Health and Fitness News

Welcome to the Stars Hollow Health and Fitness weekly diary. It will publish on Saturday afternoon and be open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

Tobacco smoke causes immediate damage: U.S. report

(Reuters) – Cigarette smoke causes immediate damage to a person’s lungs and their DNA even in small amounts, including from second-hand smoke, U.S. federal officials said on Thursday in a new report.

Taxes, bans and treatment must all be pursued to bring smoking rates down, U.S. Surgeon-General Dr. Regina Benjamin said. “The chemicals in tobacco smoke reach your lungs quickly every time you inhale causing damage immediately,” she said in a statement.

“Inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke can also damage your DNA, which can lead to cancer,” she said.

U.S. life expectancy falls slightly in 2008

(Reuters) – American life expectancy slipped slightly in 2008 to 77.8 years, the first dip since 2004, while stroke slid a notch to become the fourth-leading cause of death, U.S. health experts said on Thursday.

They said a baby born in 2008 could expect to live about one month less than one born in 2007, falling from a record high of 77.9 years in 2007.

The change is more likely a statistical blip than a significant shift, said Arialdi Minino, who led the study for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

Home monitors can aid blood pressure control

(Reuters Health) – Home blood pressure monitors can help people keep their blood pressure in check and possibly cut down on medication — as long as the patients and their doctors put those home readings to good use, a new research review finds.

The analysis, of 37 international clinical trials, found that on average, adults with high blood pressure who were assigned to use home monitors shaved a few points off their blood pressure compared with counterparts who stuck with doctor’s office measurements alone.

Music may soothe stress in critically ill patients

Reuters Health) – Listening to music appears to have a calming effect on hospital patients hooked up to breathing machines, according to a new report.

Mechanical ventilation can be a distressing experience for critically ill patients, but researchers say tranquilizers will only prolong their hospital stay.

To investigate whether listening to pleasing tunes could help, a group of American and Australian researchers reviewed studies that tested music plus standard care against standard care alone.

Study finds daily aspirin cuts many cancer risks

(Reuters) – Taking low doses of aspirin can reduce the risk of many kinds of cancer, scientists said on Tuesday, and the evidence is strong enough to suggest people over 40 should take it daily as protection.

The findings will fuel an already intense debate about the merits of taking aspirin, which increases the risk of bleeding in the stomach to around one patient in every thousand per year.

Study confirms sunscreen prevents melanoma

(Reuters) – Adults who regularly use sunscreen are far less likely to develop melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, researchers reported on Monday.

They found people who were encouraged to slather on sunscreen in the 1990s were 50 percent less likely to develop melanoma 15 years later, a finding that suggests sunscreen even benefits adults and that the benefits last for years.

The numbers were small — only 22 people were diagnosed with melanoma out of 1,600 — but should settle a debate over whether using sunscreen simply encourages people to stay out in the sun too long, the researchers said.

J&J “Softchews” recall grows as wood, metal found

(Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson issued a recall of its Softchews Rolaids antacids on Thursday after consumers reported finding wood and metal bits in the tablets.

J&J, which recalled some Rolaids products in November, said it was voluntarily recalling all lots of its Softchews products after potentially uncovering problems with a third-party manufacturer that left particles in the medicines.

The recall is the latest in a string of pulled products for J&J’s McNeil consumer unit that has drawn attention from U.S. authorities and Congress, hurt sales and tarnished J&J’s reputation.

Swine flu: it’s back: Doctors shocked by spread of swine flu – and its severity

H1N1 virus returns, already claiming lives of 10 British adults with early signs that illness has spread to other European countries

The swine flu virus that swept the world last year causing a global health emergency has returned to claim the lives of 10 adults in the UK in the past six weeks.

