ANN ARBOR, Mich.—A majority of African American men said they do not go to the doctor because visits are stressful and physicians don’t give adequate information on how to make prescribed behavior or lifestyle changes, a new University of Michig…
Tag Archives | school of public health
Shopping differences between sexes show evolution at work
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The last-minute holiday dash is on: Men tend to rush in for their prized item, pay, and leave. Women study the fabrics, color, texture and price.
The hunting and gathering ritual of yesteryear continues today in malls around t…
Risk of excess weight increases in unsafe neighborhoods
Missouri adults who say that they live in unsafe and unpleasant neighborhoods are one and a half times more likely to be overweight than adults who say they live in safe and pleasant communities, according to a new study. Unsafe traffic, crime and a lack of nice scenery in certain neighborhoods may keep residents from getting enough physical activity, which contributes to becoming or staying overweight, say Ross C. Brownson, Ph.D., of the St. Louis University School of Public Health and colleagues, who collaborated with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services on the study.
Trachoma Leaves Millions Blind, Costs $2.9 Billion to Global Economy
Researchers for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the International Trachoma Initiative have calculated the human toll and economic burden of trachoma, a chronic infection that causes blindness. They estimate that there are 3.8 million cases of blindness and 5.3 million cases of low vision in countries known or suspected to have trachoma. In addition, they estimate $2.9 billion in lost productivity to low vision or blinding trachoma. The results appear in the article “Estimating the burden of trachomatous visual loss” in the April 2003 issue of Ophthalmic Epidemiology.
Managed care plans generally refer patients with pain symptoms to specialists
Primary care physicians under a managed care system were more likely to refer patients to a pain specialist than other physicians were, according to a University of Washington study. The findings run contrary to common beliefs that managed care systems limit access to specialists in order to save money. But if that was true before, it is not true now, according to the findings, which are being published in the February issue of Health Services Research.
Don't eat soya if you're pregnant
IS EATING soya during pregnancy bad for your baby? That question is back in the spotlight thanks to a study showing severe long-term effects on the sexual development of male rats whose mothers ate a chemical found in soya. The animal study does not prove that soya has this effect on people, and no such effects have been observed in Asia where soya is a big part of many people’s diets. But the researchers say it is enough to spark concern and deserves further study. “The urologists on this project are actually advising pregnant women to avoid soya,” says Sabra Klein at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland.
Food fortification spurred by military purchases
Food fortification with vitamins and minerals is one of the most effective methods to improve health and prevent nutritional deficiencies. It is greatly responsible for the virtual eradication of disease such as goiter, rickets, beriberi, and pellagra in the United States. New research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that developing nations could implement successful food fortification programs by requiring fortified foods for their military personnel. The conclusions are based on a detailed review of the history of food fortification programs in the U.S., which is published in the January 22, 2003, edition of the journal Economic Development and Cultural Change.
Study: Aging boomers won’t boost health-care costs as much as predicted
Baby boomers will increase Medicare and other medical expenditures as they age but not nearly as much as some analysts have feared, according to a new study. The study, which appears in the January issue of the Journal of Gerontology, suggests that by living longer, many baby boomers will pass the ages at which the most “heroic,” and hence expensive, efforts are made to prolong their lives. Once members of that generation survive into their mid-80s or so and beyond, many medical procedures will become too risky for their older bodies and will be avoided in many cases.
19.2 Million U.S. Adults Have Chronic Kidney Disease
Eleven percent of the U.S. adult population has varying stages of chronic kidney disease, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers concluded that chronic kidney disease warrants improved detection and classification using standardized criteria to improve patient outcomes. Their research is published in the January 2003 issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.
Fossil fuels for cooking, heating may be best for world’s 2 billion poor
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the use of fossil fuels for household cooking and heating may make more environmental sense for the estimated 2 billion rural poor in the world, according to a researcher from the University of California, Berkeley. Because they contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuels have been largely dismissed as a viable alternative for the one-third of the world’s population who now use coal and local biomass – including wood, crop residues and dung – for cooking and heating, said Kirk R. Smith, professor and chair of environmental health sciences at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. Efforts have been focused on equipping the rural poor with renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power.
Satellite Could Help Predict Hantaviral Transmission Risk
Researchers report that satellite imagery could be used to determine areas at high-risk for exposure to Sin Nombre virus (SNV), a rodent-born disease that causes the often fatal hantaviral pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in humans. According to the researchers, satellite imaging detects the distinct environmental conditions that may serve as a refuge for the disease-carrying deer mice. Higher populations of infected deer mice increase the risk of HPS to humans.
Environmental Enrichment Reverses Learning Impairments from Lead Poisoning
Environmental enrichment that stimulates brain activity can reverse the long-term learning deficits caused by lead poisoning, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. It has long been known that lead poisoning in children affects their cognitive and behavioral development. Despite significant efforts to reduce lead contamination in homes, childhood lead poisoning remains a major public health problem with an estimated 34 million housing units in the United States containing lead paint. The Hopkins study is the first to demonstrate that the long-term deficits in cognitive function caused by lead can be reversed and offers a basis for the treatment of childhood lead intoxication.
Generalized anxiety disorder, peptic ulcers linked
A new finding of a link between an anxiety disorder and peptic ulcer disease lends support to the view that this gastrointestinal disease and anxiety disorder may share a common link. In recent years, attention has focused on a more biological element with the identification of bacteria as a cause of peptic ulcers. “The identification of Helicobacter pylori as an infectious cause of peptic ulcer disease has been considered by many to disprove the possibility that there is an important relationship between anxiety disorders and gastrointestinal disease,” says study author Renee D. Goodwin, Ph.D., from the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York City. “Over the last several years research on the causes and treatments for peptic ulcer disease has neglected the links with psychiatric/psychological factors,” she notes.
Vaccine against virus linked to cervical cancer appears effective
A study involving almost 2,400 women has shown that a vaccine that prevents infection with one of the viruses linked to cervical cancer is generally safe and effective. In most of the world, cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among women.
Dietary vitamin E associated with sharply lower risk of Parkinson’s
Previous research has implicated oxidative damage (cell degradation) in the development of Parkinson’s disease. Because vitamins E, C and carotenoids are antioxidants, researchers recently studied the associations between their intake and risk of Parkinson’s disease. Their conclusions point not to supplements, but to dietary intake of vitamin E (from the foods we eat) as having a protective factor in the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. The study is reported in the October 22 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Nearness of markets boosts people’s intake of nutritious fruits and vegetables
Black Americans’ fruit and vegetable intake increased by 32 percent for each additional supermarket in the neighborhoods where they lived, according to a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health study. White Americans’ fruit and vegetable consumption increased by 11 percent with the presence of one or more supermarket in their neighborhoods, the study showed. “We don’t know why we saw a larger influence of supermarkets on the diets of black Americans compared to white Americans,” said Dr. Kimberly Morland of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. “Based on our previous research showing a lack of private transportation in predominately black neighborhoods, we suspect that white Americans may have a larger geographic area in which to select places to patronize.
20 years laters, no significant cancer increase in Three Mile Island residents
In a 20-year follow-up study of mortality data on residents living within a five-mile radius of Three Mile Island (TMI), researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) found no significant increase overall in deaths from cancer. “This survey of data, which covers the normal latency period for most cancers, confirms our earlier analysis that radioactivity released during the nuclear accident at TMI does not appear to have caused an overall increase in cancer deaths among residents of that area over the follow-up period, l979 to l998,” said Evelyn Talbott, Dr.P.H., professor of epidemiology at GSPH and principal investigator on the study.