Harvard Health Content API

Americans are spending twice as much on diabetes drugs as they did just six years ago, a new study finds. Costs rose to $12.5 billion in 2007. There were two reasons for the change. More people were treated, and doctors often prescribed costly new drugs for them. But another new study found that an old, low-cost drug may be better. The study found that metformin helped to prevent heart disease. A newer drug, Avandia, did not. The Associated Press wrote about the studies October 28. Both were in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Some athletes use anabolic steroids to help build muscle. But long-term use weakens the body’s most important muscle, the heart, a small study concludes. The study included 19 male weight lifters. Seven said they never used steroids. The other 12 said they had taken the drugs for about 9 years. Researchers used echocardiograms to view each man’s heart function. They looked at a measurement called ejection fraction. This is the amount of blood pumped with each heartbeat. In 10 of the 12 steroid users and 1 of 9 non-users, the ejection fraction was below normal. The steroid users’ hearts also relaxed only half as much as normal between beats. These signs of heart weakness could lead to heart failure. Researchers said more study is needed on larger groups of steroid users. The journal Circulation: Heart Failure published the study online. HealthDay News wrote about it April 27.

A lot of sugar in your diet may lead to unhealthy cholesterol levels, a new study finds. Researchers looked at sugar intake and blood fat levels for more than 6,100 adults. They consumed an average of 21.4 teaspoons of added sugars each day. Added sugars do not include natural sugars, such as those in fruit. People who took in more added sugar had lower levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol. They also had higher triglycerides, another blood fat. Added sugars amounted to about 16% of total calories. That’s up from an average of 11% in the late ’70s. The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. USA Today wrote about it April 21.

More people gain control of high blood pressure if their doctors and pharmacists work as a team, a new study finds. The study included 402 people with high blood pressure. They were divided into two groups. One group received the usual treatment. Their doctors wrote prescriptions, and pharmacists filled them. In the other group, pharmacists had a more active role. They were trained to assess people’s blood pressure. They recommended adjustments in the type and dose of drugs based on the results. After 6 months, blood pressure dropped to recommended levels in 64% of the group cared for by doctor-pharmacist teams. About 30% of the people with usual care by doctors achieved recommended levels. The study appeared in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. HealthDay News wrote about it November 23.

Does eating a lot of fiber decrease people’s risk of getting colon cancer? Research studies have reached different conclusions. But a new study suggests that the results may depend on how people report what they eat. The study included 579 people who developed colorectal cancer and 1,996 people who did not. Everyone kept food diaries, writing down what they ate for four to seven days. Most people also filled out questionnaires that asked what foods they had eaten. People whose food diaries showed that they ate more fiber had a lower risk of colon cancer. Those who ate 24 grams per day were 30% less likely to develop cancer than those who ate 10 grams per day. This means there were about 7 colorectal cancers in the high-fiber group for every 10 cancers in the low-fiber group. But the questionnaires showed different results.

Widespread testing for cystic fibrosis (CF) genes may lead to fewer babies born with the disease, a study suggests. The study looked at two regions of Italy. In one area, all younger adults were offered genetic tests. In the other region, tests were given only to people who had relatives with CF or had in vitro fertilization. The study lasted 15 years. In that time, about 10 out of every 40,000 babies born in the two regions had CF. The rate of CF births dropped in both areas. But the drop was much steeper in the area with widespread testing. There, the rate of CF births fell by 1 case out of 40,000 births. In the area with more limited testing, CF births fell by 0.16 cases out of 40,000. That drop is so small it could have occurred by chance. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study. MedPage Today wrote about it December 15.

To address concerns about the safety of prescription drugs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration now posts a list of drugs being investigated for safety problems. The goal is to keep doctors and patients better informed. The first list includes 20 drugs and the potential problem for each. But it says nothing about how widespread the problems might be or if patients should stop taking a drug. The Associated Press wrote about the new list on September 5.

Proteins in spinal fluid can predict Alzheimer’s disease in people at high risk, a study has found. The study included 750 people with mild cognitive impairment. This is a problem with thinking and memory. It can lead to Alzheimer’s. Researchers measured one form of amyloid and two forms of tau in spinal fluid. In people with Alzheimer’s disease, these proteins are found in the brain. People in the study who later developed Alzheimer’s had less amyloid and more tau than those who did not develop it. Taken together, the three proteins correctly identified 8 out of 10 people who eventually were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. They also identified 7 out of 10 who did not develop the disease. Reuters Health and HealthDay news services wrote about the study July 21. It appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Americans are living longer because of cleaner air, a new study finds. Researchers looked at the years 1978 through 2001. In that time, average lifespan rose by almost three years. Particulates in the air decreased by about one-third. Researchers looked at data from 51 cities. They adjusted the numbers for other things that could have increased lifespan. For example, smoking rates have decreased. They concluded that reduced pollution accounted for nearly five months of the longer lifespan. The study was in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Associated Press wrote about it January 22.

Most people with asthma don’t get flu shots, a U.S. government survey has found. Health officials advise flu vaccination for everyone with asthma. But in the 2005-06 flu season, only 36.2% of people with asthma got vaccinated. HealthDay News wrote about the survey June 20. It appeared in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.