Archive for February, 2009
February 13th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Workers given financial rewards from their employers, ranging from $100 to $400, were more likely to be smoke-free up to 18 months later compared to workers who were merely given information on smoking cessation, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Tobacco use, particularly cigarette smoking, is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States and is responsible for a growing list of cancers as well as chronic diseases.
Many people who are trying to quit don’t know that Nicotine Replacement Products are widely recommended by health care professionals and carry no cancer risk. Nicotine itself is a stimulant and not a carcinogen. Cigarettes contain over 60 carcinogens, but nicotine is not one of them. Many people attempting to quit smoking are unaware of these facts about nicotine. Another common misconception is that so-called “light” cigarettes are better for them. People smoke to get the drug nicotine, but a smoker actually inhales about 4,000 additional chemicals as well. Some of the chemicals include formaldehyde, arsenic, ammonia, and carbon monoxide.
Read more about Smoking Cessation
Source: N Engl J Med. 2009;60:699–709
Source: Virginia Reichert, N.P., director of the Center for Tobacco Control at the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System in Great Neck, N.Y.
February 12th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
The salmonella outbreak has been responsible for eight deaths and 600 reported salmonella illnesses in 44 states. Some 1,800 products containing Peanut Corporation ingredients have been recalled so far, but manufacturers and retailers have issued 27 new recall announcements just this week.
Alarming details of Peanut Corporation’s operations were revealed in a Congressional Hearing yesterday. Peanut Corporation apparently stopped using a lab that found salmonella contamination in its products too often. Also an E-mail was found from the plant manager to the owner saying that the plant had received a positive salmonella test result on a batch of its peanut products. But after receiving two subsequent negative results on the batch, it was shipped. The company is accused of “lab shopping” or sending the product to a number of labs until one result turned up negative.
FDA inspectors recently found the following at the Peanut Corporation’s plant:
- peanut butter being made on equipment that was not cleaned after salmonella was detected in a batch of peanut butter produced with it in September 2008, nearly five months before.
- water leaking from the ceiling into the cooler that contained peanuts
- salmonella on the floor three feet away from peanuts which also tested positive for salmonella
- mold, improper ventilation, leaking walls, and a cockroach in a bathroom near the production floor
Peanut Corporation owner Stewart Parnell and plant manager Sammy Lightsey appeared before the congressional committee yesterday, but invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and refused to answer any questions. Yesterday, Peanut Corporation suspended operations at another of its plants, in Plainview, Texas, while the FDA and state public health inspectors examine its procedures and records. The company also has a facility in Suffolk, Va. A criminal probe into Peanut Corporation’s operations is ongoing.
Although the blame at the hearing was focused on the Peanut Corporation executives, this outbreak also underlines the deficiencies within our nation’s food safety systems. A number of bills have been recently introduced in Congress that would address food safety. One was submitted yesterday by Dingell which would require plant inspections every four years, apply companies’ registration fees to help pay for the government’s food safety efforts, and give the FDA increased authority to recall products.
Currently consumers need to be aware that the investigation is ongoing and the FDA continues to advise that if you don’t know the source of peanuts, or a product containing peanut butter, or peanut paste, don’t eat it. Major-label peanut butter sold in jars, such as Peter Pan, Jif and Smuckers, continue to be considered clear of contamination with salmonella and are considered safe. The FDA posts a daily updated list of recalled products on its website, and it has advised that any product containing peanut butter, such as cookies, crackers, cereal, ice cream, nutrition bars, candies and dog biscuits should not be eaten at the current time until it can be cleared in the ongoing nationwide salmonella outbreak.
Source: The FDA maintains an updated list of all recalled products
Source: “Congressional Panel Turns Harsh Spotlight on Peanut Processor”, MedPage Today, February 11, 2009
February 11th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Women who drink two or more cans of regular soda a day may be increasing their risk of kidney damage, according to researchers at Loyola University Medical Center . Diet soda intake was not associated with any signs of early kidney disease, and men who drank moderate amounts of regular soft drinks did not have any adverse effects.
