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HIV-positive inmates say often have unprotected sex before, after release

Inmates infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, engaged in unprotected sex both before imprisonment and after their release at “exceedingly high rates,” according to a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine study. Seventy-eight percent of N.C. men and women prisoners carrying the virus who had a main sex partner reported unprotected sex with that person in the year before they were locked up, the study showed. Twenty-six percent of them interviewed again soon after release admitted to already having sex without condoms with their main sex partners.

Religious high schoolers more optimistic, have better self-esteem

High school seniors who consider themselves religious have significantly higher self-esteem and hold more positive attitudes about life than do their less religious peers, a new study shows. The research, part of the larger National Study of Youth and Religion, revealed a statistical association between religion and higher self-esteem among 12th-graders who went to religious services at least once a week or who professed deeply held spiritual views. “This was contrary to the belief held by some people that religion is associated with psychological neurosis or dysfunction,” said the study’s lead author. “These findings seem to suggest the opposite — that religion is associated with a constructive outlook.”

Black Americans especially mistrustful of medical research

If medical scientists sometimes find it hard to recruit enough volunteers — especially blacks — to participate in research studies, there may be a good reason, a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study shows. A surprisingly high percentage of Americans asked — almost 80 percent of blacks and 52 percent of whites — were suspicious that they might be used as “guinea pigs” without their consent

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.

Study shows weight loss decreases ACE enzyme that controls blood pressure

People who find it hard to lose all the weight they want or that their doctors recommend should take heart, a North Carolina scientist says. New research suggests that losing even modest amounts of weight can pay off in better health. The study showed for the first time that shedding excess pounds decreases activity of a key enzyme known to play a central role in high blood pressure. Less body weight translates into lower blood pressure, the study found, and hence lower risks for cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney disease and other health problems.