July 27 Health News
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
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CDC reports rise in state obesity
rates Adult obesity rates reached 30% or
more in 12 states last year, up from nine states in 2009 and none in 2000,
according to data released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi,
Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia reported
adult obesity rates of 30% or more in 2010, and no state reported a rate of
less than 20%, based on the state-based Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System survey. "We must continue our efforts to reverse this
epidemic," said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D., noting that heart disease,
stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer are obesity-related.
AHRQ: Heart disease, cancer most costly adult medical
conditions Heart disease was the most
costly adult medical condition in 2008, accounting for about $90.4 billion in
health care spending, according to a new report by the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality. Cancer was the second most costly condition,
accounting for about $71.4 billion in spending and the highest expenditure per
person. Among women, spending for mental and trauma-related disorders ranked
third and fourth, followed by osteoarthritis, asthma, hypertension, diabetes,
back problems and hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and other lipid levels).
Among men, spending for trauma-related disorders and osteoarthritis ranked
third and fourth, followed by mental disorders, diabetes, hypertension,
hyperlipidemia, asthma and back problems. The findings are based on data from
the 2008 Medical Panel Expenditure Survey, sponsored by AHRQ and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
Study can't explain breast cancer death outcomes
among blacks
Data on more than 4,500 U.S. women indicated that 14% of white
women with breast cancer died of the disease after more than eight years
compared with 25% of their black counterparts. Researchers reported in the
Journal of Clinical Oncology that obesity appeared to explain breast cancer
outcomes for whites, with obese white women 46% more likely to die from breast
cancer than normal-weight counterparts. They did not find a similar link among
blacks, but noted the makeup of the tumor and access to care may play a role in
the group's breast cancer mortality outcomes. Read entire article
at REUTERS
'Human
factor' often overlooked in home health device creation
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The National
Research Council believes that home health device manufacturers don't give
enough consideration to human factors like ease of use when creating their
technology, according to a report
released this week. The report, commissioned by the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality, also calls on government agencies, in particular the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Office of the National Coordinator
for Health IT, to work together more closely in regulating such devices, as
well as any accompanying applications. Patients and caregivers should
be able to use such devices easily and also should have a mechanism for
providing feedback on their design flaws, the report notes. At a time when
hospitals and healthcare systems are placing increased emphasis on post-acute
care, the report's recommendations highlight wide gaps that currently exist
in home care regulations. Among the study's specific recommendations:
- ONC, AHRQ and the National
Institute of Standards and Technology "should establish design
guidelines and standards...for content, accessibility, functionality,
and usability guidelines" for information technology used in home
care, such as personal health records and patient portals.
- To improve FDA's understanding
of user difficulties with home health devices, the agency should improve
its adverse events reporting system so that it can collect data from
both "lay users" and professionals.
- The FDA, in conjunction with
device manufacturers, should develop a database to guide physicians in prescribing
home health devices appropriately.
- Caregivers should be
well-trained in home care and in using home health devices.
NRC's
announcement was made one day before the FDA released its draft guidance
for mobile medical applications. Read
entire article at FierceHealthIT.com
Take
a walk with me: Patient mobility shortens length of stay
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Walking
patients can help improve the care of older adults and shorten length of
stay, according to recent studies. Researchers at the University of
Texas Medical Branch at Galveston found that elderly patients who walked at
least 600 steps during the first to second day were discharged 1.7 days
earlier than those who did not, according to a new editorial published in the
Archives of Internal Medicine. Patients wore walking monitors to test
the general rule of thumb that "getting back on your feet" would help
patients. "Mobility is a key measure in older people's
independence and quality of life generally, and this study suggests that's
also true in the hospital setting," said lead study author Steve Fisher,
a UTMB Health assistant professor, in a press release. "When we
hospitalize elderly people, we set up a paradoxical situation: you can have a
positive outcome of the acute problem that brought them there, but still have
negative consequences as a result of extended immobility." Other studies
have also touted the benefits of higher mobility in hospitalized patients.
For instance, research found that, on the flip side, low mobility during
hospitalization can add to functional decline in older patients, according to
a recent Journal of the American Geriatrics study. With a close
eye on cutting readmission rates, hospitals may be examining low-cost ways to
improve care. Read entire
article at FierceHealthCare.com
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