In the News

 

 
September 12, 2008
FDA expands use of cervical cancer vaccine
WASHINGTON (AP) — The cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil also works to prevent cancers of the vagina and vulva, federal health officials said Friday, as they approved expanding its use to protect against those diseases as well.The Food and Drug Administration first approved Gardasil in 2006 for the prevention of cervical cancer in girls and women ages 9 to 26. "There is now strong evidence showing that this vaccine can help prevent vulvar and vaginal cancers due to the same virus for which it also helps protect against cervical cancer," said Dr. Jesse Goodman, director of the FDA center that oversees vaccines.
http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/politics-4/12212588545830.xml&storylist=health

 
Aug 18, 2008
Teen Sleep Habits and Cardiovascular Disease
Teens who don’t sleep well or long enough may have a higher risk of elevated blood pressure that could lead to cardiovascular disease later in life. Technology in bedrooms (i.e., music, phones, computers) may be part of the problem. Read the full story: Poor teen sleep habits may raise blood pressure, lead to CVD

 
May 21, 2008
New Report Shows Increase In Pool and Spa Drownings 
A new report issued today by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shows that the average number of drowning deaths involving children younger than 5 in pools and spas has increased from a yearly average of 267 to 283. The report also shows that the majority of deaths and injuries occur in residential settings and involve children ages 1-2. Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death to children ages 1-4.
 
Drowning occurs more commonly when children get access to the pool during a short lapse in adult supervision. To reduce the risk of drowning, pool owners should adopt several layers of protection, including physical barriers, such as a fence completely surrounding the pool with self-closing, self-latching gates to prevent unsupervised access by young children. If the house forms a side of the barrier, use alarms on doors leading to the pool area and/or a power safety cover over the pool.
 
In addition, parents should use these tips to help prevent drowning deaths:
 
Since every second counts, always look for a missing child in the pool
first. Precious time is often wasted looking for missing children anywhere but in the pool.
 
Don't leave toys and floats in the pool that can attract young children and cause them to fall in the water when they reach for the items.
 
Inspect pools and spas for missing or broken drain covers.
 
Do not allow children in a pool or spa with missing/broken covers. Inserting an arm or leg into the opening can result in powerful suction and total body submersion/drowning.
 
For above-ground and inflatable pools with ladders, remove or secure the ladder when the pool is not in use.
 
It is important to always be prepared for an emergency by having rescue
equipment and a phone near the pool.
 
Parents should learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
 

"Choking Game" Claims Adolescents' Lives in 31 States

A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that at least 82 young people have died from "the choking game" -- trying to get a brief high from being choked by another person or oneself. "Because most parents in the study had not heard of the choking game, we hope to raise awareness of the choking game among parents, health care providers, and educators, so they can recognize warning signs of the activity," said Robin L. Toblin, Ph.D., M.P.H., the study's lead author. The study found that most victims were 11- to 16-year-old males, many of whom were alone while engaging in the dangerous game.

Read the full article at:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/2008/r080214.htm


The Claim: Never Drink Hot Water From the Tap

By ANAHAD O’CONNOR

THE FACTS
The claim has the ring of a myth. But environmental scientists say it is real.
The reason is that hot water dissolves contaminants more quickly than cold water, and many pipes in homes contain lead that can leach into water. And lead can damage the brain and nervous system, especially in young children.

Lead is rarely found in source water, but can enter it through corroded plumbing. The Environmental Protection Agency says that older homes are more likely to have lead pipes and fixtures, but that even newer plumbing advertised as “lead-free” can still contain as much as 8 percent lead. A study published in The Journal of Environmental Health in 2002 found that tap water represented 14 to 20 percent of total lead exposure.

Scientists emphasize that the risk is small. But to minimize it, the E.P.A. says cold tap water should always be used for preparing baby formula, cooking and drinking. It also warns that boiling water does not remove lead but can actually increase its concentration. More information is at www.epa.gov/lead or (800) 424-5323 (LEAD).

THE BOTTOM LINE:
Hot water from the tap should never be used for cooking or drinking.

