Month: March 2015

A review of many studies reinforces doctors’ current advice about hormone replacement treatment after menopause. It confirms that hormone treatment does not help most women’s hearts. But there may be a small benefit for women who take hormones soon after menopause. The review was done by an independent group, the Cochrane Collaboration. The group put together numbers from studies involving more than 40,000 women. Women taking heart disease did not have any reduction in the risk of death, including deaths from heart disease. There was also no difference in their risk of heart attack or chest pain. Hormone treatment was linked with a slight increase of stroke. But women who started treatment in the first 10 years after menopause seemed to have slightly lower risks of death and heart attack than other women.

Vegetarians may have a lower risk of colorectal cancer than meat-eaters, a new study concludes. Eating fish, but not meat, may reduce the risk even more, the study said. The study focused on more than 77,000 adults. They were part of a long-term health study. In 7 years of follow-up, 380 cases of colon cancer and 110 cases of rectal cancer were diagnosed. About half of those in the study ate meat at least weekly. The others were divided into 4 groups. Semi-vegetarians ate meat, but less than once a week. Pescatarians ate fish but no other meats. Lacto-ovo vegetarians ate eggs and dairy products, but not meat. Vegans also did not eat eggs or dairy. On average, these 4 groups had a 22% lower risk of colon or rectal cancer than non-vegetarians. Pescatarians had a 43% reduction in risk. Risk was 16% lower for vegans and 18% lower for lacto-ovo vegetarians.

A secure patient portal with information, decision support and tracking tools may help improve management of childhood asthma, a new study suggests. The study included 60 families. Each family had a child with moderate to severe asthma. Their ages were 6 to 12 years old. Families were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group received usual care. The other families were given access to a portal called MyAsthma. It was linked to the child’s electronic health records. The portal can be used to track treatment goals, symptoms and concerns. It also tracks medicine use and side effects. Doctors and patients can use it to support decisions about treatment. Of the 30 families assigned to use the tool, 57% used it in at least 5 of the study’s 6 months. These families reported fewer asthma flares than those getting usual care.

Men who take statin drugs to lower cholesterol may be more likely to develop diabetes than men who don’t take the drugs, a study published this week finds. The study included 9,000 men. None had diabetes when the study began. More than 1 out of 4 men took statins. During the next 6 years, men taking statins were 46% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than other men. This was true even though researchers adjusted the numbers to account for other differences that can affect diabetes risk. The study also found that the bigger the dose of statin, the greater the increase in diabetes risk. All of the men received several blood tests. These included tests for insulin sensitivity. This is a measurement of how well the body uses insulin to turn blood glucose (sugar) into energy. In type 2 diabetes, insulin sensitivity is reduced.

A new vaccine protects against hepatitis E infection for at least 4½ years, a new study shows. Hepatitis E is uncommon in the United States. It is spread by poor sanitation, such as in refugee camps. In the developing world, it sickens 3 million people a year. About 1% to 3% die. Among pregnant women, the death rate is 20%. The new study was done in China. It included more than 100,000 adults. Half were given a series of 3 shots of the hepatitis E vaccine. In the comparison group, people received the hepatitis B vaccine instead. In the next 4½ years, 7 of those who got the hepatitis E vaccine and 53 who got the other vaccine developed hepatitis E infection. Almost 90% of the hepatitis E vaccine group still had antibodies against the disease at the end of the study. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it March 4.