Category: news-perspectives

A large group of children’s doctors is urging members to do more to discourage kids from drinking alcohol. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued the advice as part of a new policy on teen drinking. Alcohol damages kids’ developing brains, the policy notes. Drinking also can lead to addiction and deadly accidents. Alcohol contributes to other causes of teen deaths, such as homicide and suicide. And it can lead to other risky actions, such as unsafe sex. The policy urged doctors to discuss these facts with children. It said parents have a major role, too. They should provide a good example, set clear rules and enforce them. The journal Pediatrics published the policy. USA Today wrote about it April 12.

More than 264,000 U.S. children were injured in an 18-year period by falling furniture. The number has grown 40% since 1990. And nearly half of the injuries came from falling TVs, a new study found. The popularity of heavy, flat-screen models may be one cause, MSNBC reported May 12. These TVs often sit on narrow bases. Or they may be poorly anchored to the wall. Most of the furniture injuries were minor. But about 300 kids died. An expert told MSNBC that parents can help to protect their children. For example, place TV sets low to the ground and push them back on their stands. Use straps or brackets to attach TVs and large furniture to the wall. And, of course, always watch your children. The journal Clinical Pediatrics published the study online.

High blood pressure may be linked to a decline in thinking ability, a study suggests. The research used data from a long-term study of 20,000 people. All were over age 45. It found that for every 10-point increase in diastolic blood pressure, the odds of having problems with thinking increased 7%. Diastolic pressure is the bottom number in a blood pressure reading. It measures pressure while the heart relaxes between beats. The study appeared in the journal Neurology. HealthDay News wrote about it August 24.

Researchers have found another way to do stomach-stapling surgery. The surgery is done to treat obesity. Stapling the stomach makes it smaller. People lose weight because they are not able to eat as much. At a conference, researchers reported a way to reach the stomach through the mouth. One hundred Europeans got either the stomach stapling or a fake procedure. Those who got the real treatment lost an average of 45% of their body weight in 18 months. A U.S. study is still in progress. The Associated Press wrote about the studies June 4.

Heart disease patients tend to have more heart attacks and other problems if they’re also depressed. A new study suggests a simple reason — they don’t take care of themselves. They especially tend to skip exercise. The study included 1,017 people with stable heart disease. About 1 in 5 people were depressed. The depressed people were more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or related event than people without depression. But the gap disappeared after accounting for health habits. Depressed people were less likely to exercise and take their medicines. They were more likely to smoke. The study was in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Reuters Health news service wrote about it November 25.

Emergency teams may not get women having heart attacks to the hospital as fast as men, a study finds. The study included 5,887 emergency calls for possible heart attack symptoms. All the calls took place in Dallas County, Texas, in 2004. On average, women got to the hospital about 2 minutes later than men. That amount of time probably didn’t affect care. But women also were much more likely than men to be delayed 15 minutes or more. Delays that long could be harmful. HealthDay News wrote about the study January 13. It was in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Children with asthma may get too much “screen time,” a study finds. The study looked at 224 city children with asthma. Parents were asked how much time their kids spent on TV, video games and computer use. Kids who limited activities because of asthma spent an average of 3.5 hours daily on screen time. Kids who were able to be more active spent about 2.5 hours daily. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 2 hours a day. Reuters Health news service wrote about the study February 18. Researchers told Reuters that kids can be less active without increasing screen time. They could try reading, games, arts and crafts. The study appeared in the journal Academic Pediatrics.

Two new studies offer guidance on which drugs may help prevent strokes. Both studies included about 20,000 stroke patients. In one study, people were randomly assigned to receive either telmisartan or a placebo (fake pill). Telmisartan is a blood pressure drug. After 2½ years, both groups had similar rates of new stroke, heart attack or diabetes. The other study looked at drugs that reduce the risk of blood clots. People were given either clopidogrel (Plavix) or the combination of dipyridamole (Persantine) and aspirin. After 2½ years, stroke rates were the same in both groups. HealthDay News wrote about the studies August 27. They were published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

Prostate removal using small cuts in the body leads to better results in some ways but not in others, a new study finds. The new study is based on five years of Medicare claims. Researchers looked at results for 1,938 men who had their prostates removed with instruments inserted through small incisions. They compared them with 6,899 men who had an “open” procedure. This is an older procedure that uses a bigger incision. The small-incision group stayed one day less in the hospital than the other group. They had fewer problems with breathing after surgery. They were less likely to need a blood transfusion. But they also were more likely to have problems up to 18 months later with urine control and sexual function. MedPage Today wrote about the study October 13. It was published online by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Doctors should stop giving babies one of the two vaccines that fights a leading cause of diarrhea, U.S. officials said March 22. The Associated Press wrote about the announcement. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said doses of Rotarix are contaminated. They were found to contain broken pieces of DNA from a pig virus. Rotarix is one of two vaccines against rotavirus. It is made by GlaxoSmithKline. The other vaccine is RotaTeq, made by Merck. The FDA said the pig virus is not known to cause any kind of illness in people or animals. There is no known risk to children who have received the vaccine. But the FDA decided to err on the side of caution. Officials urged parents to get their children the RotaTeq vaccine instead. Before the vaccines were available, about 55,000 U.S. children were hospitalized each year with rotavirus infections.