Tag Archives: prevention

Up to 1 in 5 children suffer from a mental disorder, CDC says

Up to 20 percent of children in the United States suffer from a mental disorder, and the number of kids diagnosed with one has been rising for more than a decade, according to a report released on Thursday by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In the agency's first-ever study of mental disorders among children aged 3 to 17, researchers found childhood mental illnesses affect up to one in five kids and cost $247 billion per year in medical bills, special education and juvenile justice. Children with mental disorders - defined as “serious deviations from expected cognitive, social, and emotional development” - often have trouble learning in school, making friends, and building relationships later in life, the report said. They are more likely to have other chronic health problems, such as asthma and diabetes, and are at risk for developing mental illnesses as adults. “This is a deliberate effort by CDC to show mental health is a health issue. As with any health concern, the more attention we give to it, the better. It's parents becoming aware of the facts and talking to a healthcare provider about how their child is learning, behaving, and playing with other kids,” Dr. Ruth Perou, the lead author of the study, said in an interview. “What's concerning is the number of families affected by these issues. But we can do something about this. Mental health problems are diagnosable, treatable and people can recover and lead full healthy lives,” Perou added. The study cited data collected between 1994 and 2011 that showed the number of kids with mental disorders is growing. The study stopped short of concluding why, but suggested improvements in diagnoses as one possible explanation “Changes in estimated prevalence over time might be associated with an actual change in prevalence, changes in case definition, changes in the public perception of mental disorders, or improvements in diagnosis, which might be associated with changes in policies and access to health care,” the study said. Perou said more research was needed to determine the specific causes of mental disorders, and that greater awareness could lead to an uptick in diagnoses. A host of environmental factors, including chemical exposure and poverty, can also affect a child's mental health, she said. Lead, for example, is known to be “one of the biggest toxins to impact behavior and learning,” Perou said. Poor children are at a higher risk for developing certain conditions, according to the study. The most prevalent mental health diagnosis, as reported by parents, was Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which affects 6.8 percent of children. Also common were behavioral conduct problems (3.5 percent), anxiety, which consists mostly of fears and phobias (3 percent), depression (2.1 percent) and autism spectrum disorders (1.1 percent). Many of these disorders occur together, the report said. Boys were found more likely to have most of the listed disorders except for depression and alcohol abuse, which affect more girls. The study also noted that suicide, which can be precipitated by an untreated mental illness, was the second leading cause of death (after accidents) among children 12 to 17 years old. The CDC report was based on multiple other studies that collected data and interviewed children and their guardians about their diagnoses, habits, behaviors and other factors.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/17/up-to-1-in-5-children-suffer-from-mental-disorder-cdc-says/

Majority of pools are contaminated by poop, CDC says

There's poop in public pools, according to a new report. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found genetic material from E. coli bacteria in 58 percent of public pools they tested during the summer of 2012. This shows that “swimmers frequently introduced fecal material into pools,” which could spread germs to other people, the researchers wrote in their report. E. coli bacteria are normally found in the human gut and feces. They also found genetic material from bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, whichcan cause skin rashes and ear infections, in 59 percent of pools. The fecal material in pools comes from swimmers not showering before getting into the water, and from incidents of defecation in pools, according to the report. The average person has 0.14 grams of fecal material on their “perianal surface” that can rinse into a pool if a person doesn't shower first, according to the report. The Pseudomonas aeruginosabacteria in the pools may have come from the natural environment, or from swimmers, the researchers said. There were no samples that showed E. coli O157:H7, a toxin-producing E. coli strain that causes illness. Two parasites, Cryptosporidium and Giardia, which also spread through feces and cause diarrhea, were found in less than 2 percent of samples. The study included 161 pools in the Atlanta area, and the researchers noted their findings may not apply to all pools, but said there is no reason to think that contamination or swimmer hygiene practices differ between pools in the study and those in the rest of the country. The researchers collected samples of water from the pools' filters, and looked for the genetic material of specific bacteria. “Chlorine and other disinfectants dont kill germs instantly,” said Michele Hlavsa, chief of CDCs Healthy Swimming Program. Its important that swimmers shower before getting in a pool, not swallow the water they swim in, and avoid swimming when they have diarrhea, she said. The CDC also recommends that parents of young children take children on a bathroom break every hour, or check diapers every 30 to 60 minutes. Diapers should be changed in a diaper-changing area, not near the poolside, the CDC says. Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/16/poop-prevalent-in-public-pools-cdc-says/

Could marijuana reduce diabetes risk?

