Harvard Health Content API

An influential expert panel has published its final report that recommends annual tests for people at high risk of developing lung cancer. In the past, screening of people without symptoms was thought to be useless for lung cancer. The tests either found too many harmless spots on lungs, or they did not find cancers early enough to save lives. The new advice comes from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The U.S. government, doctors and insurance companies often follow its advice. The report recommends low-dose CT scans once a year for high-risk adults ages 55 to 79. A high-risk person is defined as someone who has smoked for at least 30 “pack-years.” This could be 30 years of smoking a pack a day, 15 years at 2 packs a day or other combinations. Screening will be offered to anyone in this group who is a current smoker or has quit in the last 15 years.

A revised version of a commonly used screening tool for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) can improve early detection of ASD in toddlers, says a new study. The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) is one of the most widely used screening tools for ASD in the United States. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that toddlers be screened at their 18- and 24-month well-child visits. The earlier ASD can be detected, the better the outcomes. Researchers made some changes to the M-CHAT to improve its ability to detect ASD in toddlers. They tested the new version on 16,115 toddlers. It detected ASD at a higher rate and 2 years earlier compared to the original version of the screening tool. The journal Pediatrics published the study.

Walking more can decrease the risk of heart attack, stroke and death among high-risk adults, a study finds. The study included 9,300 people with pre-diabetes. People with this condition have above-normal blood sugar. It’s not high enough to diagnose diabetes. But they have higher risks of type 2 diabetes, heart attack and stroke. Everyone in the study was in a program to help them exercise more, lose weight and improve their diets. At the start of the study, people were wore pedometers for a week to record how many steps they took daily. They did this again a year later. People who walked more when the study began were healthier during the 6-year follow-up period. For every 2,000 steps people took daily, they were 10% less likely to have a heart attack or stroke or die. These numbers were adjusted to account for other factors that affected people’s risk.

Women in a study who kept off excess weight for 2 years may have reduced their risk of heart disease and diabetes, researchers report. The study included 417 overweight or obese women. They were randomly assigned to follow either the Jenny Craig program or a self-directed diet program. They provided fasting blood samples before the study. Researchers checked blood samples again after 12 and 24 months. About 70% of all women had sustained weight loss after 2 years. Those who followed the commercial program had greater reductions. Women who lost at least 10% of their weight and kept it off for 2 years also showed signs of better health. They had improvements in factors that affect the risk of heart disease and diabetes. These included lower LDL (“bad cholesterol”) and triglycerides, another blood fat. They also had a drop in C-reactive protein, which indicates inflammation.