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TDWI is quoted in Julie's Health Club in the Chicago Tribune

New News

Weight gain increases breast cancer risk, study finds
Women who gain weight any time after the age of 18 are more likely to develop breast cancer than women who maintain a stable weight, a new study suggests. In other words, when it comes to breast cancer, there's no good time to gain weight as an adult. "We found that weight gain throughout adulthood as well as weight gain at specific stages of life were associated with risk of breast cancer, compared with maintaining a stable weight," said study lead author Jiyoung Ahn, a fellow with the nutritional epidemiology branch at the National Cancer Institute's division of cancer epidemiology and genetics. "Specific stages include during early reproductive years, late reproductive years, and perimenopausal and postmenopausal years."

Obesity becoming a global problem
People are getting fatter in all parts of the world, with the possible exception of east Asia, doctors found in a one-day global snapshot of obesity. Overall, 24 percent of men and 27 percent of women seeing their doctors that day were obese, and another 30 percent of men and 40 percent of women were overweight, the researchers found. That puts the rest of the world close to par with the United States, long considered the country with the worst weight problem. An estimated two-thirds of Americans are overweight and a third of these are obese.

Obesity ads too soft, critics say
No one is advocating public service announcements that ridicule fat people; experts say such spots would do more harm than good. But critics complain that the three new spots premiering this month are a wimpy attack on the costly and deadly explosion of obesity in America.

Many heart attack patients don't get best emergency treatment
Far more of today's heart attack patients receive emergency angioplasty treatment or clot-busting drugs to re-open their clogged heart arteries than even a decade ago, a new study finds. But 10 percent of patients who could benefit from this urgent treatment
-- which is known to save lives and prevent lasting damage to the heart muscle -- don't get it at all, the study shows.

Recovery of New Orleans hampered by a shattered health care system
At the tip of Bayou St. John in the Mid-City neighborhood here, the brown and white bulk of Lindy Boggs Medical Center looms behind a chain-link fence. Nineteen people died at the medical center after Hurricane Katrina, and now the hospital itself is dead, sold to developers who plan to replace it with a shopping mall

Many non-for-profit hospitals spend little on charity care
Charity%20Hospital.jpg Scrutiny of not-for-profit hospitals' tax exemptions is increasing, as an Internal Revenue Service report found that 45% of not-for-profit hospitals spend 3% or less of their revenue on uncompensated care and as state and federal lawmakers consider imposing restrictions on the hospitals, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the IRS study -- which involved 487 hospitals -- from 2003 to 2005, nearly a quarter of not-for-profit hospitals spent less than 1% of revenue on charity care and one in five spent 10% or more. The Congressional Budget Office says that not-for-profit hospitals received more than $12 billion in tax breaks in 2002, and a recent CBO analysis of hospitals in five states found that not-for-profits provide only slightly more uncompensated care than for-profit hospitals.

GenImage.aspx.jpg Study predicts 75% will be overweight by 2015
If people keep gaining weight at the current rate, fat will be the norm by 2015, with 75 percent of U.S. adults overweight and 41 percent obese, U.S. researchers predicted on Wednesday.

Vitamin C useless for preventing or treating colds
For the average person, popping vitamin C pills is unlikely to ward off the common cold or shorten its length or severity. However, for people exposed to short bouts of extreme physical exercise or cold temperatures, vitamin C may markedly reduce their risk of catching a cold. The findings stem from a review of 30 published studies involving 11,350 people who took at least 200 milligrams of vitamin C each day.

Bush threatens to kill kids' health care bill
President Bush yesterday rejected entreaties by his Republican allies that he compromise with Democrats on legislation to renew a popular program that provides health coverage to poor children, saying that expanding the program would enlarge the role of the federal government at the expense of private insurance.

