Harvard Health Content API

Low-risk prostate cancer may need a new name to encourage more men to avoid treatment they may not need, an expert panel says. More research also is needed on the best way to monitor these men, the panel says. The U.S. National Institutes of Health appointed the panel of experts. The panel released its report December 7. It found that more than half of the prostate cancers diagnosed today fall into the low-risk category. Long-term follow-ups show that only about 5% of men with low-risk prostate cancer die from it. Treatments for prostate cancer can lead to problems with urine control and sexual function. But more than 90% of men with low-risk prostate cancer decide to get treated right away. Many of these men might be better off with “active surveillance,” the panel said. This means having regular prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests and perhaps prostate biopsies as well.

Newer drugs used to treat depression work about equally well, says a study that analyzed previous research. But side effects can differ, the study noted. Researchers looked at 234 studies. Each included more than 1,000 people. They focused on “second-generation” drugs for depression. They include fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft) and several others. No drug worked better than any other. But some, such as Remeron (mirtazapine), started working faster. Bupropion (Wellbutrin and other brands) was less likely to cause sexual side effects. Some were more likely to cause insomnia, and others weight gain. Some had lower costs or needed to be taken less often. These factors can help doctors decide which drug to try first for each patient. The journal Annals of Internal Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it December 5.

Maintaining or improving fitness can help you live longer, whether you lose weight or not, a new study concludes. The research included more than 14,000 middle-aged men. They were given treadmill tests to measure fitness at the start of the study and about 6 years later. Fitness was measured in metabolic equivalents (METs). In all, researchers kept track of the men for 11 years. In that time, men who became more fit had a 40% lower death rate from heart disease and from all causes than those who became less fit. Just staying at the same fitness level reduced death rates by 30%. Every 1-MET increase in fitness was linked to a 19% decrease in death rates from heart disease and stroke. The risk of death from any cause was 15% lower for each increase in METs. But a reduction in body mass index, a measurement of weight linked to height, did not change death rates.

Mothers multitask more than fathers, and they feel more stressed out about it. So says a new study in the American Sociological Review. Researchers used data from a 12-year-old study of mostly college-educated parents. Most of them were professionals who worked longer than average hours. The 368 mothers and 241 fathers in the study wore special wristwatches that beeped several times during the day. They were supposed to write down whatever they were doing at that moment. They also wrote down what they were thinking and feeling. Mothers spent 48 hours of their week multitasking. Fathers spent 39 hours. For mothers, 53% of the multitasking involved household chores, compared with 42% for fathers. Mothers spent 36% of their multitasking time on child care. Fathers spent 28%. Men’s multitasking was more likely to include tasks for work or self-care.

New York City health officials are urging doctors to prescribe medicine earlier to people infected with HIV. The medicines help to keep down the amount of virus in a person’s body. Health officials noted that people who get treatment are much less likely to spread the virus to others. But the drugs are expensive. Standard practice has been to prescribe them only after the immune system weakens. New York City health officials said costs will go down as the drugs become generic. They said preventing spread to others also will lower costs. More than 110,000 people in New York City are infected with HIV. That’s more than in any other U.S. city. The city health department is keeping track of 66,000 who are being effectively treated with drugs to suppress the virus. Officials estimated that their new advice would help about 3,000 more people begin treatment.

Many people taking the blood thinner warfarin may cut their risk of blood clots in half by doing required blood tests at home, a study finds. The best dose of warfarin varies, even for the same person. To prevent clots or excess bleeding, people get regular blood tests. Based on the results, they may need to take a different dose. The new study put together results from 11 prior studies. They included a total of 6,400 people. All of the studies compared people who got standard office tests with those who tested at home. The people who tested at home used a special meter to test a drop of blood. People who used office or home testing had similar risks of excess bleeding or death. For some groups, blood clot risk was cut in half or more with home tests. Those who benefited most included people with mechanical heart valves and people under age 55.

About 38% of U.S. adults who get care from a home health agency are taking at least one inappropriate prescription drug, a study finds. The medicines were on a list of drugs that should be used only with great care among older adults. The rate of potential problem drugs was nearly 3 times as high as other studies have shown for people who get care in a doctor’s office. Researchers used data from the 2007 National Home and Hospice Care Survey. The study included 3,100 patients. All were age 65 or older. The average person in the study took 11 prescription drugs. Potential problem drugs were prescribed most often for those who took the most drugs. They were prescribed 5 to 6 times as often for those taking 15 or more drugs as for those taking 7 or fewer. The Journal of General Internal Medicine published the study online. HealthDay News wrote about it November 29.

A common liver disease does not increase the risk of death, a new study concludes. The results surprised researchers. The condition, called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, is found most often among people who are obese. Researchers looked at records for 11,000 Americans, ages 20 to 74. Their health was tracked for up to 18 years as part of a large national survey. About 1 out of 5 people had non-alcoholic fatty liver. But they did not have a higher risk of death than others surveyed. Researchers said they didn’t know why fatty liver does not seem to affect death rates. They suggested that fatty liver may protect the body from some of the effects of obesity and diabetes. The journal BMJ published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it November 28.