Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/ en Copyright 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:33:10 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Health center links food-borne illnesses with long-term health problems: A new study has found that "survivors of severe cases of food-borne illnesses can suffer lifelong health problems." Tanya Roberts, a board chairwoman of the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention tracked five major pathogens which "can cause paralysis, kidney failure, heart infections, neurological problems, and, in children, mental retardation, according to a white paper co-authored by Roberts that the center released Thursday." The group "is a member of the Make Our Food Safe coalition, which is pressing Congress to pass legislation by the end of this year that would strengthen the Food and Drug Administration's power to police domestic and imported food."

]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/11/health-center-links-food-borne-illnesses-with-long-term-health-problems.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/11/health-center-links-food-borne-illnesses-with-long-term-health-problems.html epidemiology Food Safety Prevention research Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:33:10 -0500 Governments look to community-level solutions for obesity. The Wall Street Journal (11/10, Dalton) reports that some countries' governments have stopped focusing on individual discipline to combat obesity, and instead are working to make entire communities more healthy by reducing the opportunities to live unhealthily. Laura Kettel Khan, an obesity expert at the CDC, says that "people are finally acknowledging that the obesity problem is so pervasive that it isn't just because people are making bad choices." The Journal describes obesity programs across Europe and in the US, noting that these initiatives are taking off because obesity has become too expensive a problem to handle on an individual basis.

]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/11/governments-look-to-community-level-solutions-for-obesity.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/11/governments-look-to-community-level-solutions-for-obesity.html Chronic Disease Community Health Health Education Prevention behavioral change policy Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:46:13 -0500 HO finds HIV/AIDS leading cause of death among women worldwide. The World Health Organization has discovered that the "AIDS virus is the leading cause of death and disease among women between the ages of 15 and 44." Indeed, "women enjoy a biological advantage because they tend to live six to eight years longer than men," WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan pointed out. "But in many parts of the world they suffer serious disadvantages because of poverty [and] poorer access to healthcare:. The 91-page report by the organization "lays out the hurdles women face in getting the healthcare they need at various stages of life."  The report said that "accidental injuries take a toll on girls and younger women," while "chronic diseases account for almost half of the deaths among older women." Dr. Chan noted, however, that the "obstacles that stand in the way of better health for women are not primarily technical or medical in nature." Rather, "they are social and political, and the two go together." Thus, the world "will not see significant progress as long as women are regarded as second-class citizens," Dr. Chan argued.

]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/11/ho-finds-hivaids-leading-cause-of-death-among-women-worldwide.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/11/ho-finds-hivaids-leading-cause-of-death-among-women-worldwide.html Community Health International Health epidemiology infectious diseases Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:43:19 -0500 Fitness Levels Decline With Age, Especially After 45!!. This so-called research gets the fickle finger of fate award  Published in Archives of Internal Medicine;this needed research to validate it?  And there are those who say we need to spend more on research!

]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/fitness-levels-decline-with-age-especially-after-45.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/fitness-levels-decline-with-age-especially-after-45.html Surveillance epidemiology Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:47:58 -0500 M. D. Anderson Redefines Screening Guidelines for Breast, Cervical and Colorectal Cancers.  Drawing on years of experience in cancer research and patient care, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center released today the most comprehensive, risk-based screening guidelines publicly available to date for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers (also see the MDAC Screening Guides). The new recommendations represent the first wave of an effort by M. D. Anderson to improve the effectiveness of efforts to prevent and detect cancer at its earliest, most treatable stage by reconstructing and expanding its screening, risk reduction and diagnostic guidelines across eight disease sites. According to the American Cancer Society

