Chew on this: More than a third of the adults in this country are obese. But obesity, a serious problem that can lead to other complications including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some cancers, can be 100 percent prevented through healthy eating and regular physical activity.
Via Nursing License Map and Nursing@Georgetown
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The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently released new recommended screening guidelines for HIV. It gave a grade A recommendation for routine HIV screening for everybody aged 15 to 65, and younger adolescents and older adults at an increased risk for HIV infection. It also gave a grade A recommendation for HIV screening for all pregnant women, including those in labor whose HIV status is not known.
What Is a Grade A Recommendation?
Many health organizations, professional societies and medical quality review groups use USPSTF’s recommendations to make decisions about their clinical standards. And under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), private health insurance policies created after March 23, 2010, are required to offer all preventive services that have been given an A or B recommendation by USPSTF, at no out-of-pocket cost to the consumer. ACA also gives state Medicaid programs financial incentives to cover USPSTF-recommended preventive services for adults.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says roughly 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV. Because HIV infection does not usually cause symptoms in its early stage, many people (about one in five) who are HIV positive are unaware they are infected, making them more likely to transmit the virus their sexual partners. According to the CDC, nearly 50 percent of all new HIV infections are transmitted by people unaware they are infected. This is especially critical in the black community, where African-Americans accounted for an estimated 44 percent of all new HIV infections among adults and adolescents (aged 13 years and older) in 2010, despite representing only 12 percent to 14 percent of the United States population, and where nearly 100,000 were unaware of their HIV status in 2009.
The Benefits of Knowing Your Status
Once identified by screening, the hope is that HIV-infected folks can begin antiretroviral therapy, adhere to treatment and achieve full viral load suppression (no detectable virus in the blood). A suppressed viral load means better health outcomes for infected people, as well as less chance of infecting partners.
Under the new guidelines, HIV screening will be easier for medical staff since they will no longer need to find out a patient’s risk status before offering testing.
Routine testing will also help reduce the proportion of late HIV diagnoses. One-third of people with HIV are diagnosed so long after they acquire their infection that they develop AIDS—the final stage of HIV disease—within one year of diagnosis. They could have been HIV positive for as long as 10 years before being diagnosed and unable to take advantage of HIV treatment.
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Since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force changed the recommendations for mammograms in 2009, there has been much confusion about how effective mammograms are and whether or not women should have them. Here’s what we know about mammograms: According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 60 percent of breast cancer cases are diagnosed before they spread because of mammograms. A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that mammograms can help reduce the number of breast cancer deaths among women ages 40 to 70.
Here’s more mammogram fiction and fact to help women wade through the confusion:
Fiction: Mammograms actually don’t help.
Fact: Regular mammograms are the best tests doctors have to find breast cancer early. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that mammograms can detect cancerous tumors sometimes up to three years before they can be felt.
Fiction: Mammograms hurt.
Fact: Each woman’s pain threshold is unique to her, but a mammogram—performed correctly—should only cause a few moments of temporary discomfort. Note: Breasts can be more sensitive just before your period, so try to schedule a routine mammogram in the middle of your cycle.
Fiction: Mammograms cause cancer.
Fact: Mammograms do use small doses of radiation, but the exposure is limited and the risk of harm is extremely low.
Fiction: Mammograms are often wrong.
Fact: Mammograms aren’t perfect, but they are our best tool for early detection. When cancer is present, mammograms are about 80 percent effective in identifying it. Regular screenings help decrease the 20 percent of false negative results. False positive results (cancer is detected where there is none) do happen, but required follow-up tests prove most women who received a false positive don’t have cancer.
If you still have questions about mammograms, have a frank discussion with your physician about when and how often you should have them.
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Just one 12-ounce soda a day can raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 22 percent, according to a recent study of more than 28,000 people in Europe.
The diabetes risk dropped to 18 percent when the investigators took into account people’s total calorie intake and body-mass index (BMI). Researchers believe total calorie intake and BMI play a role in the link between sugar-sweetened soft drinks and diabetes risk. The fact that diabetes risk fell only slightly when these two factors were taken into account might signal that the effect of sugar-sweetened soft drinks on diabetes goes beyond their impact on body weight, said study co-author Dora Romaguera, of the Imperial College London.
“Given the increase in sweet beverage consumption in Europe, clear messages on the unhealthy effect of these drinks should be given to the population,” Romaguera said.
The study’s findings are similar to previous research showing North Americans who consume sugar-sweetened soda have a 25 percent increased risk of diabetes. Fruit juice was not significantly associated with diabetes risk, according to the report.
Type 2 diabetes is near epidemic proportions in this country, particularly among African Americans. Nearly 5 million (18.7 percent) of us 20 or older have the disease, and a significant number of sufferers don’t know they have diabetes.