There's an unexpected link between marijuana use and factors related to Type 2 diabetes that has medical researchers intrigued. Several studies have found that marijuana users take in more food calories than nonusers, but they still have lower rates of obesity and diabetes, and lower average body mass index (BMI) levels. In a new study, researchers investigated what effects marijuana and its active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) might have on people's metabolism, especially insulin levels. [5 Diets That Fight Diseases] Insulin resistance an important risk factor for diabetes is a metabolic disorder that occurs when the body's cells cannot properly intake insulin. The American Heart Association estimates 35 percent of U.S. adults have metabolic disorders that include insulin resistance. To examine the link between THC and metabolism, researchers gathered the results of 4,657 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional study administered annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the study's participants, 579 were current marijuana users, 1,975 had used the drug in the past but not recently, and 2,103 had never tried marijuana. Researchers analyzed the participants' fasting insulin levels, cholesterol levels, insulin resistance and waist sizes. Multiple benefits seen The results showed that the current marijuana users had 16 percent lower fasting insulin levels than nonusers, and 17 percent lower insulin-resistance levels. Additionally, the regular users of marijuana had smaller average waist sizes, and higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, aka “good cholesterol.” “These are indeed remarkable observations that are supported by basic science experiments that came to similar conclusions,” Dr. Joseph Alpert, professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, said in a statement. Interestingly, only the current users of marijuana (not the former users) experienced the positive results, suggesting that the effects of marijuana use on insulin and insulin resistance only occur after recent use. To test their results, which were published in the latest issue of The American Journal of Medicine, the researchers also adjusted for participants who had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Much more research needed “After we excluded those subjects with a diagnosis of diabetes the associations between marijuana use and insulin levels, [insulin resistance], waist circumference and HDL-C were similar and remained statistically significant,” Dr. Elizabeth Penner, a co-author of the study, said in a statement. “Is it possible that THC will be commonly prescribed in the future for patients with diabetes or metabolic syndrome alongside antidiabetic oral agents or insulin for improved management of this chronic illness? Only time will answer this question for us,” Alpert said in an editorial accompanying the article in the journal. “We desperately need a great deal more basic and clinical research into the short- and long-term effects of marijuana in a variety of clinical settings such as cancer, diabetes and frailty of the elderly,” Alpert wrote. Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/16/could-marijuana-reduce-diabetes-risk/

India developing cheap vaccine against major cause of diarrhea deaths in kids

The Indian government announced Tuesday the development of a new low-cost vaccine proven effective against a diarrhea-causing virus that is one of the leading causes of childhood deaths across the developing world. The Indian manufacturer of the new rotavirus vaccine pledged to sell it for $1 a dose, a significant discount from the cost of the current vaccines on the market. That reduced price would make it far easier for poor countries to vaccinate their children against the deadly virus, health experts said. Rotavirus, spread through contaminated hands and surfaces, kills about half a million children across the world each year, 100,000 of them in India. At a conference Tuesday, the government announced that Phase III trials of Rotavac proved that it was safe as well as effective. The clinical trial of 6,799 infants at three sites in India showed the vaccine reduced severe cases of diarrhea caused by rotavirus by 56 percent during the first year of life. “The clinical results indicate that the vaccine, if licensed, could save the lives of thousands of children each year in India,” said Dr. K. Vijay Raghavan, the secretary of the Department of Biotechnology. The vaccine still needs to be licensed before it can be distributed in India and would require further approval by the World Health Organization before it could be distributed globally. Two other vaccines have proven effective against rotavirus, but they are significantly more expensive. The GAVI Alliance, which works to deliver vaccines to the world’s poor, negotiated a significant discount last year with GlaxoSmithKline and Merck, obtaining the rotavirus vaccines from those pharmaceutical companies for $2.50 a dose. The alliance has programs for delivering those vaccines in 14 countries and plans to expand them to 30 countries. Dr. Seth Berkley, the GAVI Alliance’s CEO, said the announcement Tuesday was “a big deal.” “The cheaper the price the more children you can immunize,” he said, adding that it will still take some time before the vaccine is approved for use. In addition, having a third manufacturer for the vaccines would ease supply shortages and could drive down the costs charged by the other manufacturers, he said. “That would make a big difference in terms of changing the marketplace,” he said. Diarrhea is the second leading cause of death among young children in the world after pneumonia. A study of 22,568 children at sites in seven African and south Asian countries that was published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet showed that rotavirus was the leading cause of moderate to severe diarrhea in children under the age of two. The new vaccine was developed from a weakened strain of the virus taken from a child hospitalized in New Delhi more than a quarter century ago. It was the result of a broad global partnership that included the government, the Indian company Bharat Biotech, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among many others. Those involved said the broad cooperation reduced research costs for the manufacturer and helped keep the vaccine inexpensive. “This public-private partnership is an exemplary model of how to develop affordable technologies to save lives,” Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, said in a statement.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/15/india-developing-cheap-vaccine-against-major-cause-diarrhea-deaths-in-kids/

