Death risk rises in women as obesity worsens
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Obesity is known to increase a person’s risk of death and now, new findings from a study of more than 90,000 women indicate that the risk continues to increase as the severity of obesity worsens.
“It’s not good enough to consider obesity alone,” principal investigator Dr. Kathleen McTigue of the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, told Reuters Health. “You need to look at degree of obesity.”
In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, McTigue and colleagues evaluated the impact of body weight on death risk in 90,185 women enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study. On average, the patients were followed for 7 years.
Vascular disease risk factors may predict mortality
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Whether elderly men have a high or low risk of dying in the next four years can be estimated by using just two cardiovascular risk factors—plaque in the arteries of the neck and levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), an immune system protein that promotes inflammation, the results of a study published in the American Journal of Medicine indicate.
“Ways to predict the risk of cardiovascular events or all-cause mortality have largely been derived from populations in which old and very old subjects were underrepresented,” write Dr. Michiel L. Bots, of University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, and colleagues.
The team therefore conducted a study to examine the usefulness of markers of inflammation and the presence of arterial plaque (atherosclerosis) in predicting all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in 403 men who were an average of 78 years old at study entry.
Tick-borne fever claims victims in Turkey
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A tick-borne viral fever related to the more deadly Ebola virus may have claimed its 12th victim in Turkey this year, the state Anatolian news agency said on Wednesday.
Health officials told Reuters they were conducting tests on samples from 53-year-old Bayram Sacinti, who died earlier in the day after being hospitalised on suspicion of contracting the disease, known as Crimea-Congo haemorrhagic fever.
“We are carrying out tests. We have not yet confirmed the cause of his death,” one official said.
Calif. prison health care in shambles-report
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California’s prison health-care system is at best in a “state of abject disrepair,” the receiver appointed by a U.S. judge to probe its workings reported on Wednesday.
In his first bimonthly report, court-appointed receiver Robert Sillen concluded California’s prison health-care system is in shambles.
“Almost every necessary element of a working medical care system either does not exist or functions in a state of abject disrepair,” Sillen wrote in a scathing 37-page report based on observations from tours of five state prisons.
Syphilis
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Syphilis is an infection caused by a spirochete, a nasty little bacteria that is shaped like a corkscrew. Only rather than popping open a bottle of Bollinger RD 1985, this bugger pops open your skin like a Miller High Life beef bong. And the hard truth about Syphilis is that you can get it without even having sex.
What is it?
Syphilis dates back to prehistoric times, and holds a prestigious place in American history as many experts have proffered that both Christopher Columbus (the explorer, not the filmmaker) and General George Washington may have had it. I guess that means if you’ve got it you’re in pretty good company. In fact you may be less alone than you thought. In Seattle/King County there were 140 cases of Syphilis reported in gay/bi men in 2004. By the end of June 2005 there were already 90 cases, more than twice that of 2004. But what’s the big deal; it’s only 100 cases, right? Considering that in 1999 there were zero cases of Syphilis, it makes this current rise of cases significant.
Oral Sex
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OK, so if we tell you to use a condom every single time for oral sex you’re going to laugh at us like we’re a big joke. However, if you want to reduce your risk for catching HIV and STDs, that’s what you need to do. Contrary to popular belief, you can catch HIV from giving blow jobs, not to mention STDs like herpes, syphilis, and gonorrhea, to name a few.
If you can’t wrap that Willy before you suck it, here are a few tips that can help reduce the risk of catching anything while smokin’ the fag pole.
Genetic link found to noise-induced hearing loss
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Belgian scientists have pinpointed three genes that may explain why some people exposed to loud noise suffer hearing loss.
The genes, discovered by Professor Guy Van Camp and researchers at the University of Antwerp, are involved in the recycling of potassium in the inner ear, which is essential for normal hearing.
Dr. Ralph Holme, of Britain’s national charity for the deaf and hard of hearing RNID, which funded the research, described the finding as a very exciting breakthrough. “This discovery could revolutionize the way this common form of hearing loss is prevented and treated in the future,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
Results of Hospital Performance Measures Do Not Always Reflect Patient Outcomes
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Hospital quality measures do not fully account for the variation in hospital death rates for heart attack patients, according to a study in the July 5 issue of JAMA.
