Blue collar workers work longer and in worse health than their white collar bosses

From the 21 July Eureka news alert

While more Americans are working past age 65 by choice, a growing segment of the population must continue to work well into their sixties out of financial necessity. Research conducted by the Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine looked at aging, social class and labor force participation rates to illustrate the challenges that lower income workers face in the global marketplace. The study used the burden of arthritis to examine these connections because 49 million U.S. adults have arthritis, and 21 million suffer activity limitations as a result. The condition is also relatively disabling and painful but not fatal. The researchers found that blue collar workers are much more likely to work past 65 than white collar workers and are much more likely to suffer from conditions like arthritis, reducing their quality of life and work productivity.

The study findings are reported online in the American Journal of Public Health.

The investigators calculated estimates and compared age-and occupational specific data for workers with and without arthritis, merging data from the U.S. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and National Death Index. They studied 17,967 individuals for the analysis out of 38,473 MEPS participants.

“Arthritis serves as a powerful lens for looking at these convergent phenomena,” said Alberto J. Caban-Martinez, DO, PhD, MPH, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and first author. “We found that blue-collar workers with arthritis are in much worse health than are all other workers, suggesting that they are struggling to stay in the workforce despite their health condition.”…

Click here to read the rest of the news article

Animals Containing Human Material: Time To Review The Ethics Say UK Scientists

From the 22 July 2011 Medical News Today article

 

Implanting mice with human tumors to test new anti-cancer drugs, injecting rats with human stem cells to find out how the brain repairs itself after a stroke, inserting human genes into the DNA of goats to make a protein that treats human blood clotting disorders; these are some examples of how science uses “animals containing human material” (ACHM). While they are invaluable tools for biomedical research, their use raises serious ethical questions, and a new report released on Thursday from the UK’s Academy of Medical Sciences says it is time to revisit these questions, and recommends the UK government set up an expert body to oversee experiments that use animals containing human material.

The report’s authors say that although the vast majority of research that uses animals containing human material, or “ACHM”, does not raise new ethical or regulatory questions, they are concerned that some sensitive areas like exploring cognition and reproduction, and giving animals human-like physical characteristics, need to be controlled.[Flahiff’s emphasis]..

..An example of a key area they highlighted that concerns scientists and the public, is using ACHM in brain research. What if, inserting human cells into the brains of animals results in animals having human-like “cerebral” functions: to be capable of consciousness, awareness and show human-like behaviour, they ask?

Click here to read the entire news article

Click here to link to the above report (Animals Containing Human Materials)and related downloads 

Related articles

• Regulations proposed for animal – human chimaeras (nature.com)
• Experts warn over humanising apes (independent.co.uk)

Evidence Links Increases In Public Health Spending To Declines In Preventable Deaths

Full Text Online Article from the 11 July 2011 issue of Health Affairs – At the Intersection of Health, Healthcare, and Policy

[Abstract]Public health encompasses a broad array of programs designed to prevent the occurrence of disease and injury within communities. But policy makers have little evidence to draw on when determining the value of investments in these program activities, which currently account for less than 5 percent of US health spending. We examine whether changes in spending by local public health agencies over a thirteen-year period contributed to changes in rates of community mortality from preventable causes of death, including infant mortality and deaths due to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.

We found that mortality rates fell between 1.1 percent and 6.9 percent for each 10 percent increase in local public health spending. These results suggest that increased public health investments can produce measurable improvements in health, especially in low-resource communities. [Flahiff’s emphasis].However, more money by itself is unlikely to generate significant and sustainable health gains; improvements in public health practices are needed as well.

Click here to read the rest of the article

Related articles

• Massachusetts Receives Failing Mark on Public Health Report Card (hcfama.org)
• Tough action needed for better public health (guardian.co.uk)
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Why do I like Google+ even in Medicine?

Why do I like Google+ even in Medicine?.