The 10 deaths were in younger adults under 65 and associated with H1N1 swine flu. Most had underlying conditions but “a small proportion” were healthy before being struck down by the virus, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

Seasonal flu normally causes severe illness and death in the elderly. The H1N1 swine flu virus targets pregnant women, younger adults, and those with chronic conditions, making it a cause of particular alarm.

h/t to mishima this AM

Full sequence confirms Haiti cholera came from Asia

(Reuters) – Detailed genetic tests confirm that the cholera strain that has killed more than 2,000 people in Haiti came from south Asia and most closely resembles a strain circulating in Bangladesh, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

While they cannot trace who or what precisely carried the cholera to Haiti, the team at Harvard Medical School and Pacific Biosciences of California Inc say their findings show extra measures may be needed to help prevent the spread of cholera from one disaster area to another — a contentious issue because many Haitians have blamed the outbreak on Nepalese troops sent to help them as part of a United Nations mission.

Alliance starts pneumonia vaccine project for poor

(Reuters) – A new vaccine against the most deadly forms of pneumonia, one of the world’s biggest killers of children, will be launched in Nicaragua from Sunday as part of an effort to prevent 700,000 deaths in poorer countries by 2015.

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) said Nicaragua would be the first developing nation to begin vaccinating children with the pneumococcal shots, made by drugmakers Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline, and another 18 countries will follow in the next few years.

Experts call for vaccination, antibiotics in Haiti

(Reuters) – Simply setting up clinics to treat Haitians with cholera is not doing anywhere near enough to tackle the epidemic there, health experts said on Friday, calling for intensive vaccination and more use of antibiotics.

Their recommendation, published in the Lancet medical journal, adds to a growing chorus of voices speaking in support of a vaccination program.

Health authorities, including the Pan-American Health Organization, had argued against vaccination, saying it would be too difficult and expensive

WHO says Cepheid rapid test will transform TB care

(Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) gave its backing on Wednesday to a new molecular test for tuberculosis made by Cepheid which can rapidly diagnose TB, one of the world’s biggest killer diseases.

The Geneva-based WHO said in a statement it was endorsing the test because it could “revolutionize” TB care and control by accurately diagnosing patients in about 100 minutes, compared to current tests that can take up to three months to give results.

Pneumonic plague outbreak in Uganda: officials

(Reuters) – Pneumonic plague has broken out in northern Uganda, killing 38 people and putting dozens in hospital, a senior health official said Tuesday.

Issa Makumbi, assistant commissioner in charge of disease surveillance, said investigations into a disease that struck the region in November were continuing but that tentative tests had confirmed it was pneumonic plague.

Many U.S. women do not get recommended mammograms

(Reuters) – Half of U.S. women 40 and older do not get annual mammograms to screen for breast cancer, and nearly 40 percent of women 50 and older do not get the recommended biannual screenings, even though they have insurance.

The findings, presented on Thursday at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, show that many women 50 and older are not meeting the reduced breast cancer screening goals set out by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

Ultrasound before medical abortion may be unneeded

(Reuters Health) – Women seeking medical abortion, sometimes called the “abortion pill,” often first undergo an ultrasound test, but a new study suggests that may be an unnecessary step.

In the U.S., medical abortions can be performed within nine weeks of the first day of a woman’s last menstrual period. Most medical abortions involve taking the drug mifepristone (Mifeprex) followed by misoprostol, which causes the womb to contract.

Restless legs in pregnancy may return later

(Reuters Health) – Women who experience so-called restless legs syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy are more likely to have the problem again after giving birth, according to a small Italian study.

The strange condition, which remains controversial, causes unpleasant sensations in the legs when a person is at rest, triggering an uncontrollable urge to move the legs to get relief. Its exact cause is unknown.

Older men get less effective prostate cancer care

(Reuters Health) – Old age is no hindrance to benefiting from prostate cancer surgery and radiation therapy, according to a new U.S. study that shows men over 75 often get less effective treatment than their younger peers.

“It seems men in this age group are often undertreated, and that in turn may contribute to the higher mortality from prostate cancer among older men,” said Dr. Matthew Cooperberg of the University of California, San Francisco, who led the research.

Circumcision may not curb gay HIV transmission

(Reuters Health) – While circumcision has been shown to lower a man’s risk of contracting HIV through heterosexual sex, a new study indicates that the value of circumcision for gay and bisexual men remains questionable.

In a study of more than 1,800 men from the U.S. and Peru, researchers found that overall, the risk of contracting HIV over 18 months did not significantly differ between circumcised and uncircumcised men.