As part of the national effort to improve hospital quality, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) monitor and publicly report hospital performance on acute myocardial infarction (AMI - heart attack) “core” process measures approved by the Hospital Quality Alliance, according to background information in the article. Although the CMS/JCAHO process measures are considered indicators of quality of AMI care, little is known about how these measures track with each other. And the degree to which process measure performance conveys meaningful information about short-term death rates remains unclear.
People with learning difficulties abused:UK report
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Checks will be carried out on all services providing care to Britons with learning difficulties after two independent bodies said on Wednesday there were “serious concerns” about their treatment.
The warning came after an investigation by the Healthcare Commission and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) into Cornwall NHS Trust found what they called unacceptable standards of care including evidence of institutional abuse.
“Let us first be clear we are not saying that the abusive behavior we found in Cornwall is happening everywhere,” said a joint statement from Anna Walker, the Healthcare Commission’s chief executive, and David Behan, CSCI chief inspector.
European study supports hair dye-lymphoma link
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Using hair dye may increase the risk of a type of cancer known as lymphoma, a European study shows.
“Our data suggest that personal use of hair coloring is associated with a small increase in lymphoma risk, particularly among women who started using hair coloring products before 1980,” Dr. Silvia de Sanjose of the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Barcelona and colleagues write in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Past research has suggested a link between coloring one’s hair and lymphoma risk, de Sanjose and her team note. They sought to investigate the association by analyzing results from a large study of lymphoma patients and matched healthy controls, including a total of 4,719 people from six European countries. About three quarters of women reported using hair dye, while 7 percent of men did.
Study nixes Benadryl for putting babies to sleep
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An antihistamine most commonly sold as Benadryl does little to help infants sleep through the night even though parents and some doctors think it does, according to a study published on Monday.
Researchers at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, said they based the findings on a test of 44 children age 6 to 15 months, whose parents had reported they woke up in their cribs two or more times a night.
In tests conducted in 2004 and 2005, some of the children were given diphenhydramine as the medicine is known and others an inert placebo. The parents were then asked to keep track of the children’s sleep habits.
Swiss suicide helper says he is saving lives
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A Swiss lawyer who has helped arrange 573 deaths believes his assisted suicide centre Dignitas, which has attracted people from all over the world, has saved many more lives than it has ended.
Ludwig Minelli, a spry 73-year-old who hopes to live beyond 100, said it was important to break social taboos over suicide, which he called “a marvellous possibility” for those wanting to control their conditions of their deaths.
By offering people a chance calmly to contemplate ending their lives and discuss their options with friends and family, Minelli said his non-profit association had actually kept many people from committing the act.
One strong drink can make you ‘blind drunk’
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People who have been drinking may miss objects that appear unexpectedly in their field of sight, even when their blood alcohol levels are just half the legal driving limit.
“In light of this result, perhaps lawmakers should reconsider the level of intoxication deemed legal to operate a vehicle,” Dr. Seema L. Clifasefi of the University of Washington in Seattle and her colleagues suggest in a report.
This phenomenon, known as inattentional blindness, occurs commonly among people who are sober, Clifasefi and her team note. Alcohol is known to impair fine motor skills, reaction time and visual attention, they point out, but to date no one has studied what effect it may have on inattentional blindness.
Calif. court expands liability for HIV infection
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A person who has reason to believe he or she has HIV may be sued by sexual partners if they become infected, the California Supreme Court ruled on Monday, broadening the state’s view of when liability arises from the disease.
Knowingly passing along HIV, which leads to AIDS, is already illegal in California and people who do so may be sued for damages in state court.
The California Supreme Court’s decision widens the scope for law suits against sexual partners over negligent transmission.
Gum disease may up stroke risk
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Making regular visits to the dentist not only protects the teeth, it also may protect the carotid arteries—the main blood vessels leading to the brain.
Study findings presented this past weekend in Brisbane, Australia at a gathering of the International Association for Dental Research hint that gum disease may contribute to clogged carotids, leading to an increased risk of stroke.
Chronic inflammation arising from dental disease has been implicated in the development of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries—a key risk factor for stroke. Advanced carotid artery blockages contain calcium, and can be imaged when a dentist takes a panoramic x-ray of the teeth.
