Category: news-perspectives

Blood pressure measured at home may show more about your health than readings taken in your doctor’s office, a study finds. The study included 436 people who had long-term (chronic) kidney disease. They were not on dialysis, however. People’s blood pressure was measured several times during 2 days at a clinic. Then they were sent home for 24 hours with a device that took their blood pressure automatically. It recorded pressure every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes at night. Researchers kept track of people for about 4 years. In this time, 86 developed kidney failure and 69 died. There were also 63 heart attacks or related events, and 52 people died from these events. These health problems and deaths were more likely to occur in people who had high blood pressure readings at home.

People with type 1 diabetes live almost as long as other Americans, a new study finds. In this disease, the immune system attacks the body. It destroys cells in the pancreas that make insulin. People need to replace this insulin by injection multiple times a day. The study included 390 people who were diagnosed with type 1 between 1950 and 1964. They were compared with a younger group. This group was diagnosed between 1965 and 1980. Researchers kept track of both groups for several decades. For the first group, the average life expectancy was 53.4. But this has improved for the group diagnosed later. Their average life expectancy is now 68.8, the study found. That’s less than 4 years below average. U.S. life expectancy is 72.4 for people born between 1965 and 1980. Better diabetes care has narrowed the gap, researchers said.

Potatoes, especially chips, are the biggest cause of gradual middle-age weight gain, researchers said based on a new study. Their analysis included more than 120,000 people from 3 long-running studies of health professionals. They were asked regularly about what they ate and how much they weighed. In 20 years, the average person gained nearly 17 pounds. Researchers said food choices contributed most of that. Potato chips did the most damage. People gained about 1.7 pounds every 4 years for each ounce of potato chips they consumed daily. Non-chip potatoes added 1.3 pounds in 4 years for someone who ate a daily serving. French fries were the biggest culprit within this group. The weight gain was about 1 pound for someone who drank a soda daily and 0.4 pounds for sweets or alcohol. The New England Journal of Medicine published the study.

People taking certain drugs for rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis may also reduce their risk of diabetes, a new study suggests. The study was based on insurance data. It included 13,905 people. All of them had rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis. They were taking one or more medicines for their illness. None of them had diabetes at the start of the study. Researchers tracked their health for 12 years. They found that people taking certain drugs were less likely than others to develop diabetes. Risk of diabetes was reduced for those taking hydroxychloroquine or a type of drug called a TNF inhibitor. The study appeared in the journal Neurology. HealthDay News wrote about it June 21.

More U.S. children may have food allergies than previously thought, a new survey suggests. The survey found that 8% of children are allergic to some food. Nearly 40% of those allergies are severe. The most recent U.S. government estimate is that 4% of children have food allergies. The new survey was done through online interviews. It included parents of more than 40,000 U.S. children under age 18. People who said their child had a food allergy were asked if a doctor had diagnosed it. The survey also asked about allergy symptoms. The Food Allergy Initiative paid for the study. This is an advocacy group funded by the parents of children with food allergies. The journal Pediatrics published the study. The Associated Press wrote about it June 20.

More than 5 million people have received free preventive care now offered by Medicare, U.S. officials say. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 required these benefits. Officials released a report about their use on June 20. For Medicare, preventive care includes an annual wellness visit. It also includes tests such as screening for breast and colon cancer. These services require no copayments or deductibles. Officials say they want more people to use these benefits. They believe this could save money by preventing illness or catching and treating it early. Therefore, the government is launching a campaign to promote the benefits. HealthDay News and Reuters Health news service wrote about the announcement.

More than 200 U.S. children died from drowning in portable backyard pools from 2000 through 2009, a new study finds. Another 35 came close to drowning. The new study looked only at portable pools, not the in-ground type. The depth was up to 4 feet. But 41% of the cases where the pool depth was known occurred in “wading pools.” These pools are less than 18 inches deep. Almost half of the children who drowned were 1 year old. Nearly all were under 5. About 66% of children were supervised. But in 18% of these cases the attention lapsed. Most often this happened because the supervisor fell asleep, did chores or answered the phone. Researchers say keeping children away from the pool is the most important step. But they noted that many people may consider a fence not affordable for a portable pool.

The quit-smoking drug Chantix may slightly increase the risk of heart attack or related problems in people with heart disease, U.S. officials say. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the notice June 16. HealthDay News wrote about it. The notice was based on information from a new study. It included more than 700 smokers with heart disease. They were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group took varenicline tartrate (Chantix). The other group received fake pills (placebos). They took the pills for 12 weeks. Then researchers kept track of people for another 40 weeks. After all this time, 19% of the Chantix group still was not smoking, compared with 7% of the placebo group. During the study, more people taking Chantix had heart attacks than people taking a placebo. They were also more likely to need a procedure to open their arteries. The overall numbers were small.

Making liberal use of olive oil in your diet may reduce your risk of having a stroke, new research finds. The study looked at olive oil use by 7,625 French people. All of them were age 65 or older. About 37% used it in cooking and in salad dressing or on bread. Researchers called them “intensive” users. Other people used olive oil less (40%) or not at all (23%). During the 6 years of the study, 148 strokes occurred. About 1.5% of the “intensive” olive oil users had strokes, compared with 2.6% of the others. That’s equal to a 41% lower risk of stroke. The journal Neurology published the study. HealthDay News and Reuters Health news service wrote about it June 15.

New U.S. rules will require sunscreens to be tested against both types of rays from the sun. Revised labels will offer a standard way to compare products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the changes June 14. Changes will take effect in one year. They have been in development for more than 30 years. Now products must be tested for protection against ultraviolet A and B rays. UVA rays cause wrinkles. UVB rays cause sunburn. Both can cause skin cancer. Sunscreens now carry a sun protection factor (SPF) rating to show how well they protect against UVB. Some products claim “broad spectrum” protection against both UVA and UVB rays. New rules require certain tests before making this claim. The SPF level must be 15 or higher for both types of rays. Products that don’t meet this standard must carry a warning. Numbers above SPF 50 are not allowed.