A review study confirms: Higher co-pays disrupt drug use in poor and chronic patients, raise costs
A research review, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Dana Goldman, Director of RAND Health's Bing Center on Health Economics, nails down that fact that increases in patient drug co-pays functionally impedes their access to drugs. It also increases their rates of hospitalization and emergency room visits. In a study of 132 articles published from 1985 to 2006, Dr. Goldman found that every 10 percent increase in consumer cost-sharing decreases pharmacy spending by 2 to 6 percent. But chronic patients with conditions like congestive heart failure, high cholesterol, diabetes and schizophrenia who were subject to increased co-pays also had increased hospitalization, emergency visits and other high cost services. Dr. Goldman called "unambiguous"the evidence that greater drug cost-sharing raises inpatient and ED costs for the chronically ill."

Despite spending a billion, nutrition education for kids ineffective
The federal government will spend more than $1 billion this year on nutrition education — fresh carrot and celery snacks, videos of dancing fruit, hundreds of hours of lively lessons about how great you will feel if you eat well. But an Associated Press review of scientific studies examining 57 such programs found mostly failure. Just four showed any real success in changing the way kids eat — or any promise as weapons against the growing epidemic of childhood obesity.

Genetic change raises risk of asthma, study says
Scientists have identified a genetic change that raises a child's risk of developing asthma, a discovery that may lead to better treatments for one of the most common chronic childhood ailments.

Chronic illness quadruples in children
The number of American children with chronic illnesses has quadrupled since the time when some of their parents were children, portending more disability and higher health costs for a new generation of adults, a study said.

AMA seeks probe of in-store clinics

In an attempt to ratchet up scrutiny on the proliferation of in-store clinics being opened by retail giants, the American Medical Association said Monday that it will ask state and federal agencies to launch widespread investigations into the fast-growing patient-care model.

"Mindfulness" Buddhist mediation may help people with problem drinking
A combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and Buddhist meditation can help people with drink problems turn their backs on alcohol. Dr Paramabandhu Groves, a consultant psychiatrist at the Alcohol Advisory Service in London, who has successfully run workshops with people with depression, has now turned his attention to using the techniques to help people with addictions. Dr Groves has been ordained into the Western Buddhist Order based at the London Buddhist Centre in Bethnal Green, east London.

ADHD drug, guanfacine, gets FDA approval letter

Shire has announced that it has received an approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for INTUNIV (guanfacine) extended release tablets (previously referred to as SPD503), a nonstimulant selective alpha-2A-receptor agonist that has been studied in children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Unlike some other ADHD treatments, INTUNIV, a nonstimulant, is not a controlled substance and does not have a known mechanism for potential abuse or dependence

Estrogen may offer some heart benefits

Five years after a landmark study scared millions of women off hormones for menopause symptoms, new research suggests the pills may offer some heart benefits for certain younger women who start taking them in their 50s. Women who took estrogen suffered less hardening of the arteries than those who took dummy pills, researchers reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Cardiothoracic surgeon shortage predicted

A severe shortage of heart and lung surgeons is looming, and -- since training new ones takes 12 years -- it won't be fixed in a heartbeat, a doctor group said this week. "This is the perfect storm that's happening and the decisions we make today are really going to have an impact on what happens," said Stephen Lahey, chief of the cardiothoracic surgery division at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Health care is the top domestic issue for presidential candidates to address

Kaiser%20Family%20Foundation.gif Health is the top domestic issue the public wants presidential candidates to address according to a Kaiser Family Foundtation poll. However, it trails Iraq by a wide margin.

Health expert warns of of approaching health care crisis

Health care in the United States is at a critical crossroads as an aging population, with its looming set of costly chronic conditions, threatens to increase financial pressure on an already strained system, one of the country's top health care experts warned Tuesday. Leonard Schaeffer, former chairman and chief executive of WellPoint Inc., the nation's largest insurer, said that as the baby boom generation reaches Medicare age, the government's ability to pay for coverage will be sorely tested.

Texas health care crisis

Photo by Tom Shea for USA TodayNationally, more than 15% are uninsured. In Texas it's nearly 24%, the Census Bureau says, the highest percentage among the states. In Harris County, it's 30%, according to state figures, the highest rate among the nation's top 10 metropolitan areas. As the Houston area struggles to deal with a rising tide of uninsured, it offers a lesson for the nation: Let the problem get out of hand — to a point where nearly 1 in 3 people have no coverage — and you won't just have a less healthy population. You'll have an overwhelmed health care system.

