Tai chi shows promise for managing diabetes
|
|
The ancient art of tai chi may help in controlling or lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, two small studies suggest.
In one study, Taiwanese researchers found that tai chi helped lower long-term blood sugar levels in 30 middle-aged adults with type 2 diabetes. In the second, an Australian team found that a combination of tai chi and qigong benefited 11 adults at risk of type 2 diabetes.
Both tai chi and qigong (pronounced “chee-kung”) are ancient Chinese practices designed to promote good health. Qigong combines gentle movements, meditation and breathing techniques; tai chi involves slow, fluid movements combined with mental imagery and deep breathing.
JOEM Presents Special Report on Depression in the Workplace
|
|
Depression affects more than six percent of the working population. When people with bipolar disorder and other forms of depression are included, the true rate is even higher. But only half of workers suffering from depression receive any form of treatment, and less than half of these receive care consistent with current treatment guidelines according to new studies released by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) in its April Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. This special issue of JOEM, the official publication of ACOEM, presents an update on workplace depression, highlighting the need for an integrated, evidence-based approach to managing this common, chronic, and often recurrent disorder.
The 15 papers in the issue, prepared by experts in their fields, are presented as part of the ACOEM Depression in the Workplace Project, a joint venture of the ACOEM Occupational Mental Health Committee and the ACOEM Health and Productivity Section. Project co-directors Drs. Garson M. Caruso and T. Larry Myette will host a special session Wednesday, April 16, 2008, on Depression in the Workplace during the American Occupational Health Conference, to be held at the Marquis Marriott Hotel in New York City, April 13-16.
Having defined the scope of the problem, the new papers discuss some promising approaches to improving the management of workplace depression. For example, programs to improve coping and stress management skills, identify employees at risk, and promote early treatment may help to prevent or lessen the severity of depression.
EHR-based Program Improves Diabetes Care
|
|
Using the Electronic Health Record to actively engage diabetes patients in their own care results in improved blood sugar and cholesterol levels, better vaccination compliance and increased tobacco cessation rates, according to a new Geisinger study.
Geisinger Health System launched an Electronic Health Record-driven care program for its 20,000 diabetes patients in 2005. A study published in April’s Journal of General Internal Medicine showed improvements for most of those diabetic patients:
• the percentage of patients receiving pneumonia vaccinations increased from 56 to 80%;
• the percentage of patients receiving microalbumin test for possible kidney complications increased from 57 to 87%;
• the percentage of patients with an optimal cholesterol level increased from 54 to 57%;
• the percentage of documented non-smokers increased from 77 to 82%.
The skinny on BMI
|
|
“The definition of obesity is having excess fat,” says Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and lead author of a study on what researchers are calling “normal weight obesity.” It was presented last week at the American College of Cardiology’s annual science session in Chicago. “For years we’ve been using BMI to diagnose obesity, but the first question we had was ‘Is it possible to be normal weight but have excess fat?’ “
Researchers examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and found that among 2,127 men and women of normal weight and BMIs between 18.5 and 24.9, almost half had excess fat—20% of total body composition for men and 30% for women. (Although acceptable levels of body fat vary, most experts agree these numbers are high.) Compared with those without excess fat, they also were 2 1/2 times more likely to have metabolic syndrome.
Milk of magnesia helps skin
|
|
My son has acne. He is 16 and has been under a dermatologist’s care for many years, to no avail. He has recently tried a home remedy: applying milk of magnesia to his face at night before bed. He looks the best he has in four years.
Milk of magnesia is a solution of magnesium hydroxide and is best known for its laxative effect. We don’t know why it might combat acne, but we have heard that it can help clear up seborrheic dermatitis, in which yeast on skin causes redness and flakes, rather like dandruff, but on the forehead, chin, scalp and eyebrows. One reader says, “I have been using milk of magnesia on my face for the past two months, and my face flakes are gone! I pour it in my hand and massage it on my face (forehead, eyebrows, around the eyes, nose, cheeks and chin) while showering, and rinse it off at the end of the shower. End of problem.”
Stress May Lead Students to Stimulants
|
|
The performance pressures from end-of-semester exams and papers can take a toll on students, even leading them to turn to potentially harmful substances to keep them awake and alert.
Recent studies show that a growing number of high school and college students are turning to stimulants like ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) drugs and energy drinks to help them through their stress — particularly during exam time, says Jennifer Christner, M.D., an adolescent medicine specialist at the University of Michigan Health System.
“Studies have shown that anywhere from 5 to 35 percent of college students are misusing stimulants around stressful times with academics. There is also some evidence that high school students — anywhere from 8 to 10 percent — can misuse stimulants during these times,” she says.
Early neglect predicts aggressive behavior in children
|
|
Children who are neglected before their second birthday display higher levels of aggressive behavior between ages 4 and 8, according to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study, published today in the journal Pediatrics.
Early child neglect may be as important as child abuse for predicting aggressive behavior, researchers say. Neglect accounts for nearly two-thirds of all child maltreatment cases reported in the United States each year, according to the Administration for Children and Families.
“The lack of attention devoted to the problem of neglect – the so-called ‘neglect of neglect’ – is a long-standing concern in the child welfare field,” said study co-author Jon Hussey, research assistant professor of maternal and child health in the UNC School of Public Health and a fellow at the Carolina Population Center. “Despite being more common than abuse, we know relatively little about the impact of neglect on children.”