Blog posting  by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Science Roll: A doctor’s journey in genetics PhD and medicine through Web 2.0

Excerpts:

I’ve been playing around Google+ for the last couple of days and I have to admit it I really love it. Why? I’ve been using Facebook as a source of professional information but I have to add those people I like to follow as friends even if in most cases we are not friends. A few reasons why I useGoogle+ now for this purpose.

• In Google+, we can easily create circles and start following people who we are not friends with.
• It’s easy to determine who can see the information I share (everyone, only circles, only people in my contact list)
• All Google tools are integrated.
• I can search for people with specific words in their biographiesthrough Google.
• I can use Spark for following expressions.
• It might make it simpler to create private circles so then medical communication can take place.
• I can see the notifications even in GMail or GDocs.

This is a real professional networking site, while Facebook is just a playground for friends.

For more details and tricks, here is the Complete Google Plus Cheat Sheetinfographics.

A Medical Librarian’s take on Google+ 

Excerpts from the Krafty Librarian blog item – More on G+

I am on Google+ and I am not sure if I like it.  I am sporadically kicking the tires, testing it out.

Here are some reasons I like it:

• I like having everything Google together.  Iam not sure if I like how it brings up another window when I click the links to my email, calendar, docs, etc. on the Google bar, but I am not sure what work better.
• I like the idea of Hangout, but I can only use it at home because it requires me to install a Google plugin and I don’t have a microphone or camera on my work computer.  I can see it being used for web conferencing and other professional things.  I tried Hangout one weekend but nobody in my Circles were hanging out so I really couldn’t test it.  I think I would Hangout more if I could do it on my phone.  I would also like to know if I could Hangout with people outside of my circle.  For example, I would like to attend topical Hangouts but I may not want to add those people to my circles.
• Setting up your circles is much more intuitive and easier than setting up friend lists in Facebook.  It is really easy to do, you can click multiple people, drag and drop and easily create new circles.  The Facebook friends lists were always something sort of hidden.
• Posts, it automatically and easily asks you who (which circles) you want your wall posts to be seen by.  In Facebook you have to play around with the post defaults and friend lists and remember to hit the arrow to change things when you don’t want a wall post to be seen by your default group.

Some of the things I don’t like:

• Not enough people.  Yeah all of my geek friends are on it, but nobody else.  One family member is on it but he is always playing with cutting edge stuff.  So in order to share things online with family and friends, I still have to go onto Facebook since the majority of my non-geek friends are not on G+. I don’t like going to different places to share information (one reason I am rarely on LinkedIn), so I don’t see myself using it until/unless more of my regular friends join.
• +1 button is confusing, until you know it is just Google’s version of Like.  After that it is just as boring as the Like button.  I would have liked it if you could hit the +1 button and then comment on the item or person’s comment……..

Related articles

• Google+ in Medicine and Pharma? (scienceroll.com)
• Some feedback on the Google+ Experience (fiberevolution.com)
• Google+’s Circles: Popular! (technologizer.com)
• Get Google+ Invitation at Techstic (techstic.com)

E-health Records Should Play Bigger Role In Patient Safety Initiatives, Researchers Advocate

http://diseasemanagementcareblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/more-on-electronic-health-record.html

From the 20th July Medical News Today article

Patient safety researchers are calling for the expanded use of electronic health records (EHRs) to address the disquieting number of medical errors in the healthcare system that can lead to readmissions and even death. Their commentary is in the July 6 issue of JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association.

“Leading healthcare organizations are using electronic health records to address patient safety issues,” said Dean Sittig, Ph.D., co-author and professor at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Biomedical Informatics. “But, the use of EHRs to address patient safety issues hasn’t hit the mainstream yet and we think everyone should be doing this.”

One way to fast-track the use of EHRs to address patient safety issues would be to incorporate the annual patient safety goals of The Joint Commission, a healthcare accreditation organization, into the criteria for the certification of EHRs, said co-author Ryan Radecki, M.D., who is scheduled to join the UTHealth faculty Aug. 1….