Stem cells grow new blood vessels for transplants

Stem cells taken from muscle tissue can be used to build new blood vessels for transplants, researchers report.

Split those pills and save money

Pill%20splitter.jpg A practice patients often use to cut down on drug costs, called "pill splitting," can also save money for insurance companies and employers, a study of the University of Michigan's own health benefit plan shows. In pill splitting, patients cut larger-dose tablets in half to double the amount of smaller-dose pills they receive in a single prescription -- for example, dividing 40-milligram tablets to create twice as many 20-milligram doses for the same price. And since drug companies and pharmacies don't usually double the price of medications as the dose doubles, that can mean lower overall per-pill drug costs and fewer drug store co-pays for consumers.

Diabetes costs staggering

One out of every eight U.S. federal health care dollars is spent treating people with diabetes, a study found, and advocates are calling for the creation of a government post to oversee coordination of spending on treatment and prevention among federal agencies. The study, based on federal spending data from 2005, looked at various government health programs to determine how much was spent on diabetics versus non diabetics. It found it cost the U.S. government $79.7 billion more to treat people with the disease, or some 12 percent of the $645 billion in total federal health care spending projected that year.

Tony the Tiger morphs into a kids' sports coach?? Really, now...

For generations of American children, nothing says Saturday morning like Toucan Sam following his nose for some Froot Loops on the tube. Likewise Tony the Tiger roaring "They're Grrrreat" and Snap, Crackle and Pop whooping it up in a bowl of Rice Krispies. But as the War on Obesity pushes further into adland, such kiddie-targeted characters are undergoing makeovers or plain losing favor—much like the products they hawk. And Kellogg's announcement last week that by the end of 2008 the company will no longer advertise cereals that don't meet a new set of self-imposed health standards to children under 12 begs the question of whether these icons' beloved essence can survive the inevitable changes.

Overworked medical interns a danger to patients

Extended work shifts pose a threat to the health and safety of medical interns and the patients they treat, according to a U.S. study of more than 2,700 interns.

Symptoms that should prompt a check for ovarian cancer

Dr. Barbara Goff, co-author of new ovarian cancer studyCancer experts have identified a set of health problems that may be symptoms of ovarian cancer, and they are urging women who have the symptoms for more than a few weeks to see their doctors. The new advice is the first official recognition that ovarian cancer, long believed to give no warning until it was far advanced, does cause symptoms at earlier stages in many women. The symptoms to watch out for are bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and feeling a frequent or urgent need to urinate. A woman who has any of those problems nearly every day for more than two or three weeks is advised to see a gynecologist, especially if the symptoms are new and quite different from her usual state of health.

House Approves Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act; Bush Threatens Veto

The House on Thursday voted 247-176 to pass a bill (S 5) that would allow federal funding for research using stem cells derived from human embryos originally created for fertility treatments and willingly donated by patients, the New York Times reports (Zeleny/Wade, New York Times, 6/8).Federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research is allowed only for research using embryonic stem cell lines created on or before Aug. 9, 2001, under a policy announced by President Bush on that date. The Senate in April voted 63-34 to pass the bill, called the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007. The measure differs from a House-approved bill (HR 3) of the same name because it includes language that would require NIH to research and fund methods of creating embryonic stem cell lines without destroying embryos (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/1).Bush -- who is attending the Group of Eight industrialized nations 2007 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany -- said he plans to veto the measure after he returns June 11 (George, CQ Today, 6/7). House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other Democratic lawmakers on Thursday at a ceremony marking the bill's passage called on Bush to not veto the legislation, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 6/7).

Study suggests Vitamin D may cut cancer risk in older women

Vitamin D cut the risk of several types of cancer by nearly 60 percent overall for older women, in the most rigorous study yet. The new research strengthens some specialists' argument that vitamin D may be a powerful cancer preventative and that most people should get more of it. Experts remain split, though, on how much to take.