Over the study period, 5 percent of the 1,365 uncircumcised men became HIV-positive, as did 4 percent of the 457 circumcised men, according to findings published in the journal AIDS.

Wait-and-see OK for some mid-risk prostate cancers

(Reuters Health) – More men with prostate cancer may be able to safely put off treatment in favor of monitoring the disease over time, a study of patients at one U.S. medical center suggests.

Researchers found that among 466 prostate cancer patients who opted for “active surveillance” rather than immediate treatment, those with tumors at intermediate risk for progression fared as well over four years as their counterparts with low-risk prostate cancer.

The findings, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, suggest that while active surveillance is typically only offered to men with low-risk prostate cancer, it may be a reasonable choice for certain men with intermediate-risk disease as well.

Most exercise not linked to sperm health

(Reuters Health) – For most men, exercise appears to have no relationship to either the quality or quantity of sperm, according to U.S. researchers.

But they found one exception: Men who biked for at least five hours per week had fewer and less active sperm than couch potatoes.

“It is likely that most forms of exercise have no effect on semen quality and that only certain subtypes of activity, and/or those performed at higher intensity levels, have an effect,” study author Dr. Lauren Wise at Boston University told Reuters Health in an e-mail.

Cycling may have impact on sperm health: study

(Reuters) – Most exercise appears to have little relationship to either the quality or quantity of sperm, but men who bike at least five hours a week have fewer and less active sperm than men who didn’t exercise, a study said.

Research among competitive athletes has linked biking to genital or urinary problems and poor semen quality, said Lauren Wise at Boston University, who led the study published in “Fertility and Sterility.”

Many elderly have preventable eye problems

(Reuters Health) – A large fraction of elderly people have age-related degenerative changes in their eyes that put them on a path to blindness — but could be preventable – a new study finds.

Eye exams given to more than 5,000 elderly Icelanders found that over one in 10 people in their 60s and nearly one in four in their late 70s have an early form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness.

The risk of later-onset forms of the condition also increased with age, the authors report in the journal Ophthalmology. People 85 and older appeared to be 10 times more likely to have late AMD than people aged 70 to 74.

Low vitamin D not linked to semen quality

(Reuters Health) – Vitamin D deficiency is taking blame for a growing list of health problems. Weak sperm, however, may not be one of them, hints new research.

“There has been increasing interest in the importance of optimal vitamin D concentrations in recent years, and low vitamin D has been associated with increased risk of several negative health outcomes,” lead researcher Cecilia Host Ramlau-Hansen of Aarhus University Hospital, in Denmark, told Reuters Health in an e-mail.

men want more sex, study finds

Reuters) – The very oldest men are still interested in sex but illness and a lack of opportunity may be holding them back, Australian researchers reported on Monday.

The “male” hormone testosterone was clearly linked with how often a man over 75 had sex, and doctors need to do more studies to see if hormone replacement therapy might benefit older men, the researchers said.

Secondhand smoke tied to kids’ poor mental health

(Reuters Health) – Kids who breathe secondhand smoke are more likely to struggle with mental health problems, suggests a large new study of British children.

The findings add urgency in the push for parents to put away their cigarettes for good, or at least smoke outside of the home, researchers say. However, it’s still unclear if tobacco fumes actually take a toll on children’s brains, or if something else is at play.

“We know that exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with a lot of physical health problems in children, although the mental health side has not been explored,” lead researcher Mark Hamer, of University College London, told Reuters Health in an e-mail.

Study shows child brain tumor is really two cancers

(Reuters) – The most common type of malignant childhood brain tumor is actually two different types of cancer, researchers said on Wednesday in a study they said also suggested the youngest patients could receive less toxic treatments.

The cancer, called medulloblastoma, is usually curable but children can suffer lifetime effects from treatment, which can include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Tests in mice show there are two distinct forms of the cancer and one might require less treatment, Dr. Richard Gilbertson of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and an international team of colleagues found.

Incense burning tied to asthma risk in some kids

(Reuters Health) – Children from homes with regular incense burning have a higher risk of developing asthma, according to a Taiwanese study that hints a particular gene variant could be involved.

