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More Americans have diabetes, health officials say. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates the total was 24 million in 2007. That’s 8% of the population. It’s up by 3 million since 2005. The CDC said there’s good news too. People are more likely to get diagnosed. About 25% of people with diabetes don’t know they have it. This compares with 30% in 2005. About 57 million people have pre-diabetes. People with this condition are more likely to develop diabetes. The Associated Press wrote about the report June 25.

A new study suggests that doctors may want to try different drugs first to treat high blood pressure. Current guidelines say most people should get a diuretic (water pill) first. Other drugs can be added. But the new study found better results without a diuretic. The study included more than 11,000 people. Each person took pills that contained two drugs. All pills contained benazepril, an ACE inhibitor. The first group also received amlodipine, a calcium channel blocker. The second group also received hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic. People in the first group had fewer heart attacks, other serious events and deaths than people in the second group. The rate was 9.6% for the first group and 11.8% for the second. HealthDay News wrote about the study December 3. It was in the New England Journal of Medicine.

More cases of pneumonia are being caused by treatment-resistant bacteria. And this type of pneumonia most often follows a case of influenza, a new study finds. Researchers said this is an even larger concern because of the recent swine flu outbreak. The study focused on pneumonia caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. These are often called MRSA infections. They resist common antibiotics and are hard to cure. MRSA pneumonia can kill more than half of those who are infected, researchers said. Most cases are linked to a stay in a hospital or nursing home. But more and more cases start in the community, the study found. The study appeared in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases. Reuters Health news service wrote about it May 19.

Many children in the preteen and early teen years watch very violent movies, a survey has found. Researchers surveyed 6,522 children, ages 10 through 14. The kids were asked if they had seen each of 534 recent movies. The study looks at 40 movies that were rated R for violence. On average, 12.5% of the adolescents had seen these movies. The most popular was Scary Movie. Nearly half of the kids had seen it, including many 10-year-olds. The study is in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Children’s doctors are getting advice on how to help prevent bullying and dating violence. The tips come from their national group, the American Academy of Pediatrics. This is the group’s most detailed policy ever on youth violence. It says doctors should urge parents to discuss bullying and to teach kids how to resolve conflicts peacefully. Doctors should promote respect in dating relationships. And they should volunteer to give talks on these topics. The policy says a supportive early home life can reduce children’s chances of being victims. Family meals and time together can help. The policy also endorses a European program to prevent bullying. It stresses the role of bystanders. The journal Pediatrics published the policy online. The Associated Press wrote about it June 15.

An estimated 3,900 Americans have died from H1N1 (swine) flu, U.S. health officials said November 12. This revised estimate was issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It’s nearly four times the previous count of 1,000, the Associated Press reported. About 540 of the deaths were children. About 22 million Americans have had swine flu, the CDC said. The new estimates include deaths related to complications of swine flu, such as pneumonia. Another new study found that elderly people with swine flu were more likely to die than younger people. The study looked at clinic patients in Mexico, where the pandemic began. Children and young adults were infected more often. About 1.6% of babies under age 1 died. But overall fewer than 1% of swine flu patients under age 30 died. Adult death rates gradually went up with age. About 10% of patients over 70 died.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has formally declared a pandemic in the growing outbreak of H1N1 influenza. This is the type widely known as “swine flu.” WHO told its member nations June 11 that it is raising its pandemic warning level from phase 5 to 6. This is the highest alert level. The declaration means that a new flu virus is spreading quickly around the world. Drug makers will speed up production of a vaccine. Governments also will take more steps to try to limit the spread of infection. Calling H1N1 a pandemic does not mean that WHO thinks it is severe. Most cases have been mild. As of June 10, WHO said the disease was in at least 74 countries. They had reported 27,737 cases of swine flu. These included 141 deaths.

Many Americans who have an invasive test called an angiogram turn out to have no significant heart disease, a new study finds. Researchers say this suggests that doctors need better ways to decide who should have the test. During an angiogram, doctors insert a tube into an artery and thread it up to the heart. Dye is injected into the tube. This allows any artery blockages around the heart to show up on X-rays. Researchers looked at records for nearly 2 million angiograms. The study focused on about 400,000 patients. They had some symptoms or other test results that made doctors suspect heart disease. But they did not have known heart disease and weren’t getting emergency heart treatment. The angiogram found no major artery blockages in 62% of this group. The Associated Press wrote about the study March 11. Results appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Doctors often don’t treat back pain in the way that guidelines recommend. That’s what researchers found in a study of medical practice in Australia. The study looked at the treatment of 3,533 patients. Researchers compared their care with standard guidelines. For example, the guidelines say that few people need an MRI, X-ray or other imaging study. But 1 out of 4 patients received one. The guidelines say that acetaminophen is the best drug to try first. But doctors more often prescribed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or opioid pain relievers. Doctors are urged to educate patients about back pain. Only 1 out of 5 received such advice. The study results appeared in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Pushing blood sugar below current goals does not help the heart for diabetics, a study has found. The study is from Australia. One group got standard treatment. The other took extra medicine to lower blood sugar more. There was no difference between the groups in heart attacks, strokes or heart-related deaths. But the group with lower blood sugar had one-fifth fewer cases of kidney disease. In February, a U.S. study reported more deaths in people who were treated to push blood sugar below current goals. The Associated Press wrote about the new study June 9. It was published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.