Category: news-perspectives

In a recent year, more than 450,000 Americans had a type of severe diarrhea that most often occurs in health-care facilities. But one-third of them had not been in a hospital or nursing home recently, a study found. About 29,000 of those who were infected died. The diarrhea was caused by Clostridium difficile (C. diff) bacteria. These infections are hard to cure. Researchers used information from 2011. They looked at C. diff infections in 10 states. Two-thirds of them occurred in hospitals and nursing homes. The other one-third occurred in the community. But 80% of the community patients had been to see a doctor or dentist recently. Most of them received antibiotics. C. diff bacteria are most likely to grow and produce toxins when antibiotics kill the normal, harmless bacteria in the intestine. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study.

Some common painkillers may increase the risk of second heart attacks when taken along with drugs to prevent clots, a large new study finds. The study adds to concerns about potential heart risks of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These drugs are taken to reduce pain and inflammation. They include over-the-counter medicines such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) and naproxen (Naprosyn, Aleve). They also include the prescription drug celecoxib (Celebrex). The new study used data from a Danish registry of 61,971 people who survived a first heart attack. Everyone was taking at least 1 anti-clotting drug, such as aspirin or clopidogrel (Plavix). Researchers looked at what happened during an average follow-up period of 3½ years. About one-third of those in the study filled at least 1 prescription for an NSAID.

Men who use a traditional Finnish sauna may be less likely than others to die from heart disease, a new study suggests. Most doctors now recommend that heart patients stay away from saunas because of the demands they place on the heart and blood vessels. A traditional Finnish sauna is dry and very hot. The new study included 2,300 middle-aged Finnish men. Researchers asked them questions about their sauna use, among other things. Then they kept track of the men for an average of 20 years. In that time, men who used a sauna twice a week or more had lower rates of sudden death, other heart-related death or stroke than those who used a sauna only once a week. Reductions in death risk ranged from 22% to 27% for those with 2 to 3 sauna sessions. Risk was 48% to 63% lower for men who used a sauna 4 to 7 times a week. Men who used a sauna more often also had lower overall death rates.

A little sugar and fat is OK in kids’ diets if it can encourage them to consume nutritious foods, a large group of doctors for children says. Examples might include chocolate low-fat milk or ranch dressing as a dip for vegetables. The new statement comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics. It summarizes recent changes in U.S. standards for school meals. And it focuses attention on the foods schools don’t serve — lunches brought from home, party snacks and fundraisers. The foundation of children’s diets should be vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy and healthy proteins, the statement says. When possible, foods should be whole or processed as little as possible. Sugar, fat or salt can sometimes help to make sure the kids eat and enjoy these healthy foods.

About 100 patients at a Los Angeles hospital may have been exposed to dangerous drug-resistant bacteria. The exposure occurred through contaminated medical devices, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center said. Seven patients have become seriously ill, and 2 have died, the hospital said. Before getting sick, they had digestive procedures using devices called endoscopes. The scopes were contaminated with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), the hospital said. CRE infections can fight off most antibiotics. This means they are hard to cure. People who had procedures between October and January may have been exposed. The hospital is contacting these patients. They will be given home testing kits. The hospital lab will analyze the results. The two scopes had already been cleaned according to manufacturers’ standards, the hospital said.

A new study links the shingles virus to another painful condition in the elderly, giant cell arteritis. The varicella-zoster virus causes chickenpox. After symptoms go away, the virus can hide in the body for many years. If it gets active again, it can cause shingles, a painful skin condition. The new study focused on giant cell arteritis. This condition usually strikes people age 60 or older. It causes inflamed blood vessels in the head and neck. Symptoms include sudden headaches, muscle aches and vision problems. In the new study, researchers looked at 95 biopsy samples taken from arteries in the face. They found signs of the varicella-zoster virus for 74% of people who had giant cell arteritis. They found the virus in only 8% of those without the condition. Researchers said antiviral medicines may help people with giant cell arteritis. They urged more research.

Calculators used to assess people’s risk of heart problems may put those odds too high, a new study finds. Calculators use cholesterol levels, blood pressure and other factors to estimate risk. They are based on research. The newest one was released in 2013. It came from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology (AHA/ACC). The new study looked at this calculator and 4 others. It tested them using data from a heart study that began in 2000. That study included 4,200 Americans, ages 50 to 74. When the study began, they did not have heart disease. Researchers plugged their early numbers into the calculators. Then they compared the results with what  happened to people in the next 10 years. On average, 4 calculators estimated people’s risk too high, by 8% to 154%, the study found.

Over the last 20 years, U.S. teens have been getting less sleep, a new study finds. Between 1991 and 2012, researchers surveyed more than 270,000 students in 8^th, 10^th and 12^thgrades. Each year, they asked the students how often they got 7 or more hours of sleep, as well as how often they got less sleep than they needed. Among 15-year-olds, 72% reported getting 7 or more hours of sleep a night in 1991. By 2012, the number dropped to 63%. The number of teens who reported sleeping 7 or more hours a night dropped dramatically between the ages of 13 and 18 years. About two-thirds of 13-year-olds sleep at least 7 hours a night. Only about one-third of 18-year-olds get at least 7 hours of sleep. Compared with boys, girls are less likely to regularly get 7 or more hours of sleep. Teens with less-educated parents came up short on sleep.

For at least half of women with frequent hot flashes, the symptoms go on for more than 7 years, a new study finds. The study used data from a long-term women’s health study. Women were asked about menopause symptoms each year for 13 years. The study focused on 1,449 women who reported having hot flashes and night sweats for at least 6 days in the last 2 weeks. The median amount of time these symptoms lasted was 7.4 years. Half of the women had symptoms for a longer time and half for a shorter time. The earlier symptoms started, the longer they tended to last. Among women who had symptoms before reaching menopause, they lasted a median of 11.8 years. If symptoms started after menopause, they lasted about 3 years. Symptoms lasted longer than average for black and Hispanic women. They lasted a shorter time for white women and those of Japanese or Chinese descent.

Using hormones to treat menopause symptoms may increase the risk of ovarian cancer, a new study finds. This is true even if hormones are used for only 5 years. But the increase in the actual number of cancers is relatively small, the authors say. For this study, researchers combined the results of 52 prior studies. They included a total of more than 12,000 women with ovarian cancer. Women who used hormone replacement therapy were 40% more likely to develop ovarian cancer than women who never used hormones. The increased risk of using hormones for 5 years was equal to about 1 extra case of ovarian cancer for every 1,000 users, the study found. That would lead to about 1 extra death for every 1,700 users. The increase in risk was the same whether women used the hormones estrogen and progesterone, or estrogen alone. The risk was seen only for hormone replacement therapy.