Young Men Less Likely to Survive Melanoma Than Women: Study

White males made up about 40 percent of deadly skin cancer patients, but more than 63 percent of deaths

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- White male teens and young adults are more likely to die of melanoma skin cancer than their female counterparts, a new study finds.

Researchers looked at data from more than 26,000 white patients, aged 15 to 39, in the United States who were diagnosed with melanoma between 1989 and 2009 and followed for an average of seven and a half years.

During the follow-up, there were nearly 1,600 melanoma-related deaths. Although males made up about 40 percent of the melanoma patients, they accounted for more than 63 percent of the deaths, according to the study, which was published June 26 in the journal JAMA Dermatology.

After adjusting for various factors, the investigators concluded that males were 55 percent more likely to die of melanoma than females.

Continued public health efforts are needed to raise young men's awareness of the dangers of melanoma, said Dr. Christina Gamba, of the Stanford University Medical Center, and colleagues.

"This alarming difference in the outcome highlights the urgent need for both behavioral interventions to promote early detection strategies in young men and further investigation of the biological basis for the sex disparity in melanoma survival," the study authors concluded.

Melanoma is the third most common type of cancer in American teens and young adults.

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Even in Young Adults, Binge Drinking May Harm Circulation

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) -- When college-aged adults binge drink it may hinder the function of their blood vessels, a small new study finds, possibly setting the stage for later heart disease.

"Consequences of binge drinking may extend beyond just a bad hangover, and may actually interfere with the current and future cardiovascular health of young adults," said Shane Phillips, senior study author and an associate professor and associate head of the department of physical therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Results of the study were published online April 23 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

More than half of college-student drinkers engage in regular binge-drinking episodes, according to study background information. A binge-drinking episode is generally defined as consuming more than four to five alcoholic drinks in a two-hour period.

Studies on middle-aged and older people have linked binge drinking to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, such as stroke, sudden cardiac death and heart attack. Other studies have found that binge drinking can lead to hardening of the arteries, which may be what contributes to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the report.

To see the effects of binge drinking on the blood vessels and circulatory system in young people, the researchers recruited 36 urban college students between the ages of 18 and 25. About half the group participated in binge drinking, and the rest were abstainers -- they didn't drink alcohol at all. None of the study volunteers smoked cigarettes.

The researchers found that the binge drinkers showed signs of changes that could affect their cardiovascular health.

"Repeated episodes of binge drinking in young, healthy adults was associated with changes in the function of the circulation that impacts blood flow. Specifically, there was evidence that two main cells types -- endothelium and smooth muscle -- that work to control blood flow in the circulation were not functioning normally," Phillips said.

"These vascular changes may be a precursor for the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis [hardening of the arteries] and increased vulnerability to cardiovascular disease," he added.

While the study found an association between binge drinking in young adults and possible increased risk of future heart disease, it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

The author of an accompanying journal editorial explained the study findings further.

"The researchers saw a signal for vasoconstriction [when blood vessels constrict] in the binge drinkers even after they stopped binge drinking, and were measured three to four days after binge drinking," said Dr. Robert Vogel, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, Denver.

"Alcohol is a very complex drug. Your blood pressure goes down while you have alcohol in your system, but your blood pressure goes up the day after drinking. We don't understand exactly why that is, but alcohol is often forgotten when doctors are assessing for [high blood pressure]," Vogel said.

Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, a preventive cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said, "Binge drinking is a true public health problem on college campuses. Even in these young people, binge drinking was associated with changes to the lining of the arteries associated with heart disease," she noted.

"Perhaps when discussing binge drinking on college campuses, providing this information on the ramifications of this unhealthy behavior on arterial health can help in managing this destructive behavioral choice," she suggested.

For his part, Dr. Scott Krakower, an addiction specialist at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Mineola, N.Y., said he wasn't surprised that there's a potential link between college-age binge drinking and cardiovascular disease. The challenge is getting students to do something about it.

"Most college students do not realize the psychological and medical implications binge drinking can have, and often believe that they are invincible," Krakower said.

Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Shane Phillips, P.T., Ph.D., associate professor, and associate head, department of physical therapy, University of Illinois at Chicago; Robert Vogel, M.D., clinical professor of medicine, University of Colorado, Denver; Scott Krakower, D.O., addiction specialist, North Shore-LIJ Health System, Mineola, N.Y.; Suzanne Steinbaum, M.D., preventive cardiologist, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; April 23, 2013, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, online

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Fewer Young Americans Lack Health Care Coverage

But 45 million Americans overall still don't have health insurance

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- The number of young adults without health care coverage in the United States has declined significantly over the past few years, according to a new government report released Tuesday.

That's the good news.

Not-so-good are the findings that: 45.5 million people, 14.7 percent of the American population, still don't have health care coverage, and 4.9 million kids under the age of 18 also lack health insurance.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics used data on 108,131 people contacted for the 2012 National Health Interview Survey to compile the latest profile on health insurance coverage.

Of immediate interest was the apparent impact of the Affordable Care Act, President Obama's landmark health reform law passed in 2010.

The new report found that 27 percent of young adults between the ages of 19 and 25 had no health care coverage in 2012, down from more than 35 percent in 2010, according to report co-author Robin Cohen, a CDC health statistician.

At the same time, the number of young adults covered by a private health plan increased, from 49 percent in 2010 to 58 percent in 2012.

Health policy experts said the increase is most likely due to a provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that allows young adults to remain on their parents' health insurance plan up to age 26.

"You see a significant decline in uninsurance among young adults and a corresponding uptick in private health insurance coverage," said Kathleen Stoll, director of health policy at Families USA, a national nonprofit health reform organization. "That is clearly due to the provisions in the ACA that allowed young adults to stay on their parents' health coverage. That's a positive change you can directly tie to the ACA."

By comparison, the number of uninsured adults aged 26 to 35 remained the same at 27 percent between 2010 and 2012. There also was no big difference in private coverage for this age group, which was about 59 percent in both 2010 and 2012.

The effectiveness of this single provision of the Affordable Care Act should give hope to the 45.5 million Americans still without health insurance in 2012, said Sara Collins, vice president for affordable health insurance at the Commonwealth Fund, a health policy think tank.

That's because most of the major provisions of the ACA take effect in 2014, including the opening of the health insurance exchanges and a major expansion of Medicaid, she noted.

"Going forward, starting next year, we're probably going to start seeing the same thing across the age spectrum," Collins said. "Next year we're likely to see a new trajectory of uninsured rates across the whole population."

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Insurance Loss Hampers Young People With Asthma

MONDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) -- The loss of health insurance is the main reason asthma care for young people deteriorates after age 18, according to a new study.

Certain social factors -- such as leaving school and no longer having adult supervision -- also contribute to the decline in care, according to Harvard Medical School researchers.

"This study suggests that expanding insurance coverage will help many young adults with asthma receive the care they need," study leader Kao-Ping Chua, a staff physician in the division of emergency medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, said in a Harvard news release. "But it also points to the importance of addressing other socially mediated factors in this population."

"Aside from the lack of financial protection, uninsurance poses fewer health risks to young adults than for older adults because they are generally healthy," study senior author J. Michael McWilliams, an assistant professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in the news release.

"But for young people with asthma -- or other conditions amenable to medical care -- it's important to understand and address the barriers to care," he added.

The researchers looked at data from nearly 2,500 asthma patients, aged 14 to 25, in order to determine if they had a regular care provider, if they visited that provider at least once a year, if they used asthma medications and if they made emergency-room visits.

Patients under age 18 were more likely to use primary care and asthma medications, while those over 18 were more likely to make emergency-room visits and have problems getting care and medications due to cost.

The loss of health insurance explained 32 percent of the decline in the use of primary care by patients over age 18 and between 47 percent and 61 percent of the increase in their cost-related problems getting care and medications, according to the study, which was published recently in the journal Pediatrics.

Under the federal Affordable Care Act, young adults whose parents have private insurance will be eligible to continue receiving coverage on their parents' policies until they are 26. But, the researchers said, since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states do not have to extend similar coverage to people on Medicaid, low-income young adults will be left out.

Health insurance, however, is not the only problem, they added.

