Salon.com > Mike Stobbe

1 in 24 drivers admit nodding off behind the wheel

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:49:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — This could give you nightmares: 1 in 24 U.S. adults say they recently fell asleep while driving.

And health officials think the number is probably higher. That's because some people don't realize it when they nod off for a second or two behind the wheel.

In a government study released Thursday, a little over 4 percent of U.S. adults said they fell asleep while driving at least once in the previous month. Some earlier studies reached a similar conclusion, but the survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was far larger.

The study found drowsy driving was more common in men and in people ages 25 to 34.

The results are from a survey of 147,000 adults in 2009 and 2010.

Alcohol calories nearly equal soda’s for US adults

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:00:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans get too many calories from soda. But what about alcohol? It turns out adults get almost as many empty calories from booze as from soft drinks, a government study found.

Soda and other sweetened drinks — the focus of obesity-fighting public health campaigns — are the source of about 6 percent of the calories adults consume, on average. Alcoholic beverages account for about 5 percent, the new study found.

"We've been focusing on sugar-sweetened beverages. This is something new," said Cynthia Ogden, one of the study's authors. She's an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which released its findings Thursday.

The government researchers say the findings deserve attention because, like soda, alcohol contains few nutrients but plenty of calories.

The study is based on interviews with more than 11,000 U.S. adults from 2007 through 2010. Participants were asked extensive questions about what they ate and drank over the previous 24 hours.

The study found:

—On any given day, about one-third of men and one-fifth of women consumed calories from beer, wine or liquor.

—Averaged out to all adults, the average guy drinks 150 calories from alcohol each day, or the equivalent of a can of Budweiser.

Meningitis outbreak toll: 119 cases, 11 deaths

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 18:46:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of people sickened by a deadly meningitis outbreak has now reached 119 cases, including 11 deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the count on Tuesday.

New Jersey is the tenth state to report at least one illness. The other states involved in the outbreak are Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio.

Officials have tied the outbreak of rare fungal meningitis to steroid shots for back pain. The steroid was made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts. At least one contaminated vial was found at the company.

The company recalled the steroid that was sent to clinics in 23 states, and later recalled everything it makes.

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Online:

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/outbreaks/meningitis.html

Steroid-related meningitis cases rise to 47

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 22:05:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials have identified about 75 medical clinics across the country to help track down patients who got steroid shots linked to a deadly meningitis outbreak.

The tally from the outbreak rose to nearly 50 cases and spread to a seventh state, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. The number of deaths from the rare fungal meningitis remained at five.

A seventh state, Michigan, was added to the list with four cases. Tennessee's cases now total 29; Virginia, six; Indiana, 3; two each in Maryland and Florida and one in North Carolina.

Looking for a source of the outbreak, investigators have focused on a steroid made by a specialty pharmacy, New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass. The steroid shots were used for back pain, a highly common treatment.

Health inspectors found fungus in at least one sealed vial of the steroid at the company's facility this week and were doing tests to identify the fungus. On Friday, officials said they have found two types of fungus in nine sick patients — Aspergillus and Exserohilum.

Baby bust continues: US births down for 4th year

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:14:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. births fell for the fourth year in a row, the government reported Wednesday, with experts calling it more proof that the weak economy has continued to dampen enthusiasm for having children.

But there may be a silver lining: The decline in 2011 was just 1 percent — not as sharp a fall-off as the 2 to 3 percent drop seen in other recent years.

"It may be that the effect of the recession is slowly coming to an end," said Carl Haub, a senior demographer with the Population Reference Bureau, a Washington, D.C.-based research organization.

Most striking in the new report were steep declines in Hispanic birth rates and a new low in teen births. Hispanics have been disproportionately affected by the flagging economy, experts say, and teen birth rates have been falling for 20 years.

Falling births is a relatively new phenomenon in this country. Births had been on the rise since the late 1990s and hit an all-time high of more than 4.3 million in 2007.

But fewer than 4 million births were counted last year — the lowest number since 1998.

Among the people who study this sort of thing, the flagging economy has been seen as the primary explanation. The theory is that many women or couples who are out of work, underemployed or have other money problems feel they can't afford to start a family or add to it.

Is your problem gluten?

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:16:00 +0000

ATLANTA (AP) — Gluten-free eating has exploded in America, but scientists aren't sure how many people are doing it for medical reasons.

A study released Tuesday suggests that nearly 2 million U.S. adults have celiac disease, a digestive disorder caused by foods that contain gluten, a protein that is in wheat.

In the past few years, scientists have also identified another group of people as "gluten sensitive" — a different condition with similar symptoms.