Click here to read the rest of the news article

Related articles

• Make Patient Safety Goals Part Of Meaningful Use (informationweek.com)
• Electronic health records software poses security concerns (medcitynews.com)
• Wayne Memorial Hospital Selects Electronic Forms Software from Access to Seamlessly Integrate e-Forms and Clinical Data into EHRs via Meditech (prweb.com)
• More On Electronic Health Record Prescribing Errors (diseasemanagementcareblog.blogspot.com)

About 75 Percent Of Senior Households Have Little Or No Buffer Against Trauma

Image via Wikipedia

From the 21 July 2011 Medical News Today article

Outliving one’s resources and falling into poverty is an increasingly common experience among today’s senior citizens, according to a new report produced jointly by the Heller School’s Institute on Assets and Social Policy and the public policy research and advocacy organization Demos.

And, researchers say, the situation could deteriorate further if cuts in Social Security are made.

The report, “From Bad to Worse: Senior Economic Insecurity On the Rise,” found that seniors have too few resources and too little time to plan for a fulfilling retirement.

Click here to read the rest of the news article

Related articles

• Social Security: Why Seniors Are Mad as Hell (dailyfinance.com)

Lungs A Casualty Of War For Iraq Soldiers; Rare Bronchiolitis ID’d

Image via Wikipedia

From the 21 July Health News Today item

American soldiers coming back from extended service in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering extremely rare breathing problems according to a new study. Exposure to poisonous toxins may be to blame. Constrictive bronchiolitis disease is irreversible and severe cases often require a lung transplant. These same problems were seen during the first Gulf War….

…Dr. Michael Light, a professor of pulmonary medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine says the following:

“Pulmonary abnormalities probably are real after exposure to whatever it might be, from Middle Eastern deployments.”

However, what about the local residents? Do they suffer from the same breathing problems?

Light adds:

“They’re exposed to the same things, but we don’t know if they get this problem. This is a wake-up call that there may be ways that can reduce the impact of these exposures.”

Click here to read the entire news article

Related articles

• Occupational lung diseases in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (eurekalert.org)

Is Anesthesia Dangerous?

From the 22 July Medical News Today article

In pure numerical terms, anesthesia-associated mortality has risen again. The reasons for this are the disproportionate increase in the numbers of older and multimorbid patients and surgical procedures that would have been unthinkable in the past. This is the result of a selective literature review of André Gottschalk’s working group at the Bochum University Hospital in the current issue of Deutsches Arzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108[27]: 469-74)….

Click here to read the rest of the article

Related articles

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• Anesthesia-monitoring device maker NeuroWave looking for $5M investment (medcitynews.com)
• Misuse of anesthesia could cause hepatitis virus transmission (physorg.com)

Clinical Preventive Services for Women: Closing the Gaps

 

From the Institute of Medicine press release

 

As a centerpiece of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, the focus on preventive services is a profound shift from a reactive system that primarily responds to acute problems and urgent needs to one that helps foster optimal health and well-being. The ACA addresses preventive services for both men and women of all ages, and women in particular stand to benefit from additional preventive health services. The inclusion of evidence-based screenings, counseling and procedures that address women’s greater need for services over the course of a lifetime may have a profound impact for individuals and the nation as a whole.
Given the magnitude of change, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services charged the IOM with reviewing what preventive services are important to women’s health and well-being and then recommending which of these should be considered in the development of comprehensive guidelines. The IOM defined preventive health services as measures—including medications, procedures, devices, tests, education and counseling—shown to improve well-being, and/or decrease the likelihood or delay the onset of a targeted disease or condition.

The IOM recommends that women’s preventive services include:

 

• improved screening for cervical cancer, counseling for sexually transmitted infections, and counseling and screening for HIV;
• a fuller range of contraceptive education, counseling, methods, and services so that women can better avoid unwanted pregnancies and space their pregnancies to promote optimal birth outcomes;
• services for pregnant women including screening for gestational diabetes and lactation counseling and equipment to help women who choose to breastfeed do so successfully;
• at least one well-woman preventive care visit annually for women to receive comprehensive services; and
• screening and counseling for all women and adolescent girls for interpersonal and domestic violence in a culturally sensitive and supportive manner.

