Epidemiologists Blogs 
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This page shows you the most recent publications within this specialty of the MedWorm directory.
Federal control of sugar essential to ease public health burden
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Sugar should be controlled like alcohol and tobacco to
protect public health, according to a team of UCSF researchers, who maintain in
a new report
that sugar is fueling a global obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million
deaths annually worldwide from non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart
disease and cancer. Many of the interventions that have reduced alcohol and
tobacco consumption can be models for addressing the sugar problem, such as
levying special sales taxes, controlling access, and tightening licensing
requirements on vending machines and snack bars that sell high sugar products
in schools and workplace...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - February 2, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Prevention Surveillance behavioral change epidemiology policy Source Type: blogs
Chemicals Undermine Vaccines?Email this article to a colleague.
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Perfluorinated
compounds, a class of manufacturing chemicals, may be harming
the immune system in a way that reduces the effectiveness of standard
childhood vaccines according to Environmental epidemiologist Philippe
Grandjean of the Harvard School of Public Health and his colleagues who measured
PFC levels in 587 children in Denmark, while still in utero and at age 5, when
the children came in for their booster shots, and age 7. Comment: There were no control subjects without PFC levels present so
further studies should be made using children without PFCs in the blood for
controls. If this is confirmed then we must consid...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 27, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Community Health Environment epidemiology Prevention research Source Type: blogs
Black Tea Cuts Blood PressureEmail this article to a colleague.
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Drinking
three cups each day for six months lowered both diastolic and systolic blood
pressure by 2 to 3 mm, according to Jonathan Hodgson, PhD, of the University of
Western Australia in Perth, and colleagues. Following a randomized trial that
included 95 men and women ages 35 to 75 (mean age 56 for men and 57 for women)
who were regular tea drinkers. Comment:
It is important to differentiate between statistically and clinically significant
results. This was a poor study using a small population who were already tea
drinkers and with very small numbers when the subgroup were divided by age and
sex, and no history given of ...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 24, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: behavioral change epidemiology Prevention Translational Research Surveillance Source Type: blogs
Many People Continue to Smoke after Being Diagnosed with CancerEmail this article to a colleague.
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A new analysis has found that a substantial number of lung and colorectal cancer patients continue to smoke after being diagnosed. The investigators determined smoking rates around the time of diagnosis and five months after diagnosis in 5,338 lung and colorectal cancer patients. At diagnosis, 39 percent of lung cancer patients and 14 percent of colorectal cancer patients were smoking; five months later, 14 percent of lung cancer patients and 9 percent of colorectal cancer patients were still smoking. A substantial minority of cancer patients continue to smoke after being diagnosed. <strong>Comment:</strong> Ad...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 24, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Prevention Surveillance behavioral change Source Type: blogs
A growing segment of neurologically impaired children is increasingly dependent on children's hospitalsEmail this article to a colleague.
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Boston, Mass; because of care
advances, more infants and children with previously lethal health problems are
surviving. Many, however, are left with lifelong neurologic impairment. The
researchers analyzed KID data from 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2006, encompassing 25.7
million hospitalizations of children age 0 to 18. Of these, 1.3 million
hospitalizations were for children with neurologic conditions, primarily cerebral
palsy and epilepsy. Comment: not only does the cost of care go up as
neurologically damaged children increase in age but the cost to the educational
systems for these children in school is often in the hun...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 21, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Community Health epidemiology policy Prevention Surveillance Translational Research Source Type: blogs
Statin Use in Postmenopausal Women Associated With Increased Diabetes RiskEmail this article to a colleague.
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In this study, researchers used WHI data through 2005 and included 153,840
women without diabetes and with a mean (average) age of 63.2 years. While this
is a reminder that many useful medications have side effects and that men's
health and women's health before this data is a retrospective analysis of cohort
has all the limitations associated with such studies and needs confirmation
with a prospective blinded study before policy recommendations can be
considered. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 20, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Prevention Surveillance epidemiology policy Source Type: blogs
Group says sex poses little risk for heart attack survivor.Email this article to a colleague.