Source: Shoham D, et al “Sugary soda consumption and albuminuria: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004″ PLoS ONE 2008; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003431.
February 10th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Smoking marijuana increases the risk of testicular cancer, according to researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In their recent study, men diagnosed with testicular cancer were 70% more likely to be current marijuana users, although the risk was especially elevated in men who had started using the drug before they were 18 or who used it frequently. Much of the increased risk is associated with tumors which typically peak between the ages of 20 and 35 and account for about 40% of all cases of testicular cancer.
Although little is known about the long-term health consequences of marijuana, it is known to have adverse effects on the reproductive system. Researchers have also found a link between long-term heavy cannabis use and shrinkage in certain areas of the brain. In addition, studies have found an increased risk of mental illness in pot smokers, such as depression and schizophrenia.
Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the developed world. The naive notion that smoking pot is harmless takes its toll on our society. Marijuana is not harmless and it is addictive. More young people are now in treatment for marijuana dependency than for alcohol or for all other illegal drugs combined. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Source: Daling JR, et al “Association of marijuana use and the incidence of testicular germ cell tumors” Cancer 2009; DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24159.
February 9th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
People living within 50 meters of a 220-380 kV power line are more likely to die of Alzheimer’s disease than those living at least 600 meters away from these lines, according to Swiss researchers from the University of Bern. The longer people lived close to the power lines, the higher their risk.
Electric and magnetic fields (EMF) are invisible lines of force that surround any electrical device that is plugged in and turned on. These electromagnetic fields are everywhere, in fact the cell phones, laptops, microwaves, hair dryers, electric blankets, and other appliances we surround ourselves with everyday emit an electromagnetic field in varying degrees.
The dangers of electromagnetic fields have long been a subject of discussion, controversy and research. Although there has been no conclusive evidence of a link between disease and EMF exposure, the World Health Organization has stated that these magnetic fields are possible human carcinogens. Some studies have found an increased risk of childhood leukemia in children living next to high-voltage power lines. Most recently, a study from 2005 found that children living within 200 meters of high-voltage power lines have a 70-percent increased risk of developing leukemia.
In your home there are a number of common-sense ways to reduce exposures to the EMFs that surround you during the day:
- Magnetic fields from appliances drop off dramatically in strength with increased distance from the source.
- Stand back from an appliance when it’s in use. A microwave, in particular, emits a considerable electromagnetic field within several feet of it during operation. Standing five-feet away from it during use will greatly reduce any EMF exposure.
- Keep at least an arm’s length away from computer monitors.
- Avoid using a laptop directly on the lap. There is no documented health hazard from using a laptop on the lap, but laptops do emit a small amount of radiation.
- Don’t let children play directly under power lines or on top of power transformers for underground lines.
- The duration of exposure is a factor of EMF exposure as well:
- Alarm clocks that sit next to your head for eight hours every night should be moved away from the head of the bed.
- Electric blankets that surround your body all night expose you to eight hours of low-dose EMF.
- Children are more susceptible to any potential dangers from EMF and parents might want to consider limiting cell phone use as a precautionary measure. Talking for hours on end, for instance, is a problem for a number of reasons, but the full breadth of the hazards of cell phone use by children is not completely understood yet.
- Correct any household wiring problems. This is also worth doing just for general safety reasons.
World wide, scientists who study the biological effects of radiation continue to do research on this issue.
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology, January 15, 2009.
Source: Draper G, Vincent T, Kroll ME, et al. Childhood cancer in relation to distance from high voltage power lines in England and Wales: a case-control study. British Medical Journal. 2005;330;1290-1294
February 6th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
A recent study found that men have a 1 in 5 lifetime risk of developing alcohol abuse or dependence, compared with only a 1 in 10 risk for women. However, the majority of both men and women do well after therapy for alcohol abuse, according to University of California researchers.
Source: “Men More Than Twice as Likely as Women to Develop Alcohol Dependence”, The Lancet, January 23, 2009
February 6th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
More than 60 generic drugs have been recalled, some of which include commonly-prescribed metoprolol succinate, hydromorphone HCl, amlodipine, benazepril, benzonate, hydrocodone, morphine, oxycodone, as well as more than two dozen prescription prenatal vitamins and iron supplements.