Drugs in comeback against artery stents

Doctors are rethinking the use of stents for their heart patients. The trend comes in the wake of studies questioning the necessity and safety of stents and the widespread adoption of better cholesterol-fighting drugs. Doctors say the drugs are proving to be a better option for some patients, further delaying their need for the device. An estimated 1 million Americans a year receive stents to prop open clogged arteries and restore and maintain blood flow to the heart. The tiny metal scaffold-like devices are snaked into coronary arteries via a balloon-tipped catheter and have been hailed for relieving chest pain known as angina and reducing the risk of heart attacks and death.

Turn off that TV to help keep the weight off

The conventional wisdom is that dieters regain most of the weight they lose. But a growing body of research, including data released today, suggests some dieters keep the pounds off, especially if they exercise regularly and don't watch a lot of TV

Who's paying affects drug trial results

In head-to-head trials of two drugs, the one deemed better appears to depend largely on who is funding the research, a new U.S. study said. An examination of 192 trials comparing one cholesterol-lowering statin to another, or to a non-statin drug, found results favoring the test drug in the trial were about 20 times more likely to be funded by the maker of the statin than the comparison drug company, according to a study by University of California San Francisco, researchers appearing June 7 in the journal PLoS Medicine.

Doctors are among the best paid

When we first looked at America's best- and worst-paying jobs a year back, we asked the question, "Why do financially pushy parents want their children to marry doctors?" Our answer then: Because, as Willie Sutton said of banks, that is where the money is. Still is. The medical profession continues to dominate the top end of our list of the 25 best- and worst-paying jobs in America. Anesthesiologists have flipped places with surgeons to take the top spot, but the next eight places are firmly in the healing hands of various sorts of specialist practitioners.

Venture fund to focus on cutting health care costs

05fund.600.jpg

Venture investment in the health business typically chases miracle cures and high-technology gadgets, like bioengineered drugs and new medical devices. They promise much but cost a lot. Dr. David J. Brailer, a former senior health official in the Bush administration, is starting a $700 million private equity fund, Health Evolution Partners, with a different mission. “We’re going to be investing in things that can reduce the crushing costs of health care,” said Dr. Brailer, who was the administration’s national coordinator of health information technology.

NJ hospitals report outcomes, cardiac bypass death rates drop

The death rate from heart bypass surgery done at New Jersey hospitals fell nearly 12 percent in 2004 and has been cut in half in the decade the state has been publicizing outcomes, the latest report shows.

Proactive - now that's the way health care should be, and could be...

CEO Debra GeihslerAt Atrius Health & Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, President and CEO Debra Ann Geihsler is taking a large, thriving physicians’ group to the next level — old hat for a health care leader who is accustomed to dealing with the growth and improvement of a number of health care organizations in her past. This time around, Geihsler is looking to the future right from the start by shifting the focus from reactive to proactive — from the tradition of treating patients when they’re sick to the new model of working with patients to keep them healthy.

Surgery beats drugs for treatment of degenerative spondylithesis, a common back ailment

Surgery is twice as effective as physical therapy and drugs for relieving pain and improving mobility in one of the most common back problems, researchers reported today. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, gives "us more confidence in recommending surgery to our patients," said Dr. Mark J. Spoonamore of USC's Keck School of Medicine. The recommendation is "not just our gut feeling but based on a strong scientific foundation."

Cost puts stroke treatment out of reach, but technology makes it possible

Doctors at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, the only hospital on the small island off Massachusetts, knew only one drug had been shown to work for stroke, tPA. But, until they adopted a new telemedicine system for hospitals like theirs, they had not been giving it to the 25 or so stroke patients they cared for each year.

Staying in shape cuts health care costs, study says

That better health goes with better fitness might be stating the obvious, but Minnesota's largest insurers and fitness centers now have numbers to do the talking. For Medica clients who used Life Time Fitness facilities at least eight times a month in the past two years, hospital and clinic claims declined by 64.3 percent, physician claims dropped by 13 percent and claims for prescription drugs decreased by 9.2 percent, according to a study released Monday by Medica and Life Time.

Commonly used diabetes drug may increase the risk of heart attacks

A drug commonly used to control diabetes increases the risk of heart attacks and possibly death, researchers reported yesterday in the latest episode to raise safety concerns about a widely prescribed drug. The drug, Avandia, which about 1 million Americans take to keep their blood sugar at safe levels, boosts the risk of a heart attack by 43 percent and may increase the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke by 64 percent, the analysis found.

