine that offers some protection against malaria, a mosquito-borne disease that sickens millions each year. Results from a clinical trial of 15,460 children in seven African countries show that, among those 5 to 17 months old, three doses of the vaccine cut their risk of developing the most serious type of malaria roughly in half during the year following the shots. Protection was slightly higher, 56 percent, for less serious strains of the disease. Results in children 6 to 12 weeks old will be released next year. "This potentially translates into tens of millions of malaria cases in children being averted," lead researcher Tsiri Agbenyega told The Boston Globe. "This is remarkable when you consider there has never been a successful vaccine against [a parasite]." Globally, malaria sickens 225 million people and kills nearly 800,000 annually—mostly children, who are more susceptible than adults. Though researchers are excited about the vaccine, which was developed by GlaxoSmithKline, they caution that it won't be available for at least three years, since further testing must be completed. It's unclear whether it will be effective for adults. Best Workout Foods: What to Eat Before a Workout Ample energy and a steady stomach are two keys to a great workout. But people often skip pre-exercise meals due to lack of time or not knowing what to eat, says Manuel Villacorta, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. No more excuses: These tummy-friendly options have ideal amounts of carbs and protein to keep you fueled, and they're easy to prepare on-the-fly. 1. A whole-wheat bagel with jam: "Simple carbs burn quickly, like paper, while complex carbs burn like wood and take a little longer to provide energy," Villacorta says. An easy-to-digest whole-grain bagel with jam or a drizzle of honey combines both types of carbs—a perfect way to fuel your workout from start to finish, he says. 2. Protein shake with added carbs: Premade protein shake mixes are an easy on-the-go snack, and a good way to reap protein's benefits while adding carbs to stay energized. Aim for a 4:1 carb-to-protein ratio with 10 to 20 grams of protein, advises Skyler Meine, strength and conditioning specialist and cofounder of IdealShape, a Utah-based fitness company. He recommends starting with a shake base of juice or water (milk can cause mucous), then adding oats and a banana or other fruit to provide carbs. [Read more: Best Workout Foods: What to Eat Before a Workout.] Worst Workout Foods: What Not to Eat Before a Workout The last thing you want at the gym is an upset stomach, or to tire out 10 minutes in. Reach for the wrong snack and you could doom your workout. Eating foods that sit well and convert to energy efficiently is critical to exercise quality, especially for longer workouts. "Nothing messes up performance like gastrointestinal distress," says Katherine Beals, nutrition clinic director at the University of Utah. To avoid queasiness and hitting the wall, skip these 6 foods before a workout: 1. Last night's leftovers. Pasta, rice, and potatoes are great carbohydrate sources and tend to settle well for most people, but they're best eaten plain or with a tomato-based sauce, says Beals (one of 22 members of a panel assembled by U.S. News to rate the Best Diets). "I can't tell you the number of people who want to eat pasta [before exercise] and they'll eat a fettuccini alfredo that's really rich, or Indian food, and, boy, do they pay for it," she says. Cream sauces, seasonings, and spices are likely to upset your stomach or trigger heartburn once you start moving. 2. French fries. Potatoes may be good workout fuel, but that doesn't mean you should grab some French fries before the gym. Deep-fried fatty snacks will slow you down, says Manuel Villacorta, registered dietician and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). Avoiding fast food before a workout might be a no-brainer, but even healthy high-fat snacks, like string cheese and almonds, can make you feel sluggish, he says. That's because fat is turned into energy much less efficiently than carbs and protein are. Furthermore, fatty foods commonly cause bloating, according to the Mayo Clinic, which no one wants when they're trying to exercise. [Read more: Worst Workout Foods: What Not to Eat Before a Workout.]
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| Health Buzz: Giuliana Rancic Has Breast Cancer Posted: 18 Oct 2011 08:43 AM PDT Giuliana Rancic Reveals She Has Breast Cancer E! News host Giuliana Rancic has breast cancer, she revealed Monday on NBC's Today show. Rancic, 37, is in the early stages of the disease, which was picked up by a mammogram while she was undergoing in-vitro fertilization in an effort to get pregnant. She says she will have surgery this week, followed by six weeks of radiation therapy. "It was like the world just crashed around me. And I just couldn't believe it," Rancic told Ann Curry of her diagnosis, The Washington Post reports. "Had I gotten pregnant a few years down the line I could have gotten sicker. So right now I'm okay. The baby saved my life." Though Rancic initially resisted a mammogram—she hadn't planned on having one until the recommended age, 40—she says one doctor insisted on ruling out any small risk of cancer, since pregnancy would accelerate the disease. Despite the diagnosis, Rancic still believes motherhood is in her future. Diet Changes That Might Cut Breast Cancer Risk You can't do anything about the genes you were born with, but committing to a sound diet can help protect against breast cancer. "Researchers estimate that in the U.S., we can prevent about 38 percent of breast cancers with some basic healthy steps," says registered dietitian Karen Collins, a nutrition advisor for the American Institute for Cancer Research. "We can make a difference without doing anything extreme." While no food or dietary approach can flat-out prevent breast cancer, the risk of developing the disease could be reduced. Here's a roundup of findings. 1. A plant-based diet. A recent study suggests that women who eat lots of fruit, veggies, and legumes and little red meat, salt, and processed carbohydrates may lower their odds of developing estrogen-receptor negative breast cancer, which accounts for about a quarter of all breast cancers. A study published in September in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that the likelihood of the cancer was 20 percent less when women followed such a diet. 2. Walnuts. Consuming walnuts slowed the development and growth of breast cancer tumors in mice, according to a study published in September in Nutrition and Cancer. Study author Elaine Hardman, a professor at Marshall University's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, looked at the effect of a diet containing the human equivalent of 2 ounces of walnuts a day (25 to 30 walnut halves). After 34 days, mice that ate walnuts had less than half the rate of breast cancer as a control group on the same diet minus the walnuts. The number and size of tumors also were significantly smaller for the walnut group. The study authors speculate that walnuts' anti-inflammatory properties are the reason. [Read more: Diet Changes That Might Cut Breast Cancer Risk.] Free Services for Women With Breast Cancer When battling breast cancer, it helps to have an army of well-wishers on your side. And there are plenty, including dozens of groups designed to make the journey smoother, if not a bit brighter. Some clean patients' homes; others send customized scarves, or hats, or pillows, U.S. News reported in 2010. Often, these services are free. "Cancer is a shocking experience. You don't expect to get it, and you don't know what's going to happen to you," says Ann Silberman, 52, of Sacramento, Calif., who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. "Knowing different groups are there for you in a real, personal way has been one of the more meaningful parts of my whole cancer experience." Here's a sampling of free available services that cater to cancer patients nationwide: 1. Breast Cancer Diagnosis Guide iPhone application. Breastcancer.org, a nonprofit that promotes disease awareness, released its mobile app last year. Patients plug in details about their condition—cancer type, tumor size, and grade, for instance—and they'll receive an extensive lesson, including illustrations and definitions. The app also features a glossary of terms commonly spouted by oncologists and surgeons. "Getting results back from the doctor is very overwhelming," says Jamie DePolo, a breastcancer.org senior writer who spearheaded the app's development. "If you're unfamiliar with some of the medical terms, you can look them up right away with just a click." Women also receive personalized breast cancer news, including the latest studies on treatment options. "The research is relevant for each individual, so you don't have to wonder whether the information should matter to you," DePolo says. [Read more: Free Services for Women With Breast Cancer.]
