February

A new study links consumption of more sugary foods with a higher risk of death from heart disease. The assessment is the latest addition to a growing body of evidence that “too much sugar does not just make us fat, it can also make us sick,” according to health policy professor Laura Schmidt at the University of California, San Francisco.

Schmidt wrote a commentary accompanying the new study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The study focuses on sugar added to foods as opposed to those occurring naturally in fruits and vegetables.

Those who ate the most added sugar – making up more than one-fifth of their daily calories – were twice as likely to die from heart disease as those who ate a healthy diet with less than 10 percent added sugar. Soda, energy drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages were the biggest sources.

One can of soda contains about 140 calories, or about 7 percent of an average, 2,000-calorie diet. The researchers used data from a large, ongoing national study on all kinds of health issues.  Thousands of people across the country answer questions about their diet and other health behaviors and get a physical.  The researchers also check to see if participants show up in national death records.

While other studies have looked at the link between added sugar and obesity, diabetes, heart disease and more, “this paper is the first to look at death from heart disease,” said nutrition professor Rachel Johnson at the University of Vermont, “so, sort of the ultimate end point.” Johnson heads the nutrition committee for the American Heart Association but was not involved with this research.

“Most of us consume much more [added sugar] than healthy diets recommend,” said study co-author Quanhe Yang, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study found the average American consumed about 15 percent of the day’s calories as added sugar.

“Compared with people in the lowest consumption group, you have roughly a 30 percent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease,” Yang said. Add one can of soda a day, however, and the risk goes way up.

“If you just [drank] one can of sugar sweetened beverage, you may put yourself into another category, which is doubling your risk of cardiovascular mortality,” he added.

New York City is trying to limit the size of sodas, but is fighting a legal challenge.  Mexico has recently imposed a tax on soda and other sugary foods.  Johnson said state and local governments in the United States also are considering taxes as a way to discourage consumption.

“I think we’re going to continue to see a lot of policy initiatives around how do we make the healthy choice the easy choice for people,” she added.

Many of these initiatives face opposition from those who see them as restricting individual freedom.

Source: Voice of America

While adults make up 95 percent of those who die annually from vaccine preventable diseases, a new study from the University of Colorado School of Medicine shows their vaccination rates remain stubbornly low, representing a growing public health concern.

The study, published recently in the Annals of Internal Medicine, is the first to examine several important aspects of adult vaccination. Every year, 30,000 people on average die of vaccine preventable illnesses, almost all of them adult.

“Our study suggests that missed opportunities for adult vaccination are common because vaccination status is not being assessed at every (physician’s) visit, which is admittedly an ambitious goal,” said Laura Hurley, MD, MPH lead author of the study and an assistant professor of medicine at the CU School of Medicine. “Also, most physicians are not stocking all recommended vaccines.”

Recent estimates show only 62 to 65 percent of adults aged 65 and older received a pneumococcal or influenza vaccine respectively; just 20 percent of high risk adults between 19 and 64 received a pneumococcal vaccine and only 16 percent of those 60 and older got their herpes zoster (shingles) vaccination.

Hurley and her fellow researchers designed a national survey of primary care physicians in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looking at how doctors assessed vaccination status and stocked the 11 recommended adult vaccines in 2012.

“Physicians reported a variety of barriers to vaccine stocking and administration but financial barriers dominated the list,” the study said. “Physicians in smaller, private practice often assume more risks from stocking expensive vaccine inventories and may be particularly affected by these financial barriers.”

According to Hurley, who also practices at Denver Health, many doctors expressed difficulty getting reimbursed by insurance for vaccines.

For example, the herpes zoster vaccine has been recommended since 2008 but is not widely stocked by physicians. One major reason for this, the study says, is that zoster is covered by Medicare Part D, a pharmaceutical benefit, and physicians report problems with reimbursement. At the same time, the vaccine can require substantial out-of-pocket costs for patients, making it less attractive to them as well.

As a result of these difficulties, many physicians are referring patients to pharmacies or public health facilities for vaccinations. “The most commonly reported reasons for referring patients elsewhere for vaccines included insurance not covering the vaccine,” the study said.

There were also problems coordinating vaccine records when done by someone who is not the patient’s primary care physician. The study makes recommendations for improving the overall situation.

It suggests using Immunization Information Systems or IIS, a confidential database that records all vaccine doses administered by providers in a certain area. The system can allow doctors to know the vaccination status of their patients.

The authors point out that the Affordable Care Act addresses financial barriers to vaccination for privately insured patients by requiring insurers to cover recommended vaccines with no co-pays when delivered by in-network providers. There have also been recommendations for legislative action aimed at making Medicare Part D less of an obstacle to adult vaccinations.

“I feel we need to take a more systematic approach to this issue,” Hurley said. “As the population ages this could easily grow into a more serious public health issue.”

Source: Science Daily

The globe is facing a “tidal wave” of cancer, and restrictions on alcohol and sugar need to be considered, say World Health Organization scientists. It predicts the number of cancer cases will reach 24 million a year by 2035, but half could be prevented. The WHO said there was now a “real need” to focus on cancer prevention by tackling smoking, obesity and drinking.

The World Cancer Research Fund said there was an “alarming” level of naivety about diet’s role in cancer. Fourteen million people a year are diagnosed with cancer, but that is predicted to increase to 19 million by 2025, 22 million by 2030 and 24 million by 2035.

The developing world will bear the brunt of the extra cases.