In its fourth recall in the last four months, ETHEX Corporation announced the latest recall, noting that the products “may have been manufactured under conditions that did not sufficiently comply with current Good Manufacturing Practices”. Manufacturing defects included over-sized tablets that delivered higher-than-labeled doses, according to the FDA, and the recall was done as a precaution.
The FDA began investigating the company’s manufacturing and quality control practices late last year. KV companies have issued a total of eight recalls totaling more than 200 products since May 2008.
For a list of recalled products and specific advice to consumers who are taking these drugs, go to the FDA’s website: “ETHEX Corporation Issues Voluntary Nationwide Recall Of Prescription Prenatal and Iron Supplements To Wholesale Level” FDA Press Release, Feb 3, 2009
February 5th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
This year’s flu season is fairly mild so far, but the CDC says activity is likely to increase in the next few weeks.
A word to the wise — Be especially careful with handwashing and other preventive measures.
February 4th, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Sulfide gases being emitted from Chinese-made drywall have been detected in some Southwest Florida homes, according to a series of articles from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Foul odors, similar to that of rotten eggs, have been reported by people living in the homes and the residents are claiming health problems as a direct result of the gases being released from the drywall.
The drywall was manufactured by Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd., a Chinese subsidiary of a German-based manufacturer. A second manufacturer was Taishan Gypsum.
According to the Herald-Tribune, “the amount of Chinese-manufactured drywall imported into the United States since 2006 was potentially enough to build more than 60,000 homes nationwide.”
via Sarasota Herald-Tribune:
February 3rd, 2009 by Nina Thompson, ARNP
Concerns are surfacing over the possiblity of unsafe drinking water in areas across the U.S. that have switched from chlorination to an alternative water-disinfection technology: chloramination.
From 2001 to 2004, lead concentrations spiked in many children living in the nation’s capital after the local water authority altered the treatment used to disinfect their drinking water. In a recent article in ScienceNews.org, “About seven-and-a-half years ago, the District of Columbia’s water authority switched from chlorination to an alternative water-disinfection technology: chloramination. The goal had been to reduce the potentially carcinogenic by-products of chlorination that developed in drinking water. And the substitution worked. However, an unintended consequence of this improved disinfection technique was the sudden release of copious amounts of lead into the drinking water that serves the nation’s capital.”
A leading water expert, Marc Edwards, argues that the drinking water situation in DC mirrors what is occurring elsewhere around the nation, if not the world. Marc Edwards, of Blacksburg, professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts in the causes and control of copper and lead erosion in drinking water.
Excessive lead in drinking water affects children more than adults, although adults can be significantly sickened as well. The developing neurological system in children is easily susceptible to lead toxicity, and it can give rise to lower IQ, attention deficits, hyperactivity, weak executive control, and antisocial behavior. Two recent studies have found that adults with high levels of lead in childhood not only showed signs of brain damage but were far more likely to be arrested in later years for violent crimes. In fact researchers are discovering that our current prisons have a very high percentage of inmates with signs of childhood lead toxicity.
Boiling the water or letting it sit out in an open container at room temperature will not effectively get rid of the residual chloramine and this can actually increase the lead concentration in the water. As some of the water evaporates during the boiling process, the lead concentration of the water can increase as the water is boiled.
Filtration systems can be used to eliminate the chloramine and lead in household water. Although more expensive than most systems, reverse osmosis systems are the most effective filtration systems on the market. Keep in mind, however, that reverse osmosis will also remove any of the beneficial fluoridation that is added to the water for dental protection, which is important for children. Talk to your child’s dentist if you elect to use a reverse osmosis system.
A simple blood test is available to measure the amount of lead in your blood and to estimate how much lead you have been exposed to. Pediatricians often recommend yearly blood tests for children six and under.
via “Water-cleanup experiment caused lead poisoning”, ScienceNews.org, Janet Raloff, January 27, 2009
via EPA, Information about Chloramine in Drinking Water
This post was updated on February 4, 2009
