Health ShortsMay 2008Shopping with DASH in Mind
Diet Creates BP Risk in ‘Stroke Belt’ The southern region of the United States, often known as the “stroke belt,” has a high prevalence of hypertension and the highest rate of stroke mortality in the country. Data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES–III) reveal a diet in this region that is high in sodium and saturated fat and low in potassium, magnesium and calcium. [SOURCE: Ihab Hajjar and Theodore Kotchen, “Regional variations of blood pressure in the United States are associated with regional variations in dietary intakes: the NHANES-III data,” Journal of Nutrition, January, 2003] Low-Fat Milk Products Lower BP Persons eating more than three servings a day of low-fat dairy products had systolic blood pressure readings 2.6 points lower than those eating less than half a serving, according to a survey of 4,797 participants in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Family Heart Study. The researchers could not establish a link between calcium and the lower blood pressure readings. They believe that higher intake of potassium and magnesium may have been a factor. Those who ate less low-fat dairy products also had poorer diets–eating more butter, hot dogs, burgers and eggs. [SOURCE: Lisa Habib, “Low-fat dairy lowers blood pressure,” WebMD Health News, June 26, 2006; Luc Djosse, Hypertension, July, 2006] Is Hypertension in Your Future? If you’re 55 and still have normal blood pressure, don’t count on it staying that way. Your lifetime risk of developing hypertension is 90 percent. [SOURCE: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Your Guide To Lowering Your Blood Pressure with DASH.”] Quads, Hamstrings Critical in Soccer Strong, well conditioned quadriceps and hamstring muscles are essential for playing soccer. The quads are used for running, jumping and kicking. The hamstrings provide acceleration and help stabilize the knee when landing from a jump or making sharp turns. Injuries often occur because of 1) a strength imbalance between the quads and hamstrings of the same leg or 2) an imbalance between the dominant and non-dominant leg. [SOURCE: A. Head, “Isokinetic hamstrings and quadriceps evaluation of professional soccer polayers,” Journal of Sports Sciences, March, 2004] Re-Thinking NSAIDs for Injuries Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen are often recommended to relieve the pain and inflammation that occur after an injury to muscles or ligaments. For longer term use (after the first two or three days), some doctors are beginning to re-think the use of NSAIDs. The idea is that the inflammatory response is the body’s way of clearing away dead muscle fiber and preparing the area for healing. Studies using NSAIDs in the injured muscles of rabbits have noted a positive effect for up to seven days but decreased force production after 28 days. [SOURCE: Thomas M. DeBerardino, M.D., “Quadriceps injury,” emedicine from WebMD, last updated June 5, 2006; Anthony Brothers, et al, “Basic clinical management of muscle strains and tears,” The Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine, June, 2003] Quads More Dominant in Women A study of men and women performing single leg squats found that women were more likely to use their quadriceps in the exercise while men were more likely to use their hamstrings. “We concluded that women are quadriceps dominant and men are hamstring dominant during the performance of SLS against body weight resistance on either a stable or labile surface condition,” the authors wrote. [SOURCE: James W. Youdas, John H. Hollman, James R. Hitchcock, Gregory J. Hoyme and Jeremiah J. Johnsen, “Comparison of hamstring and quadriceps femoris electromyographic activity between men and women during a single-limb squat on both a stable and labile surface,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, February, 2007] Causes of Quad, Hamstring Injuries Both elite and recreational athletes are often sidelined by injuries to the quadriceps or hamstring muscles of the thigh. Causes include:
Teens at High Risk for STDs About a quarter of all new cases of sexually transmitted diseases each year occur among sexually active teenagers. Adolescents are particularly likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors and have unprotected sex and multiple partners. Because of biological changes that occur during adolescence, they are also more vulnerable to STDs. [SOURCE: “Exposure to sexually transmitted diseases–topic overview,” WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise, last updated February 9, 2007] Condoms Don’t Always Protect Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus that lives in the skin or mucous membranes and can be transmitted by sexual contact. A few types of HPV are associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer. HPV is common and usually undetected. Genital warts can appear but often there are no symptoms and the virus can be passed on by a person who has no visible warts. Condoms have been shown to reduce the risk of genital warts and cervical cancer. However, HPV can infect skin that is not covered by a condom. [SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control, “Genital HPV infections Fact Sheet,” August, 2006] Experts Say Treatment Under-Utilized Hydroxyurea has been demonstrated effective for lessening the effects of sickle cell disease but appears to be under-utilized, according to a 14-person expert panel convened by the National Institutes of Health. In a report issued on February 27, 2008, the panel concluded that worry about adverse effects has led some doctors to overlook the benefits of the drug which was approved in 1998 for the treatment of sickle cell disease. Long-term use of hydroxyurea can cause tumors or leukemia, but the panel found that these adverse effects are mostly “theoretical” and have never been demonstrated among sickle cell patients using the drug. [SOURCE: Kate Traynor, “Experts urge wider use of hydroxyurea for sickle cell disease,” American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, April 1, 2008] Patients Needing Pain Relief Not Addicts Sickle cell patients, because of the complications of their disease, frequently need pain medication and sometimes feel they do not get the relief they need because medical staff are overly concerned about the potential for drug addiction. Among patients with sickle cell disease, studies have found a substance abuse prevalence of 0.2 to 2.0 percent–no higher than that of the overall population. Yet one survey found that 63 percent of nurses and 53 percent of emergency room doctors believed that as many as 20 percent of their sickle cell patients had a substance abuse disorder. There is a feeling among some patients that these views have a “racial undertone.” [SOURCE: Alan K. Geller and M. Kevin O’Connor, “The sickle cell crisis: a dilemma in pain relief,” Mayo Clinic Proceedings, March, 2008; Barron H. Lerner, M.D., “In a lifetime of sickle cell, the evolution of a disease,” New York Times, October 9, 2007] Children Suffer Early Complications Children with sickle cell anemia rarely exhibit the characteristic effects of anemia such as fatigue and lack of energy. They may have less stamina on the playground than other children, however, and they are at risk of infections such as pneumonia and meningitis. About 11 percent of sickle cell patients suffer strokes before the age of 20. And priapism–a painful, prolonged erection unrelated to sexual excitement–occurs at a median age of 12 in males with sickle cell anemia. [SOURCE: Ashok Raj, M.D., “Sickle cell anemia,” emedicine from WebMD, last updated October 4, 2006] AIDS Mortality Rate Still High The AIDS mortality rate in the United States remains high at about 50 percent. That is double the death rate from AIDS in the European Union and 10 times the rate in the United Kingdom. [SOURCE; Kevin DeCock, Harold Jaffe, “Update on epidemiology of HIV, hepatitis, and STDs, CROI, 14th Conference of Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, 2007] Circumcision Protects against STDs Several recent studies have found that male circumcision offers protection from the acquisition of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. A randomized study in Kenya found that circumcised men had a 50 percent reduction in HIV incidence. One study found that protective effects occurred 12 to 21 months following circumcision. [SOURCE: Myron S. Cohen, M.D., “Highlights of the 16th biennial meeting of the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research,” Medscape Infectious Diseases, August 18, 2005] | ArchiveAugust 2008 |
The information on this site is intended to increase your awareness and understanding of specific health issues. It should not be used for diagnosis or as a substitute for health care by your physician. | |
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