Cancer survivorship: a new medical specialty

As a growing number of Americans are learning, surviving cancer can mean slipping into a rabbit hole of long-term medical problems — from premature menopause and sexual dysfunction to more debilitating side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, like heart disease and even new cancers. The realization that cancer and its aftermath can go on for years has given rise to a medical specialty known as survivorship.

Lot's of doctor's don't vote

Even though health care is a major public issue in the United States, the number of doctors who actually vote has declined during the past few decades, researchers report. A team at Johns Hopkins Medical School compared the voter turnout rate of doctors to that of other occupations in the 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential elections. The other occupations included nurses, lawyers, engineers, farmers, teachers, secretaries, waiters, drivers and laborers. They found that about 25 percent of doctors said they did not vote in the most recent presidential elections. Lawyers had the highest voter turnout rate, while laborers had the lowest turnout.

Feds accuse device makers of buying doctors

The largest U.S. makers of artificial knees and hips are facing an investigation by federal prosecutors, who say that the companies illegally paid off surgeons with vacations, gifts and no-show consulting jobs in an effort to win their business. Manufacturers targeted include Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics, Zimmer Holdings, Biomet, Stryker and Smith & Nephew. Federal prosecutors suggest that such payments constitute a kickback, as they're provided solely to buy surgeons' business.

Surge in arthritis forecast

Federal public-health officials are predicting a surge in the prevalence of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions by the year 2030, and popular retirement states such as Florida, Arizona and California are likely to bear the brunt of the burden. About 46 million U.S. adults currently have arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia and other rheumatic conditions, resulting in $128 billion in medical expenses as well as indirect costs such as lost productivity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That amount is equal to about 1.2% of the 2003 U.S. gross domestic product, the CDC says. Now, an aging population, expanding waistlines and low levels of physical activity are likely to push the number of affected people up 46% to about 67 million people by 2030, or about 25% of the projected population, according to the CDC. Most of the increase will come from those who develop age-related degeneration of joints in the hip, knee, or elsewhere. An estimated 25 million will be in enough pain that they will have trouble moving around, the CDC says.

Doctors reap millions from anemia drugs

Two of the world’s largest drug companies are paying hundreds of millions of dollars to doctors every year in return for giving their patients anemia medicines, which regulators now say may be unsafe at commonly used doses.

Once a year infusion reduces risk of fractures in women with osteoporosis

A once-a-year treatment signifiantly cuts the risk of broken bones caused by osteoporosis in post-menopausal women, international research has shown. Compared with a dummy pill, an infusion of Aclasta cut the risk of broken hips by 41% and of spinal fractures by 70%.

Common gene raises heart risk, studies find

Two rival teams of scientists have discovered a genetic variation that increases the risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death worldwide, by up to 60 percent in people of European descent. They hope a test for the variant will enable physicians to assess patients at risk more accurately and to recommend early intervention.

Diabetes drugs may lower risk of lung cancer

The use of diabetes drugs called thiazolidinediones, such as rosiglitazone (Avandia) and pioglitazone (Actos), may reduce the risk of lung cancer, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. However, these are preliminary findings. Dr. Rangaswamy Govindarajan from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, told Reuters Health. "Physicians should be cautioned not to start using these agents for cancer prevention."

Appalachian states meet to combat heart disease

Doctors, lawmakers and specialists hope to launch a public health network in 13 states to change one of the stark facts of Appalachian life: Residents are 20% more likely to die from heart disease than the rest of the country. The task won't be easy. States in Appalachia lead the country in heart disease risk factors such as smoking, obesity and lack of exercise, and those factors could partly come from long-held cultural practices and beliefs.

Decline in breast cancer incidence related to decline in hormone replacement therapy is sustained

The decline in breast cancer incidence observed from 2002 to 2003 continued in 2004, supporting the hypothesis that the decline is tied to a decrease in use of hormone replacement therapy among postmenopausal women, according to a study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Mass. children face delays in mental health care

The state's mental health system for children is clogged with some of its worst backups in years, leading to long emergency room waits and a record number of "stuck kids" who are deemed well enough to leave hospital units but have nowhere to go.

