Category: news-perspectives

A new report finds only “limited” evidence that breast-cancer screening benefits women in their 40s. The report comes from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The agency asked experts from 16 countries to look at the latest evidence on breast-cancer screening. The panel found that routine mammograms reduce the risk of dying from breast cancer for women ages 50 to 75. But the panel did not find enough evidence to recommend screening for women in their 40s. Experts have had the strongest disagreement about whether routine mammograms save lives for this group. And that continued with the panel that wrote this new review, one member told HealthDay News. The group was “split down the middle” about whether to recommend mammograms for women ages 45 to 49, the member said. Breast-cancer risk increases with age.

More U.S. adults have problems with alcohol than just a decade ago, a new survey finds. And nearly one-third have had problems at some time, the survey showed. Researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism did the survey during 2012 and 2013. They asked 36,000 adults about their drinking habits. “Alcohol use disorder” was defined as having at least 2 of 11 symptoms. They included drinking that causes problems at work, school or home, frequent hangovers and failed attempts to limit drinking. Depending on the number of symptoms, the disorder can be mild or severe. This is a new definition. It combines the disorders previously called alcohol abuse and dependence. Based on their survey answers, about 14% of adults were current or recent problem drinkers. About 30% had an alcohol problem at some point. Only 1 in 5 had sought help.

More than 1 out of 4 U.S. children has been a witness or a victim of violence involving any weapon, a new study shows. About 3% or children said they had seen or were the victims of an assault with a deadly weapon (gun or knife). The study was based on a national survey of 4,114 people. They included children, ages 2 to 17, and their caregivers. About 12.5% said they had been directly attacked with any weapon. Another 13.1% had witnessed violence involving a weapon. Just under 1% said they had been directly attacked with a deadly weapon. Another 2.4% had witnessed such an assault. The survey showed that about 10% of the children in the study were “poly-victims.” They had been victimized in at least 7 different ways in the last year. Children who had been a victim or witness of weapon violence were more likely to be poly-victims than other children.

Babies whose mothers took drugs for depression may be slightly more likely to have a severe circulation disorder, a new study suggests. But the condition is rare, the study found. The study focused on a birth defect called persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. It disrupts normal circulation. Blood does not go to the lungs to pick up oxygen. Instead, it is pumped throughout the body without oxygen. This condition can be fatal. Researchers looked at data on 3.7 million pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid. During the last third of pregnancy, about 3% filled prescriptions for antidepressant drugs. Overall, 21 of every 10,000 babies whose mothers did not take these drugs while pregnant were born with the circulation problem. Among women who did take drugs for depression, there were 29 to 32 cases per 10,000.

Removing a little more tissue during a lumpectomy for breast cancer might help prevent second surgeries, a small study suggests. The study included 235 women. All of them had a lumpectomy. This procedure aims to preserve as much of the breast as possible while removing all of the cancer. About one-third of each group had some cancer cells at or near the edges of the tissue removed. This is known as a positive margin. Then, while they were still in the operating room, the women were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group had a slightly wider margin of tissue removed. Only 19% had cancer cells at or near the edges of the extra tissue. About 10% of the group that had extra tissue removed later had a second surgery to remove more tissue. This compares with about 21% of the standard-lumpectomy group. Both groups had similar rates of problems after surgery.

Giving doctors brief training on how to talk to families about vaccines did not reduce reluctance for those that had concerns, a study found. The new study included 56 clinics. They were randomly divided into 2 groups. Doctors at 30 clinics were given training in how to talk to families about vaccines for their children. The training emphasized how to address questions and concerns. It emphasized showing empathy and building trust as well as providing information. About two-thirds of the doctors took the class. Doctors in the other 20 clinics did not get trained. Researchers recruited 347 mothers whose children were patients in the clinics. They were given questionnaires to assess whether they were hesitant about giving vaccines to their children. After their children’s doctors talked to them about vaccines, they answered the questions again.

The diabetes drug metformin may reduce the risk of developing open angle glaucoma, a new study finds. Researchers collected information from 10 years of health claims records of more than 150,000 people ages 40 and older. All of them had diabetes. In open angle glaucoma, fluid in the eye doesn’t drain properly and backs up. This causes the pressure in the eye to rise and put stress on the optic nerve. If left untreated, glaucoma can lead to blindness. According to the results, the risk for open angle glaucoma was 25% lower in people who took the highest amount of metformin (more than 1,110 grams in 2 years) compared with those who didn’t take the drug. The higher the dose of metformin, the lower the risk of open angle glaucoma. Even people taking lower doses of metformin had a lower risk compared with non-users. Other diabetes drugs did not have the same effect.

In 7 European countries, overdoses of a common painkiller cause one-fifth of all cases of liver failure that require a transplant, a study finds. But this is much more common in some countries than others. Researchers found 600 cases of short-term (acute) liver failure that led to liver transplants in a 3-year period in these countries. Of these, 111 were caused by an overdose of paracetamol. This is the drug known as acetaminophen (Tylenol and generics) in the United States. It is safe to use in recommended doses. But it can cause liver failure in large doses, especially when combined with alcohol. In this study, two-thirds of the overdoses were suicide attempts. Overdose rates varied widely from country to country. Paracetamol overdose caused 52% of the cases of liver failure leading to transplant in Ireland, but only 1% in Italy.

About one-third of U.S. hospitals still send formula home with new mothers even if they are breastfeeding, a new study shows. But the practice has become much less common in the last few years, the study found. The study was based on a national survey of hospitals and birth centers. In 2007, 73% of hospitals reported that they sent breastfeeding mothers home with formula for their babies. That fell to 32% in 2013. The study author said this is an encouraging trend. Doctors recommend that babies receive only breast milk for the first 6 months of life. But this happens for only 19% of babies born in the United States. Women who give their babies some formula are less likely to stick with breastfeeding. The journal Pediatrics published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it May 26.  

Hospice programs may help some surviving spouses deal with depression, a new study suggests. The study was based on a national survey of 1,016 older adults whose spouses died after a serious illness. Researchers also used Medicare records. About 30% of those who died had received hospice care for at least 3 days. Overall, 52% of surviving spouses had an increase in depression symptoms over time. This was true whether they had been involved with hospice or not. Depression symptoms improved for about 28% of hospice users’ survivors and 22% of those not involved with hospice. Researchers also looked just at survivors who had been primary caregivers. Results were similar. These differences were small enough that they could have been the result of chance. Then researchers adjusted the numbers based on other information.