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This
consensus statement is the result of significant studies published in the
article quoted below, and the risk of one hour of sexual activity the week is
said to be less than one per 10,000 person years of exposure. While additional
guidelines are provided such as the risk from extra marital sex and likelihood
that if you cannot climb two sets of stairs without getting angina you may have
a problem, the data gives very little information that can be used for a
specific individual unless an extensive cardiovascular workup is performed. Such costs may well be prohibitive while it
is unlikely that a person who really...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 20, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Prevention Surveillance behavioral change policy Source Type: blogs
New Test Offers Greater Accuracy in Early Detection of Colorectal CancerEmail this article to a colleague.
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This study underscore the great potential of the stool DNA test
as a colorectal cancer screening tool," says lead author from the Mayo
Clinic, "Along with its high accuracy, this test approach could improve
participation rates due to its patient-friendly features. The test is noninvasive;
requires no bowel preparation, medication restriction, or diet change; and can
be performed on mailed-in samples without the need, expense, or inconvenience
of a health care visit." Sensitivity was 64 percent for polyps larger than
1 centimeter (cm), 77 percent for those larger than 2 cm and 92 percent for
those larger than 4 cm. (Source:...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 20, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Prevention Translational Research Source Type: blogs
20% of American adults may suffer from mental illness each year!Email this article to a colleague.
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The
Washington Post (1/19, Brown) reports,
"About 20 percent of American adults suffer some sort of mental illness
each year, and about five percent experience a serious disorder that disrupts
work, family or social life, according to a government report released
Thursday" by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA)." One has to consider how mental illness is diagnosed and that deviations from a totally sedate life
without any deviation towards either anxiety or depression is rare. I found
this just another of those statements that shows how adverse the American
public is toward risk and...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 20, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Community Health Prevention Surveillance behavioral change policy Source Type: blogs
MRSA in pork products: does the "antibiotic-free" label make a difference?Email this article to a colleague.
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In this study, we focused only on pork products, and included 395 samples from Iowa, Minnesota, and New Jersey. We also looked at not only conventional meats, but also "alternative" meat products. Most of the latter were products labeled "raised without antibiotics" or "raised without antibiotic growth promotants"--in the markets we tested, very few USDA-certified organic products were available unfrozen, and we were looking for fresh meat products.
In our previous paper, we found MRSA on 1.2% of 165 meat samples. In the current study, we found a higher prevalence--6.6% of 395 samples were contaminated with MRSA. (More a...
Source: Aetiology - January 19, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Antibiotic resistance Source Type: blogs
Matching Supply to Demand: Addressing the U.S. Primary Care Workforce ShortageEmail this article to a colleague.
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A policy analysis from the national Institute for healthcare reform states “there is little debate about a growing primary care workforce shortage in the United States. A secondary problem contributing to addressing capacity shortfalls is that the distribution of primary care practitioners often is mismatched with patient needs. For example, patients in rural areas or low-income patients—particularly the uninsured—may have greater problems accessing primary care services than well-insured, suburban residents.” The AMA takes issue with one of the report recommendations for increased training an...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 17, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Community Health Economics policy Prevention Source Type: blogs
Dangerous Combo: Headphones, WalkingEmail this article to a colleague.
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in a report in Medpage today we learn that 100 headphone-wearing American pedestrians have been struck by trains, cars, or other vehicles since 2004. The question should be at what level of injury and death in a population over 300 million should new protective (restrictive) laws they developed. This is no different to the current questions about the use of cell phones and texting technology in motor vehicles. When people injure themselves due to their own behaviors this is different from when they injure others, even then there needs to be consideration about when the government is responsible for individual behaviors. &n...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 17, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Community Health Prevention Surveillance behavioral change policy Source Type: blogs
Tuberculosis strain in India 'totally drug-resistantEmail this article to a colleague.