First vaccine against Avian Flu is approved as an interim measure

The first vaccine against avian flu won government approval yesterday, even as federal officials conceded its usefulness in a flu pandemic might be limited. The vaccine, made by Sanofi Pasteur, is directed against the H5N1 strain of influenza virus, which some public health experts say could possibly spark a deadly epidemic of flu in humans.

Which transfat replacements are healthier?

A major change in the national diet is under way: Heart-damaging trans fat is rapidly disappearing from grocery aisles and restaurant food, too. But are its replacements really healthier? It's a tricky time for consumers, because the answer depends on the food – and some are losing trans fat only to have another artery clogger take its place, that old nemesis saturated fat.

Exercise linked to less anxiety, depression, study says

A regular run through the park may improve not only heart health but also mental health, a study suggests. In a study that followed a group of middle-aged British men for 10 years, researchers found that those who got regular vigorous exercise were less likely to develop depression or an anxiety disorder over time.

"I'm sorry" hard for doctors to say

The problem was obvious to anyone who looked at the middle-aged woman: After surgery to correct a drooping eyelid, her eyelid was too high. After a second operation, it was too low. Dr. Michael Migliori had the delicate task of telling the woman she needed a third operation. He began with two words that could make a defense attorney's head explode: I'm sorry.

Lessons of heart disease, learned and ignored

Medical research has revealed enough about the causes and prevention of heart attacks that they could be nearly eliminated. Yet nearly 16 million Americans are living with coronary heart disease, and nearly half a million die from it each year.

Report: Cancer cases to double by 2030

The number of diagnosed cancer cases will more than double between 2000 and 2030, primarily in poorer countries, the director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer said Tuesday. Dr. Peter Boyle said the reasons for the increase include population growth, longer life expectancy, more people smoking in the developing world and a lack of health care in poor countries.

Some think our health system should be based on prevention

A report released today at the 6th annual Johns Hopkins/Healthways Outcomes Summit calls for a national health-care system that is focused on prevention. Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions of Baltimore and Healthways Inc., a Nashville-based disease management company, said the report was based on a consensus of upward of 200 doctors, policymakers, patients, payers and “thought leaders.”

Insurers may not pay for stents: interesting follow-up to the stent story

Cardiologists and insurance companies are headed for a showdown over how they treat patients with chest pains. This is prompted by a landmark study released last week that shows stents have no life-saving benefits over drugs in non-emergency patients.

Internists challenge mammogram guidelines

The nation's largest medical specialty group is challenging a widely accepted recommendation that women should routinely undergo mammograms in their 40s, saying the risks of the breast exams may outweigh the benefit for many women.

Dark chocolate is good for your blood vessels

Chocoholics were given further reason to rejoice on Saturday when a small clinical study showed that dark chocolate improves the function of blood vessels.While the researchers cautioned against bingeing on bon bons, they said the findings of the trial were clear and called for larger such studies to confirm the results. (Photo from Reuters)

General physicals prompt patients to get needed cancer tests, study finds

If you're 50 or older, seeing your doctor every year or two for a checkup may be a good defense against cancer, according to a new study by researchers at UC Davis, the University of Washington, and Group Health Cooperative in Seattle.

"Hidden" calories in what you drink

About 21 percent of calories consumed by Americans over the age of 2 come from beverages, predominantly soft drinks and fruit drinks with added sugars, the panel said in its report. There has been a huge increase in sugar-sweetened drinks in recent decades, primarily at the expense of milk, which has clear nutritional benefits. The calories from these sugary drinks account for half the rise in caloric intake by Americans since the late 1970s.

Pediatricians voice anger over the cost of vaccines

The nation’s pediatricians, the foot soldiers in the campaign to vaccinate America’s children, are starting to revolt. The soaring cost and rising number of new vaccines, doctors say, make it increasingly difficult for them to buy the shots they give their patients. They also complain that insurers often do not reimburse them enough, so they can lose money on every dose they deliver.

Are shoes and sweaters on your grocery list?

