Category: news-perspectives

More U.S. hospitals are adding palliative care programs, the Associated Press (AP) reports. Palliative care teams deal with emotional and comfort needs of people with serious illnesses. They help to coordinate care and reduce pain and side effects. They deal with concerns of patients and their families. They are different from hospice programs. People don’t just receive palliative care in the final stage of an illness. They can receive it at the same time they get treatment to extend life. In 2000, about 25% of U.S. hospitals had a palliative care programs, according to the Center to Advance Palliative Care. By 2009, about 63% had these programs. AP wrote about the trend June 3.

In a new study, only about 1 out of 3 women who planned to give their babies only breast milk for a few months managed to meet their goals. But the study also found that hospital practices can affect the odds of success. Researchers looked at information from surveys of more than 3,000 women. The women filled out questionnaires while pregnant and monthly until the baby was a year old. Before their babies were born, about 85% planned to breastfeed exclusively for at least 3 months. But only 32% of these women met their own goal. About 15% quit breastfeeding before they even left the hospital. But women were twice as likely to meet their goals if the hospitals did not give the babies extra feedings of formula. The journal Pediatrics published the study. HealthDay News and Reuters Health news service wrote about it June 4.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants the city to limit serving sizes of sodas. And new research finds that drinking water instead of soda or juice can reduce diabetes risk. Bloomberg proposed a 16-ounce limit for sweetened drinks sold in restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues and street carts. It would not apply to grocery or convenience stores. The rules also would not affect diet sodas, fruit juices, dairy-based or alcoholic drinks. The city’s Board of Health must vote on the proposal. The Associated Press wrote about it May 31. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the new research on sweet drinks and diabetes risk. It was based on a long-term women’s health study. Nearly 83,000 women filled out questionnaires on what they ate and drank for 12 years. About 2,700 developed diabetes.

Mail-order chickens, such as the baby chicks found in many Easter baskets, have been linked to at least 316 cases of salmonella infection. U.S. health officials say the cases have occurred since 2004. About 80% were linked to one mail-order hatchery. The Associated Press (AP) said it was in New Mexico. Salmonella bacteria can live on the feet, feathers, beaks and eggs of chickens as well as in the meat. The infection is called salmonellosis. It can cause high fevers, bloody diarrhea and other symptoms. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigated the outbreak. Most of those infected were children, the CDC said. No one died, but 36 people were admitted to hospitals. The CDC said the hatchery has made changes to help prevent future infections. Only 1 case has been linked to the hatchery this year. The CDC said children under age 5 should not touch chickens.

Technology, coaching and money rewards may help people adopt healthier lifestyles, a new study suggests. The study included 204 adults. All of them ate high levels of saturated fat and few fruits and vegetables. They sat around a lot (were sedentary) in their leisure time. They also got little exercise. People were randomly assigned into groups. One group tried to eat less saturated fat and reduce sedentary leisure time. The second tried to eat less saturated fat and exercise more. The third tried to eat more fruits and vegetables and reduce sedentary leisure time. The fourth tried to eat more fruits and vegetables and exercise more. People used a hand-held device to track their progress. They were paid $175 each for tracking and for achieving goals. Coaches encouraged them by phone or e-mail.

Taking calcium pills to strengthen bones may increase your risk of a heart attack, a new study suggests. Researchers looked at information from questionnaires filled out by people in a long-running health study. About 24,000 people were involved. They were ages 35 to 64 when the study began. In the next 11 years, 354 people had heart attacks. The heart attack rate was 86% higher in people who took calcium pills than in those who did not take them. Taking calcium did not affect the rate of stroke or heart- and stroke-related death. The study appeared in the journal Heart. USA Today wrote about it May 24.

Taking aspirin for an extended time after a blood clot in the leg or arm may help prevent repeat clots, a new study suggests. The study included 402 people who had a recent deep vein thrombosis. This is a clot in a deep vein of a leg or arm. Such clots can travel to the lungs or brain. This can cause breathing problems, stroke or death. People in the study were given usual treatment with blood thinners for several months. Then they were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group took a low-dose aspirin daily. The other group took identical placebo (fake) pills. In the next 2 years, 6.6% of those taking aspirin and 11.2% of those taking the placebo had repeat blood clots. One person in each group had a problem with excess bleeding. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it May 23.

An expert panel has stuck with its controversial advice that most older men should not get routine screening for prostate cancer. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said last fall that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening does more harm than good. A high test reading can indicate prostate cancer. But PSA can go up for other reasons. Only a biopsy can tell if cancer exists. Some prostate cancers can be deadly. But most grow so slowly they never cause harm. Men who get treated may have problems with sexual function and urine control. Urologists, who treat men with prostate cancer, protested the task force’s statement last fall. But the panel was not persuaded. The advice issued May 21 said that there’s little or no evidence that routine PSA tests save lives. The task force said men should be able to get a test if they want one.

Heavy current and past smokers ages 55 to 74 should get yearly lung CT scans, according to new guidelines from several major medical groups. A panel of cancer and chest experts reviewed the results of past studies. One study, the National Lung Screening Trial, found that yearly low-dose CT scans could reduce deaths from lung cancer by 20%. Heavy smokers are people who have smoked a pack of cigarettes a day or more for 30 years. About 160,000 people will die of lung cancer in 2012 in the United States. Testing comes with risks, said the experts. These include side effects from radiation and more tests. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the new guidelines online May 20. HealthDay News and the Associated Press wrote about them May 21.

Children are at greater risk for heart disease now than they were a decade ago. A study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) compared data from 1999 with data from 2008. The CDC found that 23% of teens are at risk for diabetes, up from 9% in 1999. About 35% of teens are overweight or obese. About 15% have blood pressure that is higher than normal. By 2008, 43% of teens had at least one risk factor for heart disease. The study included information from 3,383 adolescents, ages 12 through 19. Results appeared in the May 21 issue of the journal Pediatrics. The Associated Press wrote about the study.