But there is no test for gluten sensitivity, and how many people actually have it is a matter of debate.

Meanwhile, gluten-free has become a fad. Americans will spend an estimated $7 billion this year on foods labeled gluten-free, according to the market research firm Mintel.

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Online:

Celiac disease: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/index.aspx

AIDS test at drugstores

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:17:00 +0000

ATLANTA (AP) — Would you go to a drugstore to get tested for AIDS?

Health officials want to know, and they're setting up a pilot program to find out.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced plans Tuesday to offer rapid HIV tests at drugstores in 24 cities and rural communities. The government is spending $1.2 million on the project.

The test involves a swab of the inside of the mouth and the results are ready in about 20 minutes. The CDC is already offering the free tests in seven drugstores and plans to expand to more locations this summer.

Health officials estimate that 1.1 million Americans are infected with HIV, but as many as 20 percent of them don't know they carry the virus.

Four in U.S. now linked to German E. coli outbreak

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:24:00 +0000

Health officials now say four people in the U.S. may be linked to the food poisoning outbreak in Europe.

All four were in northern Germany in May and officials are confident that they were infected with E. coli in that country. Three of them -- two women and a man -- are hospitalized with a kidney complication that has become a hallmark of the outbreak.

Officials said Friday they are also checking two possible E. coli cases in U.S. military service members in Germany.

The source of the outbreak hasn't been pinpointed but salad vegetables are suspected.

An official from the Food and Drug Administration says produce in the U.S. remains safe. The government has stepped up testing of imported food from Germany and Spain, but very little is imported from those countries.

Ranks of cancer survivors growing fast, CDC says

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:43:00 +0000

The number of cancer survivors in the United States is increasing by hundreds of thousands a year, and now includes roughly one in 20 adults, health officials said Thursday.

More people are surviving cancer, in part, because of earlier detection and better treatment, they said.

In 2007, there were about 11.7 million Americans with a history of cancer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Forty years ago, the number of cancers survivors was about 3 million. That increased to 10 million in 2001 and to 11.4 million in 2006.

Healthy eating, less smoking and other preventive steps may also be playing a role in the increase, health officials said.

"There are some cancers that we can't prevent and they are terrible tragedies," said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden. "But there are many that are preventable, or if caught early can result in much longer life."

Demographics are a factor in the survivor increase, too. Cancer is most common in people 65 and older, and the nation's elderly population is growing. The CDC said 7 million -- 60 percent -- of the cancer survivors were 65 or older.

Urban study finds 1 in 5 gay men have HIV

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:47:00 +0000

A government study found one in five sexually active gay and bisexual men is infected with HIV, and nearly half of those infected don't know they have the disease.

The study is considered the largest to look at urban gay and bisexual men at high risk for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. More than 8,000 men in 21 U.S. cities were tested and interviewed.

The new study echoed earlier research that found men who were black and had lower incomes were the most likely to be infected and to not know it.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the results Thursday. The study is being published in a CDC publication, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

Kidneys transplanted between HIV-infected patients

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:12:00 +0000

South African surgeons have transplanted kidneys between donors and patients who were both infected with the AIDS virus -- a medical first that has some U.S. doctors buzzing about whether it could be tried here.

The first four of the transplants, which occurred in 2008, are described in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Five more have been done since then at the same Cape Town hospital, Groote Schuur. It's the only medical center in the world to have done them, said one of the transplant surgeons, Dr. Elmi Muller.

The United States bans transplants from HIV-infected donors out of fear they will spread the AIDS virus to recipients. Some have occurred by accident, however, when a donor's infection was not detected beforehand.

Muller was in the U.S. last week and discussed the work at a National Institutes of Health meeting.

"We've been talking a lot about whether it makes sense to start doing this," said Dr. Peter Stock, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who attended the meeting.

HIV patients can survive decades with the help of medications. Now, many of them also struggle with kidney disease, which in some cases is a complication of their infection, and need dialysis.

800,000 doses of kids’ swine flu vaccine recalled

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:01:00 +0000

Health officials are recalling hundreds of thousands of doses of swine flu vaccine after tests indicated they may not be potent enough to protect against the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified doctors about the recall Tuesday. The recall involves about 800,000 doses made by Sanofi Pasteur. The doses are pre-filled syringes intended for young children, ages 6 months to almost three years.

Health officials recommend children those ages get two doses, spaced about a month apart.

Health officials say it's not clear how many doses have already been given, but they don't think children need to be re-vaccinated. The lots passed potency tests when they were first shipped, but tests indicate the potency waned after.