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| Health Buzz: Low Birth Weight Linked to Autism Posted: 17 Oct 2011 08:11 AM PDT Study: Autism More Common With Low Birth Weight Low-birth-weight babies are five times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than are normal-weight babies, a new study suggests. Researchers spent 21 years tracking 1,105 infants who weighed less than 4 pounds, 7 ounces at birth. Five percent of them developed autism by their 21st birthday, whereas just 1 percent of children in the general population do, according to a study published today in Pediatrics. Past research has linked low birth weight to an increased risk of cognitive and motor disabilities. But the study authors don't yet understand how low birth weight influences autism risk. "The number of children with a diagnosis of autism is on the rise and [we] haven't been able to explain why," lead author Jennifer Pinto-Martin, the director of the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, told Health.com. "It's partly a function of awareness and better diagnosis, but we do a better job of keeping tiny babies alive and this may be one consequence of that." How to Have a Happier, Healthier, Smarter Baby Pregnant women have tweaked their diets, tried prenatal education tricks, and attempted whatever else baby books and doctors have recommended—all in the quest to have happier, healthier, and perhaps even smarter babies. Mothers-to-be have latched onto fish oil, to cite one example, because of studies crediting omega-3 fatty acids with brighter babies and a lower risk of postpartum depression, U.S. News reported in 2010. Recent research suggests none of the above. A study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association of more than 2,000 pregnant women who took either fish oil or vegetable oil capsules found no benefit to cognitive or language skills of babies born to fish oil-taking mothers. (Nor did fish oil seem to alleviate their postpartum depression.) So what can women do to enhance their babies' prenatal experiences and give them a leg-up when they enter the world? In her book Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives, journalist Annie Murphy Paul explores the burgeoning field of fetal origins, which examines how the conditions we encounter before birth influence us down the line. U.S. News spoke with Paul, who shared her insight on which prenatal behaviors withstand scientific scrutiny—and which are shaky at best. [Read more: How to Have a Happier, Healthier, Smarter Baby.] Pregnant or Thinking About It? 10 Prenatal Tips From conception to delivery, a fetus is at the mercy of its environment. A mother-to-be has more control over her internal chemistry than she might think, and her odds of having a healthy baby will be much improved if she follows these tips, U.S. News reported in 2008. 1. Take steps even before you're pregnant. If there's a chance you'll conceive, take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to guard against preventable birth defects such as spina bifida. Also ask your doctor about getting vaccinations against chickenpox and rubella before you try to get pregnant. These and a few other "live" vaccines cannot be given to pregnant women, but if contracted during pregnancy the illnesses can cause birth defects. 2. Don't delay an OB visit. Early blood tests can catch anemia and infections that can affect the fetus if not dealt with quickly. Plus, congenital problems such as fetal heart abnormalities often can be detected and addressed during pregnancy. 3. Write down all meds. Your doctor should review your drugs, vitamins, and supplements. Some of them, such as certain antidepression and seizure medications, can harm your baby's heart and increase your risk of miscarriage. 4. Don't drink. Binge drinking is particularly dangerous to the fetus; known risks include miscarriage, stillbirth, and mental retardation. It may cause facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate. [Read more: Pregnant or Thinking About It? 10 Prenatal Tips.]
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| Mindless Eating Habits That Cause Weight Gain Posted: 14 Oct 2011 12:17 PM PDT This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Health Buzz: Teens Use Condoms, Just Inconsistently Posted: 13 Oct 2011 08:50 AM PDT Condom Use Up For Teens, But They're Not Consistent Teens are using condoms more often, but they could use some work employing them consistently, according to a national survey. Eighty percent of teen boys used a condom the first time they had sex—that's up 9 percentage points from 2002. But when asked if they used a condom every time they had sex in the past four weeks, just 66.5 percent said yes. (About 50 percent of girls answered affirmatively.) Sexual activity overall is down when compared to a couple of decades ago, shows the four-year study of 4,662 teens age 15 to 19, released Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics. In it, 43 percent of girls and 42 percent of boys reported having had sex. In 1988, those figures were 51 percent and 60 percent, respectively. For those teens who reported forgoing sex, religious or moral beliefs were the most common reasons. The findings show "small changes in the right direction and probably explains the small decline in birth rates we're seeing," John Santelli, an adolescent medicine specialist at Columbia University in New York, told USA Today. 6 Ways to Prep Your Kids for an Oversexed World Talking with kids about sex is a challenge for most parents, and it's getting harder by the day, what with children exposed to sexually explicit terms and images at younger and younger ages. Diane Levin, coauthor of So Sexy So Soon, gives these six pointers on how to help your children navigate safely through an oversexualized world, U.S. News reported. "It's much harder for parents now," Levin says. "But there's a lot more they can do than they realize." 1. Stay connected, so your child is comfortable telling you about sex or other emotionally charged issues. When children say or do something that seems inappropriate, a good start to the conversation is: "What have you heard about that?" 2. Protect children as much as possible from exposure to sexual imagery in the media and popular culture. Ban TVs and computers from kids' bedrooms. Set up a schedule that spells out how much screen time your kids have each day. Encourage other activities, including sports, music, and volunteering. [Read more: 6 Ways to Prep Your Kids for an Oversexed World.] Condom Use Lowest...Among Adults Over 40? Maybe it's time teens gave their parents—and grandparents—a sex talk. Condom use declines with age, recent research suggests, and adolescents are more likely than any other age group to engage in safe sex, U.S. News reported in 2010. It is adults over 40 who seem to have the strongest aversion to condoms, according to a large study whose first round of findings were published in 2010 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. "When we talk about sex and sexual health, we often focus on young people," says New York-based sexologist Logan Levkoff, who was not involved in the study. "Teens are so often portrayed as being irresponsible and promiscuous, even though that's not the case. One of the trickle-down effects is this perception by older adults that they don't need to use condoms, that sexually transmitted infections are for young people. But sexual health has to be ongoing." [Read more: Condom Use Lowest...Among Adults Over 40?]
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| Worst Workout Foods: What Not to Eat Before a Workout Posted: 13 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Best Workout Foods: What to Eat Before a Workout Posted: 13 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Health Buzz: Vitamin E May Raise Prostate Cancer Risk Posted: 12 Oct 2011 10:26 AM PDT Vitamin E Supplement May Increase Risk For Prostate Cancer Can a daily supplement of vitamin E increase men's risk of prostate cancer? A new study suggests it might. In 2001, researchers split 35,000 men into three groups—one took the mineral selenium, another vitamin E, and another a placebo—to see whether the supplements offered any protection against prostate cancer. When they didn't see benefits from either supplement in 2008, the researchers halted the study but continued to monitor the subjects. Four years later, they found that the men who had been taking 400 IU daily of vitamin E experienced a 17 percent higher rate of prostate cancer than the men in placebo group, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. They haven't yet analyzed the effects of the supplemental selenium. The news comes after another study found that some supplements—including multivitamins, iron, B-6, and magnesium—may hike the risk of death in older women. The takeaway? "Consumers should be skeptical about claims that are made on bottles and elsewhere unless there is solid scientific evidence," Eric Klein, a urologist from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio who led the vitamin E study, told MSNBC. 11 Things to Know About Prostate Cancer Men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer know choosing the right treatment can be difficult. Consult five doctors and you may well get five starkly different recommendations. An important report released in 2008 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has identified the source of the confusion: Reliable scientific evidence on the effectiveness and harms of the differing treatment options is sorely lacking. There are a number of things men should be aware of before choosing a prostate cancer treatment, U.S. News reported in 2008. Anyone pondering any of the treatments the AHRQ report covers would do well to read its findings carefully. The authors sifted through 592 published articles on the effectiveness and potential harms of eight widely used treatment strategies: radical prostatectomy, external-beam radiotherapy (including intensity-modulated radiation therapy and proton beam therapy), brachytherapy, cryoablation, androgen deprivation therapy, watchful waiting, robotic prostatectomy, and high-intensity focused-ultrasound therapy. [Read more: 11 Things to Know About Prostate Cancer.] Skip the PSA Test for Prostate Cancer? Prostate cancer is more common than breast cancer is in women and the risk of death is similar, but recommendations about treating breast cancer are relatively uncontroversial, while men are often left with difficult and confusing choices about both screening and treating prostate cancer. Several recent studies don't exactly clarify matters, U.S. News reported in 2010. One published recently in the British Medical Journal found that the widely used PSA test, which measures the amount of prostate specific antigen in the blood, not only doesn't save lives but also increases the risk of being treated for cancers that aren't life-threatening. Two other studies, one in BMJ and another in the journal Cancer, suggest that regular PSA screening may be useful—but only in men determined to be at increased risk of prostate cancer. [Read more: Skip the PSA Test for Prostate Cancer?]
