Tainted food surprisingly deadly in adults - WHO
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Millions of adults die every year from bugs and toxins in what they eat, according to new World Health Organisation data that shows food-borne diseases are far more deadly than the U.N. agency previously estimated.
The research faults unsafe food for 1.2 million deaths per year in people over the age of five in Southeast Asia and Africa—three times more adult deaths than the Geneva-based WHO had thought occurred in the whole world.
“It is a picture that we have never had before,” WHO Food Safety Director Jorgen Schlundt said in an interview. “We now have documentation of a significant burden outside the less than five group, that is major new information.”
Experts fear Africa “pandemic” from rise in smoking
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Africa faces a surge in cancer deaths unless action is taken in the next decade to stem rising smoking levels in a continent where anti-tobacco laws remain rare, U.S. scientists said on Wednesday.
More than half the continent will double its tobacco use within 12 years if current trends continue, the American Cancer Society (ACS) said in a report which found that 90 percent of people living there have no protection from secondhand smoke.
Some African countries have introduced smoking bans but most have not and smoke-free public areas are few.
Less educated people more vulnerable to H1N1
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Washington, Nov 11 : People with less education could be more vulnerable to contracting H1N1 infection and the vaccine might be less effective in them compared to those who earned a high school diploma, according to a new study.
In the study, researchers focused on CMV, a latent virus in the herpes family. Infection is common but the majority of people aren’t symptomatic because the immune system keeps the virus under control.
But people of lower income and education lose immune control more easily, probably due to stress.
Men leave: Separation and divorce far more common when the wife is the patient
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A woman is six times more likely to be separated or divorced soon after a diagnosis of cancer or multiple sclerosis than if a man in the relationship is the patient, according to a study that examined the role gender played in so-called “partner abandonment.” The study also found that the longer the marriage the more likely it would remain intact.
The study confirmed earlier research that put the overall divorce or separation rate among cancer patients at 11.6 percent, similar to the population as a whole. However, researchers were surprised by the difference in separation and divorce rates by gender. The rate when the woman was the patient was 20.8 percent compared to 2.9 percent when the man was the patient.
“Female gender was the strongest predictor of separation or divorce in each of the patient groups we studied,” said Marc Chamberlain, M.D., a co-corresponding author and director of the neuro-oncology program at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA). Chamberlain is also a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Routine evaluation of prostate size not as effective in cancer screening, Mayo study finds
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New Mayo Clinic research studied the association between prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and prostate size and found that routine annual evaluation of prostate growth is not necessarily a predictor for the development of prostate cancer. However the study suggests that if a man’s PSA level is rising quickly, a prostate biopsy is reasonable to determine if he has prostate cancer. These findings are being presented this week at the North Central Section of the American Urological Association (http://www.ncsaua.org/) in Scottsdale, Ariz.
VIDEO ALERT: Additional audio and video resources are available on the Mayo Clinic News Blog (http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2009/11/09/routine-prostate-size-evaluation-not-as-effective-in-cancer-screening/).
These Mayo Clinic study findings were based on data in the Olmsted County Study of Urinary Health Status among Men, a large cohort study of men living in Olmsted County, Minn. Researchers randomly selected 616 men between the ages of 40 and 79 who did not have prostate disease. Patients participated in examinations every two years for 17 years, which included PSA and prostate volume measurements using ultrasound, to determine changes in prostate disease.
Team Sports Participation Increases Some Unhealthy Behaviors in Male Teens
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Team Sports Participation Increases Some Unhealthy Behaviors in Male Teens; Positive Associations Seen for Females
Contradicting what most parents might think, participation in team sports doesn’t necessarily result in teenage boys adopting healthier behaviors. Instead, new research finds that it is actually associated with increased fighting and drinking.
The study, which was presented at the American Public Health Association’s 137th Annual Meeting & Exposition in Philadelphia, surveyed a nationally representative sample of more than 13,000 high school students across the United States to examine the association between sports team participation and risky behaviors.
Of the male respondents, 60.5 percent reported participation in team sports in the past year. For these young men, sports team participation was associated with increased levels of self-reported fighting (OR 1.3), drinking (OR 1.4) and binge drinking (OR 1.4). However, participation was also associated with decreased levels of depression (OR 0.7) and smoking (OR 0.8).
Pain often persists years after breast surgery
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In a study of Danish women who had surgery for breast cancer, nearly half still reported pain 2 to 3 years later, according to a report in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
“Our study supports previous smaller studies that chronic pain after breast cancer surgery and treatment is common and needs to receive more focus in the future,” senior investigator Dr. Henrik Kehlet from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, told Reuters Health.
The findings stem from 3253 women who had surgery for breast cancer between 2005 and 2006 and who responded to a survey in 2009.
EU ministers agree to boost tax on cigarettes
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European Union states on Tuesday agreed to raise the excise tax on cigarettes by nearly 30 percent to try to reduce smoking and improve public health, a move that could hurt tobacco manufacturers.