Significant dementia risk attributable to small blood vessel damage
|
|
Autopsy data of 221 men and women found that the brains of one-third of individuals who had dementia before death showed evidence of small, cumulative blood vessel damage that can arise from hypertension or diabetes.
Dr. Thomas Montine and colleagues analyzed the brain tissue of select volunteers from the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study, wherein 3,400 adult participants (65+) in the Seattle region agreed to undergo neurological and psychological tests every two years until their death
Backpack Straps Can Decrease Blood Flow in the Shoulder, Arm
|
|
More than 92 percent of the children in the U.S. carry backpacks. Typically the backpacks are loaded with almost one-fourth of the child’s body weight (22 percent) and worn with only one strap. Last year, a team of physician researchers examined the effect heavy-loaded backpack straps can have on children. They found the straps can significantly increase pressure when the load is ten percent or more. They also found that strap pressures with loads as small as ten percent of bodyweight can obstruct localized blood flow and contribute to shoulder fatigue.
This year the team has examined pack straps and adults. In some professions, such as the military, firefighting and mountain rescue, the packs may equal as much as 60 percent of adult body weight. The findings of the most recent study indicate that even light loads of 26 pounds can decrease upper extremity blood flow, and may result in a loss of fine motor control and increased fatigue.
Study Being Presented at the 121st Annual Meeting of the American Physiological Society
The studies were conducted by Timothy Neuschwander, Brandon Macias and Alan Hargens, all of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California–San Diego. Dr. Neuschwander will present the team’s findings, Backpack Straps Decrease Upper Extremity Blood Flow, at the 121st Annual Meeting of the American Physiological Society, part of the Experimental Biology 2008 scientific conference.
New Study Finds Anticipating a Laugh Reduces Stress Hormones
|
|
In 2006 researchers investigating the interaction between the brain, behavior, and the immune system found that simply anticipating a mirthful laughter experience boosted health-protecting hormones. Now, two years later, the same researchers have found that the anticipation of a positive humorous laughter experience also reduces potentially detrimental stress hormones. According to Dr. Lee Berk, the study team’s lead researcher of Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, “Our findings lead us to believe that by seeking out positive experiences that make us laugh we can do a lot with our physiology to stay well.”
In their earlier work the researchers found that the anticipation of “mirthful laughter” had surprising and significant effects. Two hormones – beta-endorphins (the family of chemicals that alleviates depression) and human growth hormone (HGH; which helps with immunity) – increased by 27 and 87 percent respectively when volunteers anticipated watching a humorous video. There was no such increase among the control group who did not anticipate watching the humor film.
Cell phones could be used to better teens’ health
|
|
Teenagers love their cell phones, and researchers may be able to take advantage of that fact to improve their health, a pilot study suggests.
In a study of 15 teenage girls, the investigated looked at the feasibility of using GPS-enabled cell phones to track adolescents’ whereabouts when they were away from home or school. The researchers found that the girls were happy to take the phones with them wherever they went, and that the GPS accurately plotted their travels over one week.
The point of the surveillance was not to pass on information to curious parents, however. Instead, the researchers hope to use the technology to study the health risks that teenagers typically face, and possibly to intervene.
Wine drinking may cut women’s dementia risk
|
|
Women who drink wine are less likely to develop dementia over time than their teetotaling peers, while drinking hard liquor may actually boost dementia risk, Swedish researchers report.
“There may be components in wine besides (alcohol) that protect against dementia,” Dr. Lauren Lissner of Goteborg University, the study’s senior author, told Reuters Health via e-mail. “Our findings are consistent with several previous reports.”
Lissner and her team looked at 1,462 women who ranged in age from 38 to 60 between 1968 and 1969 and were followed up to 2002, by which time 164 had been diagnosed with dementia. The women reported their alcohol consumption at the beginning of the study and three more times during the course of the study.
Increase in throat cancer parallels obesity rate
|
|
The rising incidence of throat cancer, also referred to as cancer of the esophagus or esophageal adenocarcinoma, may be related to Americans’ increasing intake of total and refined carbohydrates and subsequent rise in obesity rates.
“The similarity in these trends gives further evidence for the association of carbohydrate intake, obesity, and related measures with cancer,” Dr. Cheryl L. Thompson told Reuters Health.
She and colleagues caution, however, that such observations do not necessarily reflect individual risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma
Asthma ‘drops’ may treat allergic asthma in kids
|
|
Children who suffer from asthma triggered by allergens - so-called allergic asthma—may benefit from an “under the tongue” therapy designed to increase tolerance to offending allergens, and, in turn, decrease asthma symptoms and medication use.
Research shows that sublingual immunotherapy, or SLIT, reduces symptoms and use of rescue medication use in children with allergic asthma, according to a report in the medical journal Chest. SLIT involves the oral administration of allergen extracts, either through soluble tablets or drops.
Dr. Giorgio Walter Canonica, of the University of Genoa, Italy, and colleagues pooled data from nine randomized, controlled clinical trials in order to assess the efficacy of SLIT in the treatment of allergic asthma in children.
Fitness, body weight impact type 2 diabetes risk
|
|
Lower cardiorespiratory fitness and higher body weight are independently associated with the development of type 2 diabetes in women, new research suggests.
“These findings underscore the critical importance of promoting regular physical activity and maintaining normal weight for diabetes prevention,” Dr. Xuemei Sui, of the University of South Carolina, Columbia, said in an interview with Reuters Health.
Sui and associates followed 6,249 women between the ages of 20 and 79 years for 17 years. The women were free of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes at the outset.