"Young people with asthma need to work with their care providers to create transition plans from pediatric to adult care that take into account their medical and social history," Chua said.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Harvard Medical School, news release, April 22, 2013

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Insurance Loss Hampers Young People With Asthma

Harvard researchers report on impact of health insurance in youths' disease management

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) -- The loss of health insurance is the main reason asthma care for young people deteriorates after age 18, according to a new study.

Certain social factors -- such as leaving school and no longer having adult supervision -- also contribute to the decline in care, according to Harvard Medical School researchers.

"This study suggests that expanding insurance coverage will help many young adults with asthma receive the care they need," study leader Kao-Ping Chua, a staff physician in the division of emergency medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, said in a Harvard news release. "But it also points to the importance of addressing other socially mediated factors in this population."

"Aside from the lack of financial protection, uninsurance poses fewer health risks to young adults than for older adults because they are generally healthy," study senior author J. Michael McWilliams, an assistant professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in the news release.

"But for young people with asthma -- or other conditions amenable to medical care -- it's important to understand and address the barriers to care," he added.

The researchers looked at data from nearly 2,500 asthma patients, aged 14 to 25, in order to determine if they had a regular care provider, if they visited that provider at least once a year, if they used asthma medications and if they made emergency-room visits.

Patients under age 18 were more likely to use primary care and asthma medications, while those over 18 were more likely to make emergency-room visits and have problems getting care and medications due to cost.

The loss of health insurance explained 32 percent of the decline in the use of primary care by patients over age 18 and between 47 percent and 61 percent of the increase in their cost-related problems getting care and medications, according to the study, which was published recently in the journal Pediatrics.

Under the federal Affordable Care Act, young adults whose parents have private insurance will be eligible to continue receiving coverage on their parents' policies until they are 26. But, the researchers said, since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states do not have to extend similar coverage to people on Medicaid, low-income young adults will be left out.

Health insurance, however, is not the only problem, they added.

"Young people with asthma need to work with their care providers to create transition plans from pediatric to adult care that take into account their medical and social history," Chua said.

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HIV Drugs May Help Protect Young Patients' Hearts: Study

Far from harming the cardiovascular health of infected children, drug cocktails may give benefit

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) -- Long-term use of powerful drug cocktails known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may help protect the hearts of children and teens infected with HIV, a new study reports.

HAART is a form of antiretroviral therapy that is widely used to treat people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Prior to the introduction of antiretroviral therapies, youngsters infected with HIV were at increased risk for heart failure, noted a team led by Dr. Steven Lipshultz of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Since the advent of powerful HIV-suppressing medications, "the effects of HIV and [antiretroviral therapy] on the cardiovascular system of HIV-infected children are not completely understood," the researchers wrote in the April 22 online issue of JAMA Pediatrics. They pointed out that such children are exposed to these drugs for many years, often beginning while they are still in the womb, but the effects on their cardiovascular systems "are unknown."

The new study sought to clear that up. It included nearly 600 HIV-infected and uninfected patients from 14 pediatric HIV clinics across the United States.

According to the team, heart function was better among HIV-infected children receiving HAART than those who were infected with HIV and did not receive HAART, and children who were exposed to HIV but not infected.

"Our results indicate that the current use of combination [antiretroviral therapy], usually HAART, appears to be cardioprotective in HIV-infected children and adolescents," the study authors reported. "This finding is even more relevant in the developing world where the prevalence of HIV disease in children is much higher."

The researchers added that further study comparing different drug regimens might be beneficial "in optimizing HIV outcomes and protecting long-term cardiac health" of children with HIV.

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New Strategy Helps Young Lymphoma Patients Avoid Radiation Treatment

Approach resulted in high remission rates without the risks tied to radiotherapy, researchers say

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, April 10 (HealthDay News) -- A new treatment approach may mean that young people with a form of lymphoma can go without radiation therapy, sparing them side effects or raised cancer risks down the road.

In a trial conducted by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, nearly all patients with a form of cancer known as primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma who received chemotherapy, but did not undergo chest radiation, achieved a full remission.

