Month: November 2013

The H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009 killed about 11 times as many people as previously reported, a new study finds. The World Health Organization (WHO) had said there were 18,500 deaths. But this included only people whose infection with H1N1 was confirmed by a laboratory. Many other flu deaths may not have been confirmed. The new study involved 60 researchers in 26 countries. They looked at numbers for virus activity and deaths caused by respiratory illness in 20 countries. These countries totaled more than one-third of the world’s population. They found that these deaths were far above normal in 2009. They also were much more likely than usual to occur among young adults. H1N1 tended to cause the most severe illness among younger people. Based on these numbers, the researchers estimated that H1N1 caused 123,000 to 203,000 deaths worldwide.

New forms of tobacco, popular with teens, are on the rise in the United States. So says a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hookah use rose from 4.1% to 5.4% from 2011 to 2012. In that same year, electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use increased 1.5% to 2.8%. And those increases were just in high-school-age students. Middle-school students are also smoking e-cigarettes, according to the report. Their use of this product increased from 0.6% to 1.1%. The report was based on data from the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey. The CDC published the findings in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Nov. 15. HealthDay News reported on it Nov. 14.

Since drug makers stopped selling cold and cough medicines for young children, emergencies related to these drugs have dropped, a study shows. Manufacturers withdrew cold and cough medicines for children under age 2 in 2007. The next year, the government required label changes. New labels said these medicines should not be given to children under age 4. Researchers compared emergency room data before and after the changes. They looked at the years 2004 through 2011. After the changes, ER visits related to cold and cough medicines dropped for all young children. For children under age 2, visits for side effects of these drugs dropped 41%. For children ages 2 and 3, visits dropped 32%. Among the emergencies that d
id occur, the vast majority of
children had swallowed the medicines when no one was watching.

We still don’t know whether vitamin or mineral pills can help to prevent heart disease or cancer, an expert report says. Vitamin E and beta-carotene pills definitely do not prevent these diseases. And beta-carotene can increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers and former smokers. Those are the main conclusions of the report from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. This is a government-appointed group of experts that advises doctors on preventive care. The panel looked at the best-quality research on vitamins, minerals and health. Some pills given in the studies contained single ingredients. Others included two, three or multiple vitamins. Taken together, the studies don’t provide enough evidence that these pills can prevent either heart disease or any type of cancer, the task force said.

People with one type of abnormal heart rhythm are more likely to have heart attacks, a new study concludes. The study looked at the relationship between heart attack and atrial fibrillation (AF). With AF, the upper chambers of the heart do not beat normally. They quiver in a fast, irregular pattern. Heart attack is known to increase the risk of AF, but doctors have not known if the reverse is true. This study examined the issue by looking at records for nearly 24,000 people. They did not have coronary artery disease when the study began. More than 1,600 of them had AF. During a 7-year period, 650 people in the study had heart attacks. People with AF were nearly twice as likely as others to have heart attacks. The risk was especially high among women and black men. The study does not prove that AF actually caused the heart attacks. More research is needed, the authors said.

Treating insomnia significantly improves depression, a study finds. The study included 66 patients. They received 4 sessions of talk therapy over 8 weeks. During these sessions, patients got specific instructions on how to improve their insomnia. They did not get sleep medicines. After two months, patients who slept better after the therapy showed a significant improvement in their symptoms of depression. Poor sleep can lead to depression. And depression can cause insomnia. This study suggests that insomnia may contribute to depression. Researchers from Ryerson University in Toronto conducted the study. It has not yet been published. It was funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH). This study confirms the findings of another small study. Other studies on sleep and depression are under way. They are also funded by the NIMH.

People with diabetes who exercise more often may reduce their risk of heart and blood vessel disease and death, a new study finds. The study included nearly 15,000 people. All were part of a Swedish registry of people with type 2 diabetes. Their average age was 60. They did not have heart disease at the start of the study. People with diabetes are known to have higher than average risks of heart attack and stroke. Researchers asked people how often they exercised for at least 30 minutes at a time. They were divided into “low-activity” (2 or fewer times a week) and “high-activity” groups (at least 3 times a week). Researchers kept track of them for 5 years. In that time, people with high activity were 25% less likely to develop heart and blood vessel disease or have a heart attack or stroke. People in the low-activity group were 70% more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke.

Speaking 2 or more languages may help delay dementia, a new study suggests. The study focused on 648 people from India. They had been diagnosed with various types of dementia. Of this group, 391 spoke at least 2 languages. They had developed symptoms of dementia an average of 4 years later than those who spoke only a single language. This delay was not related to education. It applied even to people who spoke 2 languages but could not read either of them. There was no added benefit from speaking 3 languages, researchers said. Prior research has found other factors that are linked with delays in dementia. They include more education, higher-status jobs or more thinking challenges in everyday life. Researchers say all of these things lead to greater “cognitive reserve.” This reserve allows the brain to function normally despite disease or injury.