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There have been a number of reports about totally resistant tuberculosis infections in India. However there appears to be no discussion about whether access of Indians to the United States should be restricted unless better screening for TB is developed. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 17, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Alerts International Health Prevention epidemiology infectious diseases policy Source Type: blogs
The value of teachersEmail this article to a colleague.
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Today’s editorial in Science is well worth reading as while
we have excellent faculty the rewards are mostly from research not from teaching. I don’t know how often we have to be told
this but it does not seem to penetrate to Deans and Presidents of universities
where research is lauded over teaching excellence. This is particularly important in the healthcare field where we see educational specialists and research pushed over generalists and community care to the detriment of health care. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 13, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Prevention policy research Source Type: blogs
5% of patients account for half of health care spendingEmail this article to a colleague.
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in a report published this week, we're told that five
percent of the population accounted for 50% of health care costs, about $36,000
each. This is not new research as there have been numerous studies showing that
the majority of costs the health-care system come from a small proportion of
the population. Most of these costs come from long-standing chronic disease
where preventive interventions early in life could have resulted in avoidance
of these costs, and where cost effective interventions only should be used
rather than allowing patients to pick from everything under the sun. It is high
time that the focus on effecti...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 13, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Economics policy Source Type: blogs
CDC reconsiders lead poisoning standardsEmail this article to a colleague.
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If new guidelines are adopted by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 200000 more children would
be need to be treated for lead poisoning. Previously, the standard for lead
poisoning was ten micrograms per deciliter of blood and a reduction to 5 µg is
being considered. However rather than being enthused that 200,000 more children
need to be treated, why is it so hard to focus on prevention. More than 40
years ago in Portsmouth, Virginia, the City Council required that no rental
housing 's be leased without first checking for potential lead poisoning and
remediation before occupancy. Many millions of child...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 13, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Community Health Environment MCH Prevention Surveillance Toxicology epidemiology policy Source Type: blogs
Colonoscopy in a capsuleEmail this article to a colleague.
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Researchers at Brigham and
Women’s Hospital (BWH) have successfully tested a controllable endoscopic
capsule, inspired by science fiction, that has the ability to “swim” through
the body and could provide clinicians with unprecedented control when
photographing the inside of the human body. Comment: for those who have suffered repeated screening for colon the disease and the never to go through the process again, may well fail to change our mind if this new research works. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 11, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Prevention Surveillance Technology zoonosis Translational Research Source Type: blogs
Death prediction models not ready for widespread useEmail this article to a colleague.
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In the
Journal of the American Medical Association this week researchers at the University of California,
San Francisco, have identified 16 assessment scales with 'moderate' to 'very
good' abilities to determine the likelihood of death within six months to five
years in various older populations." Additionally, "the authors have
fashioned interactive tools of the most accurate and useful assessments." In an accompanying commentary the Journal
warns us to avoid using these tools until there is better data. Further the data is
incomplete as most causes of death are unknown due to poorly completed death
certificat...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 11, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Community Health Prevention epidemiology Source Type: blogs
Medicare Visual Acuity ScreeningEmail this article to a colleague.
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In a study in Arch Ophthalmol. Published online January 9, 2012, researchers found that compared with
no screening policy, dilated eye evaluations increased quality-adjusted
life-years (QALYs) by 0.008 years. This would amount to a few hours of extended
life. Yet, despite this unsatisfactory outcome the researchers performed
computer analyses to show the cost benefit of such examination on a population
basis. This is one more example of an inappropriate use of statistical analyses
to boost poor research. One has to wonder whether the editors of medical
journals read the outcomes of the research before publishing the a...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 10, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Economics Prevention research Source Type: blogs
Nicotine replacement therapiesEmail this article to a colleague.