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| Diet Changes That Might Cut Breast Cancer Risk Posted: 12 Oct 2011 09:13 AM PDT This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Health Buzz: Dietary Supplements Linked to Increased Death Risk Posted: 11 Oct 2011 09:07 AM PDT Supplements May Increase Death Risk, But Link Not Proven For years, we've been told a daily multivitamin serves as an "insurance policy" against a nutritionally deficient diet, but a new study muddies the water. Researchers who analyzed data from almost 39,000 women ages 55 to 69 found, on average, a 2.4 percent increased risk of death over 19 years for those who popped one of the following daily supplements: a multivitamin, vitamin B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, zinc, and copper. While iron appeared to be most strongly associated with an increased death risk, calcium was associated with a lowered risk, according to the study, published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine. "I think the main message is researchers are finding very little benefit from these substances," the study's lead author Jaakko Murso, a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, told USA Today. The researchers encourage people to use supplements only when their doctors say so—not just for general prevention. But some experts aren't convinced. Miriam Pappo, director of clinical nutrition at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, told USA Today: "I wouldn't conclude from this that you stop taking a standard multivitamin. Very few people eat the required amount of fruits and vegetables a day. It's best to get your daily needs from food, but few people do that." Also: The study only shows a possible link between the supplements and death—it doesn't prove cause and effect. Vitamins and Supplements: Do They Work? Although the picture is mixed, the following is the current thinking—pro and con—on some key supplements that are both popular and well studied, U.S. News reported in 2008. 1. Multivitamins. Millions of people pop a multivitamin every day with little evidence that it does any good. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force neither recommends nor advises against multivitamins (or other supplements) for preventing cancer or cardiovascular disease. Yet many researchers say a multivitamin has a role as "a very inexpensive insurance policy," says David Schardt, senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. There's no need for anything fancy that claims "heart health" or "prostate health" benefits, he says; an inexpensive, basic brand is fine. In early 2008, Harvard Men's Health Watch newsletter editor Harvey Simon recommended against multivitamins. His chief worry was that on top of already fortified foods, the folate in a multi could spur cancer. But a study since then showed that cancer was not increased in women at risk for heart problems who were given folic acid supplements. Simon is now less concerned, at least with regard to breast cancer—prostate cancer still worries him. 2. Calcium and vitamin D. Thumbs up. Extra calcium to protect bone health is safe and routinely prescribed for women who get too little from food. And consensus is building that Americans get too little vitamin D, which promotes calcium uptake. It is produced by sun-exposed skin and is difficult to get from unfortified foods—fatty fish are the only major food source. Studies suggest vitamin D also may help fend off cancer and ward off infections. Researchers are hungry for more evidence. "We really need to do the studies," says Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. [Read more: Vitamins and Supplements: Do They Work?] Kids Who Diet: When Are They Too Young? Late last year, actress Ginnifer Goodwin, 32, made headlines after revealing she joined Weight Watchers when she was 9. Though critics said she was too young to diet, Goodwin defended herself and the program: "I went to weekly meetings, got counseling, and would exercise with my peers who were my size," she told People magazine. "It was the first time I saw a proper children's portion size, and it wasn't two burgers, it was one." "Fat has become the boogieman of our time," says British Columbia-based eating-disorder counselor Sandra Friedman, author of When Girls Feel Fat: Helping Girls Through Adolescence. "Kids are counting calories before they even have any idea what a calorie is." Most pediatricians plot a child's body mass index on a growth chart, starting at birth, because of the health consequences of weighing either too little or too much, says Seema Kumar, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic. Obesity in childhood, for example, is linked to diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, asthma, and sleep disorders, U.S. News reported in 2011. Those kids, Kumar says, are typically directed to approaches like supervised diets, behavior modification, and intensive exercise. [Read more: Kids Who Diet: When Are They Too Young?]
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| Health Buzz: More Kids Being Treated for Concussions Posted: 07 Oct 2011 07:26 AM PDT ER Visits for Kids’ Concussions Jump The number of kids treated in emergency rooms for sports- and recreation-related brain injuries has increased significantly since 2001, federal health officials said Thursday. Between 2001 and 2009, ER visits—spurred by bicycling, football, and playground accidents—jumped 60 percent for kids ages 19 and younger. That translates into 258,418 cases in 2009, compared with 153,375 in 2001, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the findings aren't necessarily negative: Visits likely increased because parents and coaches are being more careful about getting head injuries treated. "It's a good increase, if that makes any sense," Steven Marshall, interim director of the University of North Carolina's Injury Prevention and Research Center, told the Associated Press. "These injuries were always there. It's not that there are more injuries now. It's just that now people are getting treatment that they weren't getting before." How to Reduce the Risks of Sports Concussions in Young Athletes Student athletes risk concussion in many sports, and it's tempting for coaches and players to ignore the fact that concussions are traumatic brain injuries that can lead to permanent disability or death. Fortunately, attitudes are changing, thanks to publicity on the devastating brain injuries suffered by some pro football players, as well as a push by doctors to be more proactive in treating concussions. That may be why a report in Pediatrics found that from 1997 to 2007, the number of emergency room visits for concussions in 8- to 13-year-olds doubled, and more than doubled in 14- to 19-year-olds. Parents may be more aware that head injuries need medical attention, leading to more ER visits. Or it could be that young athletes are playing harder and getting hurt more often, U.S. News reported in 2010. Young athletes are particularly susceptible to long-term brain damage because their brains are still developing. So parents have to get on their game and make sure that their children know that even a mild concussion is a serious injury that needs time to heal. Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics say that any child who has suffered a concussion should be evaluated by a doctor and cleared before returning to play. [Read more: How to Reduce the Risks of Sports Concussions in Young Athletes.] Monkey See, Monkey Do: Teens Mimic Parents' Helmet-Wearing Habits Teenagers do pay attention to what adults do, at least when it comes to wearing motorcycle helmets. That's the news from a study in Pediatrics, which found that teenagers are more likely to suffer traumatic brain injuries in motorcycle crashes in states where helmets are required for motorcyclists under age 21, but not for adults, U.S. News reported in 2010. You might think this bit of data applies just to families with motorcyclists, but that's not so. Parents often think that teenagers ignore them, and teens don't hesitate to give that impression. The motorcycle-helmet study is just the latest in a pile of research showing that teenagers really do watch parents' actions closely, and emulate them. Teenagers whose parents don't exercise are more likely to be couch potatoes. Parents who watch a lot of TV tend to have children who log a lot of screen time. And parents who model other safe behavior, whether it's not texting while driving or never driving after drinking alcohol, are going to have an easier time getting kids to follow those rules, too. Bicycle helmets are also effective in reducing injuries among children and teens, even though there's far less velocity involved with these two-wheelers. Making bicycle helmets mandatory for youths reduced the injury rate by 24 percent the year after North Carolina passed a bike helmet law in 2001. But children and teens are all too willing to skip wearing helmets if they don't have to. Only about 25 percent of children always wear bike helmets, according to a 2004 study, even though most own them. Perhaps not surprisingly, most state and local bicycle helmet laws require them for children and teens, but not for adults. [Read more: Monkey See, Monkey Do: Teens Mimic Parents' Helmet-Wearing Habits.]
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| Kids Who Diet: When Are They Too Young? Posted: 06 Oct 2011 12:46 PM PDT This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Health Buzz: Americans Face Longer Commutes to Trauma Centers Posted: 06 Oct 2011 08:21 AM PDT Home-to-Trauma Center Distance Increasing for Many Americans Nearly one in four Americans must travel farther than was necessary a decade ago to get to the nearest trauma center, new research suggests. Hundreds of trauma centers have closed since 1990 because of financial problems, and patients are suffering, according to a study published Wednesday in Health Affairs. In 2007, 69 million people had to travel farther than they did in 2001 to reach a trauma center—and for nearly 16 million of them, the added distance tacked on at least 30 minutes to travel time. High-poverty urban and rural areas were more likely to be affected than affluent areas, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports. The longer trip is worrisome because one hour can mean the difference between life and death for those with severe injuries. "Trauma centers aren't just for 'certain' people—if you sustain a serious injury from a car accident or fall off your roof, you need a trauma center," said study author Renee Y. Hsia, an emergency room doctor at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, in a news release. "We found evidence that vulnerable communities have less geographic access to trauma care, adding to their health disparities." How to Find the Best Hospital Near You Some Americans are fortunate enough to live down the street from a world-class hospital. For them, where to go for highly skilled care is clear. For most of us, though, finding a hospital that offers both top-notch care and local convenience has long been a challenge. Healthcare consumers have limited information about how the hospitals near them stack up. Ironically, their choice can be toughest where options are most plentiful—large metropolitan areas crowded with hospitals that offer varying degrees of expertise across a range of medical specialties. In principle, going to a renowned medical center such as one of the nationally ranked U.S. News Best Hospitals is a solid option. But that could be difficult if it requires travel, expensive if not covered by health insurance, and unnecessary except in the most challenging medical cases. No wonder most hospital patients stay close to home. To take a bite out of their guesswork, U.S. News tapped its latest annual evaluation of the nation's nearly 5,000 hospitals and ranked the best ones in 94 U.S. metropolitan areas with 500,000 or more residents. Marking a major geographical expansion, this year's hospital rankings cover nearly twice as many cities as U.S. News covered in the past. [How to Find the Best Hospital Near You.] When a Hospital Is Bad for You The U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings and other resources can help steer you to a top-notch hospital when a procedure or condition requires exceptional skill. For routine care, such as repairing a torn rotator cuff or inserting a heart stent, most hospitals will do a fine job. Still, "most" is not "all." Sometimes a particular hospital can be the right choice for some patients but the wrong one for you, U.S. News reported in 2010. There aren't many hospitals so terrible that they're lethal. A 50 percent death rate or other glaring red flag would prompt padlocks on the doors. But you don't want a place that has little experience with your surgical or medical needs—or is less alert than it should be for anything that could go wrong. Rates of postsurgical complications such as bleeding, infection, and sudden kidney failure vary surprisingly little, according to a recent study of nearly 200 hospitals across the country. What does differ are deaths from such complications, says John Birkmeyer, a professor of surgery at the University of Michigan Medical School and the study's coauthor. Mortality rates at some hospitals in the study were almost twice as high as at others. A good hospital, says Birkmeyer, catches problems and responds quickly. [Read more: When a Hospital Is Bad for You.]