  • New cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in 192,370 women and 40,170 will die from breast cancer
  • 11,270 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed in women and 4,070 women will die from cervical cancer
  • New cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed in 106,100 men and women and 49,920 men and women will die from colorectal cancer
]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/m-d-anderson-redefines-screening-guidelines-for-breast-cervical-and-colorectal-cancers.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/m-d-anderson-redefines-screening-guidelines-for-breast-cervical-and-colorectal-cancers.html Chronic Disease Prevention Surveillance epidemiology Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:45:00 -0500 US Patients Five Times More Likely To Spend Last Days In ICU Than Patients In England Patients who die in the hospital in the United States are almost five times as likely to have spent part of their last hospital stay in the ICU than patients in England. What's more, over the age of 85, ICU usage among terminal patients is eight times higher in the US than in England, according to new research that compared the two countries' use of intensive care services during final hospitalizations.]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/us-patients-five-times-more-likely-to-spend-last-days-in-icu-than-patients-in-england.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/us-patients-five-times-more-likely-to-spend-last-days-in-icu-than-patients-in-england.html Economics International Health Technology research Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:42:52 -0500 AAP: Safety Benefits of Booster Seats Reaffirmed. A study released today in Pediatrics by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia offers updated evidence that children ages 4 to 8 who are restrained in the rear seat of a car in a belt-positioning booster seat are 45 percent less likely to be injured in a crash compared with children using a seat belt alone. Furthermore, the study showed there was no difference in the level of protection offered by backless versus high back booster seats. Of those riding in booster seats, children involved in side-impact crashes saw the greatest reduction in injury risk. Comment: Both stories suggest that far more education on proper use of children’s car seats is needed, both for infants and children.

]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/aap-safety-benefits-of-booster-seats-reaffirmed.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/aap-safety-benefits-of-booster-seats-reaffirmed.html Prevention Surveillance epidemiology Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:34:38 -0500 Car seats can be dangerous outside the car. More than 8,700 infants end up in the emergency room each year because their car seats are used improperly outside the car, according to study presented Monday at the American Academy of Pediatrics' annual meeting in Washington. Babies are spending more time in car seats, which have saved nearly 9,000 lives in the past three decades, both in and out of the car, says author Shital Parikh, a pediatric orthopedist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/car-seats-can-be-dangerous-outside-the-car.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/car-seats-can-be-dangerous-outside-the-car.html Environment Prevention Surveillance epidemiology Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:32:22 -0500 Abortion And Unintended Pregnancy Decline Worldwide As Contraceptive Use Increases A new report from the Guttmacher Institute identifies how improved access to family planning services has reduced the use of abortion services worldwide although problems if access to either opportunities varies widely among different countries, particularly in the developing  countries..

]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/abortion-and-unintended-pregnancy-decline-worldwide-as-contraceptive-use-increases.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/abortion-and-unintended-pregnancy-decline-worldwide-as-contraceptive-use-increases.html MCH Prevention epidemiology policy Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:18:45 -0500 Smoking Bans Reduce the Risk of Heart Attacks Associated With Secondhand Smoke In a report issued by the  Institute of Medicine "It's clear that smoking bans work," said Lynn Goldman, professor of environmental health sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, and chair of the committee of experts that wrote the report.  "Bans reduce the risks of heart attack in nonsmokers as well as smokers.  Further research could explain in greater detail how great the effect is for each of these groups and how secondhand smoke produces its toxic effects.  However, there is no question that smoking bans have a positive health effect." The full report is available on line and clearly supports the new legislative ban in smoking in restaurants in Virginia. .

