Harvard Health Content API

Obese people with arthritic knees have about 3 1/2 fewer years of able, pain-free life than slim people with healthy knees. That estimate comes from a new study. It focused on U.S. adults ages 50 to 84. Researchers used census data and other sources. They made estimates of how long people live with obesity and knee osteoarthritis. They also calculated how much of that time is hampered by pain and disability. For example, people may have trouble walking. The study found that obese people with arthritic knees lose an average of 3 1/2 healthy years. For obese people without knee problems, the loss is 2 1/2 healthy years. People with knee arthritis and normal weight lose nearly 2 years of good health, the study found. The journal Annals of Internal Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it February 14.

New guidelines give doctors more practical advice to help them prevent heart disease in women. The new document is from the American Heart Association. It updates guidelines from 2007. All were based on research. But the updated guidelines also focus on “real world” conditions that affect health. For example, a doctor’s patients may be older, sicker or poorer than those in research studies. The guidelines say doctors need to talk to women about whether they take their medicines and follow other advice. They should ask about side effects or anything else that may hinder women from doing what the doctor advised. Women who have had problems in pregnancy also need more attention. They may be at higher risk of heart attack, stroke or blood clots up to 15 years afterward. Doctors also should screen women for depression.

A simple test done on the sidelines of a game can help to detect a mild concussion, researchers say. Often the symptoms of a mild concussion are very subtle. The new test involves reading a series of numbers off index-size cards. People are told to read them as quickly as possible without errors. Each player first takes the test at the beginning of the season. Then the test is given again if a player takes a hard hit in a game. The reading speed is compared to the baseline test. A delay of more than 5 seconds suggests a concussion. In a study of 39 boxers, researchers found that test times lagged an average of 11 seconds for those who had a concussion. For boxers who had been knocked out, reading time increased about 18 seconds. The journal Neurology published the study online. HealthDay News wrote about it February 12.

Popular teens — but not the most popular — are the ones most likely to bully others, new research suggests. Researchers surveyed about 3,700 teens in 8th through 10th grades. They were asked how often they were the target of bullying or bullied others. Questions dealt with physical violence, threats, teasing, spreading rumors and shutting off someone from a group. Teens also were asked to name their top 5 friends. Researchers used the friends’ names to figure out who were the most popular kids. Those with higher social status were more likely to bully others. Researchers said bullying may have helped them climb the social ladder. But bullying dropped off for the top 2% of popular kids. At that point, maybe they were better off being nice, researchers said. Kids in the bottom 2% also did not bully. Two-thirds of the teens said they did no bullying.

Pregnant women who can control their own pain drugs (anesthetic) during delivery use 30% less medication but have similar levels of satisfaction, a study finds. Nearly 300 women were placed into one of three groups. Group 1 used a standard epidural. This delivers continuous pain medication. Group 2 used the same method, but could also add more pain medicine at the push of a button. Group 3 was in total control of how much pain medicine was used. The women who had total control used 30% less medication than women in Group 1, and 44% less anesthetic than Group 2. But even though Group 3 received less pain medication, the length of their labor, frequency of cesarean sections, the urge to push and the mother’s satisfaction scores were similar across all three groups. The study will be presented February 10 at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s annual meeting.