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| Health Buzz: Facebook IDs Problem Drinkers Posted: 04 Oct 2011 09:28 AM PDT Social Media Helps Spot College Drinking Problems Facebook photos and status updates may reveal which college students are at risk for alcohol problems, a new study suggests. Researchers examined the online profiles of 307 undergrads at two public universities and found that kids who posted about getting drunk or blacking out were likelier to be deemed at risk of drinking problems by a screening test for alcohol abuse. Nearly 60 percent of students whose profiles broadcast their drunkenness with posts like "I've been hung over all weekend" were considered at risk for problem drinking, compared with 38 percent of those who made more casual comments like "I had a couple beers." And students who posted about intoxication were more than six times as likely as those who posted nothing about alcohol to have reported an alcohol-related injury in the past year, according to findings published Monday in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. "Social media gives us a new way to look at behaviors that are tough to identify on the surface," study author Megan Moreno, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, told Time. "If parents start to see references to intoxication, it's probably time to pick up the phone and have a tough conversation. Our hope from this study is that we will be able to empower someone to approach a student and say, Are you doing OK?" For Addiction Help, Hire a 'Sober Coach' The call of drugs and alcohol to substance abusers trying to kick their habit never goes silent. For someone who has relapsed repeatedly, a new specialist—the "sober coach"—has emerged. They are paid at least $200 an hour to work one-on-one with recovering addicts, sometimes moving into their homes at more than $1,000 a day to fulfill a 24-7 role. They are motivators and cheerleaders, role models and mentors. They don't sugarcoat their words. And they resort to the unconventional to break a client's addiction cycle. A coach might go grocery shopping with his client until that person learns not to stop in the wine aisle. He'll police an alcoholic's morning coffee routine to ensure no rum or brandy is added. And if there's a slipup? "I've used everything from 'Shut up!' to 'Do you want to become a person or remain a dope fiend?' " says Doug Caine, founder and president of Sober Champion, a sober coaching company that has offices in Los Angeles, New York, and London. "I've asked, 'Is smoking crack the best way you can serve your children?' Every client requires a different motivating tool at a different time." Tough love is central to sober coaching, U.S. News reported in 2010. "We don't do hand-holding or babysitting jobs," Caine says. "Coaches and clients develop an intense, bonded relationship. If you're not willing to do some work, if you won't go to any lengths to stay clean, you're going to have a tough time benefitting." [Read more: For Addiction Help, Hire a 'Sober Coach'.] Hangover Cure? Hah. But These Tips May Help When it comes to hangovers, everyone has a swear-by-it remedy, from bingeing on cheeseburgers and fries (grease supposedly lines the stomach and slows alcohol absorption) to gulping spiked orange juice or a Bloody Mary (hair of the dog). Hundreds of others are free for the taking online, so why not pick one and get moving the day after you've had a few too many? Because "in terms of anything that's proven to, quote, cure a hangover, there isn't anything," says Michael Fingerhood, an associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. In 2005, researchers scoured studies as far back as the 1950s that addressed preventing or treating hangovers. They unearthed just eight that were worth a closer look, none of which could convincingly demonstrate success for their hangover tricks (such as taking a supplement of prickly-pear cactus or a yeast-vitamin pill), according to the report published in the British Medical Journal. That doesn't mean you have to be miserable all day, though, U.S. News reported in 2010. Experts say some old standbys will at least take the edge off a hangover and end it a little faster: 1. Drink lots of water. It's hardly groundbreaking advice, but it should be a top priority. Alcohol makes you pee. That can lead to dehydration, prompting the hallmark dizziness and lightheadedness of a hangover. [Read more: Hangover Cure? Hah. But These Tips May Help.]
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| Health Buzz: Denmark Imposes 'Fat Tax' Posted: 03 Oct 2011 08:30 AM PDT Denmark Levies Tax on Foods High in Saturated Fat Denmark has imposed a "fat tax" designed to limit the population's intake of fatty foods. As of Saturday, shoppers must pay extra based on the amount of saturated fat in products like potato chips, milk, butter, sweet rolls, pizza, oil, and meat. The tax will tack on about $0.15 to the price of a burger and raise the price of a small package of butter by about $0.40, the Associated Press reports. Denmark is the second country to do something like this. In September, Hungary introduced a "Hamburger Law" that increased taxes on soft drinks, pastries, salty snacks, and food flavorings. Saturated fat has been linked to an array of health problems, including higher levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, and increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Researchers at Denmark's Institute of Food and Resource Economics blame a diet high in saturated fat for 4 percent of the country's premature deaths. The Skinny on Fats: What Research Says About What You Should Be Eating There are plenty of confusing topics in nutrition, but fats may take the cake. Are saturated fats like butter and animal fat terribly harmful? Should you worry about whether you're eating too much of one kind of polyunsaturated fat and not enough of another? What about olive oil? And shouldn't we be eating as little fat as possible, since so many of us are, well, fat? The distinctions are "enormously confusing unless you're a lipid biologist," says Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University. First, toss out the notion that the lower the fat content in your diet, the better. A certain amount of fat is essential to your body's functioning, U.S. News reported in 2010. And as you've probably heard, all fats are not alike in their effects on blood cholesterol levels, which can affect risk of heart problems. Saturated fat, for example, generally increases levels of LDL cholesterol. But while this information was known when the surgeon general issued the first report on nutrition and health in 1988 and the National Academy of Sciences issued its own report in 1989, public health authorities felt that a message to reduce total fat would be best understood by the public. The thought was, says Nestle (who was managing editor of the 1988 report), that since saturated fats from meat and dairy products were the main sources of fat in the American diet, lowering total fat would automatically reduce consumption of saturated fat. That's certainly true, in theory. [Read more: The Skinny on Fats: What Research Says About What You Should Be Eating.] 10 Things That Can Sabotage Your Weight Loss So you've got your plot to drop the extra pounds. It certainly seems sensible: You're going to eat right, eat less, and exercise. After weeks of declining dessert and diligently hitting the treadmill, you step on the scale and...only 2 pounds gone? You conclude that something or someone must be sabotaging you. You might be right. While experts say weight loss can always be reduced to the simple "calories in, calories out" mantra—meaning if you eat fewer calories than you burn, you'll lose weight—a host of oft-hidden saboteurs may be meddling with the balance. Here's a smattering of them: 1. Treating healthy foods as low-calorie foods. "A lot of times they're not consistent," says Scott Kahan, codirector of the George Washington University Weight Management Program in Washington, D.C. So while whole grains, avocados, and nuts might be kind to your heart or cholesterol levels, dieters who binge on such foods can, before they know it, add hundreds of calories to the day's total. Enjoy calorie-rich healthy foods, dietitians urge, but ration them out: a quarter of an avocado on a salad or a small handful of almonds for a snack. 2. Shunning shuteye. Some research has linked shorter sleep duration to a higher body mass index (a measure of body fat) and increased hunger and appetite. Additionally, if you're tired, you might be prone to grab a sugar-laden treat for a midday boost, skip the gym, and have takeout for dinner to avoid cooking. It's a vicious cycle. Aim for seven or eight hours a night. [Read more: 10 Things That Can Sabotage Your Weight Loss.]
