As Pedestrian's Age Rises, So Does Odds of Dying in Traffic Accident

THURSDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly pedestrians face a much higher risk of being killed in a traffic accident than the young do, a new government report finds.

The analysis of 2001-2010 U.S. data showed that traffic-related death rates for men and women aged 75 and older were more than double those of people aged 34 and younger.

Overall, pedestrians make up 4,000 of the nearly 34,000 traffic-related deaths occurring in the United States each year, according to researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number of elderly killed while walking on America's road could even increase given the aging of the U.S. population, said CDC experts commenting on the finding.

They noted that older adults actually take fewer walks than younger people, "however, when struck, older adult pedestrians are more likely to die from their injuries."

Increasing frailty may leave the elderly more vulnerable to being hit by traffic, as well. Age-linked declines in mental function, vision and physical disabilities "might place older adult pedestrians at greater risk for being struck by a vehicle," the CDC added.

Between 2001 and 2010, more than 47,000 Americans died in traffic-related pedestrian deaths, with males having more than double the risk of being hit and killed versus females. It's been suggested that this may be because males tend to walk in more dangerous settings or take more chances when walking.

About three-fourths of pedestrian deaths occurred in cities, the researchers said.

The study appears in the April 19 issue of the CDC publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

When the researchers looked at ethnic/racial groups, they found that American Indians/Alaskan Natives had the highest death rates, while whites had the lowest death rates.

Pedestrian fatalities can be prevented, the CDC said, and efforts to do so should include installing speed bumps on certain roadways, enforcing speeding and distracted driving laws, and "creating pedestrian safety zones and streets designated for walking."

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, news release, April 18, 2013

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Sibling's Death May Boost Your Own Risk of Dying From Heart Attack: Study

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- When a brother or sister dies -- especially from a heart attack -- the risk of a surviving sibling also dying from a heart attack increases sharply in the following years, a large new study from Sweden suggests.

Chronic stress or lifestyle choices like drinking, smoking, unhealthy diet and lack of exercise may follow the loss of a sibling, increasing the risk of a heart attack over time, the researchers said.

"Health care providers should follow bereaved siblings to help recognize signs of acute or chronic psychosocial stress mechanisms that could lead to heart attack," said lead researcher Mikael Rostila, an associate professor at Stockholm University and the Karolinska Institute.

"We might be able to prevent heart attacks and other heart-related conditions by treating these siblings early on and recommending stress management," he added.

Reasons for the association between a sibling's death and the death of a brother or sister years later aren't clear, Rostila noted. And although the study showed an association between a sibling's heart attack death and heightened death risk, it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

"More detailed information from medical records, shared childhood social environment and family characteristics, and data on personal and relational characteristics is needed to uncover the mechanisms causing the association between sibling death and heart attack," Rostila said.

The report was published in the Feb. 27 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association.

To see the effect of a sibling's death on their other siblings, Rostila's team collected data on more than 1.6 million people in Sweden, aged 40 to 69.

They found the risk of dying from a heart attack increased 25 percent among surviving sisters and 15 percent among surviving brothers compared to people who had not lost a sibling. If their brother or sister died of a heart attack, risk of also dying from a heart attack in the following years increased by 62 percent among women and 98 percent among men, Rostila's team found.

Death from a heart attack was not likely to happen immediately after siblings died, the researchers said. Rather, the risk rose in the four to six years after a sibling's death among women and in the two to six years afterward among men, they found.

"This is a red flag for families," said Dr. Stephen Green, associate chairman of the department of cardiology at North Shore University Hospital, in Manhasset, N.Y. "We know that heart disease is genetic and environmental and typically siblings and family members share the same gene pool, but also share the same bad habits."

Many siblings whose brother or sister died from a heart attack have undiagnosed heart disease, Green said.

If you -- or someone you know -- has a family member with a history of heart disease or heart attack, or a family member who died from heart disease, it is important to talk with your primary care doctor or a cardiologist to make sure it doesn't happen to you, Green said.

More information

To learn more about heart attacks, visit the American Heart Association.

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Coffee May Lower Risk of Dying From Oral Cancers

Dec. 12, 2012 -- Heavy coffee drinkers -- those who drink more than four cups a day -- may cut their risk of dying from cancers of the mouth and throat by nearly half, according to new research.

"We examined coffee drinking habits in nearly 1 million men and women," says Janet Hildebrand, MPH, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society.

"Those who reported drinking at least four cups per day of caffeinated coffee incurred about half the risk of dying from mouth and throat cancers compared to people who did not drink caffeinated coffee daily or only drank it occasionally."

That link held even when the researchers took into account smoking habits and alcohol use. 

Smoking and alcohol use are among the strongest risk factors for oral cancers.

About 35,000 new cases of oral cancers are expected in the U.S. this year, with 6,800 deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. The new study is published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Previous research by others has linked drinking more than four cups of coffee a day to about the same risk reduction in getting a diagnosis of oral cancer.

Hildebrand's team evaluated more than 968,000 men and women enrolled in the Cancer Prevention Study II. It began in 1982 and is overseen by the American Cancer Society.