It’s a well-known fact that while African-American women are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, we are still more likely to die from the disease than our white counterparts.
Two recent studies attempt to find out why this is the case.
In the first study, researchers from the University of California in Irvine, California, looked at data from more than 9,000 teens and older women with breast cancer. What they found was incredibly troubling: Black women and Latinas were twice as likely to wait for treatment (six weeks or more since diagnosis) compared to white women, who were most likely treated closer to diagnosis (two weeks or less).
In many cases, the sooner one starts treatment, the better their survival rate.
Ninety percent of women treated two weeks or less after diagnosis reached their five-year survival mark, compared to only 80 percent of women who started treatment later, reported HealthDay News.
Lead researcher Hoda Anton-Culver told HealthDay, “Losing 10 percent of women in that age group is a big loss,” she said. “Before the cancer, their life expectancy was decades more.”
A second study conducted at University of Toledo Medical Center found that women on Medicaid were more likely to have larger tumors in their breasts at diagnosis than women with private insurance. They also found that 60 percent of women on Medicaid with breast cancer had to have a mastectomy—surgery that removes all of the fatty tissue from the breast as a way to treat breast cancer—compared to 39 percent of women with private insurance. The study’s authors stated that earlier mammograms for women on Medicaid could make a difference in lowering their rates of surgery.
Past studies show that African-American women tend to be diagnosed with more aggressive forms of the cancer that are harder to treat with surgery and radiation therapy.
—Kellee Terrell
For more about breast cancer in African-American women, visit bet.com.
Though breast cancer survivors are among the women who could benefit most from regular physical activity, many don’t meet national exercise recommendations (150 minutes each week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise) during the decade after being diagnosed, according to a new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Other studies show a strong association between physical activity and reduced mortality, extended survival and higher quality of life among breast cancer survivors. With 2.9 million breast cancer survivors in this country (the group grows by about 80,000 a year), there is major interest in the factors that promote health and well-being among them.
“The American Cancer Society recommends that cancer survivors exercise for at least 150 minutes per week. Most survivors may also benefit from strength training exercises at least two days per week,” said Caitlin Mason, Ph.D., author of the study, in a statement. “For survivors who have not been previously active, we advise that they gradually work up to these recommendations.”
The new study followed 631 breast cancer survivors ages 18 to 64 from New Mexico, Los Angeles County and western Washington state for 10 years. Before their illness, 34 percent of the women met activity guidelines. After five years, this percentage actually increased to 39.5, but then inexplicably dropped to 21.4 percent at 10 years. Fewer than 8 percent of the survivors met guidelines during the entire length of the study.
Researchers didn’t expect the large drop in activity between the five- and 10-year follow-ups. The study, which took into account factors such as age and body size at diagnosis, found no other characteristics related to the type of breast cancer or its treatment that were associated with the drop in activity between the five- and 10-year reporting periods.
“It seems unlikely that this pattern reflects aging alone given the consistency and magnitude of the trend across all age groups,” the study authors wrote. “Whether this reflects a cohort effect or a unique aspect of the cancer survivorship experience is unclear. Additional consideration of psychosocial factors and issues related to pain management, fatigue and specific treatment effects may help to better understand the unique issues faced by cancer survivors and their impact on physical activity participation.”
The American Cancer Society predicts that in 2013 breast cancer will be the most commonly diagnosed cancer among black women. Though we tend to be diagnosed with the disease less often than our white counterparts, our death rates are higher.
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Finally, it’s the start of spring weather. But, for some, it also means the start of allergy season. With sneezing, coughing, stuffy nose and itchy, watery eyes, they’re simply miserable this time of year.
Believe it or not, allergy symptoms are actually the body trying to help out.
The body considers allergens like mold and pollen to be foreign invaders. When the nose clogs and the eyes water, for example, the body is trying to keep those invaders from getting inside. It just so happens that it makes allergy sufferers miserable in the process.
Dust mites, mold, and pollen—from trees, grass or weeds—are the biggest spring allergy offenders.
So how can you avoid being so uncomfortable this allergy season? Let’s take a look at a few tips and tricks.
Natural Remedies
If you’re not a big fan of antihistamine medications, try a couple of natural options.
Despite these natural tricks, certain people will still need traditional treatment such as a daily antihistamine, steroid nasal sprays or respiratory inhalers. Talk to your doctor about whether your allergies are severe enough to warrant these medications.
Don’t carry pollen with you
Prevention at home
To rid the house of items that pollen and dust can attach itself to:
Use these tips and best of luck this allergy season!
—Tyeese Gaines, M.D.
For more allergy management tips, go to theGrio.com.
Wheezing is a common sound in the Oglesby household. Two of Jessica Oglesby’s three children have asthma. Sadly, the Oglesby youngsters have plenty of company.