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In a study appears Jan. 9 in an online edition of Tobacco Control and will appear in a
later print issue. Nicotine patches and nicotine gum, did not improve smokers’
chances of long-term cessation in a study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).
This is a similar outcome to most interventions for other addictive problems
such as obesity and drug addiction. The same evaluation needs to be applied
to use of the cigarettes before statements are made supporting them or opposing
their use. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 10, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Prevention behavioral change epidemiology policy research Source Type: blogs
Cancer statistics 2012Email this article to a colleague.
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Today The American Cancer Society released its annual statistical report
showing that while there was an unexpected rise in seven types of less-common
cancers in the U.S., in some cases linked to growing obesity rates, an American Cancer Society report urges more study to determine
the underlying causes. The warning comes as overall cancer death rates dropped
between 2004 and 2008, by 1.8 percent per year in men and 1.6 percent in women,
according to the study. Better prevention -- including anti-smoking campaigns,
added screening and improved nutrition -- helped decrease mortality from the
most-prevalent malignancie...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - January 5, 2012 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease epidemiology policy Prevention Surveillance Source Type: blogs
Death can be our friendEmail this article to a colleague.
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Recently I have complained in this blog about researchers who
have no concept about “quality of life” and only focus on quantity, often to
the detriment of the patients. All researchers working with chronic diseases
should be required to read the Christmas editorial in this week's BMJ. Further,
those absolutists who believe that all older incapacitated people should
be warehoused in nursing homes should
also be required to read this editorial while policy makers should start
considering whether we should be phasing out of nursing homes that just
accumulate $100 a day for warehousing people. (Source: Dr. B...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - December 23, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Community Health Economics Surveillance Technology behavioral change geriatrics policy research Source Type: blogs
Do statins reduce the risk of infection?Email this article to a colleague.
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I have noticed this week a number of articles in both the scientific and lay
literature on how statins prevent the risk of infections. The BMJ this week has
an excellent editorial on the lack of effect in reduce infections from use of
statins, pointing out the imperfection of the research methods. One caveat when
interpreting the current results relates to duration of use and timing relative
to onset of infection. The meta-analysis assesses incident infection with
chronic use of statins. Some of the effects of statins precede lipid reduction,
and acute effects of starting or stopping statins after infection (or high risk
e...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - December 22, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Prevention epidemiology infectious diseases policy research Source Type: blogs
Health Care System CostsEmail this article to a colleague.
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German’s public health insurance system, made up of independent insurers regulated by the government and covering nearly 90% of the population, has recorded a surplus of €3.9bn (£3.3bn; $5.2bn) in the first nine months of 2011, says the German health ministry. The surplus in the same period in 2010 was €277m.Comments: in all the discussions about the US health care system, we should note that at least one country that has universal access based on private insurance can make a profit at a time when the US is going deeper into debt, mainly due to our poorly managed health care system. It does not have to be a soci...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - December 22, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Economics policy Source Type: blogs
NGA names four states for chronic care collaborativeEmail this article to a colleague.
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According to the National Governors Association, chronic
disease is a major contributor to rising healthcare costs in the United States,
accounting for 84 percent of healthcare spending. With the cost of chronic
diseases costing the US economy $1.3 trillion new efforts are being made to
control them. Comments: behavioral
science has been almost totally ineffective at the personal level as seen from efforts
to reduce obesity, high blood pressure and other chronic diseases. The NGA has
provided grants to four states to look at coordinating efforts to solve the
problem. We see from the National Journal and Congressional Quart...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - December 21, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Community Health Economics Prevention behavioral change policy Source Type: blogs
Satisfaction with the NHSEmail this article to a colleague.
