Physicians and Facebook

Physicians warned about risks of using Facebook.
The CNN (12/16) "The Chart" blog reported, "Doctors with a Facebook profile could be jeopardizing their relationship with patients if they don't correctly use the website's privacy settings, according to a study in the Journal of Medical Ethics." The study "surveyed 200 residents and fellows at the Rouen University Hospital, France, in October 2009." Approximately "half of those surveyed believed that the doctor-patient relationship would be changed if the patient learned that their doctor had a Facebook account; most believed this would happen only if the patient had unrestricted access to the doctor's profile."
MedPage Today (12/17, Fiore) reports, "Nearly all doctors thought physicians shouldn't be forbidden from signing up on Facebook, but 82% said they should limit their access to Facebook friends only." In order "to help doctors navigate some of the issues that were raised in the article, the authors offered recommendations on physician Facebook etiquette." The recommendations include that "doctors must be aware that comments and pictures posted online may be misinterpreted" and that doctors should "use caution and restraint in displaying online material."

Autism and Freeways?

Children born to mothers living close to freeways may have twice the risk of autism.
The Los Angeles Times (12/17, Roan) reports, "Children born to mothers who live close to freeways have twice the risk of autism," according to a study published online Dec. 16 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. For the study, "researchers looked at 304 children with autism and, for comparison, 259 children who were developing normally." The youngsters lived in areas surrounding Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Francisco. The investigators discovered that "children living about 1,000 feet from a freeway at birth -- about 10% of the sample -- had a two-fold increase in autism risk," which "held up even after researchers controlled for other factors that may influence development, such as ethnicity, parental education, maternal age and exposure to tobacco smoke."

Food Borne Illness

Revised CDC data indicate one in six Americans experiences food borne illnesses.
ABC World News (12/15, story 10, 0:20, Sawyer) reported that as the "sweeping food safety bill is stalled on Capitol Hill," newly-released data indicate "that one in six Americans get sick every year from food borne illnesses. Of those, 128,000 are hospitalized" and "3,000 die."
Although these numbers are considered "still too high" by Christopher Braden, "director of CDC's division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases," they are considerably lower than previous estimates, USA Today (12/16, Weise) points out. "Since 1999, the CDC has listed the number of cases of foodborne illnesses in the USA each year as 76 million, with 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths -- numbers the food industry had at times disputed. Now, after almost a decade of work, the CDC is releasing new estimates and they're 37% lower -- 47.8 million cases of foodborne illness" instead of the aforementioned 76 million.
Delving into specifics, the CNN (12/15, Falco) "The Chart" blog noted that the two CDC reports "estimate that 31 different bugs are to blame for about 9.4 million people getting sick from the food they eat." Norovirus, "which is often blamed for outbreaks on cruise ships and nursing homes for example, is said to cause about 60% of food poisoning related illnesses and salmonella is the leading cause of hospitalizations," while "Campylobacter, Listeria, E. coli 0157, the parasite that causes Toxoplasmosis, and Clostridium perfringen...also are listed as the most common cause of food poisonings." Still, approximately "38.4 million Americans get sick from still unknown pathogens according to this new data."

Prescription Drugs and the Homeless

Drug dealers using homeless to obtain prescription drugs.
ABC World News (12/14, story 7, 3:00, Stephanopoulos) reported that in Houston, Texas, "over the last four years, there have been over 1,200 deaths of accidental overdoses from prescription drugs. So, 20/20 anchor Chris Cuomo and his team went undercover and found a surprising group being recruited to buy the drugs -- the homeless." Every day, homeless men are ferried to pain "clinics and paid $20 for each prescription they get." Unlike illicit "drugs, where possession of the drug is enough to make a case, here, the pain pills are all legal. So, we're probably going to see a lot more of this across the country."

Avoiding Holiday Heartburn

Experts provide recommendations for avoiding heartburn during the holidays.
USA Today (12/15, Marcus) reports that "the holidays are a heartburn nightmare waiting to happen," but "there are effective ways to avoid such spells, and to treat the discomfort, experts say." Katherine Zeratsky, a dietitian at Mayo Clinic's Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center, suggests "steering clear of certain common reflux 'trigger' foods" like "fatty cheeses, alcoholic beverages, minty flavored drinks and desserts, [and] creamy beverages, such as eggnog, hot chocolate, and caffeinated drinks." Duke's Rahul Shimpi advises changing certain "lifestyle habits, including using tobacco and caffeine, which can decrease the pressure in the muscle at bottom of the esophagus." Notably, "some medications, including calcium channel blockers for high blood pressure and sedatives for insomnia and anxiety, can increase or exacerbate GERD, as well."
Tea drinkers may digest fondue faster than wine imbibers. The AP (12/15) reports, "Debate has raged for decades in Switzerland over the perfect fondue beverage," with some insisting that "white wine is the best option. because the alcohol supposedly breaks down the gruyere cheese." Others, however, "say only tea -- with no milk or sugar -- is appropriate." Now, a paper in BMJ reveals that "people who drank tea digested the fondue in about six hours, compared to nine hours for those who had wine and kirsch," but "experts found no difference in symptoms like heartburn, nausea or indigestion among the groups."

Pomegranates and Cancer

Chemicals found in pomegranates may aid in fight against cancers.
According to a column in the Baltimore Sun (12/14, Weir), "chemicals found in pomegranate might have something to contribute in the fight against cancer," University of California scientists found. "When pomegranate juice was applied to prostate cancer cells cultured in a laboratory...researchers found that the cells were less likely to metastasize." Apparently, the "specific components of pomegranate -- phenylpropanoids, hydrobenzoic acids, flavones, and conjugated fatty acids -- inhibit a specific protein found in bone marrow responsible for the movement of cancer cells into the bone."
Meanwhile, the Time (12/14, Melnick) "Healthland" blog pointed out that "POM Wonderful, maker of pomegranate juice and other pomegranate-containing products, ran afoul of the Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission in September for making 'false and unsubstantiated' health claims on its products' labeling." In other words, "there's still no evidence that POM products can prevent heart disease or erectile dysfunction, as the company claimed."

Obesity and LIfe Circumstances

Study examines how gender, income and education may impact obesity.
USA Today (12/15, Hellmich) reports that, according to an analysis based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, "women who are better educated and live in households that are middle-income or above are less likely to be obese than women who are less educated and live in the lowest income households." Interestingly, "among men, there is not a statistically significant difference in obesity based on income and very little difference based on education, the data show." Epidemiologist Cynthia Ogden, of the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explained, "When looking at these two measures of socioeconomic status -- income and education -- their impact is greater on women than men."
Focusing on the youngest members of society, HealthDay (12/14) reported, "Among children, low family income was tied to a higher likelihood of obesity, but the association was not consistent across all racial and ethnic groups." And, "children raised in homes where the head of household had a college degree were less prone to become obese versus kids raised in households headed by someone without such education."