Home > News

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

'Morning-After' Pill Doesn't Lead to More Unsafe Sex: Study

Teenagers who have the so-called "morning after" pill at home are no more likely to have unprotected sex than other teens, University of Pittsburgh researchers concluded from a new study.

In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration delayed a decision on whether to allow the pills to be sold over the counter, the Associated Press reported. Opponents of the move have argued that making the pills easier to get would encourage unprotected sex and an increase in sexually-transmitted diseases. Supporters have said the drug would simply reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies.

"People seem to be really worried that if young women knew that they had this [pill] that they would drop their usual methods and go out and have rampant sex," lead author Melanie Gold told the wire service, suggesting her research proved otherwise.

The pollsters questioned 301 females ages 15 to 20, about half of whom had immediate access to the pills, the AP said. Results are published in the April issue of the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology.

-----

U.S. Urges Police Authority to Ticket All Beltless Riders

Citing statistics showing that automobile riders are likelier to buckle up in states where they can be stopped for not doing so, the U.S. government is urging all states and territories to adopt so-called "primary enforcement" belt laws.

Under such laws, police have the authority to stop and issue citations to drivers and passengers solely for failing to click a safety belt. Currently, 20 states have enacted such legislation. By and large, in the rest of the country police cannot ticket riders for not wearing a belt unless they've stopped them for another violation, such as speeding or a broken tail light.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that in states with primary laws, the compliance rate -- those who reported always using a belt -- was 85 percent. In states with secondary enforcement, however, the rate fell to 74 percent. Moreover, those in secondary states were twice as likely as those in primary states to report never buckling up at all.

The rate with the lowest compliance rate was North Dakota (a secondary enforcement state), where 52 percent reported not always using a belt; the highest rate was seen in California (a primary enforcement state), with 92.2 percent compliance. New Hampshire, which only requires children to buckle up, had the highest rate of people -- 10.3 percent -- who never use belts.

Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death among Americans 34 and younger. Safety belts are "the single most effective means of reducing crash-related deaths," the CDC reports in its publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, and all states should adopt primary enforcement laws "as an effective strategy to increase safety belt use."

-----

Viagra Use Could Affect Fertility

Men who take Viagra while hoping to start a family could be hampering their fertility, according to researchers at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

While the drug does appear to enhance sperm movement, it also seems to speed up the timing of a process known as the "acrosome reaction," which normally occurs when a sperm reaches a woman's egg. The reaction releases digestive enzymes that break down the egg's protective outer layer, allowing the sperm to penetrate more easily.

But if the enzymes are released by the sperm too early, the sperm are rendered fully "reacted" and are infertile by the time they reach the egg, according to the research presented at the annual meeting of the British Fertility Society. In the Irish study, up to 79 percent more sperm from Viagra patients were reacted by the time they reached the egg, as compared to the sperm from men who hadn't taken Viagra, the researchers reported.

Lead author Dr. Sheena Lewis pointed out that Viagra was created to help men overcome impotence, not for the often-used purpose of enhancing their fertility. She said fertility clinics that dispense the drug for this reason should exercise caution.

-----

Kerry OK After Shoulder Surgery

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry was expecting time off from shaking hands after undergoing surgery Wednesday for a shoulder injury.

The 45-minute operation to repair a tear in Kerry's right shoulder and bicep tendons was performed under general anesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, according to The New York Times.

Dr. Bertram Zarins, the hospital's chief of sports medicine, said Kerry will be in pain for a few days and probably need an ice pack and narcotic painkillers. He also said the 60-year-old candidate was smiling and talking shortly after coming out of the procedure, according to the Boston Herald.

Kerry suffered the injury while campaigning in Iowa in January. He wrenched his right shoulder while bracing himself during an abrupt stop on his campaign bus.

The four-term Massachusetts senator planned to be off the presidential campaign trail for the remainder of the week. His doctor predicted he would be "shaking hands'' again within a few days.

-----

Nine Million U.S. Children Have Received Asthma Diagnosis

Nine million U.S. children under age 18 have been diagnosed with asthma at some time in their lives. And more than 4 million have experienced an asthma attack in the past year, a new report on children's health says.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report says that 12 percent of children under age 18 have been diagnosed with asthma. The report says boys (14 percent) were more likely than girls (10 percent) to have been diagnosed with the disease.

Other findings include:

• Children in poor families (16 percent) were more likely than children in families that were not poor (11 percent) to have been diagnosed with asthma.
• Non-Hispanic black children (9 percent) were more than twice as likely as Hispanic children (4 percent) to have suffered an asthma attack in the past year.
• Respiratory allergies affected more children in the South (15 percent) than those in the Midwest (12 percent), Northeast (11 percent), or West (10 percent).
• Non-Hispanic white children (14 percent) and non-Hispanic black children (12 percent) were more likely to have had respiratory allergies than Hispanic children (9 percent).

The report's findings are based on 2002 data from the CDC's National Health Interview Survey.

-----

Walnuts to Carry Qualified Health Claim Labels

Product labels on whole and chopped walnuts will soon carry a qualified health claim that walnuts may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA approved the qualified health claim after it conducted a review of available research.

The claim on walnut labels will state: "Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 oz. of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet, and not resulting in increased caloric intake may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. See nutrition information for fat [and calorie] content."

Copyright © 2004 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.