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John Appleby from the King's Trust in UK tells us that a British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, carried out during the summer of 2010, show the highest satisfaction rating for the NHS in Britain since the survey began in 1983. A low point in 1997 of just 35 per cent satisfaction has now doubled to 70 per cent. And with only 18 per cent saying they were very or quite dissatisfied, net satisfaction is also at an all-time high of 52 percentage points. Comment: this comes at a time when Congress is debating changes at the margins of our healthcare system. The British system provides universal coverage, lower death rates, lower...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - December 15, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Community Health Economics History policy Surveillance The future Source Type: blogs
Identifying Causes of Death in Populations.Email this article to a colleague.
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Research from the Institute
for Health Metrics at the University of Washington discusses the problem of
identifying causes of death in developing countries. The Institute calls for
verbal autopsies. However, having been responsible for evaluating causes of
death on certificates in the United States, it is clear improvements are needed
in the US just as much as anywhere else. The immediate cause of death is of
little value in improving the health of the public but getting doctors to place
the underlying cause of death certificates is difficult. These courses are
behavioral for the most part, but sometimes genetic, and famil...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - December 13, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Community Health epidemiology Prevention policy International Health Source Type: blogs
Dramatic gains in cancer chemotherapy say researchers!Email this article to a colleague.
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Yesterday
in the medical news media we read that “Women
with metastatic, hormone-sensitive breast cancer lived about six months longer
when treated with two endocrine therapies instead of one.” Another study showed
a three-month longevity benefit. However the increased longevity was associated
with increased side effects and costs of up to $10,000 a month. It appears the
researchers need some doses of reality. Many of us have developed advanced care
directives to avoid being kept alive just for the sake of extra months and
extra cost when the quality of life is diminished. There is something wrong
with this res...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - December 9, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease epidemiology Prevention research Translational Research Source Type: blogs
Statins and safety: can we finally be reassured?Email this article to a colleague.
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A commentary in
today's Lancet suggests that we now have data on the safety of statins use for
a 10 year period. However, there are current recommendations by pediatricians
that statins be started in early childhood and given the rest of their lives.
There is no data to suggest this is without danger and such recommendations
cannot be effectively tested for least another 50 years. The quandary is what
to do? Over the years we have seen many treatments recommended that after
careful analysis and testing have shown to be worthless or dangerous. While not
concerned about effectiveness of drugs to lower lipid levels, I am conc...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - December 9, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Prevention Translational Research epidemiology policy Source Type: blogs
Castrating sheep with teeth: not a good idea (with video!)Email this article to a colleague.
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Just a quick post as I'm in end-of-semester hell. Via Maryn McKenna on Twitter, the CDC has released a report of Campylobacter illnesses due to not food consumption, but because of castrating lambs. With their teeth.
On June 29, 2011, the Wyoming Department of Health was notified of two laboratory-confirmed cases of Campylobacter jejuni enteritis among persons working at a local sheep ranch. During June, two men had reported onset of symptoms compatible with campylobacteriosis. Both patients had diarrhea, and one also had abdominal cramps, fever, nausea, and vomiting. One patient was hospitalized for 1 day. Both patients ...
Source: Aetiology - December 8, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Infectious disease Source Type: blogs
Medicine in DenialEmail this article to a colleague.
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Today two events illustrate the problem; first, on Medpage,
is a discussion of Dr. Lawrence Weed’s new book on medical denial which notes
that leaders in the various medical organizations refuse to admit that we don't
have the best system in the world and that there are ways to ensure that we do.
Weed notes that we don't train physicians to look at data that analyzes either
the health system or their own practices and that their public utterances fail
to take account of data that have been published repeatedly showing our
shortcomings both in training and in evaluation. Secondly is the new
publication of America's He...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - December 7, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Community Health Economics epidemiology policy Surveillance Source Type: blogs
Setting Priorities For Comparative Effectiveness ResearchEmail this article to a colleague.
