In the News

 

 

Exercise May Reduce Glaucoma Risk

Aging Well Magazine, December 2011-A physically active lifestyle may help protect elders’ eyes from glaucoma, according to a new study. Glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness, typically develops when fluid pressure inside the eye rises and damages the optic nerve.

 

Treatment Admissions for Prescription Drug Abuse Jumped
430 Percent in 10 Years

December 12, 2011
Treatment admissions for prescription drug abuse rose 430 percent from 1999 to 2009, according to a new government report.

Nasty Bugs Lurking on Your Cell Phone

October 14, 2011 -The next time you reach for your cell phone, consider this: A new study found that 92% of cell phones have bacteria on them - including E. coli -- because people aren't washing their hands after going to the bathroom. E. coli is a bacteria found in feces and can survive on hands and surfaces for hours. Researchers in the U.K. took 390 samples from cell phones and hands, which were then analyzed for germs. People were also asked about their hand hygiene.

The study found:· 92% of phones had bacteria on them.· 82% of hands had bacteria on them.· 16% of hands and 16% of phones had E. coli bacteria However, 95% of people said they washed their hands with soap where possible, which suggests we have a tendency to lie about our hygiene habits.

What is worrisome about these findings is that people with dirty hands are not washing their hands after using the toilet. Not only are they handling their cell phones, they're touching other surfaces as well, and spreading fecal bugs on everything they touch.

Source: WebMD Health News

 

June 2011-How Secondhand Smoke Affects the Brain

Even if you don’t smoke, a new study shows, secondhand smoke affects your brain much as it does a smoker’s. It’s one more reason to steer clear of secondhand smoke in cars and other enclosed spaces.

Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death nationwide. People who smoke are up to 6 times more likely than nonsmokers to have a heart attack. Tobacco also causes cancer. Up to 90% of lung cancer deaths are linked to smoking.

But the smoker isn’t the only one harmed by tobacco smoke. Secondhand smoke can make it more likely you’ll get heart disease, have a heart attack or die early. Smokers find it harder to quit if they’re around secondhand smoke. And kids exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to become teenage smokers.

A team of NIH-funded scientists decided to take a closer look at how secondhand smoke affects the brains of young adults. About half of the study volunteers were nonsmokers. The rest were tobacco-dependent cigarette smokers.

Each volunteer sat in a car for 1 hour while a smoker puffed away on a cigarette to create secondhand smoke. On a different day, the volunteers had a 1-hour car session without being exposed to secondhand smoke. Their brains were scanned before and after each session.

The researchers discovered the addictive chemical nicotine—found in all tobacco products—both in the blood and attached to molecules in the brain after exposure to secondhand smoke. This nicotine binding was similar in smokers and nonsmokers. The smokers also had stronger cravings after being exposed to secondhand smoke.

“These results show that even limited secondhand smoke exposure delivers enough nicotine to the brain to alter its function,” says Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse.

April 25, 2011 Children with ADHD at Greater Risk of Substance Abuse

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are more likely to use substances including nicotine, marijuana and cocaine, and to develop substance use disorders, a review of 27 long-term studies concludes.

 

March 29, 2011 High lead levels found in kitchenware sold in Chinatown

 

 

NEW HANDOUT FOR PARENTS ABOUT VACCINE SAFETY NOW AVAILABLE

 

  A new 4-page handout for parents titled "Vaccine Safety

  Resources" has just been released. This resource includes

  information on immunization and vaccine safety available

  from eight different organizations, and also includes titles

  of books to help parents who have vaccine concerns.

 

  This new resource was reviewed and approved by the American

  Academy of Pediatrics, Every Child By Two, Immunization

  Action Coalition, Institute for Vaccine Safety, National

  Network for Immunization Information, and Parents of Kids

  with Infectious Diseases.

 

  To access this resource from IAC's website, go to:

  http://www.immunize.org/vaccine-safety-resources.pdf

 

 

Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010
Jan. 31, 2011 — US Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced the release of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the federal government's evidence-based nutritional guidance to promote health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity through improved nutrition and physical activity.

Because more than one-third of children and more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese, the 7th edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans places stronger emphasis on reducing calorie consumption and increasing physical activity.... (click here for the full press release)

Kids' IQ Takes a Hit With Poor Eating Habits

Children who eat a diet high in fat, sugar, and processed foods at age 3 appear to have slight decreases in IQ later in childhood. On the other hand, eating a "health-conscious" diet rich in salad, rice, pasta, fish, fruits, and vegetables around the time of intelligence testing was associated with a slight increase in IQ.  The study suggests that the quality of a child's diet at age 3 might be associated with intelligence later on because the brain is growing at its fastest rate during the first three years of life.

 

 

Study Links BMI to Overall Mortality

A new study co-authored by the American Cancer Society links BMI to overall death rates, finding that for non-Hispanic whites, both overweight and obesity are associated with increased mortality. The study suggests being underweight may also be detrimental. The analysis appears in the New England Journal of Medicine and includes data from 19 studies encompassing 1.46 million white adults ages 19 to 84. The authors say the results of their analysis are most relevant to whites living in affluent countries, and that similar analyses are under way in other populations.