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| Greek Yogurt Vs. Regular Yogurt: Which Is More Healthful? Posted: 30 Sep 2011 01:02 PM PDT This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Health Buzz: What Mood Is the World in? Just Check Twitter Posted: 30 Sep 2011 09:55 AM PDT Researchers Use Twitter to Find Pattern in Mood Twitter is giving researchers a look at our collective emotions. Researchers who studied 500 million tweets from 84 countries over two years, searching for 1,000 words (and even emoticons) suggesting positive and negative emotions, found a definite cycle in those 140-character-or-less tweets. We're happy in the morning, with moods peaking around breakfast, Time reports. Afternoons are gloomy, and then we perk up again at night. The same emotional roller coaster was seen across most cultures and countries, according to the study, published Sept. 29 in Science. Other noteworthy findings: People seemed to be especially unhappy on Monday afternoons and particularly happy in the spring. Narcissism Epidemic: Why There Are So Many Narcissists Now Narcissism, or excessive self-love, is marked by bloated confidence, vanity, materialism, and a lack of consideration for others. Yet narcissistic personality traits have become so pervasive in American culture that they threaten to transform us into a nation of egomaniacs, research psychologists Jean Twenge and W. Keith Campbell say in their 2009 book The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement. Twenge and her team at San Diego State University also reported in a study that narcissism continues to spread quickly among college students, especially young women, U.S. News reported in 2009. Considering how cultural influences on girls have changed in the past decade, that's not surprising, says Twenge. Plastic surgery rates have jumped since the 1990s, and materialism is increasingly stressed in song lyrics, for example, she says. [Read more: Narcissism Epidemic: Why There Are So Many Narcissists Now.] 6 Warning Signs of a Bad Diet These days there's a new diet almost weekly, and it's easy to find their glittering promises alluring. "People are sick of their old habits and being overweight, and they're looking for something new," says registered dietitian Jessica Crandall, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). But embark on a bad diet and you could pay a price beyond fleeting results. Some diets can cause a range of side effects, from bad breath and frequent urination, to fatigue and slowed metabolism. That's why it's important to choose your diet wisely. For a diet that's going to yield long-term, healthy results, steer clear of these attributes: 1. It's too restrictive. Diets are supposed to be restrictive, right? Well, yes and no. A healthy diet does entail some calorie cutting and self-discipline. But a diet that has too many rules spells trouble, Crandall says. "Extreme food restrictions are hallmark signs of a quick-fix plan," she says, adding that you shouldn't have to cut out your favorite foods completely—and doing so can intensify cravings. That's one reason diets that strictly limit food options, such as the Atkins and raw food diets, tend to have higher dropout rates than, say, the Mediterranean diet, whose general guidelines leave room for variety. 2. It bans whole food groups. Removing food groups—or worse, entire nutrient groups (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins)—can catch up with you quickly. These diets eliminate nutrients the body needs to function optimally. "The brain and muscles need carbohydrates," says registered dietitian Andrea Giancoli, a nationally known nutrition expert and nutrition policy consultant for the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, which helps cities develop and adopt healthful food and beverage polices. That's why low-carb, high-protein diets often cause weakness, irritability and fuzzy-headedness, she explains. And short-term fasts and detox diets, like the popular Master Cleanse diet (a hot water with lemon and maple syrup variation), can have lasting side effects, including slowed metabolism and lower bone density from calcium loss. "Diets that allow you to incorporate all foods in healthy portions are the ones people stick with long term," says Giancoli, one of 22 members of a panel assembled by U.S. News to rate popular diets. [Read more: 6 Warning Signs of a Bad Diet.]
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| Health Buzz: Even Slightly Elevated Blood Pressure Raises Stroke Risk Posted: 29 Sep 2011 09:39 AM PDT Prehypertension Hikes Stroke Risk, Study Finds Need another reason to drop the salt shaker? A a new report shows that having even slightly elevated blood pressure—which salt can bump up—may raise your risk of stroke. Researchers reviewed data on half a million people from 12 studies examining the relationship between blood pressure and stroke. Folks with prehypertension, they found, were 55 percent more likely to have a stroke than those with normal blood pressure. Normal blood pressure is a systolic (top) number below 120 mm Hg and diastolic (bottom) number below 80 mm Hg; prehypertension is between 120 and 139 mm Hg (top number) and 80 and 89 mm Hg (bottom number). If you're prehypertensive, "you should take it very seriously and strongly consider a change in lifestyle to try and reduce your risk of stroke," senior study author Bruce Ovbiagele, a neurosciences professor at the University of California, San Diego, told HealthDay. The study will appear in the Oct. 4 issue of Neurology. DASH Diet For Heart Health Although you'll want to consult your doctor, your prescription for lowering blood pressure needn't necessarily include medication, say experts. Heart-healthy lifestyle changes—quitting smoking, exercising, and, of course, changing your diet—can make a dent. The government-endorsed DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) plan ranked No. 3 in U.S. News's ranking of the Best Heart-Healthy Diets, snagging a score of 4.3 out of 5 from a panel of 22 distinguished diet, diabetes, and heart experts. Rigorous studies show DASH can lower blood pressure, increase "good" HDL cholesterol, and decrease "bad" LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, a fatty substance that in excess has been linked to heart disease. Overall, DASH reflects the medical community's widely accepted definition of a heart-healthy diet—it's heavy on fruits and vegetables and light on saturated fat, sugar, and salt. [Read more: DASH Diet Overview.] 10 Salt Shockers That Could Make Hypertension Worse Sometimes, just setting aside the salt shaker isn't enough to reduce sodium intake and deflate high blood pressure, U.S. News reported in 2009. Certain unsuspecting packaged foods are loaded with sodium, including these 10 culprits: 1. Miso Soup: 1 cup of miso soup typically contains 700 to 900 milligrams of sodium. Look for canned soups with "low sodium" or "reduced sodium" on the label. 2. Cottage cheese: Some low-fat brands pack more than 900 mg. of sodium into a 1 cup serving. Better choice: One cup of plain yogurt, which has about 150 mg., or 1 ounce of Swiss cheese, which contains 54 mg. 3. Salsa: Many brands, like Pace Chunky Salsa, contain 230 mg. of sodium per 2-tablespoon serving. Look for brands made with "salt-free" tomatoes. 4. Dill pickles: A single dill typically contains 830 mg. of sodium. Have a sweet gherkin instead or, better yet, ultralow-sodium fresh sliced cucumber. 5. Croissant: All that buttery flakiness packs in more than 400 mg. of sodium. Ditto for corn bread. Instead, choose reduced-sodium whole-grain breads or, heck, even white bread; either typically has fewer than 150 mg. per slice. [Read more: 10 Salt Shockers That Could Make Hypertension Worse.]
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| Health Buzz: 16 Dead From Tainted Cantaloupe Posted: 28 Sep 2011 09:31 AM PDT Food Outbreak Hits 18 States, Sickening Dozens The deadliest food outbreak in a decade is upon us, say health officials. The culprit: Listeria-tainted cantaloupe, which have killed as many as 16 people and sickened dozens more in 18 states. What's worse: The numbers will likely keep climbing, since it can take at least a month for symptoms to show, said Robert Tauxe, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in an interview with the Associated Press. Health officials have traced the outbreak to a Colorado farm, whose tainted cantaloupes—sold under the Rocky Ford brand—have been shipped to 25 states since July. States reporting the highest number of sicknesses and deaths include Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Listeria most commonly sickens the elderly, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems. Symptoms include fever, muscle ache, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal problems. Riskiest Foods: 3 Tips for Protecting Your Family From Illness With a few precautions, food-borne illnesses can be avoided. The Center for Science in the Public Interest recommends the following tips: 1. Don't change your diet. "Continue eating a balanced and nutritious diet," says Sarah Klein, staff attorney with the food safety program at CSPI. "We do not recommend that consumers change their eating habits." 2. Practice defensive eating. "Choose and handle your food carefully," Klein advises. Don't eat homemade ice cream containing raw eggs, for instance. Bypass the raw oysters. Washing produce, while helpful, doesn't completely eliminate the risk of contamination, but it's always a smart precaution to avoid using the same cutting board for your greens as you use for raw meat. One suggestion offered during last year's salmonella outbreak: Cook your tomatoes. [Read more: Riskiest Foods: 3 Tips for Protecting Your Family From Illness.] Would Your Kitchen Pass a Restaurant Inspection? If a restaurant inspector barged into your kitchen tomorrow, would it pass the test—or would he threaten to shut you down? Clipboard in hand, he'd check the temperature inside the refrigerator. Warmer than 40 degrees? Violation. Raw meat stored above ready-to-eat food? More points off. Same goes for dirty, cracked eggs, and swollen, leaking, or rusted cans of food. And don't even think about smoking while you're cooking. At least one in seven home kitchens would flunk a restaurant-type health inspection, a recent study by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health suggests, and only three out of five would earn an A or B, U.S. News reported in 2010. Since food consumed at home is the source of roughly half of the nation's annual 76 million cases of food-borne illnesses, that's worrisome. "Sometimes we get a little sloppy in our own kitchens," says Joan Salge Blake, a registered dietitian and nutrition professor at Boston University. "Whether you're bringing raw food into your home to prepare or leftovers from a restaurant, you have to do your part to help reduce the risk of coming down with a food-borne illness." [Read more: Would Your Kitchen Pass a Restaurant Inspection?]