Prolonged TV Watching’s Health Outcomes

From the  18 July 2011 US National Library of Medicine (NLM) Director’s Comments article

Watching television for more than two hours a day is associated with significantly higher risks of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death from all causes, finds a comprehensive analysis of prior research recently published in Journal of the American Medical Association.

Eight international studies suggest two hours of daily television viewing is associated with a 20 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes, a 15 percent higher chance of cardiovascular disease, and a 13 percent increased risk of all-cause mortality for men and women.

The findings suggest each two hour increment of daily TV watching results in an absolute risk of 176 new cases of type 2 diabetes, 38 new cases of fatal cardiovascular disease, and 104 new cases of all-cause mortality among 100,000 persons each year.

The researchers’ findings are based on a meta-analysis of eight studies about the broader health impacts of television watching.

Meta-analyses assess a cluster of previous research studies within a highly similar area. The findings sometimes suggest commonalities or aggregate patterns, which are more evidence-based than the findings from individual studies. Meta-analyses also suggest areas where more comprehensive research is desirable – and sometimes identify new research agendas.

The studies were done in four nations and published between 1970-2010. The authors note the current study is the first quantitative and systematic assessment of television viewing and health research.

In the meta-analysis of television viewing’s health impacts, its two authors only assessed research undergirded by large sample sizes. All eight studies featured long durations of participant follow-up, and well-established prospective study methods. Prospective studies follow the health of a cohort, or group of similar persons, over time and often assess the consequences of a common exposure (such as television viewing) on health outcomes.

The authors, from the University of Southern Denmark and the Harvard School of Public Health, explain the first generation of research tied prolonged television viewing with unhealthy eating habits and less exercise. The authors add a second generation of research suggested an association between TV viewing and biological risk factors, such as obesity and adverse lipid levels.

The current findings represent a third generation of research that suggests an association between prolonged television viewing and disease risks, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Moreover, the current findings suggest prolonged television viewing is linked to an elevated risk of death from all causes.

Within the article, the authors discuss how TV viewing displaces time on other activities, such as sleeping, exercise, and reading. The authors explain future researchers need to better contextualize the impact of TV viewing and health outcomes. For example, they suggest future research might assess the health impacts of TV watching in comparison with a range of the activities it displaces.

The authors also suggest reversing current emphases to note the impact of reducing TV watching on health outcomes. They write (and we quote): ‘Further study is needed to determine whether reducing prolonged TV viewing can prevent chronic disease morbidity and mortality’ (end of quote).

While MedlinePlus.gov does not have a health topic page devoted to the health impacts of TV viewing, a medical encyclopedia article about television watching is available. The article explains the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television viewing for children under age two, and fewer than two hours per day for older children.

Of course, the current research suggests the impact of prolonged television viewing may be deleterious to adult health. It will be interesting to see the extent that future research is consistent with the eight studies identified in the current meta-analysis and how these yield suggestions for a more therapeutic use of our time.

To find the encyclopedia article, type ‘television watching’ in the search box on MedlinePlus.gov’s home page. Then, click on ‘television watching.’

Before I go, this reminder……. MedlinePlus.gov is authoritative,….. free…. does not accept advertising …and is written to help you.

To find MedlinePlus.gov, just type in ‘MedlinePlus.gov’ in any web browser, such as Firefox, Safari, Netscape, or Explorer.

We encourage you to use MedlinePlus and please recommend it to your friends. MedlinePlus is available in English and Spanish.

Your comments about this or any of our podcasts are always welcome. We welcome suggestions about future topics too!

Please email Dr. Lindberg anytime at: NLMDirector@nlm.nih.gov

That’s NLMDirector (one word) @nlm.nih.gov

FDA Proposes Health ‘App’ Guidelines

From the press release

Want to know how a medication might affect your breast milk? Got a question about a disability, aging, mental health?