Standard treatment for this cancer typically includes radiation to the chest, the study authors pointed out, but this has been linked to significant harmful effects in the future, particularly for women.

"These results are exciting and demonstrate that, using this approach, almost all patients appear to be cured and very few patients require radiation," study co-author Dr. Kieron Dunleavy, of the U.S. National Cancer Institute, said in an agency news release.

One expert not connected to the study agreed.

"This study is a significant achievement in improving the care of a group of lymphoma patients that urgently need it: young patients with an aggressive and -- if left untreated -- rapidly lethal disease," said Dr. Joshua Brody, assistant professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

The study "yielded very exciting success rates with almost all patients going into complete remission even without the use of radiation therapy, which is frequently used for this disease," Brody added. All of the patients in the study maintained remission "for a long time," he noted, and "most of the patients are certainly cured of their disease."

The study is published in the April 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma usually affects people in their teens to early 30s. Although many people with the disease who are treated with both chemotherapy and radiation do achieve a cure, roughly 20 percent do not, according to an NCI news release.

The research team noted that radiation to the chest area could also boost a patient's risk for other types of cancer down the road, including breast cancer, as well as cause damage to the heart. Complicating matters, as young people age, their risk for heart disease and new forms of cancer also rises.

The NIH trial involved 51 patients with untreated primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma who were followed over the course of 14 years. The largest tumor diameter of any patient in the study was 11 centimeters.

Each patient received a regimen of drugs known as dose-adjusted EPOCH-R. The regimen included the following drugs: etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone and rituximab. The dosages of these drugs were adjusted to make them as effective as possible.

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Daily Sunscreen Helps Middle-Aged Skin Stay Young: Study

By Alan Mozes

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- In the never-ending search for the fountain of youth, scientists have looked everywhere under the sun. But a group of Australian researchers now report that the answer lies out of the sun.

Regular daily use of sunscreen appears to significantly slow the process of skin aging among middle-aged men and women, they say.

The finding stems from 4.5 years spent tracking sunscreen use and its ultimate impact on skin quality among more than 900 men and women under the age of 55.

"This has been one of those beauty tips you often hear quoted, but for the first time we can back it with science," said study co-author Adele Green, lab head and senior research fellow with the Queensland Institute of Medical Research at Royal Brisbane Hospital. "Protecting yourself from skin cancer by using sunscreen regularly has the added bonus of keeping you looking younger."

"And the study has shown that up to middle age, it's not too late to make a difference," added Green, who also suggested that sunscreen use is likely to similarly benefit those over 55, though her team did not specifically assess a potential benefit among older users.

The findings appear in the June 4 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Perhaps surprisingly, the authors point out that, to their knowledge, their current effort is the first rigorous scientific exploration of the potential protective effect of sunscreen on skin aging in people.

Green and her team looked at data collected in a study on skin cancer prevention conducted between 1992 and 1996 in Nambour, Australia.

The authors focused on 903 mostly fair-skinned men and women who were under the age of 55, under the assumption that skin aging in that age category would be brought on primarily by so-called "photoaging," as opposed to simply growing older.

Roughly half the participants worked primarily outdoors, while about four in 10 were regular smokers.

All the participants had been randomly assigned to two sunscreen groups. The first was specifically directed to use SPF 15 sunscreen on a daily basis, applying it to their head, neck, arms and hands every morning, and reapplying after bathing, heavy sweating or spending a few hours outside.

The second group was not told to avoid sunscreen, but rather to use it as they wished.

The study also assessed the potential impact of dietary antioxidants on skin quality. Each group of participants was further divided into half, in which one sub-group was given 30 milligrams of beta-carotene to take on a daily basis, while the other was given a sugar pill (placebo).

Using a process called "microtopography," the team then analyzed skin changes such as shifts in texture and roughness, by looking at the status of each participant's left hand.

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Young Parents Don't Stress Over Kids' Media Use: Survey

First generation to have lots of exposure to technology not as worried about its effects, researchers report

By Maureen Salamon

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- Having grown up with gadgets galore, young parents aren't as worried about the potentially corrosive effects of too much screen time on their offspring, a new study suggests.