NY Times article received from NJDHSS Lead Poisoning Prevention Program


January 30, 2008
Mercury from Vaccines Clears More Quickly in Infants than Anticipated

Researchers at the University of Rochester have found that the mercury from the vaccine preservative thimerosal is excreted by infants quickly and does not build up between vaccinations. The study, published in the February issue of Pediatrics, should be reassuring to parents whose children were vaccinated before 2001,when thimerosal was eliminated from childhood vaccines in the United States, that those vaccines  did not present any long-term toxicity risk.


Pedometers May Help Increase Amount of Exercise for Americans

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 45 percent of Americans get the recommended daily amount of physical activity. However, a new study from Stanford University's School of Medicine may have found a way to improve that number -- giving people pedometers. "These little devices were shown to increase physical activity by just over 2,000 steps, or about 1 mile of walking per day," said Dena Bravata, M.D., M.S. -- a senior research scientist in medicine and the study's lead author. "This goes a long way toward helping people meet the national guidelines for daily physical activity."

Read the full article at:
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/november28/med-pedometer-112807.html


January 8, 2008
Autism cases still on rise after vaccine change

Autism cases in California continued to climb even after a mercury-rich vaccine preservative that some people blame for the neurological disorder was removed from routine childhood shots, a new study found
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22542677/from/ET/


November 5, 2007

WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL DEFENDS CHILDHOOD VACCINATION AND COUNTERS JENNY MCCARTHY'S CLAIM OF VACCINATION HARM

On October 27, the Wall Street Journal published a guest editorial, "The New McCarthyism: Vaccines & Autism." It is written by Dr. Ari Brown, a pediatrician in Austin, TX. Portions of the editorial are reprinted below:

Dangerous vaccines that harm kids. An epidemic of disabled children, hurt by an uncaring medical establishment. Sounds like a B-grade Hollywood thriller. But this is supposedly a true story as told by actress Jenny McCarthy, author of the best seller "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism."

When I heard Ms. McCarthy tell Oprah and Larry King that vaccines caused her son's autism, I had a flashback . . . I was the senior pediatric resident on call in the Intensive Care Unit. . . [A] seven-year-old girl was brought to the emergency room at Children's Hospital Boston. The girl had come down with chickenpox a few days earlier . . . That night, she had taken a turn for the worse. Her fever shot up to 106 and she became confused and lethargic. . . . Now she was in "multiple system organ failure"--every square inch of her body was shutting down all at once. . . . My attending physician told me to grab dinner. This child would need me for the rest of the night. I returned to the ICU to find that my patient had gone into cardiac arrest and died. I watched, helplessly, as the nurses placed the little girl into a body bag.

Fast forward five months: The first chickenpox vaccine was approved. That day, I vowed never to let a child on my watch suffer from a disease that was preventable by vaccination.

That's a story that doesn't grab headlines or guest shots on Larry King. Vaccines are one of mankind's greatest scientific achievements. . . . Yet vaccines are victims of their own success. Today's parents are unfamiliar with the diseases they prevent, but these diseases are alive and well in the U.S. . . . .

Celebrity books come and go, but the anxiety they create lives on in pediatricians' offices across the country. A small but growing number of parents are even lying about their religious beliefs to avoid having their children vaccinated, thanks in part to the media hysteria created by [Ms. McCarthy's] book. Parents go through stages of grief when their child is diagnosed with a disorder like autism. . . . But why hasn't the media called out Ms. McCarthy on all the medical inaccuracies in her book? . . . .

[For example:] Ms. McCarthy told Oprah that her son was a normal toddler until he received his measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (at 15 months of age). . . . Yet she contradicts herself in her book: "My friends' babies all cracked a smile way before Evan did . . . he was almost five months old." Which is it? Was he normal until his MMR vaccine or were some of the signs [of autism] missed before he got that shot?

Ms. McCarthy also contends that mercury in vaccines caused damage to her son's gut and immune system, leading to autism. Yet the mercury preservative Ms. McCarthy assails was removed from the childhood vaccination series in 2001. Her son, Evan, was born in 2002. . . .