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Medicine’s current evidence base is insufficient for many of the decisions
made daily by clinicians, patients, purchasers, and policy makers. The
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute represents an effort by the US
government to address this shortcoming by funding comparative effectiveness
research. One element of the new affordable care act is to ensure that
government only pays for medical care that has been proven to be effective. It
is not rationing, despite the hyperbole from all sides, to pay only for
effective medical care rather than waste money on unproven ideas. It is clear
the country has significan...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - December 6, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Economics policy Source Type: blogs
Statistics still lie. Part 3Email this article to a colleague.
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Once again, the environmental activists at
Harvard use statistics to shock while there is no evidence that any people were
harmed. Several of the daily lists to which I subscribe recently contained a statement.
"BPA Levels Rise 1,221% After 5 Days Eating Canned Soup.” If the level of
BPA was one part per trillion initially, an increase of 1,221% is meaningless.
This is the kind of statement that recurs time after time from Harvard where activist
faculty think they can dupe the public. There is little evidence that BPA
causes harm to people. The FDA is still studying the issue to determine whether
there is any solid s...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - December 6, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Environment Food Safety Prevention Technology policy Source Type: blogs
Adolescent Eating Behavior.Email this article to a colleague.
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A
Study reported from the American Heart Association scientific session shows
the “alarming health profiles of 5,547 children and adolescents, ages 12 to 19”,
reveal many have high blood sugar levels, are obese or overweight, have a lousy
diet, don't get enough physical activity and even smoke, the new study reports.
These youth are a representative sample of 33.1 million U.S. children and
adolescents from the 2003 to 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination
Surveys. The results are said to be due to Terrible
Diets where the 12-to-19-year-olds diets were even worse than those of
adults and exhibit: eating...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - November 18, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: behavioral change Community Health Prevention Surveillance Source Type: blogs
Statistics Lie - Part 2.Email this article to a colleague.
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The media
are awash with distorted data at present. This is particularly so in the case
of reports from the Census that birth rates have been dropping steadily since
they peaked in 2007. The decline has in the past four years, has been from a
high of 12.8% in 2006 to 12.0% in 2010. Depending on your point of view,. This
may be a good thing or a bad thing but it does show a trend. Trends over a
number of years are far more important than what happens to a single year. Yet
we find politicians bragging about deviations in a single year. Maybe reporters
using such data need better training in the appropriate use of statistics ...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - November 18, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Community Health Prevention Surveillance epidemiology policy Source Type: blogs
Is the HPV vaccine "weak science?" (Hint: no)Email this article to a colleague.
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Oh, Discover. You're such a tease. You have Ed and Carl and Razib and Phil and Sean, an (all-male, ahem) cluster of science bloggy goodness. But then you also fawn over HIV deniers Lynn Margulis and Peter Duesberg. Why can't you just stick with the science and keep the denial out?*
But no, now they've let it spill into their esteemed blogs. I was interested to see a new blog pop up there, The Crux, a group blog "on big ideas in science and how these ideas are playing out in the world. The blog is written by an outstanding group of writer/bloggers and scientist/writers who will bring you the most compelling thoughts throug...
Source: Aetiology - November 15, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Clinical trials Source Type: blogs
Statistics can still lie.Email this article to a colleague.
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At a meeting of the American
Heart Association, it was announced that “Primary Care Scores Victory in
Obesity War.” Almost nothing could be further from the truth. This is another
case of research that showed a statistical difference, but no evidence that it
made a difference to disease. The
study showed that a brief, but intense, primary care-based weight
loss intervention that included meal replacements or prescription diet drugs
helped about a third of obese adults lose at least 5% of their baseline weight
and maintain that loss for two years, researchers reported here. A loss of 10
pounds in somebody who is...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - November 15, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Community Health Prevention behavioral change Source Type: blogs
Climate change and public healthEmail this article to a colleague.
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I rarely write about climate change. As much as it's been hashed out amongst climate scientists, and even many of the former "climate skeptics" have now changed their tune, I readily accept that climate change is happening, and is happening largely due to human activities. More importantly for my field, climate change is also having effects on human health in a number of different ways, from the movement of insect vectors into new areas, to warming of the seas leading to more extreme weather conditions, to the loss of coral reefs and the freshwater that these reefs protect from the surrounding oceans. It's an immense field...