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| Health Buzz: Does Coffee Cut Depression Risk in Women? Posted: 27 Sep 2011 09:52 AM PDT Coffee May Thwart Depression, New Study Says Women are twice as likely as men to develop depression over their lifetime. The good news: a few daily cups of Joe may lower women's depression risk, a new study suggests. Researchers from Harvard's School of Public Health analyzed surveys on the caffeine consumption of more than 50,000 U.S. women, who were tracked for more than a decade. Women who had two or three cups of caffeinated coffee a day were 15 percent less likely to develop depression over 10 years than those who had one cup or no coffee each week, the team found. Drinking four or more cups was associated with a 20 percent lower depression risk. But don't turn on the coffee maker just yet. The findings, published Sept. 26 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, don't prove that coffee prevents depression. The non-coffee drinkers, for example, could have had other risk factors for depression that weren't accounted for (i.e., a death in the family). Also, the women in the study were nurses, making it difficult to generalize findings to the broader public, said Emma Robertson-Blackmore, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center, in an interview with My Health News Daily. Is Coffee Bad for You? Actually, Drinking Coffee May Be Good for You Coffee may have other benefits, too, U.S. News reported in 2009. It's believed to improve mood, alertness, and energy. But is coffee bad for you? Despite past concerns about coffee, tea, and other sources of caffeine being detrimental to health, recent research suggests that regular coffee consumption may reduce the risk of health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and liver cancer—and regular coffee drinkers might even live longer. "For most people [who] choose to drink coffee, the benefits probably outweigh the risks," says Donald Hensrud, chair of the division of preventive medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "In the past, a lot of people have tried to improve their health by cutting down on coffee," says Rob M. van Dam, assistant professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. But that's probably an unnecessary sacrifice. Although experts once thought caffeine was harmful, recent "studies have been largely reassuring," he says. In the past, it has been hard to differentiate the health effects of coffee versus those tied to smoking cigarettes, since heavy coffee drinkers are more likely to smoke than other people. [Read more: Is Coffee Bad for You? Actually, Drinking Coffee May Be Good for You.] How Coffee Can Energize Your Workout Gym bag, check. Car keys, check. Coffee downed, check. Yes, a caffeine kick could be a valuable addition to your pre-exercise routine, delaying muscle fatigue and keeping you focused and energetic. You don't want to overdo it, though. Sleep problems, headaches, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, or maybe even a heart attack can result. Here's how to work caffeine into your workouts, U.S. News reported in 2010. 1. Match the amount to your body. "The larger you are, the more metabolically active tissue you have," says Nicholas Gant, director of the Exercise Nutrition and Metabolism Laboratory at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. "If you're a small person, your tissues don't use up as much, therefore you need a lesser dose." A very rough recommendation is 0.5 to 1.4 milligrams of caffeine per pound of body weight. Coffee averages about 20 mg. per ounce, or 160 mg. per 8-ounce cup. That's about the limit for a 130-pound woman, though a 200-pound man could probably down a couple of cups. Go above 4 mg. of caffeine per pound and your workout could be ruined by digestive distress, the jitters, and other unpleasant side effects/ [Read more: How Coffee Can Energize Your Workout.]
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| Health Buzz: Do Hospitals Discourage Breast-Feeding? Posted: 26 Sep 2011 11:06 AM PDT Fewer Hospitals Handing Out Free Formula, but Most Still Do Do hospitals discourage breast-feeding by giving new moms free formula? Some breast-feeding proponents say so, and one researcher has found that while the percentage of hospitals handing out formula has decreased in recent years, the majority still do so. In 2007, Anne Merewood, an associate professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, reported that 14 percent of U.S. hospitals didn't give out free formula. When she repeated the survey in 2010, this time of hospitals in the 20 states with the highest and lowest percentages in 2007, she found the share of hospitals that didn't dole out the freebies had doubled to 28 percent—but that means nearly three-fourths still did. The study is published online and will appear in the journal Pediatrics in October. Many breast-feeding proponents would like to see hospitals abolish their handout policy. Leigh Anne O'Connor, a lactation consultant and spokeswoman for La Leche League, a breast-feeding advocacy group, told HealthDay the presence of formula could encourage moms to make the switch. (Many believe breast milk is the most nutritious and natural meal for a growing baby.) But the International Formula Council says the study didn't find a direct connection between handing out formula samples and breast-feeding rates. Is Breast-Feeding Always Best for Babies? Surgeon General Regina Benjamin has issued a breast-feeding "call to action," urging families, communities, and employers to encourage the practice. The American Academy of Pediatrics says women should breast-feed exclusively until a baby is six months old. But only 13 percent of women meet that target, U.S. News reported in January. Public health experts have pushed breast-feeding as better for babies because the nutrient balance in breast milk is ideal for infants. Breast milk has also been promoted as giving newborns' immune systems a jumpstart by transferring germ-fighting antibodies from their mothers. Breast milk may have other qualities that are more surprising. For example: A mother's body may favor sons over daughters from the moment she first holds them to her breast by creating different milk for boys than for girls. The breast milk delivered to a male infant has a higher proportion of fat and protein, which presumably helps them grow bigger faster. [Read more: Is Breast-Feeding Always Best For Babies?] 4 Breast-Feeding Benefits for Mom The motto "breast is best" has long been drummed into the heads of mothers to be. And heck, the mantra has worked: At least 75 percent of babies today are breast-fed for some period compared to 60 percent 15 years ago—though far under half of babies are nursed beyond six months, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Repeated studies suggest that mothers in addition to their babies are being shortchanged because nursing seems to benefit them as well. Research published in 2010 in the American Journal of Medicine, for example, found that women who breast-fed for less than a month had nearly twice the risk of developing type 2 diabetes decades later compared to those who breast-fed longer or to those who never had children. [Read more: 4 Breast-Feeding Benefits for Mom.]