]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/smoking-bans-reduce-the-risk-of-heart-attacks-associated-with-secondhand-smoke.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/smoking-bans-reduce-the-risk-of-heart-attacks-associated-with-secondhand-smoke.html Chronic Disease Prevention Surveillance behavioral change epidemiology policy Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:16:42 -0500 Statewide Teen Smoking-Cessation Trial Is The First To Achieve Significant Increase In Prolonged Quit Rates. Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have demonstrated that it is possible to successfully recruit and retain a large number of adolescent smokers from the general population into a smoking intervention study and, through personalized, proactive telephone counseling, significantly impact rates of six-month continuous quitting. The trial, funded by the National Institutes of Health, involved 2,151 teenage smokers from 50 high schools in Washington. Half of the schools were randomly assigned to the experimental intervention; teens in these schools were invited to take part in confidential, personalized telephone counseling designed to help motivate them to quit.  COMMENT. Despite the praise for the study, the difference in quit rates for test and control groups was only 4%.  This was despite a highly intensive effort.  No Cost[benefit analysis was done but it is highly unlikely for the process to work in the general population because of cost.]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/statewide-teen-smoking-cessation-trial-is-the-first-to-achieve-significant-increase-in-prolonged-qui.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/statewide-teen-smoking-cessation-trial-is-the-first-to-achieve-significant-increase-in-prolonged-qui.html Community Health Prevention behavioral change epidemiology research Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:23:03 -0500 Data indicate cyclists experiencing higher injuries rates, longer hospital stays. The Los Angeles Times (10/14, Stein) "Booster Shots" blog reported that as bicycles ride a wave of popularity, "cyclists may be suffering more injuries," according to University of Colorado researchers. After looking at "accident rates and severity from 1996 to 2006," they noted that "among 329 bicycle accident cases admitted to the Rocky Mountain Regional Trauma Center at Denver Health Medical Center, the length of stay increased substantially over those years." What's more, "an increase was seen in chest injuries (up 15 percent), and abdominal injuries tripled over the last five years of the study. About one-third of 118 patients had head injuries." Comment: Cycling is certainly more dangerous in the US than Europe where most roads have dedicated bicycle lanes, There are very few such lanes on US roads, particularly in housing areas.  This absence in planning oversight contributes to obesity by limiting opportunities for exercise, the same neighborhoods usually lack sidewalks for walking safely, as well.

]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/data-indicate-cyclists-experiencing-higher-injuries-rates-longer-hospital-stays.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/data-indicate-cyclists-experiencing-higher-injuries-rates-longer-hospital-stays.html Chronic Disease Community Health Environment Prevention Surveillance Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:21:04 -0500 Vaccinating Boys Against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Not Cost-Effective. In a new study, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that if vaccine coverage and efficacy are high in girls, a universal recommendation to vaccinate young boys is unlikely to provide comparatively good value for resources, compared with vaccinating girls only. The study was reported in the BMJ  October 9..

]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/vaccinating-boys-against-human-papillomavirus-hpv-not-cost-effective.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/vaccinating-boys-against-human-papillomavirus-hpv-not-cost-effective.html Immunizations Prevention epidemiology infectious diseases policy Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:10:47 -0500 Quality Improvements. The Commonwealth Fund just released its State Scorecard on Health System Performance.

The scorecard points to substantial opportunities to improve. If all states could reach the level achieved by the top performing states:

•Twenty-nine million more people would have health insurance—cutting the number of uninsured by more than half;

•Nearly 78,000 fewer adults and children would die prematurely every year from conditions that could have been prevented with timely and effective health care;

•Nine million more adults age 50 and older would receive recommended preventive care, and almost 800,000 more children would receive key vaccinations;

•Five billion dollars could be saved annually by avoiding preventable hospital admissions and readmissions for vulnerable elderly and disabled residents.

]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/quality-improvements.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/quality-improvements.html Community Health geriatrics policy Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:08:03 -0500 FDA said to need more resources In an op-ed in The Hill (10/8), former FDA commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach, now a senior adviser at the Center for Health Transformation, and Wayne W. Oliver, a CHT vice president, write that despite A plan to spend $5 billion of stimulus funds on government grants to increase medical research, "not one dollar of stimulus money will be used to enhance the capacity and capability of the FDA." Despite "decades of neglect" the agency continues to have “a diminished capacity to embrace new scientific technologies and meet the demands needed to protect the public health." Von Eschenbach and Oliver call for new resources and "the design and implementation of a 21st century regulatory framework" that will help the FDA "drive innovation, dramatically shorten the time between discovery and delivery, and allow Americans everywhere to have access to safe, effective and miraculous discoveries"  Comment: In previous Blogs I have said the FDA was severely restricted by funds yet Congress keeps adding duties, including the most recent tobacco responsibilities.

]]> http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/fda-said-to-need-more-resources.html http://blog.vcu.edu/cbuttery/2009/10/fda-said-to-need-more-resources.html Food Safety Prevention Technology policy Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:50:24 -0500