Surveying more than 2,300 parents of children up to age 8, researchers from Northwestern University found that the vast majority -- 78 percent -- report that their children's media use is not a source of family conflict, and 59 percent said they aren't concerned their kids will become addicted to new media.

"We asked parents what their challenges were as the parents of young children . . . and sometimes media was never mentioned," said study author Ellen Wartella, director of Northwestern's Center on Media and Human Development. "Parents of children this age are concerned about their health, safety, nutrition and exercise, and media concerns are much lower down the list. That was a surprise."

The study is scheduled to be presented Tuesday at the Pew Charitable Trusts Conference Center in Washington, D.C. Research presented at conferences typically has not been peer-reviewed and is considered preliminary.

Wartella and her team identified three different types of media environments parents create: media-centric (39 percent of families), media-moderate (45 percent) and media-light (16 percent). In media-centric homes, children spend three hours more each day with screen media such as TVs, computers and tablets than those in media-light households.

The notion that parents are apt to shush their kids by handing them a smartphone or tablet also appears to be false, according to results. To keep their children quietly occupied, moms and dads said they were more apt to turn to toys or activities (88 percent), books (79 percent) or TV (78 percent). Of parents with smartphones or iPads, only 37 percent reported being somewhat or very likely to turn to those devices.

"Given all I've seen in the popular press, the newfangled technologies of smartphones and tablets would be the go-to tools . . . but we didn't find that," said Wartella, also a professor of psychology and of human development and social policy. In fact, when they were in a restaurant or the car and they needed to calm a child, parents reported they were more likely to turn to the tried-and-true, such as soft, plush toys and coloring books.

"What's compelling is we certainly have a generation of parents now who grew up with technology, and it's very much a part of everyday life for these families," she added. "There are different styles of use, and parenting styles set the agenda and help influence children's styles."

What is concerning to parents, according to the survey, was the negative impact screen time has on kids' physical activity levels. More than 60 percent said video games result in less movement by their children, with similar proportions saying the same about TV, computers and mobile devices.

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Selena Gomez worries about her young fans watching Spring Breakers

Selena Gomez has admitted that she worries her young fans will “sneak in” to cinemas to watch new film, Spring Breakers.

Continue reading...

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Health Reform Saving Young Adults Millions for ER Care: Study

In 2011 alone, patients and families were spared nearly $150 million in hospital costs

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 29 (HealthDay News) -- An Affordable Care Act provision has shielded thousands of young U.S. adults and their families from millions of dollars in treatment costs for serious medical emergencies, a new study shows.

Starting in September 2010, federal health care reform has required private health plans to cover young adults up to age 25 under their parents' insurance.

More than 22,000 cases of emergency hospital treatment in 2011 involving young adults aged 19 to 25 received coverage under private plans due to the expansion, the study found. The coverage protected patients and parents from an estimated $147 million in hospital charges.

The study was published in the May 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Without this provision, they'd be facing hospital bills," said study author Andrew Mulcahy, a health policy researcher at RAND Health, a nonprofit research organization. "Their family might be on the hook for it. If they can't pay, as a last resort, the hospital might have to eat the cost and write it off. Ultimately, in some states, the taxpayers are on the hook because the state chips in and tries to compensate hospitals for care that is uncompensated."

The study also noted that the provision increased health insurance rates about 3 percent among the young adults who sought emergency treatment.

Recent reports have estimated that this particular provision of the Affordable Care Act has led to the coverage of an additional 3.1 million young adults nationally.

In the study, researchers examined details about emergency medical care provided to adults aged 19 to 31 at 392 hospitals from 2008 through 2011.

The study focused on injuries so severe that the young adults would have to receive emergency treatment regardless of insurance coverage, including broken bones and head injuries.

"We were very careful in looking at the most serious conditions -- conditions so serious you have to go to the ER for treatment," Mulcahy said. "This study is about real-world impact and a very direct test of whether the provision is improving financial protection."

Those sorts of injuries accounted for about 6 percent of emergency department visits by young adults, the researchers concluded.

The research team then compared the coverage of those aged 19 to 25 to patients aged 26 to 31, who were unaffected by the new health care law. That way, they could rule out other trends that might have affected the subjects' insurance coverage.

