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Health Highlights: Oct. 14, 2004

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Health of Hispanics Lags in U.S.

Several government studies released Thursday find that Hispanics are in much poorer health than other racial groups, and especially whites, in the United States.

"For certain health conditions, Hispanics bear a disproportionate burden of disease, injury, death, and disability when compared with non-Hispanic whites," said a report in the Oct. 15 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Among the findings, Hispanics under 65 were 21 percent less likely to carry health insurance than whites; Hispanics of all ages were likelier to be overweight or obese; they were likelier to die of stroke, cirrhosis, HIV, and homicide; they had higher smoking rates than whites; and Hispanic children were less likely to be vaccinated against childhood diseases.

According to the CDC, cultural barriers prevent Hispanics from getting the cancer or cholesterol screenings they need to prevent disease.

A separate report found that Hispanics, overall, were nearly twice as likely as whites to develop diabetes. They also had higher mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and had the highest rate of births to teenagers of any racial or ethnic group.

"Eliminating these disparities will require culturally appropriate public health initiatives, community support, and equitable access to quality health care," the report concluded.

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Cell Phones Raise Risk of Ear Tumors: Study

Use of a cell phone for 10 years or more almost doubles a person's risk of developing a benign tumor on the auditory nerve that allows us to hear, Swedish scientists concluded from a new study.

The risk of developing a noncancerous acoustic neuroma was up to four times higher on the same side as the phone was held, and virtually normal on the other side, according to scientists at the Swedish Institute of Environmental Medicine. They studied the 150 acoustic neuroma patients and 600 healthy control subjects.

Since only analog phones had been available for at least 10 years prior to the study, the researchers said they couldn't draw conclusions about long-term use of more modern digital phones, according to the Agence France-Presse news service.

Acoustic neuromas generally aren't life-threatening, although they can become so if they grow too large and cause pressure on the brain, AFP reported.

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Hundreds of Flu Doses Stolen in Colorado

Colorado health officials are warning residents to avoid black market flu shots following the theft of 620 doses of influenza vaccine from an Aurora pediatrician's office, the Rocky Mountain News reported Thursday.

The immunizations had arrived at the office on Friday and were stolen sometime over the three-day Columbus Day weekend, according to police in Aurora, a Denver suburb.

Experts doubt that hospitals or doctors will buy the stolen inoculations from the black market, the newspaper said, since the vaccine can lose its effectiveness if it isn't stored at precisely the right temperature. Health officials said it was dangerous to buy flu vaccine over the Internet or to obtain a shot at an unfamiliar clinic for more than about $30, the News reported.

As is the case nationwide, Colorado faces a severe vaccine shortage stemming from the British government's recent decision to shut down a major U.S. supplier. The newspaper cited reports of the vaccine selling for as much as $100 per dose.

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Survey Finds Systematic Overcharging for Flu Shots

A new survey by a group representing pharmacists who work at health-care facilities finds that more than half the nation's hospitals are being solicited to buy flu shots at "inflated" prices.

The survey of 677 hospitals found that 55 percent of hospitals reported being contacted by "opportunistic" pharmaceutical distributors. Of these, more than 80 percent report being offered the vaccine at more than four times the original market value, and nearly 20 percent have been offered the vaccine at $800 or more for a 10-dose vial -- more than 10 times the original market value.

The survey, released Wednesday, was conducted online Oct. 8 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), a 30,000-member group whose members include pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who practice in inpatient, outpatient, home-care, and long-term care settings.

"The information we've uncovered -- namely, that certain distributors are attempting to take financial advantage of the current national shortage of flu vaccine -- is extremely troubling," ASHP President Mark Woods said in a statement.

The survey also found that 77 percent of the nation's hospitals don't expect to have enough vaccine on hand this season.

"We are very concerned that the current environment of extremely short supply, coupled with high demand, will increase the potential for counterfeit vaccine to appear in the nation's drug supply chain," said Kasey Thompson, director of ASHP's Practice Standards and Quality Division.

Last week, British authorities suspended the license of Chiron Corp. to manufacture its flu vaccine, immediately cutting the U.S. supply in half for the upcoming season.

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Portion Control Key to Weight Loss

A new study finds that watching the portions on your plate is the biggest key to success in losing weight.

The 24-month study, appearing in the new issue of the journal Obesity Research, is the first to document that patients who spend a longer time in the action and maintenance stages for portion control or planned exercise were more likely to lose weight.

"Although we saw similar patterns of weight loss related to reduced dietary fat consumption, increased fruit and vegetable consumption, increased physical activity and increased planned exercise, the target behavior that induced the greatest weight loss was portion control," said the study's lead researcher, Everett E. Logue of Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio.

The study found that 38 percent of obese patients who consistently spent two years practicing food portion control lost 5 percent or more of their baseline weight. They also concluded that 33 percent of patients who did not consistently practice portion control gained 5 percent or more of their baseline weight.

The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and the Summa Health System Foundation.

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Learning New Language Boosts Brain Power

Learning a second language can improve brain power, a new study says.

Researchers at University College London studied the brains of 105 people, 80 of whom were bilingual, and found that learning a new language altered gray matter the same way exercise builds muscles, the BBC reports.

Moreover, those who learned a second tongue at a younger age were also more likely to have more advanced gray matter than those who learned later, the team said.

Copyright © 2004 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

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