- Author: Health Informer
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Mar 21,2011
Primary care doctors are less likely to refer short girls than short boys for diagnostic testing that can reveal underlying medical reasons for their short stature, according to a new study of an urban pediatric population in Philadelphia. Girls with medical conditions causing their short stature may go undiagnosed, or may be diagnosed later than boys, limiting timely treatment.
Researchers from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia published their study online today in the April 2011 issue of Pediatrics.
The study team analyzed referral patterns for growth faltering in a retrospective study of children, a majority of them African American, in urban primary care pediatric practices. Growth faltering was defined as being in the lowest 5 percent of height for the child’s age and gender, or by a standardized measure of growth deceleration.
A majority of children with growth faltering were managed by primary care physicians rather than by subspecialists such as endocrinologists or gastroenterologists. Those subspecialists treat children with medical conditions such as growth hormone deficiency and Turner syndrome, which lead to short stature. Compared to boys in the study, girls with growth faltering were screened only half as often for growth hormone deficiency.
“We found that growth faltering is common in urban, largely minority, underserved pediatric practices,” said Adda Grimberg, M.D., pediatric endocrinologist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and primary investigator on this study. “Only eight percent of the children with growth faltering received subspecialist care and there is a gender and race disparity that is not beneficial to the children who may need additional treatment.” Read the rest of this entry »
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- Author: Health Informer
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Mar 19,2011
Finding that the availability of menthol cigarettes increases the number of children and African Americans who smoke, the Food and Drug Administration’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee concluded, “Removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States.”
We strongly support the committee’s findings and conclusions, which are based on an exhaustive review of the scientific evidence regarding the public health impact of menthol cigarettes. We urge the FDA to implement the committee’s recommendation in a way that maximizes the public health benefits.
The committee based its recommendation on findings that menthol cigarettes increase the number of children who experiment with cigarettes and the number of children who become regular smokers, increasing overall youth smoking. It also concluded that the availability of menthol cigarettes reduces smoking cessation, especially among African Americans, and increases the overall prevalence of smoking among African Americans. It found that “menthol cigarettes are marketed disproportionately to younger smokers” and “disproportionately marketed per capita to African Americans.”
The committee’s conclusions leave no doubt that menthol cigarettes have had a profound adverse impact on public health in the United States, resulting in more smoking and more death and disease from tobacco use. It also leaves no doubt that the tobacco industry is directly responsible for the harm caused by menthol cigarettes because of its targeted marketing of children and African American and other communities, and its manipulation of menthol cigarettes to appeal to specific target markets.
We applaud and thank the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee for its thorough review of the scientific evidence regarding menthol cigarettes and its carefully considered and science-based recommendation. The committee has done exactly what Congress directed when it enacted the 2009 law granting the FDA authority over tobacco products. Now the FDA must act expeditiously and implement the committee’s recommendation.
SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
- Author: Health Informer
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Mar 17,2011
The Bureau of Labor Statistics points to the healthcare industry as one of the fastest-growing fields today, projecting that it will increase 22 percent through 2018, compared to 11 percent for all industries.
The projections indicate that more healthcare professionals and facilities will be needed as the number of older people continues to grow, and as new developments allow for the treatment of more medical conditions.
According to Craig Vogel, president and founder of Western Capital Consultants, these projections, in combination with low interest rates and real estate prices, present medical professionals with an extraordinary opportunity for growth.
“There’s never been a better time for medical professionals to start their own practices, expand their existing practices, or upgrade their offices in preparation for the healthcare boom,” says Vogel. “Because rates are low and real estate is so affordable right now, you can purchase your own building less expensively than you could if you were to lease.” Read the rest of this entry »
- Author: Health Informer
- Filed under: Health News
- Date: Mar 16,2011
The National Minority Quality Forum and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, in collaboration with the CBC Health Braintrust, is launching the U.S. Diabetes Index (USDI) (www.usdiabetesindex.com) – the national index by which diabetes in the United States will be measured. Other stakeholders include the Diabetes Care Project, and Gallup and Healthways, authors of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.
USDI and its companion website, www.usdireport.com , provide the most comprehensive source of available data about people living with diabetes, their care, and the trends that are shaping the disease in the United States. USDI houses more than 30,000 maps, charts and graphs depicting diabetes prevalence, costs, the uncontrolled and pre-diabetes populations, co-morbid conditions, and other important indices segmented by geography, including national, state, county, city, congressional, state legislative and zip code levels, and by age, gender, and race/ethnicity. USDI Report is an online web site designed to provide critical intelligence about the diabetes epidemic in the United States. Its mission is to reduce the incidence of the disease, improve patient outcomes while encouraging the effective management of our health care resources. USDI Report not only draws upon the robust amount of information to be found in the U.S. Diabetes Index, but also collaborates with Gallup and Healthways and other third party information providers to present the most current and updated depiction of diabetes in America.
Diabetes is a public health crisis in America with the elderly and minority populations most vulnerable to the ravages of this disease. According to the USDI, almost half of all patients with diabetes are not controlled; only 55 percent of diabetics check their blood sugar at least once a day; and more than half report not visiting their doctor over a 12-month period. The rising rates of obesity, the aging of the American population, the higher risk for the disease among minorities, and poor prevention are creating a health and economic crisis for the U.S. Read the rest of this entry »