Category: news-perspectives

Arizona’s Medicaid program may start charging fees to smokers and to diabetics who don’t lose weight. The proposal comes from the state’s Health Care Cost Containment system. Smokers on Medicaid would be charged $50 a year. The same fee would apply to people with diabetes who don’t follow their doctors’ orders to lose weight. There’s a dual purpose, officials said. It would bring revenue into the state’s cash-strapped Medicaid program. And it could encourage people to take better care of themselves. The state will ask the federal government to approve these two proposals and others that are aimed at cutting costs. The New York Times and the Associated Press wrote about the proposals April 1.

Diet plus exercise help obese older adults more than either one alone, a new study finds. Though that may seem like conventional wisdom, some doctors would disagree, the author told HealthDay News. Some worry that diet changes and exercise may reduce bone and muscle and make older adults more frail. But the study found the opposite was true. The study included 93 obese adults. All were older than age 65. They were randomly divided into four groups. One group did supervised exercise 3 times a week. It included aerobic exercise, weight training and stretching. Another group was given a reduced-calorie diet and support from a dietician. The third group did both things — exercise and diet changes. The fourth group received general advice on diet. The study lasted a year. People who dieted and exercised had the best results. They lost 9% of their weight on average.

Breaking a hip increases an older person’s risk of dying. The results are from a Canadian study. Researchers followed more than 7,000 older adults. One of every four people who broke a hip died over the next five years. About one of every six who had a spine fracture died during the same time period. Most of these fractures in older people are due to osteoporosis, or thinning bones. The study was published in the August 4 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal. HealthDay News wrote about it August 4.

Lack of vitamin D may increase the risk of high blood pressure, a study suggests. The study included 559 women. In 1993, only about 6% of them had high blood pressure. But more than 80% had low levels of vitamin D in their blood. By 2008, about 25% of the women had high blood pressure. Researchers compared high blood pressure rates with the rates of low vitamin D in 1993. They also adjusted their results for other factors, such as smoking, that increase the risk of high blood pressure rates. High blood pressure was three times as common in women who had prior low levels of vitamin D. The difference was seen in systolic blood pressure. This is the higher of the two numbers in a blood pressure reading. Researchers reported on the study at a heart conference. HealthDay News wrote about it September 24.

Very low levels of vitamin D in the blood may increase the risk of artery disease and death, new research suggests. The study included 27,686 people. All were age 50 or older. They had no history of heart or artery disease. Researchers measured vitamin D in people’s blood and then kept track of them for a year. In that time, people with very low vitamin D were 77% more likely to die than people with normal levels. This means there would be 177 deaths in people with very low vitamin D for every 100 deaths in people with normal levels. The risk increase for stroke was similar. People with very low vitamin D also were 45% more likely to develop coronary artery disease. The Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune wrote about the study. Results were presented November 16 at a conference.

A treatment for spine fractures doesn’t seem any more effective than placebo, a study has found. Vertebroplasty involves injecting a special cement into the spine of people with fractures. But people who got a fake procedure — an injection with no cement — did just as well in terms of pain relief and recovery. The study focused on spinal fractures caused by osteoporosis, or thinning of bones. It was published in the August 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Several media wrote about the study, including Reuters and the New York Times.

A new drug improves treatment response for people with hepatitis C, two studies show. One study included 1,097 people who had not been treated for hepatitis C before. They had genotype 1, which is hard to treat. Two groups of patients were given boceprevir, a new drug. They took it for either 24 or 44 weeks. The third group received a placebo (fake pills) instead. All 3 groups also got standard drugs for the whole study period and 4 weeks before it began. Researchers looked at how many people had a sustained biologic response. This means they had no genetic material (RNA) from hepatitis C in their blood 24 weeks after treatment ended. Blacks and non-blacks responded differently. About 68% of non-blacks taking boceprevir had a sustained response. The rate was 40% for those who got the placebo.

In a small study of leg fractures, nearly all of the people with an unusual type of fracture were taking bone-building drugs. The drugs are called bisphosphonates. They include alendronate (Fosamax), risedronate (Actonel) and ibandronate (Boniva). The drugs are prescribed for people with osteoporosis. In general, they help to strengthen bones and prevent fractures. But recently, doctors have noticed that some people taking them have an unusual type of fracture of the thigh bone (femur). The new study looked at 152 femur fractures. Of these, 20 were the unusual type. And 17 of the 20 people with these fractures had been taking bisphosphonates. People with these fractures also were more likely than others to have rheumatoid arthritis. Many also had taken steroid medicines for at least six months.

Surgery to help people lose weight is a good treatment for some people with diabetes. That’s the view of an expert group, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). The group issued its endorsement March 28. The new guidelines cover procedures known as bariatric surgery. They make the stomach smaller so people eat less. This surgery can return blood sugar levels to normal for some diabetics, the IDF said. Some also can reduce or avoid the need for medicine. The new guidelines say surgery is OK when someone with diabetes has a body mass index (BMI) of at least 35. Someone with this BMI is very obese. Diabetics who are less obese also could qualify for surgery. People in this group should have a BMI of 30 to 35. They also should have tried and failed to control diabetes with medicine, diet and exercise. The IDF guidelines are similar to those issued last month by the U.S.

There are positive and negative effects when children and adolescents use social media websites, says a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Websites such as Facebook and Twitter can help kids connect with friends, share ideas and find health information. But they also can expose children to dangers, such as cyberbullying and sexting, and increase the risk for depression. The AAP says parents need to get more involved. Pediatricians can help by encouraging parents to become more familiar with social networking sites and technologies, talk to their children about the risks, and supervise children’s online behavior. The Associated Press wrote about the report March 28.