Whoop it up, because you can now "get dressed" at the grocery store. Imagine saying this: "What, this little ol' thing? I picked it up while shopping for tuna."
Now, for the fine print. If you are in the market for Prada, Marc Jacobs or Rag & Bone, do not search near the exotic produce at your local grocer. It is fruitless (sorry, we couldn't resist). However, if you need basics such as cotton camisoles, cardigans or comfortable shoes, chances are you can find them at Whole Foods.

Dietary patterns linked to type 2 diabetes risk

Avoiding meats and fatty foods and eating lots of salads and cooked vegetables appears to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to study findings published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Exercise helps prevent falls in the elderly

Making sure that people over the age of 65 know how to avoid falling or being injured by a fall is the goal of a campaign launched this month by the National Athletic Trainers' Association and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The organizations say in addition to exercise, older people can make their homes safer by installing night lights, bathroom grab bars and slip-resistant floors.

A parasite from Latin America is a growing concern for healthcare professionals

Chagas disease,a little-known but potentially deadly parasitic disease from Latin America has become one of the latest threats to the blood and organ supplies in the United States, especially in Los Angeles, where many donors have traveled to affected countries, health officials say.

President Bush rejects citizens' health care proposal

The Bush administration on Wednesday rejected key recommendations from a citizens' group asked by Congress to find out people's health care wishes. Suggestions included guaranteeing health coverage for specific checkups and treatments and protecting consumers from high medical expenses.

Study pinpoints locations where heart disease is more likely

Heart disease is more common in Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, and least common in the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the government's first state and territorial estimates of people living with heart disease nationwide.

Fish oil unlikely to relieve depression

Despite some evidence linking depression with low levels of omega-3 fatty acids, there is currently no convincing evidence that omega-3 fatty acids alone can relieve depression, according to a report published this week.

Kaiser Permanente study hopes to find factors behind a range of diseases

U.S. researchers are launching a major population-based study to examine the genetic and environmental factors that may cause many diseases, including asthma, Alzheimer's, cancer, depression, diabetes, heart disease and reproductive problems, among others. This is the first such study in the United States since the Framingham Heart Study began in 1948 with some 5,000 men and women. Data from that project has helped determine the risk factors and best treatments for heart disease ever since.

Doctors dispute quality rankings

Health insurers are increasingly rating doctors and often charge patients a lower copayment to see those they deem exceptional providers, who, in turn, are paid more for higher performance.

Possible new medical benefit of olive oil

Spanish researchers have shown that olive oil inhibits growth of the Helicobactor pylori, the bacteria associated with the development of peptic ulcer disease. This has only been demonstrated in the "test tube," studies in human beings are needed to confirm the result.

Few doctors using email to communicate with patients

In a world where most people routinely e-mail friends, family and colleagues, and many exchange e-mail with teachers, newspaper columnists and even the pizza delivery guy, it's a weird fact: Most of us still don't have e-mail relationships with our doctors.

Medicare may not cover some stent implants

The Medicare program is rethinking its blanket coverage for all uses of drug-coated heart stents, a potential blow to Boston Scientific Corp., Johnson & Johnson, and others in the $6 billion-a-year industry.

Depression linked to early heart disease

Depression, especially its physical signs, such as fatigue and loss of appetite, may contribute to thickening arteries, an early sign of cardiovascular disease, researchers report.

Mothers' diabetes can threaten babies in their wombs

Despite medical advancements, babies born to mothers who don't control their blood sugar levels are at higher risk for birth defects. However, doctors say that the majority of women with diabetes can have healthy babies, if they keep their blood sugar levels within the target range both before and throughout their pregnancy.

Sex issues may signal other health risks

Doctors shouldn't shy away from asking patients about their sex lives, a new research paper advises. Researchers say problems in the bedroom can translate into serious medical conditions, and ignoring sexual dysfunction may mean missing early indicators for heart failure, depression or other ailments, according to a paper published in Friday's issue of The Lancet.

Bush urges parents to get kids outdoors to fight childhood obesity

"One way for this nation to cope with the issue of obesity is to get people outside -- whether it be through sports or hiking or conservation," Bush said while meeting with business leaders working to encourage exercise and healthy food choices through advertising.