"We found that the provision resulted in increased financial protection for young adults and the hospitals who provided care for these patients," Mulcahy concluded. "We're careful to say it didn't result in additional visits. It's a shift. The provision didn't lead to more people going to the ER. They would have gone without this provision, but they would have been uninsured."

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Weekend 'Catch-Up' Sleep May Cut Young Drivers' Crash Risk

Study found 21 percent higher chance of accident among those who slept less than 6 hours a night

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- Young drivers who get behind the wheel while drowsy run a higher risk of getting into car crashes, but Australian researchers have found that not catching up on missed sleep on weekends puts them in even greater danger of having an accident at night.

"This is another challenge to adolescents that comes with lack of sleep," said Dr. Flaura Winston, co-scientific director and founder of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"You have to be ready, body and mind, to drive," she said. "If you are exhausted, you are neither ready body nor mind."

In tackling this challenge, both parents and the community have roles to play, said Winston, who was not involved with the study.

"This is a safety concern," she said. "If the teen doesn't get enough sleep, then they are at increased risk for crashes, so parents need to step in."

Parents should see their role as one that helps their teenager stay safe without being controlling, Winston explained. They can encourage their children to get more sleep, and provide rides at night to ensure that their teens are not driving exhausted.

One of the more positive things parents can do is let their teen sleep late on the weekends, Winston noted. "Teens need their catch-up sleep," she said. "They do need to sleep late on the weekends."

There are also social factors that limit teens' sleep. For example, many high schools start classes very early, cutting into students' sleep time, Winston pointed out. "Studies have shown that later school start times are better for adolescents," she said.

Not only do they start school early, but "they have long days. They have sports, after-school activities and studying, so there are things that are way beyond the family that put these teens at risk when it comes to driving," Winston said.

The report was published online May 20 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

To look at what role sleep plays in teen car crashes, a team led by Alexandra Martiniuk, an associate professor at the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney, collected data on more than 20,000 drivers aged 17 to 24.

The investigators found that those who said they slept six or fewer hours a night had a 21 percent higher risk of having a car accident than those who got more than six hours of sleep.

Moreover, those who got less sleep on the weekends had a 55 percent increased chance of having a single-car accident, where the car drifts or swerves off the road, they added.

Most accidents (86 percent) happened between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., the researchers noted.

"Sleeping six hours a night is enough to put young drivers at significant risk of having a car crash. With work, study and social commitments, especially on weekends, it is easy to miss out on the extra hours of sleep we need," Martiniuk said in a statement.

More than 3,000 people die every day in car crashes around the world -- that's more than 1.3 million car-related deaths a year, with between 20 million and 50 million people injured or disabled, the researchers noted.

In the United States alone, it is estimated that 20 percent of all car crashes are the result of drowsy driving, which adds up to 1 million crashes, 50,000 injuries and 8,000 deaths a year, the study found.

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New Pap Guidelines May Miss Aggressive Cancer in Young Women: Study

Title: New Pap Guidelines May Miss Aggressive Cancer in Young Women: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 3/7/2013 6:36:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 3/8/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Q&A: Breast Cancer in Young Women

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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Economy May Have Lasting Effect on Young People's Outlook

Title: Economy May Have Lasting Effect on Young People's Outlook
Category: Health News
Created: 2/11/2013 12:35:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 2/12/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Young Adults Are America's Most Stressed Generation: Survey

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Young Americans between 18 and 33 years old -- the so-called millennials -- are more stressed than the rest of the population, according to a new report from the American Psychological Association.

What's stressing them out? Jobs and money mostly, said Norman Anderson, CEO of the American Psychological Association, during a Thursday morning press conference.

On a scale of 1 to 10, the millennial generation stands at 5.4 stress-wise, significantly higher than the national average of 4.9, the association found after surveying more than 2,000 Americans.

"Clearly there are a number of pressures facing young people that might account for this increase in stress," Anderson said. "These individuals are growing up in an era of unprecedented economic upheaval. This coincides with the time they are finishing school and trying to establish themselves in society."