Doctors do need to do a better job of guiding families through the maze of autism treatments. I also desperately want to know why autism happens and how to treat it. But let's put our energy into funding autism research and treatment, not demonizing our vaccination program. . . .

To access the full text of the editorial from Dr. Brown's website, go to:
The New McCarthyism: Vaccines & Autism

Source: Immunization Action Coalition


 Music Players Raise Kids' Deafness Risk

Trendy portable music players may come with an even heftier price tag than you think. According to a new British public health study, regularly listening to portable MP3 players can significantly raise teenagers' risk of going deaf in adulthood. Conducted by the nonprofit collective Deafness Research UK, the study was based on data from more than 1,000 teens and young adults who regularly use portable music players such as the iPod. Approximately one-third of those surveyed reported early signs of hearing damage, such as ringing in the ears. Perhaps even more troubling, 40% of study subjects reported that they were not aware of the risks of portable music player use. The study's authors urged adherence to the so-called "60-60" rule: Music enthusiasts should not listen to their portable players for longer than 60 minutes at a time or turn the music up higher than 60% of full volume.
Source: www.LifeScript.com


Infant Swimming May Risk Future Respiratory Health

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has long recommended against infant swimming lessons due to the false sense of safety that this practice gives regarding the risk of drowning. Now a new study may add another reason to avoid infant swim lessons. "Infant Swimming Practice, Pulmonary Epithelium Integrity, and Risk of Allergic and Respiratory Diseases Later in Childhood," examined the role indoor chlorinated pools play in the development of asthma and reduced lung function.

The study, conducted in Belgium, found that trichloramine - a chlorine byproduct that gives indoor pools their distinctive "chlorine" smell - is one of the most concentrated air pollutants to which children of developed countries are regularly exposed. The study asserts that this pollutant along with other aerosolized chlorine-based oxidants can be associated with airway changes that predispose children to asthma and recurrent bronchitis later in childhood. They encourage more study and possible regulation of the air quality in the indoor pool environment.

Source: Medem Smart Parents' Health Source, June 8, 2007
 

Inadequate Sleep May Be Additional Risk Factor for Childhood Obesity

While parents and educators may have long known that a lack of sleep can make children moody and unable to concentrate in school, a new study from Northwestern University has uncovered an additional consequence. The study found that inadequate sleep in children increases the risk of being overweight, and that even an extra hour of sleep can make a difference. "Sleeping an additional hour reduced young children's chance of being overweight from 36 percent to 30 percent, while it reduced older children's risk from 34 percent to 30 percent," said Emily Snell, co-author of the study and a researcher at Northwestern University.
Read the full article at: Children Who Sleep Less More Likely to Weigh More

 

Tools to Help Consumers Use the Nutrition Facts Label

Two new learning tools, to help consumers use the Nutrition Facts label to choose nutritious foods and achieve healthy weight management, are available from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). The tools are Make Your Calories Count, a Web-based learning program, and a new Nutrition Facts Label brochure.

Make Your Calories Count is an interactive online learning program that is also available in a downloadable format. It is designed to help consumers understand and use the Nutrition Facts label to plan a healthy diet while managing calorie intake. The program guide features an animated character called "Labelman" who expertly leads the viewer through a series of exercises on the food label. The program includes exercises to help consumers explore the relationship between serving sizes and calories, while they learn how to limit certain nutrients and get enough of others. For simplicity, the program presents two nutrients that should be limited (saturated fat and sodium) and two nutrients that should be consumed in adequate amounts (fiber and calcium).

The Nutrition Facts Label brochure can help consumers take control of their caloric intake and weight and make healthy food choices, by explaining what serving sizes, percentages, and daily values mean and how to use them.
 

America’s Health Rankings

Each year the United Health Foundation, together with the American Public Health Association (APHA) and Partnership for Prevention, releases America’s Health Rankings™. The report ranks states on the basis of public health statistics such as smoking, motor vehicle deaths, high school graduation rates, children in poverty, access to care and incidence of preventable disease. This year New Jersey ranks 15th, up from 17th in 2004.

Snapshot of New Jersey's Health
Visit America’s Health Rankings to view the entire report.