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| Health Buzz: FDA Banning Common Asthma Inhaler Posted: 23 Sep 2011 08:35 AM PDT FDA Banning Inhaler Over Environmental Concerns Federal health officials are banning a common over-the-counter asthma inhaler because it uses ingredients that harm the environment. Primatene Mist inhalers will no longer be available after December 31, because they use carbon gas that depletes the Earth's atmosphere, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. The inhaler, used for temporary relief of mild asthma symptoms, is the only FDA-approved inhaler sold over the counter without a prescription. While Primatene inhalers rely on chlorofluorocarbons to propel medication into the patient's airways, alternatives use the environmentally-friendly propellant hydrofluoroalkane. "If you rely on an over-the-counter inhaler to relieve your asthma symptoms, it is important that you contact a healthcare professional to talk about switching to a different medicine to treat your asthma," Badrul Chowdhury, director of FDA's pulmonary drug division, told the Associated Press. 7 Signs That Your Child May Have Exercise-Induced Asthma When exercise leads to wheezing or coughing, people often blame the symptoms on being out of shape. But research shows that, in children at least, there may be more to the story, U.S. News reported in 2010. It's possible that children who experience problems following intense exercise may have undiagnosed, intermittent, exercised-induced asthma, says Clifford Bassett, chair of the public education committee at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. Research published last year found that short periods of heavy exercise caused decreased lung function in some children with no history of asthma or allergies. Nearly half of the 56 healthy children studied had at least one abnormal pulmonary function result following exercise. More research is needed to determine why this occurs and how it can be prevented, the authors wrote. Complications of exercise-induced asthma include permanent narrowing of the child's airways, emergency room visits and hospitalizations, and poor athletic performance, according to the Mayo Clinic. But Bassett says it's likely that many children with exercise-induced asthma go undiagnosed. Some parents may not realize their children are having difficulty breathing after physical activity because kids tend to hide how they feel due to peer pressure or embarrassment, he says. And the symptoms may not happen during every round of physical activity. High pollen counts or poor air quality days may make symptoms more likely in susceptible children. [Read more: 7 Signs That Your Child May Have Exercise-Induced Asthma.] Air Pollution: It's Not Just Your Lungs That Suffer A growing body of research is shedding light on the ways that air pollutants impinge on the health of the American public. Indeed, the Environmental Protection Agency highlighted this concern in December 2009 when, after reviewing the evidence, it ruled that greenhouse gases are detrimental to human health, particularly because they can aggravate asthma and other respiratory illnesses and can produce longer, more intense heat waves that endanger the poor, sick, and elderly. But it's not just lungs that suffer, U.S. News reported in 2010. To be sure, clean-air advocates have worked to improve the nation's air quality, and the health risks that a particular individual might face directly from breathing polluted air are low. But research consistently is finding that, when spread out over a given population—be it residents of a certain city or those with a particular disease—the quality of the air has a very significant impact on public health. When vehicles, factories, power plants, and other machines burn fuel, the chemicals they release into the atmosphere react with one another (and other compounds in the air) in ways that can amplify health hazards. "Greenhouse gases actually increase air pollution and therefore [raise the] potential for more adverse events for people with pre-existing respiratory conditions or heart conditions," says Kent Pinkerton, chair of the environmental health policy committee at the American Thoracic Society. [Read more: Air Pollution: It's Not Just Your Lungs That Suffer.]
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| Health Buzz: More Young Adults Are Insured Posted: 22 Sep 2011 08:18 AM PDT Fewer Young Adults Are Uninsured Nearly 1 million young adults have signed up for health insurance since 2010, exceeding federal expectations, according to government data released Wednesday. Between January 2010 and March of this year, the percentage of 19 to 25 year olds without health insurance dropped 3.5 percentage points to 30.4 percent—meaning 9.1 million young adults are still uninsured. Young adults have long been those most likely to forgo health insurance. Government officials credit the improvement to the healthcare reform law, which allows adult children to stay on their parents' plans until age 26. The dependent coverage provision took effect last September , though President Barack Obama signed the health overhaul law in March of 2010. Prior to health reform, children were typically booted from their parents' policies at age 18 or 21, or when they were no longer enrolled in college. "The economic downturn has taken a toll on employment among young adults," Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said during a news conference, according to The Washington Post. "In the past, that would have led to even more young people without health insurance. Instead, thanks to the [new law], the number of young adults with coverage has actually gone up." Best Affordable Health Insurance Options for Young Adults If you're young, cash-strapped, and healthy, health insurance might seem expensive and pointless. It's not. An ankle-twisting fall on a hiking trail, a broken arm in a friendly soccer game, bronchitis that turns into pneumonia—you're potentially talking thousands of dollars in medical expenses. Who do you think will get the bill? See which of the following eight categories describes you, and check out experts' recommendations. Our health insurance glossary, published in January, will help with unfamiliar terms. 1. You're moving from high school into the workforce. If your parents are covered through an employer, try to stay on their plan, says Kathleen Stoll, director of health policy at Families USA, a healthcare consumer advocacy group. It'll cost less than getting individual health insurance on your own. If you're under 26 and unmarried, you can be insured as a dependent on your parents' insurance (unless you can get your own job-based coverage). Some states require insurers to extend parental coverage to adult children past age 26; in New Jersey, for example, eligibilty lasts until you're 30. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) estimates that about 1.2 million young adults will elect to stay on a parent's health plan in 2011. Downside: Coverage under a parent's plan has its cost. The average policy will cost about $3,380 for each person enrolled in dependent coverage in 2011, according to HHS estimates. 2. You're headed for college. Most public and private four-year colleges offer health insurance plans for students who aren't covered through their parents. Yearly premiums could run as much as $2,400, but the average is about $850, about one-fourth the cost of premiums for employer-sponsored group plans. Downside: Part-time students may not be eligible. [Read more: Best Affordable Health Insurance Options for Young Adults.] 8 Keys to Picking the Best Individual Health Insurance Policy Choosing the right health insurance coverage is hard enough with employer plans, but at least questions can be addressed to somebody on staff who knows more than you do and won't steer you to the most expensive plan. When you shop for coverage on your own, the choices are far more complicated. Most employers only offer one or two health plans as options. On the individual insurance market, you're likely to face dozens. And you're on your own. Grappling with the details of so many different individual policies can lead to a strong urge to pick the next one that sounds halfway reasonable. But halfway isn't good enough. Hang in there, keeping the following eight basics in mind to help cut through the fog of numbers and unfamiliar terms, U.S. News reported in January. 1. Your "must-haves." You can't foresee a sudden injury or illness, but you can anticipate some medical needs. Not all policies provide maternity coverage, for example, but it's an obvious must-have if you're starting a family. 2. The cost of the basics. Just as it doesn't make sense to want a luxury car with a monthly payment you can't afford, there's not much point in thinking about a Cadillac insurance policy with a high monthly premium if your budget can't handle it. It would be more practical, if you're relatively young and healthy, to choose a policy with a high deductible—the total you must pay out of pocket, usually over $1,000 dollars, before benefits kick in. Your basic expenses also should take copays (the fixed fee for an office visit or medical test) and coinsurance (your share of the cost of prescriptions or hospitalizations) into account. [Read more: 8 Keys to Picking the Best Individual Health Insurance Policy.]
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| Health Buzz: Depression Ups Stroke Risk Posted: 21 Sep 2011 08:38 AM PDT Study: Depression Linked to Higher Stroke Risk Depression may raise the risk of stroke, a new study suggests. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital analyzed 28 studies involving more than 317,000 people ages 18 and over who were followed for anywhere from two to 29 years. They found that participants with depression were 45 percent more likely to have a stroke and 55 percent more likely to die of stroke than those without the mood disorder. The study authors speculate that depression inflames hormones in the nervous system, which could increase stroke risk, according to findings published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Also: People with depression are likelier to smoke, eat unhealthily, and be overweight—all risk factors for stroke. "We think that in the future, depression should be considered as a risk factor for stroke," study author An Pan, a research fellow in the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, told Time. "We still need more evidence to see whether such screening will be beneficial for patients, but I think our study provides convincing evidence to support further research." Stroke: 7 Signs You Could Be at Risk of a Brain Attack Stroke can hit like a deadly lightning bolt. And if the victim survives, the aftermath can be debilitating—affecting functioning from movement to speech. While stroke is the third-leading cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the United States, it trails behind other major diseases in awareness and recognition of symptoms. Being informed, however, can protect you from suffering either an ischemic stroke, caused by a blood clot and the most common form of stroke, or the less common hemorrhagic stroke, caused by bleeding in the brain. Know the factors that may be putting you at risk: Uncontrolled high blood pressure. As for all cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure is a major risk factor for stroke. The American Heart Association estimates that only 45 percent of people with high blood pressure actually have it under control, U.S. News reported in 2009. Female stroke victims, in particular, tend to have uncontrolled blood pressure, and in general, women who suffer strokes don't seem to be treated as aggressively as men. High blood pressure doesn't have any outward telltale signs, so getting it measured by your healthcare provider is essential to determine if you should make lifestyle changes or take medications to bring it down. Smoking. Puffing on cigarettes is associated with a host of ills. An increased risk of stroke is one of them. When compared to nonsmokers, smokers have double the risk of ischemic stroke. Heavy smokers face an even greater risk: A study of women ages 15 to 49 published in the journal Stroke found stroke risk was proportional to the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The women who smoked two or more packs a day had nine times the risk of stroke of a nonsmoker. And a study in Neurology found that smokers with a family history of brain aneurysm, abnormal bulging of an artery in the brain, are six times as likely to have a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a kind of stroke caused by a bleed between the brain and the tissue that covers it. These types of stroke are deadly nearly 40 percent of the time. [Read more: Stroke: 7 Signs You Could Be at Risk of a Brain Attack.] 5 Symptoms You Need to Know to Recognize a Stroke Immediately Minimizing the time between the onset of a stroke and the start of stroke treatment is critical for surviving the brain attack and minimizing the resulting brain injury. The key is to immediately get to the emergency room for a brain scan to detect which type of stroke has hit. If it's ischemic—caused by a blood clot—the best treatment is a clot-dissolving drug called tissue plasminogen activator, or TPA, and the quicker the treatment, the less the disabling damage. Most hospitals will treat stroke patients with TPA only if the medicine can be injected within three hours of the appearance of symptoms, which is why getting to the hospital is such an urgent matter. One study found, however, that TPA can be safe and effective up to 4½ hours after a stroke. Treatment for hemorrhagic stroke, caused by a bleeding vessel in the brain, involves lowering blood pressure and reducing swelling in the brain, U.S. News reported in 2009. Stroke can present itself with a range of symptoms, but the consistent factor is that they come on suddenly. Call 911 immediately if you, or someone you're with, experience any of the following: Numbness or weakness, particularly on one side of the body. This can be in the face, an arm, or a leg. If someone you're with appears to be experiencing this, ask the person to smile, lift both arms, or move both legs, the National Stroke Association recommends. If one side of the body doesn't respond, it may be a sign of stroke. [Read more: 5 Symptoms You Need to Know to Recognize a Stroke Immediately.]