Getting a job, starting a family and repaying student loans are all stressful, he added. "They have great difficulty finding jobs because of the higher unemployment and underemployment rates," Anderson said.

These young adults also don't feel they're getting support from the health system. Only 25 percent of millennials give the health care system an A grade, compared with 32 percent of the rest of the population, according to the report, Stress in America: Missing the Health Care Connection.

In addition, 49 percent said they aren't managing their stress well, and only 23 percent think their doctor helps them make healthy lifestyle and behavior changes "a lot or a great deal." Only 17 percent think their doctor helps them manage their stress.

"When people receive professional help to manage stress and make healthy behavior changes, they do better at achieving their health goals," Anderson said.

On that measure, the United States falls short, he said. To lower the rates of chronic illnesses and reduce the nation's health costs, "we need to improve how we view and treat stress and unhealthy behaviors that are contributing to the high incidence of disease in the United States."

Those who get support for stress from their doctor fare much better than those who don't, the researchers said.

People suffering from chronic illnesses report even less support for stress and lifestyle management than Americans without a chronic condition, according to the survey.

Despite seeing their doctor more often than most people, only 25 percent of those with a chronic illness say they get "a great deal or a lot" of stress management support from their doctor. And 41 percent of these chronically ill people said their stress level had increased in the past year, the researchers found.

The disconnect between what people need to manage stress and what the health care system delivers is evident at all ages, the survey found.

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Young Adults Are America's Most Stressed Generation: Survey

Title: Young Adults Are America's Most Stressed Generation: Survey
Category: Health News
Created: 2/7/2013 4:36:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 2/8/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Smoking Pot May Raise Stroke Risk in Young Adults

By Mary Brophy Marcus

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Smoking pot may double a young adult's risk for stroke, new research suggests, but experts point out the study is small and not conclusive.

Scientists from New Zealand presented their data Wednesday at the American Stroke Association annual meeting, in Honolulu.

"Sixteen percent of stroke patients had positive cannabis screens, compared with only 8 percent of control participants," said study author Dr. Alan Barber, a stroke neurologist and professor of clinical neurology at the University of Auckland.

"We think the relationship between cannabis and stroke is certainly plausible," Barber said. "We know [from other studies] cannabis reduces the time to angina, that it's associated with myocardial infarction [heart attack] and heart rhythm problems. It can also cause vasoconstriction. If you constrict arteries in the brain, you can have reduced blood flow.

"We believe the association is not just a chance one, but worthy of further investigation," he added.

Barber's study involved 160 stroke patients and 160 healthy participants, all between 18 and 55, an age range during which people rarely suffer a stroke, he said.

Of the stroke patients, 150 had been admitted to the hospital for an ischemic stroke -- the most common kind of stroke, in which blood flow is blocked to the brain. The other 10 had been admitted for a transient ischemic attack (TIA or "mini-stroke"). All were given urine tests that screened for evidence of marijuana use.

Barber said the ingredients in marijuana show up in urine tests for three or four days if you only use it occasionally, but urine will test positive for the drug for 30 to 40 days in daily users.

The 160 control group patients had come to the hospital as internal medicine admissions with non-stroke diagnoses and did not know they were involved in the study. Their urine samples had been tested for other reasons and were about to be discarded.

"As a consequence, the controls were anonymous -- we only could know age, sex and ethnicity," Barber explained.

The results after the drug screens: Twenty-five (more than 15 percent) of the stroke patients had positive cannabis screens and were also more likely to be male (84 percent) and tobacco smokers (88 percent). Of the control urine samples, thirteen (8 percent) were positive for marijuana.

"There was a doubling for the risk of stroke," Barber said.

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Two experts said the study is worthwhile, but doesn't lead to any concrete conclusions.

"It's not a strong study, not one you can hang your hat on, but it's better than others we've got," said Dr. Daniel Labovitz, director of the Stern Stroke Center at Montefiore Medical Center, in New York City.

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Young Surgeons May Be Easily Distracted

Title: Young Surgeons May Be Easily Distracted
Category: Health News
Created: 12/4/2012 2:36:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 12/5/2012 12:00:00 AM

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