Ultra-low salt intake may not boost health, U.S. panel says

Americans at high risk for heart problems who have been told for years to sharply cut salt from their diet may not actually benefit from ultra-low sodium diets and could even face some harm, an independent panel of health experts said on Tuesday. The influential Institute of Medicine, in a report to U.S. health officials, reviewed the latest data on the link between salt intake and health. While blacks, diabetics and others more likely to have heart problems are urged to slash their salt intake, the IOM review showed there was limited evidence such a diet helped, and that too little salt might increase the risk of heart trouble. “The evidence on both the benefit and harm is not strong enough to indicate that these subgroups should be treated differently from the general U.S. population,” the panel wrote. That suggests higher-risk populations may not need such a drastic reduction of salt in their diets and that other steps to curb heart disease risk may be needed. Americans are still consuming far too much salt, the IOM experts said. On average, U.S. adults eat about 1.5 teaspoons of salt over the course of the day, or about 3,400 milligrams. Federal guidelines recommend that healthy people consume no more than 2,300 milligrams daily. But the latest data calls into question whether individuals with higher risk factors for heart disease or stroke should limit their daily intake to 1,500 milligrams, as the government recommends. Brian Strom, the panel's chairman and a public health professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said the newest studies back the known benefits of “reducing sodium from very high intake levels to moderate levels.” “But they also suggest that lowering sodium intake too much may actually increase a person's risk of some health problems,” he said, including heart ailments. Still, the studies are limited and in some cases flawed, so more research is needed, the IOM panel told the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which requested the report. Health advocates including the American Heart Association were quick to dismiss the findings, saying the recent studies reviewed by IOM focused on sick patients and not the majority of Americans, most of whom eat too much salt. “The bottom line for consumers is still: cut back on sodium,” said the Center for Science in the Public Interest's (CSPI) Bonnie Liebman. 'IT'S PRETTY TOUGH' The problem is not just food loaded with salt. It's also that Americans eat a lot of food that contains lower amounts of salt, such as bread and pasta, without realizing their sodium content. Health officials have called for Americans to take various steps to cut back, such as asking for no-salt dishes in restaurants and eating more naturally low-salt foods like fruits and vegetables. Health advocates said the IOM's review was beside the point given the high levels of sodium that still plague U.S. foods. It's almost impossible to ingest just 1,500 milligrams a day, said Liebman, director of nutrition for CSPI. “Virtually any meal at any restaurant would give you at least half-a-day's worth of sodium, maybe a whole day's worth, maybe more,” Liebman said. “You'd have to make everything from scratch. ... It's pretty tough.” Consumer groups and some lawmakers have for years called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to set federal salt levels for food, a recommendation that the IOM backed in 2010. In New York City, health officials have been working with restaurants and food companies to voluntarily remove salt from everyday foods. A trio of studies published on Monday found that smaller restaurants still load their food with salt even as national chains and food manufacturers have cut back.  The FDA, in a statement, said it was reviewing the IOM's report, calling it consistent with its “efforts to work toward achievable and reasonable voluntary reductions in the sodium content of the U.S. food supply.” IOM was not asked to review current federal salt intake guidelines, which were issued in 2010. U.S. health officials are expected to revise the guidelines on salt and other nutrients in 2015.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/15/ultra-low-salt-intake-may-not-boost-health-us-panel-says/