The agreement is part of the EU’s drive to combat smoking, which British statistics show kills more than one million men and 200,000 women in Europe each year.
“The directive is intended to ensure a higher level of public health protection by raising minimum excise duties on cigarettes,” the EU said in a statement.
Physician bias might keep life-saving transplants from black and Hispanic patients
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Physician bias might be the reason why African Americans are not receiving kidney/pancreas transplants at the same rate as similar patients in other racial groups. Dr. Keith Melancon, director of kidney and pancreas transplantation at Georgetown University Hospital and associate professor of surgery at Georgetown University Medical Center, and colleagues explore this phenomenon in the November issue of the American Journal of Transplantation.
Medicare coverage for people needing a simultaneous kidney/pancreas transplant has increased in the past decade. In July 1999 Medicare made the changes as a conscious effort by the government intended to address racial and economic disparities that existed. But increased Medicare dollars have not translated into more access for African Americans or Hispanics.
“Our research raised the possibility of racial bias on the part of physicians who might incorrectly assume that African Americans are type 2 diabetics when in fact, they would metabolically meet the criteria for type 1 diabetes,” said Dr. Melancon. “Since this is a transplant that is most often performed in type 1 diabetics, their doctors might not even raise the possibility with their black patients. Also, health care providers might incorrectly predict worse outcomes for black patients, despite research that shows they do about as well as other racial groups.”
Obesity causes 100,000 US cancer cases: report
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Obesity causes more than 100,000 cases of cancer in the United States each year—and the number will likely rise as Americans get fatter, researchers said on Thursday.
Having too much body fat causes nearly half the cases of endometrial cancer—a type of cancer of the uterus—and a third of esophageal cancer cases, the American Institute for Cancer Research said.
Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease. The American Cancer Society projects that 1.47 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year and 562,000 will die of it.
Are doctors what ails U.S. healthcare?
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Nowhere in the United States has more doctors at its beck and call than White Plains, one of the wealthiest cities in the nation.
Doctors have been flocking to the area and surrounding Westchester County since the 1970s, drawn in part by an upper-class clientele who demand top-notch medical care and have the means to pay for it. The county has one of the highest median household incomes in the nation (about $77,000 a year in 2007), and the figures soar above six digits in suburbs like Scarsdale and Chappaqua, which former President Bill Clinton calls home.
Nearly 3,000 miles (4,830 km) away, scaring up a doctor in Bakersfield, situated in California’s economically battered Central Valley, is a lot harder. In fact, White Plains has more than twice the number of doctors per capita as Bakersfield, where needy patients until recently had to take a 2-hour bus trip to Fresno to see a diabetes treatment specialist.
Animals need to be closely watched for flu
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Some pigs, turkeys and household pets have become infected with the H1N1 flu, but the pandemic virus does not yet appear to be spreading quickly among animals, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said it was not clear how the isolated animals had contracted the flu virus that is spreading quickly among humans in the northern hemisphere, particularly in Eastern Europe.
A novel flu virus—looking like a mix of human and swine genes—has been detected in some mink farms in Denmark, and seems to have infected only the animals and not the farm workers in proximity to them.
Is Surgery the Best Answer for Children with Sleep Apnea?
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For children with obstructive sleep apnea, standard care often includes a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. But researchers at Saint Louis University say further research is needed to determine if surgery is the best option for these patients.
“We know surgery is associated with improvements in children with sleep apnea, but this research will be the first to allow us to investigate whether or not the surgery causes those improvements,” says Ron Mitchell, M.D., professor of otolaryngology at Saint Louis University and the research study’s principal investigator.
“In the future, the information we gather from this study may help us know when to recommend surgery immediately and when it is most appropriate to wait and see whether the child will grow out of the problem. This will allow us to use healthcare resources more effectively.”
New TMS Clinic at Rush University Medical Center Offers Non-Invasive Treatment for Major Depression
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Rush University Medical Center has opened the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Clinic to offer patients suffering from major depression a safe, effective, non-drug treatment. TMS therapy is the first FDA-approved, non-invasive antidepressant device-based treatment clinically proven for treatment of depression.
Psychiatrists at Rush University Medical Center were among the first to test the technique and Dr. Philip Janicak, professor of psychiatry and lead investigator at Rush for the clinical trials of TMS, helped to develop this therapy.
The TMS therapy system delivers highly focused magnetic field pulses to a specific portion of the brain, the left prefrontal cortex, in order to stimulate the areas of the brain linked to depression. The repeated short bursts of magnetic energy introduced through the scalp excite neurons in the brain.
Genes may be important in back, neck pain
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A person’s genetic makeup may play an important role in the odds of suffering neck or back pain, new research suggests.
In a study of more than 15,000 twins ages 20 to 71, Danish researchers found that genetic susceptibility seemed to explain a large share of the risk of suffering back and neck aches.
Chronic and recurrent pain along the spine is one of the most common health complaints among adults, yet the precise cause remains unknown in most cases. And in general, researchers know little about the mechanisms underlying these aches and pains.
