Public Health
Pakistan promotes birth control to slow birth rate
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Faced with the prospect of its population doubling to over 300 million people in the next 40 years, Pakistan on Thursday launched a project to promote contraception in urban and industrial areas.
“This initiative has the potential for a major breakthrough in our efforts to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice in inculcating responsible parenthood,” Population and Welfare Minister Chaudhry Shahbaz Hussain told reporters in Islamabad.
More Nigerian states hit by bird flu infection
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The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has spread in the last few weeks to two new states in Nigeria and reappeared in two others where it was believed to have been contained, officials said on Friday.
Nigeria is one of three countries regarded by experts as the weakest areas in the global attempt to stem infections among birds and head off a potentially devastating human flu pandemic.
The disease was first discovered in the northwest state of Kaduna in February and it spread rapidly in the early weeks to 12 other states and the Federal Capital Territory, despite culling and quarantine measures.
Balance training may help the elderly avoid falls
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Although the ancient art of Tai Chi has been shown to lower older adults’ risk of falls, exercises that specifically focus on improving balance and speed may be even better, a study suggests.
Researchers found that among more than 200 elderly adults with balance problems, those who went through an exercise program called “combined balance and step training” (CBST) made greater gains in balance and mobility than those who took Tai Chi classes.
The findings, reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, suggest that the CBST approach might be particularly effective at improving older adults’ ability to avoid falls.
Echinacea: Cold-Season Cure or Risk?
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When sneezing and a prickly throat signal an oncoming cold, many people reach for what they believe will be a safe preventative – a tea or capsule containing echinacea. In the first study to examine the effects of a botanical supplement on bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, research at the University of Arkansas suggests people may be risking some unwelcome side effects with this common herbal remedy.
Although various botanical extracts have been shown in the laboratory to have some antimicrobial effects, previous to this research there had been no published information about their effect in vivo – in the human gastrointestinal tract. Research conducted by Jerald C. Foote, assistant professor of food and human nutrition, and graduate student Laura Hill yielded some surprising results and pointed to the need for further research.
Moderate Drinking May Help Older Women Live Longer
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Newcastle, Australia - December 13, 2006 – A study published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society finds that moderate alcohol intake (1-2 drinks/day for 3-6 days/week, depending on alcoholic content) may lead to increased quality of life and survival in older women. The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health followed nearly 12,000 women in their 70’s over a 6 year period. The group was comprised of non-drinkers, occasional drinkers and moderate drinkers.
The study found that non-drinkers and women who rarely drank had a significantly higher risk of dying during the survey period than did women who drank moderately. Of those who survived, the women who drank the least reported the lowest health-related quality of life. Previous studies have shown that women who have at least one drink per day stand at a lower risk for cardiovascular disease and ischemic stroke than non-drinkers.
Alcohol in moderation may extend life
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Moderate drinking may lengthen your life, while too much may shorten it, researchers from Italy report. Their conclusion is based on pooled data from 34 large studies involving more than one million people and 94,000 deaths.
According to the data, drinking a moderate amount of alcohol—up to four drinks per day in men and two drinks per day in women—reduces the risk of death from any cause by roughly 18 percent, the team reports in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Study helps explain why botulinum toxin is so deadly
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A pilot without a map can locate an airport by first finding a nearby landmark, like a big river, and then searching for the airport.
New research from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) and Scripps Research Institute shows how the astonishingly powerful botulinum toxin uses a similar strategy to latch onto nerve cells, the first step in inactivating them.
Children suffer when mother lacks input, UNICEF says
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Children are likely to be undernourished in households where women are denied a voice in family decisions like doctor visits, food expenditures and trips to see friends and relatives, says a report by the U.N. Children’s Fund, UNICEF, released on Monday.
Tracing the life cycle of women, the report said eliminating discrimination against women has a profound impact on the survival and well-being of boys and girls.
Blacks more likely to want end-of-life intervention
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Blacks are more likely than whites to want life-sustaining care at the end of life for an incurable illness or a serious physical or mental disability, a new study shows.
While more than half of black individuals surveyed said they would want life support if they had a chronic condition and were brain dead, just 11 percent of whites would want this intervention. Nearly three quarters of blacks said they would want life-sustaining care if they were terminally ill and had senile dementia, compared with 22.2 percent of whites.
Where you live affects your health!
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According to a new Canadian study where you live is a big factor in how healthy you are.
The study, by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), has found that people in neighbourhoods with higher incomes and higher education levels were more likely to report excellent or very good health.
Studies fault hospital procedures in infections
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Hospital practices are more to blame than how sick a person is for infections acquired by patients while they are in the hospital; researchers reported on Monday, urging medical centers to do more to curb these infections.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month estimated that infections acquired inside U.S. hospitals kill 90,000 people annually and urges hospitals to do more to track and prevent the infections.
Religious observance may keep older people healthy
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A new study adds to mounting evidence that older people who regularly attend religious services are healthier than those who don’t.
Among 1,174 highly functioning men and women in their 70s, those who went to a church, synagogue or mosque at least once a week had a significantly slower decline in their lung function over the following years than their peers who didn’t go to services regularly, Dr. Joanna Maselko, now at Temple University in Philadelphia, and her colleagues report.
Chinese bird flu expert will head the WHO
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Dr. Margaret Chan, a Chinese expert on bird flu, is to be the next head of the World Health Organization (WHO).
It is expected that the World Health Assembly will approve the appointment of Dr. Chan as the director-general of WHO, making her the first Chinese person to head a major UN agency.
Dr. Chan will replace South Korea’s Lee Jong-wook who died suddenly last May three years into his five-year term.
Park Your Car and Walk to Store, School, Work
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A new comprehensive study by Saint Louis University researchers that flags the top 10 features of activity-friendly communities is a blueprint for improving public health, the author of the research says.
“We wrote the book on identifying the range of different influences that gets people engaging in physical activity not just for recreation but as part of their everyday life activities,” says Laura Brennan Ramirez, Ph.D., adjunct assistant professor of community health at Saint Louis University School of Public Health.
Salaries for chemists rise, but jobs outlook little improved
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New chemistry graduating class considerably more diverse than chemical workforce.
While chemical scientists and engineers who have not changed jobs continue to post gains in salary of close to 5 percent per year, unemployment figures for the past year only dropped modestly, according to the November 6 Employment Outlook section in Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society.
