Health Alert
Graceful Age
Graceful Age & Life Expectancy. The number of people over the age of 90 in the US will reach 9 million by 2050. To put the number in perspective, there were 720,000 people age 90 years or over in 1980, and today there are nearly 2 million. 74.1% of persons over 90 are women, with…
Read MoreChronic Stress!
Chronic Stress! Psychological stress is associated with greater risk for depression, heart disease and infectious diseases. Until now, it has not been clear exactly how stress influences disease and health. Chronic psychological stress is associated with the body losing its ability to regulate the inflammatory response. Inflammation is partly regulated by the hormone cortisol and…
Read MoreMisusing Prescription Drugs At A Young Age!
Misusing Prescription Drugs At A Young Age! The peak risk for misusing prescription pain relievers occurs in mid-adolescence, specifically about 16 years old and earlier. Clinicians and public health professionals are prescribing more pain relievers, and research suggests an increased misuse of these drugs and increased rates of overdose deaths. Each year, 1 in 60…
Read MoreObesity Projections!
Obesity Projections! At current projections, 42% of the US population will be obese by 2030, with 11% categorized as severely obese. Severe obesity is defined as a body mass index over 40 or roughly 100 pounds overweight. $550 billion could be saved in the next 20 years just by keeping obesity rates at the current…
Read MoreI’ll Have Another
I’ll Have Another. There is good evidence that moderate alcohol consumption protects against heart disease, but when all of the chronic disease risks are balanced against each other, the optimal consumption level is much lower than many people believe. Researchers analyzed the link between alcohol consumption and 11 chronic diseases (five cancers, coronary heart disease,…
Read MoreOxygen and Cancer
Oxygen and Cancer. A new study suggests the primary cause of uncontrollable tumor growth in some cancers may be hypoxia (low oxygen levels in cells) and not genetic mutations, as is widely believed. Journal of Molecular Cell Biology, May 2012
Read MorePediatric Blood Pressure!
Pediatric Blood Pressure! A study of 2500 pediatric patient visits revealed that doctors and nurses failed to check blood pressure 20% of the time. Of the 2000 patients who were checked, 726 had elevated blood pressure scores; however, 87% of these findings went unremarked and unrecognized by the medical staff. Pediatrics, June 2010
Read MoreAlzheimer’s Research
Alzheimer’s Research. The global market for Alzheimer’s disease therapeutics could soar to $8 billion once therapies are approved that actually change the course of the disease. The current therapeutic market is valued at $3-4 billion and is shared among drugs that temporarily delay disease progression or address the symptoms but do not alter the underlying…
Read MoreCalcium and Vitamin D?
Calcium and Vitamin D? It has been a long standing protocol for men at risk of bone loss from hormonal treatment for prostate cancer to take Calcium and vitamin D supplements. New research shows this type of supplementation does not prevent bone loss and may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and aggressive prostate cancer.…
Read MoreBad Belly Fat!
Bad Belly Fat! People with a high waist-to-hip ratio (those with big bellies, but a normal body mass index score) are 2.75x more likely to die from a cardiovascular event. Mayo Clinic, September 2012
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