The month of February is dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease and increasing knowledge about prevention. Heart disease, including stroke, is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. However, heart disease can often be prevented when people make healthy choices and manage their health conditions.

At the Center, we provide extensive screening for your heart, going far beyond what a typical physical may entail. We catch heart disease at its earliest stages and help you manage your choices to ensure that your heart stays healthy for years to come.

Next time you feel the flu coming on, think twice before reaching for painkillers: they could do more harm than good. With the flu season underway, millions will be taking flu remedies, which commonly include painkillers. The general medical advice is to take painkillers such as acetaminophen or aspirin. But although such drugs can make you feel better, they also lower fever, which can make the virus itself worse. According to an analysis published last week, painkillers taken to treat fevers could cause 2,000 flu deaths each year in the United States alone. Fever is thought to be an antiviral weapon, because many viruses find it hard to replicate at temperatures above the body’s 98.6 degrees. But research hasn’t made it clear whether relieving fever slows recovery. Some studies show that lowering fever may prolong viral infections and increase the amount of virus we can pass on to others.

Source: NewScientist

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now officially investigating the potential that FDA-approved testosterone products increase the risk of serious adverse cardiovascular outcomes .

The agency cites two studies, one of which was published just two days ago, both reported by heart wire, that suggests men taking the testosterone supplements have an increased risk of death, MI, or ischemic stroke.

“We are providing this alert while we continue to evaluate the information from these studies and other available data and will communicate our final conclusions and recommendations when the evaluation is complete,” according to the FDA.

In the newest study, men treated with testosterone were significantly more likely to have an MI in the first 90 days after starting the medication. In the three months after the start of testosterone therapy, the risk of MI overall was increased by 36% and was even higher in older men. For those aged 65 years and older, the risk of MI was more than twofold higher in the 90 days after filling the prescription.

The second study, which was also an observational analysis, of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients, found that testosterone therapy in men was linked with an increased risk of death, MI, or ischemic stroke.

The agency stresses that testosterone products are approved for use in men with low testosterone levels and an associated medical condition, such as a failure of the testicles to produce testosterone because of a genetic condition or chemotherapy. Other medical conditions include problems with the hypothalamus or pituitary gland that result in low testosterone levels. The FDA says that these testosterone therapies are not approved for men with low levels without the associated medical condition.

The FDA says that patients should not stop taking testosterone therapy unless they first consult with their physician but adds all physicians need to consider the risk/benefit profile when considering a prescription for their patient. “The prescribing information in the drug labels of FDA-approved testosterone products should be followed,” they write.

Source: MedScape

A study by Merritt Hawkins recently looked at the average waiting times to gain access to medical attention across different specialties in different cities across the U.S. The survey found that it could take weeks for a patient to schedule an appointment at cardiology, dermatology, and primary care practices, among others.

Boston is experiencing the longest average doctor appointment wait times of the 15 metro markets examined in the survey: 72 days to see a dermatologist, 66 days to see a family physician, 46 days to see an ob/gyn, 27 days to see a cardiologist, and 16 days to see an orthopedic surgeon. On average, it takes over 45 days to schedule a doctor appointment in the Boston area, the survey indicates. In each of the three years Merritt Hawkins has released the survey (2004, 2009, 2014) Boston has averaged the longest physician appointment wait times among the 15 cities.

Other average physician appointment wait times tracked by the survey include 28 days to see a cardiologist in Denver, 49 days to see a dermatologist in Philadelphia, 35 days to see an ob/gyn in Portland, 18 days to see an orthopedic surgeon in San Diego, and 26 days to see a family physician in New York. Physician appointment wait times tracked in the survey varied from as little as one day to over eight months, with an overall average in all metro areas and all specialties of about 19 days.

“Finding a physician who can see you today, or three weeks from today, can be a challenge, even in urban areas where there is a high ratio of physicians per population,” said Mark Smith, president of Merritt Hawkins. “The demand for doctors is simply outstripping the supply.”

At the Presidential Healthcare Center, we guarantee our patients 24/7 access to their doctor and strive to work around their schedule, not ours. The Center provides “one-stop shopping” for our patients, connecting them with specialists right here in our complex and ensuring that all their needs are met during one convenient visit.

Ever feel like a zombie after just one sleepless night? Your brains certainly do: According to a new study in the journal Sleep, a single night of sleep deprivation results in an uptick of two enzymes usually associated with brain damage.

Researchers from Uppsala Universityin Sweden put 15 young, well-rested and healthy men through a night of total sleep deprivation. When they tested their blood the next morning, they found higher concentrations of the enzyme NSE and S-100B — both biomarkers of cell damage in the brain that could lead to cognitive problems and memory loss.

These findings follow research earlier this year showing that sleep “cleans” your brain of toxins and other substances than can destroy your neurons. “With this finding in mind, once could speculate that the sleep loss-induced rise in circulating levels of NSE and S-100B in our study may be a result of increased neuronal damage,” says study author Christian Benedict, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience at the university. NSE is an enzyme found in all neurons, and S-100B is the “glue of the brain”, Dr. Benedict says. Some research suggests that S100B is important for information processing, and elevated levels make it easy for doctors to detect brain cell damage through a simple blood test.

The researchers havent yet conducted the experiment on women. But findings could apply, since the levels of NSE and S-100B were significantly higher compared to participants’ natural baselines. Still, the levels weren’t higher than those found after a concussion. “A single night of sleep loss is not equally harmful as head injury,” says Dr. Benedict. “However, it does suggest that getting a regular, good night’s sleep may be useful for supporting brain health.”

Read more about the study here.