Source: Aetiology - November 15, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Book & movie reviews Source Type: blogs
‘Death Is Always Cheaper’Email this article to a colleague.
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This
blog on the Kaiser family foundation's website is worth reading. Here are
the details: The standard way to treat aortic stenosis is open heart surgery.
The new Sapien valve can be inserted by threading a catheter from a small
incision in the leg through an artery to the heart. Estimates put the total
cost for the new device and hospital stay at about $70,000 versus up to
$100,000 for the open heart procedure and hospital stay in the most complicated
patients. FDA review found that 69 percent of patients who got the new valve
lived another year, while only 50 percent of those who received other,
nonsurgical treatment s...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - November 14, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Economics policy Prevention research Technology Source Type: blogs
Lifetime medicating?Email this article to a colleague.
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A recommendation from a 14-member expert panel convened by the
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute [NHLBI]
and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which will publish the
panel's report (pdf) in the journal Pediatrics."
This "recommendation marks a significant expansion from the 1992
guidelines, which had recommended. Screening cholesterol at least once between
the ages of 9 and 11 and again at 17 to 21 was recommended in the comprehensive
guide that addresses all the major cardiovascular risk factors. As I have noted
previously screening can be a two-edged sword as possible positives can occur
and treat th...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - November 14, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Prevention Technology The future epidemiology policy research Source Type: blogs
Does bestiality increase your risk of penile cancer?Email this article to a colleague.
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Aah, the things one learns when awake at 3AM on a Saturday night. Via a few different Tweeps, I ran across this article from Men's Health magazine, titled "Urgent Warning: Sex with Animals Causes Cancer."
I probably should have just stopped there.
But no, I read the magazine article, which states:
Brazilian researchers polled nearly 500 men from a dozen cities, and found that--we're not joking around here--roughly 35 percent of the men had "made it" with an animal. That's a problem, because screwing a horse, donkey, pig, or any other animal was found to up your likelihood of developing cancers of the penis by 42 percen...
Source: Aetiology - November 13, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Cancer epidemiology Source Type: blogs
Non-medical use of painkillers in the USAEmail this article to a colleague.
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A report in today's
Lancet and the November 4th edition of the MMWR note that in the USA pain is
managed with pain relievers that include opioid analgesic drugs such as
oxycodone, methadone, hydrocodone, and oxymorphone. With different types of
opioid drugs available and frequently prescribed, these drugs have become
increasingly prone to non-medical use. It is estimated that non-medical use of
opioid drugs in the USA costs the health-care system US$72·5 billion each year.
And in 2009, 500 000 emergency department visits in the USA were due to
poisoning caused by painkillers. The data show that this is a major public
he...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - November 11, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease behavioral change Economics epidemiology policy Prevention Surveillance Source Type: blogs
MRSA found in Iowa meatEmail this article to a colleague.
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I've blogged previously on a few U.S. studies which investigated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in raw meat products (including chicken, beef, turkey, and pork). This isn't just a casual observation as one who eats food--I follow this area closely as we also have done our own pair of food sampling investigations here in Iowa, and will be doing a much larger, USDA-funded investigation of the issue over the next 5 years.
Let me sum up where the field currently stands. There have been a number of studies looking at S. aureus on raw meat products, carried out both here in North American and in Europe. In a study...
Source: Aetiology - November 9, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Antibiotic resistance Source Type: blogs
Another advantage of bloggingEmail this article to a colleague.
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As you may have noticed from the extended radio silence, it's been a busy few months between classes (both taking them and giving them), tenure packaging, and research. To add another responsibility to the mix, I gave a talk a few weeks back at the National Institute for Animal Agriculture's annual symposium. This year, the featured topic was antibiotics and agriculture, so I was invited to give an overview of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and livestock.