More than 21 percent of African-American children younger than 18 have been diagnosed with asthma, a rate much higher than that of white children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And black children are more than three times as likely to visit the emergency room as their non-black peers during an asthma attack.
What Is Asthma?
Asthma, a chronic pulmonary condition that causes the airways of the lungs to swell and narrow, is usually diagnosed during childhood and leads to wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and coughing. The causes of asthma vary, but symptoms can be triggered by changes in weather (most often cold temperatures), dust mites, pet dander, exercise, mold, or pollen. Environmental factors, including tobacco smoke and air pollution, can exacerbate existing asthma symptoms. And exposure to secondhand smoke and air pollution tend to be more prevalent in urban areas and other neighborhoods that are primarily communities of color.
Heading Off Asthma Attacks
So what can be done to protect our babies from this illness?
Oglesby, 32, uses practices suggested by her pediatrician to control her children’s near debilitating asthma attacks. “I try to keep the house dust free. We use an air purifier all the time. We don’t have any pets,” Oglesby says. “And, of course, I make sure Jax and Kori take their meds regularly.” The children, 10 and 6, take an oral steroid medication each day and use both an inhaler and nebulizer as needed.
What Is Your Asthma Action Plan?
Many specialists suggest that parents have an asthma treatment plan, which helps control the disease for which there is no cure. An effective treatment plan will prevent the most nagging symptoms (coughing and shortness of breath), help your child maintain optimal lung function, enable him to maintain a high level of physical activity, reduce the need for quick-relief medication (such as inhaled corticosteroids), and limit emergency room visits and hospital stays.
Physicians suggest these steps to control your child’s asthma:
If your child’s treatment isn’t working—characterized by continued symptoms, frequent emergency room visits, lots of inhaler use, or multiple courses of oral steroids—talk to your doctor about a new asthma action plan.
Though asthma may be very common, it needs to be monitored and taken seriously, says Georgia pediatric pulmonologist LeRoy Graham, M.D. “If not managed properly, it can be life threatening,” he says. “It is important for patients to know how to manage chronic inflammation on a daily basis.”
Each day nine Americans die from asthma, and African Americans have the highest mortality rate from the disease. Even if your child feels better, she still has asthma, and probably will for the rest of her life, so taking it seriously is indeed serious business.
—Tamar Leak Suber
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Give Mom a crossword puzzle and prevent memory decline, says a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Researchers reviewed studies that examined the effects of mental exercises involving computerized training programs or one-on-one training in memory, reasoning or processing speed. One study found significant improvements in the elderly participants’ memory over five years of follow-up. Another study found improvement in auditory memory and attention.
The CMAJ study also found that supplements and physical exercise did little to benefit memory. Estrogen actually appeared to increase mental decline.
“This review provides evidence to help clinicians and patients address what strategies might prevent cognitive decline,” said Raza Naqvi, M.D., one of the study co-authors, in a statement. “Future studies should address the impact of cognitive training on the prevention of cognitive decline, and we encourage researchers to consider easily accessible tools such as crossword puzzles and Sudoku.”
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One in 32 African American women in the United States is likely to be diagnosed with HIV in her lifetime.
“One in 32, think about that,” said singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistic at an event Monday. “Thirty years after we first heard of AIDS, it is really a tragedy that anybody is being infected.”
But people are being infected with the virus in the U.S. and, as Keys said, black women are affected disproportionately. Keys stammered a little as she read the word “disproportionately” from her notes, and then recovered and repeated it with force saying, “It’s a big word and it’s a bad thing. That’s not acceptable.”
Keys’ comments came at the kickoff of the EMPOWERED campaign, an effort to increase awareness of HIV and AIDS among women, a new part of the Greater Than AIDS public information push by the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent part of the foundation.)
The CDC statistics on women in general and black women in particular are sobering.
One of the main themes of the campaign–which includes videos, public service ads, and social media efforts—is to make the issue personal for women. A video shows Keys interviewing five women living with HIV. “They are just like you and just like me,” Keys says in the video of the women, who all sat in the front row of the foundation’s conference center during Monday’s kickoff.
Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama, and chairwoman of the White House Council on Women & Girls, also spoke at the event, making the point that the issue of women and AIDS has long been a personal one for her.
“Every day I carry around the heartbreak of losing my sister-in-law, who died nearly 20 years ago,” Jarrett said. “She went months without being diagnosed because nobody thought to test a married woman at the time.”
Jarrett pointed out that, under the Affordable Care Act, HIV testing is now covered as a preventive service without cost sharing, and beginning in 2014, people with HIV cannot be denied insurance because of a pre-existing condition.
—Diane Webber
This story originally appeared on Kaiser Health News. Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy research and communication organization not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