Among nearly 3,800 middle-school children, researchers found three percent had current asthma and more than five percent had wheezing during exercise. By comparison, nearly one in 10 kids in the U.S. suffer from asthma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Girls who walk, bike to school do better in tests

(Reuters Health) – Girls, but not boys, who walk or bike to school instead of getting a ride perform better in tests of verbal and math skills, according to a new study of teens living in Spanish cities.

And the longer the commute, the higher the test scores, regardless of how much exercise girls got outside of school.

Still, it’s unclear whether the commute itself matters, or if exercise in general or some other factor is at play, said Dr. Francois Trudeau of the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, who was not involved in the study

Parasites may protect against allergies

(Reuters Health) – Children infected with hookworm or other intestinal parasites may be less likely than uninfected children to have allergies, a new research review finds.

The study, published in the journal Allergy, gives some support to the idea that our increasingly germ-free surroundings may be contributing to a worldwide increase in allergies and asthma in recent decades — a theory known as “the hygiene hypothesis.”

Early daycare linked to fewer infections later

(Reuters Health) – Although young children might get sick more often when they first start group daycare — replete with its shared finger paints, building blocks and germs — a new study hints at a possible future pay-off: fewer infections come kindergarten.

The researchers stop short of crediting childcare for the protection, however.

“Daycares have a reputation for being germ factories,” lead author Sylvana Cote of the University of Montreal, in Quebec, told Reuters Health

Kids don’t get enough exercise from sports

(Reuters Health) – Parents hoping to keep their kids active often sign them up for sports, but a new study finds that this may not be enough.

On average, kids enrolled in soccer, baseball or softball exercised heavily for only 45 minutes during practice — 15 minutes less than the amount recommended by national guidelines.

Boys today may be hitting puberty earlier

(Reuters Health) – Boys today may be on a faster track to puberty than their fathers’ generation, reaching the milestone an average of a year earlier, hints a large new study from Bulgaria.

“Studies done several decades ago in the same population reported that a leap forward in sexual development occurs at ages 13 through 16,” researcher Dr. Fnu Deepinder of Cedars Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles, told Reuters Health in an e-mail. “However, our study indicated that this spurt takes place between 12 and 15 years old.”

The new finding suggests that the trend toward earlier puberty isn’t limited to girls, who had already been shown to be developing sexually at increasingly younger ages.

Home monitoring devices may ease world health burden

(Reuters) – Many people believe devices that allow doctors to monitor patients’ vital signs in their homes offer a potential way to save health costs and allow older people to stay out of nursing homes.

The trick is proving it, according to a RAND Corp survey commissioned by home medical equipment maker Royal Philips Electronics and released on Tuesday.

(Reuters) – The number of Americans being treated for depression grew more slowly in the past decade, suggesting that many people may not get the care they need, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Even though the population grew in the past decade and more people were treated for depression, far fewer people were treated with psychotherapy, despite studies that show psychotherapy and pills both ease depression.

The researchers said changes in mental health benefits favoring antidepressants over psychotherapy and concerns about the safety of antidepressants in young people may have slowed growth of depression care.

General Mills steps down sugar in kids’ cereals

(Reuters) – General Mills Inc is lowering the amount of sugar in its children’s breakfast cereals to no more than 10 grams per serving from 11 grams a year ago, the latest move from a U.S. foodmaker to address childhood obesity.

The growing problem of obesity is leading to more children having adult health problems, such as diabetes or high cholesterol.

The step-down in sugar by General Mills, the maker of Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs and Trix cereals, is a move closer to its year-old goal to reduce to single-digit levels the number of grams of sugar per serving in all of its cereals advertised to children under 12.

General Mills, which also sells Progresso soup and Yoplait yogurt, said it must reduce sugar in tiny, incremental steps, lest consumers notice the difference and stop buying.

Half of Europe’s adults overweight or obese: report

(Reuters) – More than half of adults in European Union are overweight or obese, piling pressure onto their own health, their nations’ health systems and the wider economy, the OECD and the EU Commission said on Tuesday.

In a report on health in the 27-member bloc, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Brussels-based Commission said the rate of obesity has more than doubled over the past 20 years in most member states.

It also found that one in seven EU children is overweight or obese, and said the figures are set to rise even further.