While I'm always happy to give talks to new audiences, discussing my work and the state of the field in general, I have to admit that I was a bit nervous. G...
Source: Aetiology - November 8, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Academia Source Type: blogs
Chickenpox parties--just a Facebook friend awayEmail this article to a colleague.
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I've written a few times about chickenpox parties. The first link refers to a magazine article describing the practice; the second, a few years later, about a Craigslist ad looking to hold such a party "at McDonald [sic] or some place with toys to play on."
Clearly, as chickenpox cases have become more rare in recent decades due to the success of the chickenpox vaccine, moving toward social media to find infections is the way to go. It allows people to find such cases and expose their immunologically naive children to a serious virus, just as easily as googling Jenny McCarthy Body Count." But now, it's gone even farther,...
Source: Aetiology - November 4, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: General Epidemiology Source Type: blogs
Preventing Infectious DiseaseEmail this article to a colleague.
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The CDC has just released its Framework for Preventing
Infectious Diseases, which is well worth reading either in the whole or by
reviewing the accompanying slideshow. This is the ideal roadmap to strengthen
US public health systems management and prevention of infectious diseases. Of
particular interest is the long list of zoonotic diseases that has been newly
identified over the last decade. (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - November 2, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Prevention Technology epidemiology infectious diseases policy Source Type: blogs
Healthy People 2010 Final Review:Email this article to a colleague.
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The decennial Healthy People publication produced each 10 years is a very useful set of goals and objectives for assessing the health of the population. However, it is somewhat overburdened of the hundreds of objectives contained within it that makes it difficult for use as a tool by both state and local health departments. it could be simpler to use and understand If the objectives were less than 100 and based on those that have shown continued improvement but still have a ways to go. The executive summary of the 2010 HP is now available and worth reading as much for showing progress as for those areas where no prog...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - October 31, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Chronic Disease Community Health Prevention Surveillance epidemiology policy Source Type: blogs
7 Billion People.Email this article to a colleague.
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In this week's Journal, the Lancet, is an editorial on the
topic of the increasing world population. It covers the rapid increase expected
in the population of lesser developed countries in both Africa and Asia and is
well worth reading. Not only is a population increase a problem by itself but
feeding, clothing educating and training this population is also going to be a
strain. The same problems we have seen in the developed world with the
elimination of infectious diseases and their replacement with an epidemic of
chronic diseases is going to occur in these populations as well, yet there is
little planning for this even...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - October 28, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Community Health epidemiology International Health Prevention Surveillance The future Source Type: blogs
Weight Loss -Money motivates.Email this article to a colleague.
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A
study in today's medical journal, the Lancet, shows that participation in
commercial weight loss programs work significantly better than standard advice
in the physician's office. After 12 months’ participation those in the commercial
weight-loss programs lost twice as much as those receiving standard advice. It
would appear that when one's own money is used to pay for treatment you are
more likely to follow the advice and recommendations provided. (Volume
378, Issue 9801, 22-28 October 2011, Pages 1485-1492) (Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG)
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - October 21, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: behavioral change Community Health Prevention Surveillance Source Type: blogs
Nearly half of US medical practices fail to qualify as medical home.Email this article to a colleague.
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Medscape reports, "Based on nationally
accepted standards, almost half of US medical practices and 40% of primary care
practices fail to qualify as a patient-centered medical home, the
home-sweet-home of healthcare reform, according to a study published online" Oct. 18 in Health
Services Research. Specifically, the study "authors found that 46.3% of
all practices lack the infrastructure for a medical home as defined by the"
National Committee on Quality Assurance. The researchers point out that
"small practices in particular will need a lot of assistance, financial
and otherwise, to make the grade."
NCQA set the followin...
Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - October 21, 2011 Category: Epidemiologists Tags: Access Community Health Prevention Technology The future policy research Source Type: blogs
