Category: news-perspectives

People age 60 or older should get a shot to help prevent a painful skin disease called shingles, U.S. health officials say. People who get the shot are half as likely to get shingles as people who don’t, studies show. Shingles produces a severe rash. It is caused by the same virus as chickenpox. Older adults are most likely to get it. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially decided this week to recommend the shot. The Associated Press wrote about it May 16.

Pediatricians have a role to play in guarding the dental health of children, a new policy says. The policy comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics. This is the nation’s largest group of children’s doctors. Children should have their first dental visit by age 1, the policy says. But pediatricians also should assess children’s risk of cavities. Some children don’t have a dentist. In this case, the pediatrician can apply fluoride varnish to the teeth of a child with a high cavity risk. The policy was published December 1 in the journal Pediatrics.

Breathing polluted air for a long time may increase the risk of blood clots in the legs, a study suggests. The study looked at data on 870 people who had been diagnosed with these blood clots. They were compared with 1,210 people who did not have a clot. Researchers collected data on air pollution in areas where the people lived. Blood clots were more likely in high-pollution areas. For every 10-unit increase in soot particles, the risk rose 70%. The study was published May 13 in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

People who drink more alcohol also are more likely to eat poorly, says a study. Adults who drink more alcohol also eat less fruit. They also take in more calories, compared with people who don’t drink. The study also found that men who drink more alcohol eat fewer whole grains and milk products. The study was done by groups at the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It was published in the April 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. United Press International (UPI) wrote about it March 29.

Exercise seems to help prevent milder problems with thinking and memory. And it may bring improvements to people who do have the condition, called mild cognitive impairment. These are the findings of two new research studies. The first study included 1,324 people who did not have dementia. This is a serious problem with thought and memory. But 198 people had mild cognitive impairment, which can lead to dementia. This condition was less common among people who said they had done moderate exercise in middle or later life. The second study included 33 people with mild cognitive impairment. They were randomly assigned to an exercise program. People who followed the more intense program for six months showed improvement in their brain function. The studies appeared in the journal Archives of Neurology. HealthDay News wrote about them January 8.

Arthritis may keep many diabetics from getting exercise, a study finds. Exercise helps to control blood sugar. In a U.S. government survey, about half of diabetics said they also had arthritis. They were less likely to exercise than other diabetics. People over 65 had the highest rate of both diseases. The study was done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Associated Press wrote about it May 9.

A new study adds to the evidence that hormone therapy increases the risk of ovarian cancer. The study included 900,000 Danish women. Their ages ranged from 50 to 79. Women who took hormones after menopause had a 38% higher risk of ovarian cancer. But the overall risk of this cancer is low. The researchers said hormone therapy would lead to 1 extra case per year for every 8,300 women. The form of hormones and how long they were used did not affect the risk. Risk returned to normal two to four years after the women stopped use. The study confirms results of earlier research. It was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Reuters Health and HealthDay news services wrote about it July 15.

Some children really are addicted to video games, a new study concludes. Researchers used data on 1,200 children and teens taken from a survey. They compared kids’ answers about their game use to criteria for gambling addiction. Researchers decided about 8.5% were addicted to video games. These kids showed at least 6 of 11 signs of addictive behavior. For example, some said they skipped schoolwork to play games or played to “escape” bad feelings. The study appeared in the journal Psychological Science. Reuters Health news service wrote about it May 5.

Eating different high-fiber foods may give people with type 2 diabetes better control of their blood sugar, a study suggests. The 210 people in the study were divided into two groups. One group ate a lot of whole-grain breads and breakfast cereals, as well as brown rice. The other group ate a “low-glycemic” diet. It included beans, peas, lentils, pasta, quickly boiled rice, oatmeal and pumpernickel and rye breads. Both groups also ate fruits and vegetables. After six months, the low-glycemic group had cut hemoglobin A1c levels by 0.5%. A1c is a measurement of blood sugar. The other group had a smaller drop. The study was in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The New York Times wrote about it December 19.

A survey of more than 3,000 people ages 57 to 85 found that nearly half use prescription and over-the-counter drugs together. About four percent of them are at risk for a drug interaction. The study was published in the December 24/31 issue of JAMA.