There’s an app for all that—and a whole lot more.

The variety and availability of smartphone applications—or apps—have exploded in recent years as multi-tasking consumers increasingly use their phones to keep up with the latest on news, finance, and health. Apple says its iPhone App Store has more than 350,000 apps, and Android, BlackBerry, Windows, and other smartphones account for tens of thousands more. With so many apps on the market, it’s no wonder the number of health care related apps has also spiraled.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now proposing guidelines that outline the small number of mobile apps the agency plans to oversee—medical apps that could present a risk to patients if the apps don’t work as intended.  The proposed guidelines were posted on the Federal Register website Thursday.

Consumers may weigh-in on the guidelines during a public comment period that ends Oct. 19

For more information, visit FDA’s Mobile Medical Apps page.

FDA policy advisor Bakul Patel says some of the new mobile apps are designed to help consumers manage their own health and wellness—like the National Institutes of Health’s LactMed app, which gives nursing mothers information about the effects of medicines on breast milk and nursing infants.

Other apps are aimed at helping health care providers improve and facilitate patient care—like the Radiation Emergency Medical Management (REMM) app, which gives health care providers guidance on diagnosing and treating radiation injuries. There are even apps to aid diagnosis of rashes and heart irregularities.

FDA has already cleared a handful of mobile medical apps used by health care professionals, such as a smartphone-based ultrasound and an application for iPhones and iPads that allows doctors to view medical images and X-rays.

There’s an app for that!

“There are advantages to using medical apps, but consumers and health care professionals should have a balanced awareness of the benefits and risks,” Patel says.

Apps can give consumers valuable health information in seconds and are opening innovative ways for technology to improve health care, Patel says. However, the small group of mobile medical apps FDA proposes to oversee present a potential risk—these apps may impact how a currently regulated medical device (such as an ultrasound) performs, he adds.

FDA is proposing to oversee mobile medical apps that:

• Are used as an accessory to an FDA-regulated medical device. For example, an app could enable a health care professional to view medical images on an iPad and make a diagnosis;
• Transform a mobile platform into a regulated medical device. For example, an app that turns a smartphone into an electrocardiography, or ECG, machine to detect abnormal heart rhythms or determine if a patient is experiencing a heart attack.

If you want to provide input on FDA’s proposal, you can submit your comment online athttp://www.regulations.gov/ or in writing to: Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD  20852.

“We want to hear from as many consumers, advocacy groups, health care professionals, and software creators and distributors as possible to help us finalize the proposed guidelines,” Patel says.

This article appears on FDA’s Consumer Updates page, which features the latest on all FDA-regulated products.

Posted July 19, 2011

 

Please Note Well!—At this time it seems that consumer health apps (as Mobile MedlinePlus) will not be covered in the regulations.

http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/Guidanc…

Competitive Intelligence – A Selective Resource Guide – Updated and Revised July 2011

The Competitive Intelligence Resource Guide was created for legal professionals.

However, this guide does have quite a few resources related to health and medicine in these and other areas…

• Television and Radio News Transcripts
• Selected Web, Blog, News, Video and Alert Services
• Web Directories and Portals

Rude Surgeons Hurt Patients, Increase Costs

 

From the 20 July 2011 Health Day article

WEDNESDAY, July 20 (HealthDay News) — The behavior of surgeons in the operating room affects more than their patients’ health, new research indicates.

It also plays a part in determining health-care costs, the number of medical errors and patient satisfaction, according to a commentary in the July issue of The Archives of Surgery. Surgeons who are civil, the report claimed, can more effectively help their patients and reduce costs…

Click here to read the rest of the news article

Related articles

• Polite doctors ‘make for healthier patients’ (telegraph.co.uk)
• Fewer Surgical Errors Reported at VA Medical Facilities (nlm.nih.gov)
• Medical Errors Down at U.S. Veterans’ Hospitals (nlm.nih.gov)