Cell Phone Cancer Comments

Researcher says long-term cell phone use may be associated with brain tumor risk.
In a commentary in the San Francisco Chronicle (4/28, A14), Joel M. Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health in UC Berkeley's School of Public Health, writes that the wireless industry "argues that its phones comply with regulations, and there is no consensus about risks so people don't need" data on how much radiation is emitted by cellular phones. However, Moskowitz writes, "our research review published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found alarming results to the contrary." According to Moskowitz, "the 13 studies that investigated cell phone use for 10 or more years found a significant harmful association with tumor risk, especially for brain tumors, giving us ample reason for concern about long-term use."

Toys in Happy Meals Banned

California county bans toys in some children's meals to help fight obesity.
NBC Nightly News (4/27, story 13, 0:35, Williams) reported, "The latest target in the fight against childhood obesity comes from California's Silicon Valley, where county officials there proposed a ban on toys in fast food kid meals like Happy Meals and the like. The ban would apply with any meal with more than 485 calories or 600 milligrams of salt."
The New York Times (4/28, B6, McKinley) reports, "In what it described as a blow against the fattening temptations of fast food, the board of supervisors in Santa Clara County, south of San Francisco, voted Tuesday to ban the promotional toys that often accompany child-size portions of cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets if those meals don't meet certain nutritional standards." Notably, "the criteria, which are based on federal standards and recommendations from the nonprofit Institute of Medicine, would apply to all fast-food restaurants giving away toys in meals intended for children."
The Los Angeles Times (4/28, Bernstein, Times) reports, "The board, whose jurisdiction extends only to the unincorporated parts of the county, including much of Silicon Valley, voted 3 to 2 in favor of the ban after a contentious meeting that included more than an hour of testimony on both sides."

Anabolic Steroids and Weak Hearts

Long-term use of anabolic steroids appears to weaken heart more than previously thought.
The Los Angeles Times (4/27, Maugh) "Booster Shots" blog reported, "Long-term use of anabolic steroids damages the heart more than researchers previously believed and could be setting up many users for heart disease and death," according to a new paper in Circulation: Heart Failure. "Previously known side effects of the drugs include liver tumors, jaundice, high blood pressure, shrinkage of the testicles, reduced sperm count, development of breasts, paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability and impaired judgment." But there have been those who have "also suggested an effect on the heart."
So, a Harvard-led team of investigators "enlisted 19 male weight lifters, including 12 who reported taking, on average, about 675 milligrams of steroids a week for nine years and nine who said they never used steroids," HealthDay (4/27, Edelson) reported. The "researchers used Doppler echocardiography, which uses ultrasound to generate moving pictures of the heart's size and function, to study the function of the each weight lifter's left ventricle."
A "healthy left ventricle pumps 55% to 70% of the blood that fills the heart," but 10 "of the 12 steroid users had ejection fractions of less than 55%, which has been linked to an increased risk for heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest," WebMD (4/27, Boyles) reported. Conversely, "only one of the seven weightlifters with no history of steroid use had a low ejection fraction." The "steroid users also showed evidence of impaired diastolic function."

Vitamins and Dementia

No hard evidence supports supplements', vitamins' promise in slowing cognitive decline.
CNN (4/26, Landau) reported, "A seemingly steady stream of new research purports to show supplements' and vitamins' promise in preventing or slowing cognitive decline, but in reality no hard evidence supports taking any of them." But, "at the same time, such supplements have been proved safe, barring drug interactions and other complications, so some doctors recommend trying them anyway." The article discussed claims regarding omega 3 fatty acid fish oils, gingko biloba, and vitamin E for preserving cognition, pointing out that studies have found inconclusive or mixed benefits for each of these supplements.

Chocolate and Depression

Researchers explore chocolate-depression connection.
The Wall Street Journal (4/27, Dooren) reports that, according to a study published April 26 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, people who consume larger amounts of chocolate may be more depressed than those who eat lesser amounts of it.
"Researchers at UC San Diego and UC Davis examined chocolate consumption and other dietary intake patterns among 931 men and women who were not using antidepressants," then screened them for depression, the Los Angeles Times (4/27, Roan) reports. "Those who screened positive for possible depression consumed an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate -- defined as one ounce of chocolate candy -- per month," compared "with 5.4 servings per month among people who were not depressed."
Bloomberg News (4/27, Ostrow) reports that "the scientists didn't find any evidence of a benefit from chocolate, as it didn't seem to help people overcome their depressed mood on average."
According to the Washington Post (4/26, Huget) "The Checkup" blog, "the researchers were able to pinpoint, though, that it's the chocolate itself -- not the fat, carbs or caffeine therein -- that was related to mood." They called for more research "to determine which of five potential scenarios best explains the chocolate-depression connection."

US Chronic Disease Stats

Nearly half of Americans have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.
ABC World News (4/26, story 7, 1:20, Sawyer) reported that "almost half of American adults, 45% of us, now have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes," according to researchers from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Los Angeles Times (4/27, Maugh) reports that "one in eight Americans has at least two of the conditions and one in 33 has all three, sharply increasing their risk." These "data come from the ongoing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey." While "researchers should be able to use the new data to plan interventions, 'the main thing here is for people to be aware that they have these conditions and know that lifestyle modifications and medications can control them and reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease,' said epidemiologist Cheryl D. Fryar of the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, one of the study's authors."
WebMD (4/26, Woznicki) reported that "the study shows that about 8% of adults have undiagnosed high blood pressure, 8% have undiagnosed high cholesterol, and 3% of have undiagnosed diabetes."
HealthDay (4/26, Edelson) reported that "blacks had a particularly high incidence of hypertension, 42.5 percent, compared to 29.1 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 26.1 percent of Mexican-Americans." The report indicated that "high blood cholesterol was more common among non-Hispanic whites (26.9 percent) than among blacks (21.5 percent) and Mexican-Americans (21.8 percent), while diabetes was more common among blacks (14.6 percent) and Mexican-Americans (15.3 percent) than among non-Hispanic whites (8.3 percent)."

Extended Health Insurance Policies

Cigna to allow young adults to remain on parents' policies starting June 1.
The AP (4/27) reports that on April 26, Cigna Corp. announced that "it will allow young adults up to age 26 to remain on their parents' policies starting June 1." The company now joins WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group, Inc., Aetna, Inc., and Humana, Inc. in extending such coverage. According to Cigna, "its new rules apply to dependent adults who would be ineligible for coverage under their parents' plans because they live elsewhere or are in college."