Vietnam War chemical tied to aggressive prostate cancer risk

Men who were exposed to Agent Orange chemicals used during the Vietnam War are at higher risk for life-threatening prostate cancer than unexposed veterans, researchers have found. What's more, those who served where the herbicide was used were diagnosed with cancer about five years earlier than other men, on average, in the new study. “This is a very, very strong predictor of lethal cancer,” said urologist Dr. Mark Garzotto, who worked on the study at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Oregon. “If you're a person who's otherwise healthy and you've been exposed to Agent Orange, that has important implications for whether you should be screened or not screened,” he told Reuters Health. But one researcher not involved in the new study said it's hard to take much away from it, given the imprecise way it measured exposure. Agent Orange - named after the giant orange drums in which the chemicals were stored - was used by the U.S. military to destroy foliage, mainly in southern Vietnam. The herbicide was often contaminated with a type of dioxin, a potently carcinogenic chemical. The Vietnam Red Cross Society has estimated that up to one million Vietnamese suffered disabilities or health problems as a result of Agent Orange, including children born with birth defects years after their parents were exposed. Past research has also suggested that U.S. veterans who served where Agent Orange was used are at an increased risk of lymphoma and certain other cancers, including prostate cancer. For the new study, researchers wanted to see whether exposure was more closely linked to slow-growing prostate cancers or aggressive tumors. They analyzed medical records belonging to 2,720 veterans who were referred to the Portland VA for a prostate biopsy. About one in 13 of those men had been exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, according to their VA intake interviews. One third of all men in the study were diagnosed with prostate cancer, about half of which were high-grade cancers - the more aggressive and fast-growing type. When the researchers took men's age, race, weight and family history of cancer into account, they found those with Agent Orange exposure were 52 percent more likely than unexposed men to have any form of prostate cancer. Separating out different types of tumors showed the herbicide was not linked to an increased risk of slower-growing, low-grade cancer. But it was tied to a 75 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, the study team reported Monday in the journal Cancer. “The increase in the rate of cancers was almost exclusively driven by the potentially lethal cancers,” said Garzotto, also from Oregon Health & Science University. More research is needed to figure out exactly why that is, he said. In the meantime, Garzotto said veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange should discuss that with their doctors. But Dr. Arnold Schecter, from the University of Texas School of Public Health's Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Program in Dallas, said there's a “big problem” with just asking veterans if they were exposed to Agent Orange or served in an area where it was sprayed. “Of those most heavily exposed in the military as best we know, only a relatively small percentage of them had elevated dioxin from Agent Orange in their blood when tested by (the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),” he told Reuters Health. Schecter said that in Vietnam, people who have high levels of that type of dioxin in their blood live in places where the chemical has become integrated into the food supply - or were sprayed directly with Agent Orange. Another researcher who has studied the effects of Agent Orange agreed that not having blood dioxin levels is a drawback, but said the findings are consistent with past research and general thinking about the chemical. “Almost all studies have implicated that men with Agent Orange (exposure) either have higher-grade prostate cancer or a more aggressive clinical course,” said Dr. Gregory Merrick, head of Wheeling Hospital's Schiffler Cancer Center in West Virginia, who also wasn't involved in the new research. But, he added, as long as men are getting into the VA system and getting regular evaluations and treatment for cancer, Agent Orange exposure “is not a death sentence by any means.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/13/vietnam-war-chemical-tied-to-aggressive-prostate-cancer-risk/

HPV-related cancers rose before vaccines hit market

The number of some cancers related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) increased throughout the U.S. before vaccines against the sexually transmitted infection were available, says to a new study. Researchers found an increase in many early-stage cancers and anal and head and neck late-stage cancers across the U.S. …

Teen swallows grill brush wire, which ‘stabs him from the inside out’

A Mountlake Terrace, Wash., teenager accidentally swallowed a piece of grill brush wire while eating, which ultimately got stuck in his intestines – “stabbing him from the inside out,â€� The Seattle Times reported. It all happened innocently enough. …

Review on aspirin to treat and prevent heart attacks and commentary on aspirin to prevent colorectal and other cancers

This update was published in the current issue of the American Journal of Medicine by Hennekens and James E. Dalen, M.D., M.P.H., dean emeritus, University of Arizona College of Medicine and executive director of the Weil Foundation. In a commentary published in Clinical Investigation, Hennekens and David J…

Immune cells that suppress genital herpes infections identified

The discovery of this subtype of immune cells, called CD8+ T cells, opens a new avenue of research to develop a vaccine to prevent and treat herpes simplex virus type 2, or HSV-2. Identifying these T cells’ specific molecular targets, called epitopes, is the next step in developing a vaccine. The findings are described in the May 8 advance online edition of Nature…