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| Health Buzz: Diabetes Boosts Dementia Risk Posted: 20 Sep 2011 07:57 AM PDT Study: People With Diabetes More Prone to Dementia Having diabetes may increase your risk of developing dementia, a new study suggests. Researchers tracked more than 1,000 Japanese adults ages 60 and older for 11 years, and found that 27 percent of those with diabetes developed dementia, compared with 20 percent of those with normal blood sugar levels. That equates to a 35 percent increased risk of dementia for people with diabetes, according to findings published Monday in Neurology. Although researchers don't fully understand the connection, they speculate that it's because diabetes is a risk factor for vascular disease—a form of heart disease that can harden arteries and veins—and when blood vessels don't allow sufficient oxygen to reach the brain, dementia can develop. "Our findings emphasize the need to consider diabetes as a potential risk factor for dementia," said study author Yutaka Kiyohara, a professor in the graduate school of medical science at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, in an interview with ABC News. "Diabetes is a common disorder, and the number of people with it has been growing in recent years all over the world. Controlling diabetes is now more important than ever." Preventing Alzheimer's Disease: 7 Risks to Consider Ask most folks to name their biggest fear about growing old and chances are they won't say gray hair and wrinkles, but the devastating loss of their mental capacity. Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of all dementias, striking as many as 5 million Americans., U.S. News reported in 2010. While the disease has genetic underpinnings, it's also associated with certain lifestyle factors including diet, exercise, and level of education. So what steps can you take to help prevent it? Some studies suggest that eating more fruits and vegetables and less saturated fat may be the ticket. Others point to folic acid or fish oil supplements as beneficial. Still others have found that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol confers some protection. But an expert panel convened by the National Institutes of Health says there's not enough evidence from any of these studies to warrant making lifestyle changes to lower your risk of Alzheimer's. "The primary limitation with most of these studies is the distinction between association and causality," wrote the NIH experts in their "state of the science" paper published last year in the Annals of Internal Medicine. For instance, people with a higher level of education have a lower risk of Alzheimer's, but that doesn't mean going to grad school will protect you. It could be that those individuals read more books and play more chess in their lifetime than other folks, which continually challenges their brains and has a disease-preventing effect. [Read more: Preventing Alzheimer's Disease: 7 Risks to Consider.] Best Nursing Homes: Behind the Rankings Millions of Americans spent at least part of 2011 in one of the nation's 16,000-plus nursing homes. How can those millions of people and their families find a source of good care? To ease the difficult search, U.S. News ranks and displays data about nearly every U.S. nursing facility and updates the information every quarter. The 2011 Honor Roll lists 18 homes that received perfect ratings for four consecutive quarters. The U.S. News rankings rely on data from Nursing Home Compare, a consumer web site run by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. CMS sets and enforces standards for all nursing homes enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid. (For government purposes, a nursing home is a Medicare or Medicaid facility that provides 24-hour nursing care and other medical services. We don't rank retirement and assisted-living communities, which aren't part of Medicare or Medicaid and don't offer such services.) The data for Nursing Home Compare come from regular health inspections carried out by state agencies and from the homes themselves. Using that information, CMS assigns an overall ratings of one to five stars to each nursing home, other than a small number too new to have generated meaningful data. Homes are also given one to five stars in how well they do in the health inspections, in providing enough nurses, and providing a high level of quality of care. [Read more: Best Nursing Homes: Behind the Rankings.]
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| Health Buzz: Child Abuse Tied to Recession Posted: 19 Sep 2011 07:57 AM PDT Study: Child Abuse Increased During Recession As the U.S. economy faltered, hospitals nationwide saw a spike in the number of abused kids with severe brain injuries, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed the rate of abuse-induced head trauma among kids ages 5 and under between 2004 and 2009. During that five-year period, the number of cases rose from about 9 per 100,000 children in pre-recession years to 15 per 100,000 during the recession—a 65 percent increase, according to a study published today in Pediatrics. Though the research doesn't prove the increase was caused by tough economic times, past findings have linked violence with economic hardship. "Stress and poverty are risk factors for child abuse," Peter Sherman, a pediatrician and director of the residency program in social pediatrics at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, told HealthDay. "If people are stressed out, it's not a big stretch that they are at high risk for being abusive." Diabetes Prevention Starts With Your Doctor Today, electronic medical records–a novelty a decade ago–are used in most hospitals and many doctors' offices. The federal government touts their potential for improving the quality of medical care, from ensuring that all patients get recommended screening tests to improving care of chronic health problems such as diabetes. But electronic progress notes have an important downside that can and does harm patients, family physician Kenny Lin writes for U.S. News. In a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers examined doctors' documentation of dietary and exercise counseling in the electronic medical charts of more than 5,000 patients with diabetes. Patients were divided into three groups: those in whom no counseling was documented; those whose progress notes appeared to have been cut-and-pasted from the previous visit; and those whose notes were distinct from notes made in previous visits. Only patients with "distinct" counseling language successfully lost weight and improved their diabetes control, while patients with cut-and-pasted language did no better than patients who received no counseling. That led authors to question whether their doctors were documenting imaginary conversations. We know that lifestyle counseling is critical to preventing diabetes in millions of at-risk Americans. National data show that almost 30 percent of adults have prediabetes (blood sugar levels that are higher than normal, but lower than the diabetic range), but only 1 in 3 of them reports getting any dietary or exercise advice from their doctors in the previous year. (No information is available on how often doctors claim that counseling occurred.) [Read more: Diabetes Prevention Starts With Your Doctor.] Why Diabetes May Triple by 2050 The diabetes rate in the U.S. is poised to explode. As many as 1 in 3 adults will develop the chronic, life-threatening disease by 2050, a stark increase from the 1 in 10 presently affected, according to estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2010. If current trends continue, the number of new cases could jump from 8 per every 1,000 people in 2008 to 15 per every 1,000 within the next 40 years. "It's alarming," says Ann Albright, director of the CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation. "People have to remember that once you have diabetes, you can't give it back." The rising incidence of type 2 diabetes—much more prevalent than type 1—is fueling the trend, researchers say. Type 2 occurs when the body does not respond to or produce enough insulin, and though genetics play a role, excess weight and inactivity both increase the risk. Complications include heart attacks, strokes, blindness, kidney failure, and nerve damage. Here are three other factors that researchers believe will propel the numbers: 1. The "age wave." The number of adults ages 65 and older is expected to climb from 38.7 million in 2008 to 88.5 million by 2050, and older adults are more likely to develop diabetes than are younger adults. The body's ability to use and produce insulin gradually declines around age 45, Albright says. But type 2 diabetes is also on the rise in younger people, particularly among adolescents, a group rarely affected in the past. Lifestyle factors, like obesity and a lack of exercise, are likely to blame. [Read more: Why Diabetes May Triple by 2050.]
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