In the News This Week

Diabetes: Underrated, Insidious and Deadly

Participants in recent focus groups revealed that they did not perceive diabetes to be nearly as severe a disease as cancer and heart disease. They were unaware of the potentially deadly health problems that diabetes can lead to, including kidney failure, stroke, heart attack, amputations, and loss of hearing, vision, and sexual function. Diabetes can be classified as Type 1, which accounts for only 5-10% of cases and is often diagnosed at a young age, or as Type 2, which accounts for 90-95% of cases and is associated with obesity. The disease is caused by the body’s inability to use blood sugar as energy, due to either too little insulin in the body or an inability to use insulin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 24 million Americans—8% of the population—have diabetes, with an additional 57 million people having abnormal blood sugar levels that classify them as being pre-diabetic. Because diabetes is highly treatable, many Americans do not realize the severity of the disease. Representatives from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) report that they have spent years framing diabetes in a reassuring light, emphasizing all of he treatment options available to patients. However, the disconnect that has developed between American’s perception of diabetes and the reality of the disease has led to led to a gross underestimation of the severity of the disease. Going forward, the ADA is planning on emphasizing the potential deadly consequences of diabetes, in an effort to awaken Americans to the gravity of the growing numbers of diabetics in this country.
Read the full story on nytimes.com

Population-Based Strategy Urged to Cut U.S. Obesity Rate

According to national surveys, approximately 67 million Americans are considered obese, with an additional 75 million classified as overweight. The American Heart Association (AHA) is urging Americans to action to reduce the high rate of obesity in this country, and is pushing for a comprehensive population-based strategy to achieve this. The AHA believes that our current social structure has encouraged an “eat more, move less” attitude among Americans, and in order to combat obesity this underlying social structure must be changed. Policy and environmental changes at the local, state, and federal levels are being outlined for a plan that would alter the way Americans diet. Areas being targeted by the AHA include the locations of fast food restaurants, restaurant portion sizes, the availability of high-fat foods and sweetened drinks, and community design and infrastructure. This last item involves the availability of public transportation, adequate sidewalks for walking, space for physical activity, and jobs and schools that are accessible by walking, jogging, or cycling. By intervening at the population level, policy makers are hoping to make healthy behavior more normal to Americans. These interventions are similar to the ones taken with tobacco regulations in order to combat rising smoking rates in the US.
Read the full story on healthday.com

New Method Better Predictor of In Vitro Fertilization Success

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a process by which female eggs are fertilized by sperm outside the womb, and is often used by couples unable to conceive naturally. However, the procedure is expensive and the overall live birth rate in the US via IVF is only approximately 27% per cycle. The woman’s age greatly affects the odds of conception. Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine sought to find a better method for predicting the success of IVF for individual couples, since it is an emotionally and financially burdensome procedure. Stanford researchers determined that the most important factors in determining a woman’s chances of becoming pregnant include the total number of embryos, the number of 8-cell embryos, the percentage of embryos that stopped dividing and would die, and the woman’s level of follicle-stimulating hormone level. Taking these four variables into consideration together, researchers were able to predict with 70% accuracy whether a woman will get pregnant by IVF. Knowing the probability of the procedure being successful may help people make more educated decisions about IVF in the future. The American Heart Association has now updated their guidelines concerning the treatment of women with acute coronary syndromes.
Read the full story on healthday.com

Opening Clogged Arteries Helps Women After Heart Attack

The safety of catheterization, a procedure in which a balloon at the end of a thin wire is threaded through a blocked artery to the site of a clot and then inflated to open the artery, has been debated when it comes to women who have suffered heart problems. Some studies found that catheterization posed more of a risk than benefit to women with suspected heart attacks. However, a recent analysis of previous trials that included more than 10,000 patients found that catheterization is as beneficial for women with confirmed heart attacks as it is for men. Women with less severe heart damage, such as unstable angina, are still believed to face a grater risk than benefit from catheterization and should be treated more conservatively. Women who had catheterization after a heart attack had a 19% lower risk of death, additional heart attacks, or rehospitalization than women who were treated with drugs. Men’s risk was lowered by 27% with catheterization versus drug therapy.
Read the full story on healthday.com