Month: June 2012

The most common type of weight-loss (bariatric) surgery may increase people’s risk of alcohol abuse, a new study finds. The study included almost 2,000 women and men who had weight-loss surgery. Before the surgery, they filled out questionnaires about their drinking habits. They also answered the questions 1 and 2 years after surgery. By 2 years after surgery, 11% of those who had gastric bypass surgery drank to excess. That was an increase of 50% from before the surgery. There was no increase among people who had gastric banding, another type of weight-loss surgery. About 5% drank to excess before and after surgery. Gastric bypass restricts the size of the stomach. This smaller stomach is attached directly to a lower part of the small intestine. The rest of the stomach and intestine are bypassed. Therefore, less food is absorbed.

Prescriptions written for children have dropped 7% in the last decade, a new study finds. But prescriptions rose for some drugs, including those for attention disorders. Researchers looked at prescription numbers for children through age 17. The study covered the years 2002 through 2010. The types of prescriptions that fell included antibiotics. Experts have pressed for less use of antibiotics to reduce the growth of bacteria that resist these drugs. Cold and cough medicines also were prescribed less. U.S. drug regulators warned in 2008 that these drugs should not be used in young children. Prescriptions for allergy medicines also fell. Many of these medicines now can be bought over the counter. Prescriptions for drugs used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) jumped 46% during the study period.

More than 13 million Americans are cancer survivors, a new report says. That number is expected to jump to 18 million in 10 years. The American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute issued the report. It shows that more people are surviving cancer for several reasons. The number of people diagnosed is rising. So is the size of the older population — including cancer survivors. About 45% of U.S. cancer survivors are 70 or older, the report says. People are also living longer with some of the most common cancers. About 43% of male survivors had prostate cancer. Among female survivors, 41% had breast cancer. More than 58,000 Americans are survivors of childhood cancer. About 64% of survivors learned they had cancer at least 5 years ago. About 15% were diagnosed at least 20 years ago. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians published the report.

Using birth control methods that combine estrogen and progestin doubles a woman’s risk of heart attack and stroke, a large, long-term study finds. But the overall risk is still very low, especially for younger, healthier women. The study was based on records for 1.6 million Danish women, ages 15 through 49. The higher risk was seen among women using hormonal pills, patches and vaginal rings. The risks were 1.5 to 2 times as high for women taking pills as for those using non-hormone birth control. Risks were 2.5 to 3 times as high for the ring and patch. No increased risk was seen for methods that used progestin only. Overall, 1 in every 4,700 women had a stroke each year. About 1 in every 9,900 had a heart attack. Most of the increase in risk was seen in older groups. For example, women ages 40 to 44 were twice as likely to have a heart attack as women 35 to 39.

Healthy older women should not take daily low doses of vitamin D and calcium to prevent fractures, an expert panel says. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued the advice. This is an independent group that provides advice to doctors and the government on preventive care. The group reviewed 19 studies involving women who were past menopause. They were randomly divided into groups. Some women received vitamin D and calcium pills daily. Others received placebo (fake) pills. The doses given varied. The task force found no reduction in fracture risk for women taking up 400 international units of vitamin D and 1,000 milligrams of calcium daily. Past studies also have suggested a higher risk of kidney stones for women taking these pills. Some experts have recommended even higher doses for older women.

Injections of a shock-absorbing substance don’t help arthritic knees very much, if at all, a review of research has found. The review focused on viscosupplementation. The treatment involves injections of hyaluronate. This is a synthetic version of a shock absorber found in joints. The research review focused on 89 studies. They included a total of 12,667 people with severe osteoarthritis in the knees. Some received injections of hyaluronate. Others got either placebo (fake) injections or no treatment. Overall, the review found, there was little reduction of pain for people who got the real injections. There was no improvement in knee function. Some of the studies also found an increased risk of side effects. These included “flare-ups” of pain and inflammation in the knee. The journal Annals of Internal Medicine published the study online. HealthDay News wrote about it June 11.