At the start of the study, all men and women were free of cancer. During the 26-year follow up, 868 deaths from oral or throat cancers occurred.

The researchers evaluated the coffee- and tea-drinking habits of the men and women. They found the link between coffee and a reduced risk of dying from oral cancers.

More than 97% of the men and women drank either coffee or tea. More than 60% said they drank at least a cup a day of caffeinated coffee.

Among those who drank regularly, most had three cups a day.

The risk reduction of nearly half was similar for those who drank four, five, or six cups daily. Beyond seven cups, Hildebrand says, there weren't enough people to gauge the effect on risk accurately.

Hildebrand found only a suggestion of a link between those who drank more than two cups of decaf daily.

No benefit was found for tea drinkers.

"We really don't clearly know the mechanism," Hildebrand says. "But we do know that coffee contains hundreds of biologically active compounds."

Many of them, she says, are now known to have anti-cancer properties.

The researchers can't be sure in this study whether the coffee lowered the risk of getting the cancers or improved the odds of survival once cancer occurred. The study only looked at deaths, not the diagnosis.

"We're not recommending people start to drink coffee or that people increase their coffee [intake] for cancer prevention," Hildebrand says. "Much more epidemiological and scientific and clinical evidence would be needed to support such a recommendation."

The new findings are ''fascinating and remarkable," says Joel Epstein, DMD. He is director of oral medicine at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, located outside Los Angeles. He reviewed the study findings.

"It seems like there is a significant theme,'' he says, citing several other studies finding a lower risk of various cancers in coffee drinkers. "They are large studies," he says, usually funded by reputable organizations such as the American Cancer Society.

By and large, the studies are coming up with the same findings, he says, even though the researchers study different populations and different cancers. That's a good sign, he says.

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Coffee May Lower Risk of Dying From Oral Cancers

ByKathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News Reviewed byBrunilda Nazario, MD

Dec. 12, 2012 -- Heavy coffee drinkers -- those who drink more than four cups a day -- may cut their risk of dying from cancers of the mouth and throat by nearly half, according to new research.

"We examined coffee drinking habits in nearly 1 million men and women," says Janet Hildebrand, MPH, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society.

"Those who reported drinking at least four cups per day of caffeinated coffee incurred about half the risk of dying from mouth and throat cancers compared to people who did not drink caffeinated coffee daily or only drank it occasionally."

That link held even when the researchers took into account smoking habits and alcohol use. 

Smoking and alcohol use are among the strongest risk factors for oral cancers.

About 35,000 new cases of oral cancers are expected in the U.S. this year, with 6,800 deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. The new study is published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Previous research by others has linked drinking more than four cups of coffee a day to about the same risk reduction in getting a diagnosis of oral cancer.

Top Cancer-Fighting Foods

Coffee & Oral Cancers: Study Details

Hildebrand's team evaluated more than 968,000 men and women enrolled in the Cancer Prevention Study II. It began in 1982 and is overseen by the American Cancer Society.

At the start of the study, all men and women were free of cancer. During the 26-year follow up, 868 deaths from oral or throat cancers occurred.

The researchers evaluated the coffee- and tea-drinking habits of the men and women. They found the link between coffee and a reduced risk of dying from oral cancers.

More than 97% of the men and women drank either coffee or tea. More than 60% said they drank at least a cup a day of caffeinated coffee.

Among those who drank regularly, most had three cups a day.

The risk reduction of nearly half was similar for those who drank four, five, or six cups daily. Beyond seven cups, Hildebrand says, there weren't enough people to gauge the effect on risk accurately.

Hildebrand found only a suggestion of a link between those who drank more than two cups of decaf daily.

No benefit was found for tea drinkers.

Why Coffee May Protect

"We really don't clearly know the mechanism," Hildebrand says. "But we do know that coffee contains hundreds of biologically active compounds."

Many of them, she says, are now known to have anti-cancer properties.

The researchers can't be sure in this study whether the coffee lowered the risk of getting the cancers or improved the odds of survival once cancer occurred. The study only looked at deaths, not the diagnosis.

"We're not recommending people start to drink coffee or that people increase their coffee [intake] for cancer prevention," Hildebrand says. "Much more epidemiological and scientific and clinical evidence would be needed to support such a recommendation."

Coffee & Oral Cancers: Perspective

The new findings are ''fascinating and remarkable," says Joel Epstein, DMD. He is director of oral medicine at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, located outside Los Angeles. He reviewed the study findings.

"It seems like there is a significant theme,'' he says, citing several other studies finding a lower risk of various cancers in coffee drinkers. "They are large studies," he says, usually funded by reputable organizations such as the American Cancer Society.

By and large, the studies are coming up with the same findings, he says, even though the researchers study different populations and different cancers. That's a good sign, he says.

View Article Sources

SOURCES:

Janet Hildebrand, MPH, epidemiologist, American Cancer Society, Atlanta.

Joel Epstein, DMD, director of oral medicine and adjunct professor of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, Calif.

Hildebrand, J. American Journal of Epidemiology, published online Dec. 9, 2012.

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