news-perspectives
The risk of dying after obesity surgery is lower than once thought. A Swedish study looked at nearly 15,000 surgeries done between 1980 and 2005. One year after surgery, 1 of every 200 people had died. Studies done in the United States showed higher rates, closer to 10 of every 200 people. In Sweden, men were twice as likely as women to die after the surgery. Reuters Health reported on the study December 26.
There were more measles cases in the United States between January 1 and July 31, 2008 than during the same period in any year since 1996. Health experts said many cases were in people who were not vaccinated due to religious or other beliefs. Measles can be serious and even deadly. The report comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Associated Press wrote about the report on August 21, 2008.
The head of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute is warning his staff to limit cell phone use. Ronald B. Herberman, M.D., says he wants to “err on the side of being safe” from cancer. Many studies have found no link between cell phone use and cancer. Dr. Herberman says he is basing his action on unpublished data from research that is not complete. He says children should use cell phones only for emergencies. He urges adults to keep the phone away from the head and use the speaker phone or a wireless headset. The Associated Press wrote about Dr. Herberman’s memo July 24.
Some types of air pollution are not harmful enough to send people to the hospital, a study says. Researchers looked at pollution of the air by large particles. These come from dust and farm work. In 108 U.S. cities, this type of pollution was not linked with hospitalizations for heart or lung diseases. By contrast, places with a lot of small particle pollution are known to have more hospital stays. The study was published in the May 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Eating vegetables, nuts and a “Mediterranean” diet can help to protect your heart, researchers confirm after pooling a huge volume of evidence. The new study put together the results of 189 previous studies. Of these, 146 looked at people’s past habits. The other 43 assigned them to follow particular diets. Researchers found “strong evidence” that vegetables, nuts and monounsaturated fats (such as olive oil) protect against heart disease. The same was true for the Mediterranean diet, which includes these elements, plus fruits and grains. The study found that foods that quickly raise blood sugar can harm the heart. Examples include sweets and refined grains. Trans fats also are harmful. The journal Archives of Internal Medicine published the study. The Associated Press wrote about it April 14.
People with heart failure tend to overestimate how long they will live, a study suggests. Heart doctors at Duke University used a new tool to predict how long 122 patients were likely to live. Then they told the patients what the tool predicted. The average patient was told to expect about 10 more years. But nearly 2 out of 3 people disagreed. They predicted they would live 13 years or more. In the next few years, the patients tended to die at the rate doctors predicted. HealthDay News wrote about the study June 3. It appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Celiac disease and related conditions increase a person’s risk of death, a study finds. People with celiac disease have problems when they eat foods with gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. The new study used 40 years of data from a Swedish test registry. About 48,000 people had celiac disease or one of two related conditions. Most of them had celiac disease. Another large group had a related type of inflammation. A smaller group had “latent” celiac disease. They had blood antibodies for celiac disease. But they did not have the usual changes inside the intestines. The study compared these groups with the general Swedish population. Compared with the general population, people with just inflammation had a 72% higher risk of death. People with celiac disease had a 39% higher risk. People with “latent disease” had a 35% higher risk.
Overweight people with heart disease should walk a lot, even if it’s slow, a study suggests. The study included 74 overweight people with coronary artery disease. Half were assigned to a standard cardiac rehabilitation program. They walked, biked or rowed three days a week at a brisk pace. They exercised 25 to 40 minutes each time. Other people in the study were assigned to do slower walks five or six days a week. They walked 45 to 60 minutes at a time. After 5 months, people who took long walks had lost about 18 pounds, compared with 8 for those in the standard program. They also had more improvements in cholesterol, blood pressure and other health measures than the other group. The study was published online by the journal Circulation. HealthDay News wrote about it May 11.
Parents who know their children are overweight may not act in ways that will help, a new study finds. Researchers interviewed the parents of 314 overweight teens. Some described their children as overweight. But they were no more likely than other parents to make healthful changes, such as buying more fruits and vegetables. Instead, the only thing these parents were more likely to do was to encourage their teens to diet. Teens whose parents encouraged dieting were more likely to be overweight when surveyed five years later. The study was published June 2 in the journal Pediatrics.
Using stents to open arteries near the heart is safe and effective in elderly people, a study concludes. Researchers looked at data from 10,000 people. All received one or more stents. The stents were coated with a drug to help keep the artery open. People over 70 had about the same results as younger adults. The two groups had similar rates of heart attack, blood clots, or a need for repeat surgery. The study appeared in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions. HealthDay News wrote about it June 3.