The project was led by Michael J. Thun, M.D: "There is overwhelming evidence that being obese (body mass index >=30) is harmful to one's health and survival. Approximately one in three Americans age 20 and older is obese. What has been less clear is whether being overweight (BMI 25-29.9) also shortens life( increases the annual risk of dying). This new analysis finds that being overweight, like being obese, was associated with increased risk of dying from all causes combined. Previous studies led some to imply that being a little bit overweight might actually be beneficial, with some headlines suggesting that "putting a little meat on your bones" was good for you. This study concludes it is not, if the meat on your bones happens to be fat While evidence is becoming abundantly clear that being overweight and obese is a serious health risk, we still face an enormous challenge in finding out how best to help people maintain a healthy body weight. "
For more information, see: "Body Weight and Cancer Risk" on www.cancer.org.


 America's Health Rankings-New Jersey 2010


November 30, 2010
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh report that walking about six miles a week reduced the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and slowed progression of mild cognitive impairment in their study participants. The researchers found that among healthy adults, brain volume was preserved in those who walked at least six miles a week -- and it was preserved in key areas which play a role in memory. Walking also reduced the loss of brain volume and slowed memory loss in patients who already had mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Any type of exercise that's equivalent to walking five or six miles a week will probably offer the same brain protection, said Robert Zimmerman, MD, of New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City."Walking is a benign thing with lots of benefits," he said. "I would tell anyone that it's a cheap and easy way to keep the brain healthy."
Source: MedPage Today

November 8, 2010
The growing epidemic of childhood obesity could result in heart attacks and other blood vessel diseases when those children hit their 30s and 40s.
30 years ago 4% of children ages 6 to 11 were overweight, by 2004, 17.5% in the same age bracket were overweight. Experts are seeing a rise in Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure in children that seems to coincide with the increase in obesity.
Source: MedPage Today

October 27, 2010-Mom Reads, Kid Succeeds
Want your child to be smart and successful in school? Pick up a book and read. A new study finds that a mother’s reading skills may be the best way to facilitate the academic prowess of her children. The study was released by the National Institutes of Health says that a mother’s literacy skill has the greatest impact on her child’s success. Moms reading is actually more important than family income or the school district where the children go to school. There is a bigger issue at hand: adult literacy continues to be an issue in the United States.
http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/oct/27/mom-reads-kid-succeeds-ar-272575/

October, 2010-Those With a Desk Job, Please Stand Up
(The Washington Post) -- "[A] debate is percolating among ergonomics experts and
public health researchers about whether all office workers should be encouraged
to stand -- to save lives. In academic papers...physicians point to surprising
new research showing higher rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even
mortality among people who sit for long stretches. A study earlier this
year...showed...those who sat more than six hours a day were at least 18 percent
more likely to die than those who sat less than three hours a day."

All pregnant women should get flu shot, say ob-gyns
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite landing in the hospital more often if they catch the flu, no more than a quarter of pregnant women in the U.S. get vaccinated against it. That's according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which has issued a recommendation urging all pregnant women to get the flu shot. While the recommendation itself isn't new, the statement, published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, adds evidence on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, said Dr. William M. Callaghan of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39310722/ns/health/

September 10, 2010-nlm.nih.gov - Breastfeeding for a month cuts mom's diabetes risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Mothers who don't breastfeed their newborns for at least one month are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives than women who do, a Pennsylvania study finds. Previous research demonstrated health benefits to moms who breastfed as long as six months or a year. The Pennsylvania results suggest that even a month of breastfeeding can have positive, lasting effects.The researchers found that 188 (26.7 percent) of the study mothers who didn't breastfeed their infants later went on to develop diabetes compared to 202 (18 percent) of women who exclusively breastfed their newborn at least one month and 71 (17.5 percent) of women who never had children.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_103203.html

 September 14, 2010-Hi-Wire Pharmacy
More Evidence That Vaccines Don't Cause Autism
Infants exposed to the highest levels of thimerosal, a mercury-laden preservative that used to be found in many vaccines, were no more likely to develop autism than infants exposed to only a little thimerosal, new research finds. The study offers more reassurance to parents who worry that vaccination raises their children's risk for autism, the researchers said. "Prenatal and early life exposure to ethylmercury from thimerosal in vaccines or immunoglobulin products does not increase a child's risk of developing autism," concluded senior study author Dr. Frank DeStefano, director of the immunization safety office at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 New York Times - Nutrition: Risky Additions to a Low-Carb Diet
Atkins-style low-carbohydrate diets help people lose weight, but people who simply replace the bread and pasta with calories from animal protein and animal fat may face an increased risk of early death from cancer and heart disease, a new study reports. The study found that the death rate among people who adhered most closely to a low-carb regimen was 12 percent higher over about two decades than with those who consumed diets higher in carbohydrates. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/health/research/14nutrition.html?ref=health

