Month: March 2014

Colon cancer rates have fallen 30% for Americans age 50 and older, the American Cancer Society says. That drop occurred between 2000 and 2010. Researchers said the main reason is clear. Rates of colonoscopy rose steeply during the same period. This screening test can find and remove colon polyps before they turn into cancer. In 2000, 19% of adults ages 50 through 75 had been screened with colonoscopy. That jumped to 55% in 2010. The study found that colon cancer rates declined faster at the end of the decade than at the beginning. The drop was especially steep among people age 65 and older. Between 2008 and 2010, colon cancer rates in this age group dropped 7.2% a year. Colon cancer deaths also fell for adults 50 and older. During the decade studied, deaths dropped about 3% a year. The decline was about 2% a year in the 1990s. The study did find one worrisome trend.

Riding in cars with impaired drivers greatly increases the risk that a teenager will also drive after drinking, a study finds. The study was based on surveys of about 2,500 teenagers. They were surveyed every year from 10th through 12th grades. Depending on the survey, about 12% to 14% reported impaired driving in the last month. About 23% to 38% reported riding in cars with someone who was drunk or drugged in the last year. Numbers were adjusted to account for factors that affect the odds of impaired driving. These included drinking habits, gender and the level of parents’ education and teen supervision. The more often teens rode with impaired drivers, the more likely they were to drive while impaired themselves. Those who reported riding with an impaired driver on a single survey were 11 times as likely to drive impaired as teens who never rode with an impaired driver.