Arthur Agatston, the doctor who brought the world the South Beach Diet is taking his battle against heart disease a step further, accusing the U.S. health care industry of not tackling an affliction he believes is almost entirely preventable.

Iowa residents list health care as top priority in poll

How many times do we have to say that health care is important???

Diet, exercise take off equal pounds

Eating less and exercising more are equally good at helping take off the pounds, U.S. researchers said on Friday in a study that challenges many of the popular tenets of the multi-billion dollar diet and fitness industry. Tests on overweight people show that a calorie is just a calorie, whether lost by dieting or by running, they said.

Heart attack patients treated by solo practitioners do worse, say researchers

Researchers found that patients treated by solo physicians were less likely to receive cardiac catheterization and angioplasty within a day of admission and more likely to die than other patients in the same hospital, even after a number of patient and physician characteristics were taken into account.

Most diabetics don't exercise

According to a new study, fewer than 40 percent get exercise and the more in danger the patients are, the less likely they are to be active.

No proof zinc helps prevent diabetes

Despite claims by zinc supplement manufacturers that the pills can help prevent type 2 diabetes, there is no proof for that notion in randomized clinical trials, a new report concludes.

Doctors say patients who lie may be putting their health at risk

There's an open secret in medicine: Patients lie. They lie about how much they smoke and whether they're taking their medicine. They minimize how much they drink and overstate how much they exercise. They feign symptoms to get appointments quicker and ask doctors to hide the truth from insurance companies.

Patients piling medical costs on credit cards

Some doctors and hospitals are teaming up with financial-services companies to market credit cards to patients, reducing healthcare providers' dependence on bill collection, and causing more low- and middle-income consumers to pay interest on their medical debts.

Eating transfats may increase infertility risk

Dr. Jorge E. Chavarro of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and colleagues have found that the more trans fats a woman eats, the more likely she is to be infertile,

Heart surgery is becoming less invasive

Cardiothoracic surgeons are replacing and repairing heart valves through incisions half as big as those needed in the traditional operation.

Heart doctors urge caution with drug-eluting stents

A group representing 3,700 cardiologists around the world Thursday warned physicians to be careful when recommending drug-eluting stents to treat diseased arteries.

Walgreens plans to expand its in-store clinics

Walgreen Co. plans to roll out health-care clinics in scores of its stores nationwide, the result of a growing movement among pharmacies to provide walk-in medical services for minor aches and pains.

Governors call for cheaper insulin

As they examine their state health care budgets, 11 of the nation’s governors have identified one big-ticket item they think should cost less: insulin.

Depression may quadruple stroke risk for some

People with symptoms of depression appear to be at increased risk of having a stroke or mini-stroke -- but only subjects less than 65 years old -- according to data from the Framingham Heart Study. The risk was not seen among individuals older than 65.

Government to list hospitals that falter in heart attack care

In a bid to improve hospital performance, the government plans to post a consumer-friendly comparison of hospitals' heart attack and heart failure death rates on the internet.

Milk cancels health benefits of drinking tea

Drinking tea can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, but only if milk is not added to the brew, German scientists report.

As obesity fight hits the cafeteria, many kids fear a note from school

The practice of reporting students' BMI scores to parents started a few years ago as just one tactic in a war on childhood obesity.

When it comes to diet, simple steps are the key to big changes

This will be the year you get serious about your weight, right? This article outlines some simple steps to help you achieve your goal

Study: Weight loss may lower cancer risk

After tracking the weight of nearly 70,000 men between 1982 and 1992, researchers from the American Cancer Society and the Duke University Prostate Center found that men who lost more than 11 pounds had a lower risk for aggressive prostate cancer than men whose weight remained the same over a decade.

Sugar not linked to diabetes risk

Researchers report that individuals who received 25% of their calorie intake from sugar as part of a balanced, weight maintaining diet for 6 weeks showed no difference in their degree of insulin resistance, compared to a calorie-matched diet that provided 10% of energy as sucrose.

To protect against medical errors, ask questions

Medication errors are among the most common medical mistakes, injuring or killing at least 1.5 million people a year and incurring at least $3.5 bilion a year in extra hospital costs alone.

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