Good stuff about getting old. America’s standard take on being old is that it’s better to be young. But researcher Laura Carstensen of Stanford University sees it differently. She says recent studies have found things older people do well, such as regulating their feelings and working on their social relationships. And, although researchers have spent a lot of time studying losses in things like memory and reading comprehension, Carstensen says there’s another side: "It seems that wisdom, or being able to solve practical problems of everyday living, improves. So a lot of what we think of as being smart in life involve processes that get better with age, not worse."  And she says older people can use this, by continuing to learn as they age. She spoke at a lecture at the National Institutes of Health. Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HealthyChildren.org launches KidsDoc Symptom Checker
HealthyChildren.org has a new interactive tool to help parents evaluate
their child's symptoms. Based on Pediatric Telephone Protocols, by Barton
D. Schmitt, M.D., FAAP, the "KidsDoc Symptom Checker" allows parents to
choose from a wide range of symptoms, and then follow the symptom decision
chart to determine the appropriate action to take, whether it be home care
or a call to the pediatrician. The tool is also available as an iPhone
application called KidsDoc, providing the same expert advice when parents
are on the go.

 Walk Your Dog to Unleash Better Health, Pet Owners Reap Big Health Benefits From Regular Walks With the Dog, Study Says
June 8, 2010 -- Walking your dog not only can help keep you physically fit and at a healthy weight, but also may help ward off high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
 http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20100608/walk-your-dog-to-unleash-better-health

Brushing Teeth May Keep Away Heart Disease
Brushing your teeth is not only good for your pearly whites, it also decreases your chances of suffering a heart attack, a new study indicates.
http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/news/20100527/brushing-teeth-may-keep-heart-disease-away?ecd=wnl_hrt_060810

Consistent Bedtime May Give Kids Developmental Boost
MONDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- Sticking to a regular bedtime and getting enough sleep may help young children score higher on tests of development, a new study suggests. Kids who had a consistent bedtime at the age of 4 scored higher on a number of tests, including some that measured literacy and math abilities. Earlier bedtimes and parental rules about keeping bedtime routines also were associated with higher scores on developmental measures. http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100608/hl_hsn/consistentbedtimemaygivekidsdevelopmentalboost

Study Examines a Diet From TV Ads
If Americans ate only foods advertised on TV, a new report says, they would consume 25 times the recommended amount of sugar and 20 times the amount of fat they need, but less than half the dairy, fiber and fruits and vegetables. For the study, being published this month in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers taped 28 days of prime-time television as well as Saturday-morning programming on the four major broadcast networks. They identified 800 foods promoted in 3,000 ads and used a nutritional software program to analyze the content of the items, comparing the foods’ nutritional values with the government’s food guide pyramid and recommended daily intake values for various nutrients. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/health/nutrition/08nutr.html?ref=health

Secondhand Smoke Ups Risk of Mental Illness
Healthy adults exposed to secondhand smoke appear to be at higher risk of suffering psychological distress and future psychiatric illness requiring hospitalization, according to a major Scottish population study.  http://www.medpagetoday.com/Psychiatry/GeneralPsychiatry/20529?utm_content=Grou

Smoke Exposure for Kids Lower Where Smoking Banned
Smoke-free laws covering public spaces in entire counties are associated with less exposure to secondhand smoke among children living there, a large, cross-sectional study showed.  
 http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pulmonology/Smoking/20524


Big Benefits Are Seen From Eating Less Salt
In a report that may bolster public policy efforts to get Americans to reduce the amount of salt in their diets, scientists writing in The New England Journal of Medicine conclude that lowering the amount of salt people eat by even a small amount could reduce cases of heart disease, stroke and heart attacks as much as reductions in smoking, obesity and cholesterol levels. If everyone consumed half a teaspoon less salt per day, there would be between 54,000 and 99,000 fewer heart attacks each year and between 44,000 and 92,000 fewer deaths, according to the study, which was conducted by scientists at University of California San Francisco, Stanford University Medical Center and Columbia University Medical Center. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/health/nutrition/21salt.html?ref=health


DECEMBER 2009-Wake Up to More Sleep
 (Chicago Tribune) -- "Sleep is the most underrated part of staying healthy...studies show adults who regularly cheat themselves of sleep by two to three hours are much more likely to die of cardiovascular problems...A landmark University of Chicago sleep lab study disrupted the sleep pattern of 20-year-old healthy male volunteers for 14 nights. By the end of the two-week period, the young males were tested out with blood chemistry equivalent to 70-year-old men with elevated heart disease and high blood pressure risks."

December 2009-Mammography Recommendations
 Avon Foundation for Women Response to New U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Mammography Recommendations (read more)

May 11, 2009-Teen depression may have links to television use
TV has become a great scapegoat for these stressful times. But is a teenager who watches hours of daily television more likely to become depressed? Yes. In a study conducted at University of Pittsburgh, researchers interviewed 4,142 adolescents - none of whom showed signs of depression at the start - and found that, when they checked in with them seven years later, 7 percent of the adolescents had developed signs of depression. Finding a correlation: The depressed young people watched more television than those who weren't depressed: an average of 2.64 hours of TV a day versus 2.28 hours per day for the adolescents who weren't depressed. http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/life/monday_health/article_fc481983-bfaa-515a-b956-f9beb4d15bcb.html


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

 

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).