Positive Correlation between CT Scans during Childhood and Cancer

Over the past year I have known four young people between the ages of 8 and 21 that passed away from brain tumors. It was heartbreaking to watch them make the most of their last few months over Facebook. I remember thinking to myself, each one of them had dreams and aspirations that they will never even be able to try to achieve.

Coming from a public health perspective, I believed that these young people from the same area could not have all been diagnosed with cancer by coincidence. There is something else bigger going on. And sure enough, scientists have discovered children exposed to CT scans between 1985-2002 had a positive correlation with leukemia and brain tumors. Scientists believe radiation from the CT scans during this time period caused an increase risk of late-onset cancer.

Hopefully, this breakthrough will lead us in a direction to discover some of the causes of cancer in young adults. I do not think CT scans are the only reason for cancer in children, but it is evident that it strongly increases a child’s risk. I think environmental factors as well as our unawareness of the effects chemical mixtures with our food and medicine are important in uncovering the causes of cancer.

 

References:

Medscape: Cancer after CT Exposure in Childhood

Vaccinations, Are They Worth it to You?

As technology in healthcare has evolved, the controversy over the benefits has increased. When modern vaccinations first arose, they were important in the eradication of polio. Over the past 21 years of my life, I have gotten more vaccinations than I can count on two hands. Even between the five years separating my younger brother and I, more vaccinations had become available. While I had to experience chicken pox, he doesn’t even know what chicken pox truly is, he just knows he was lucky enough not to experience it. However, over the past few years, rumors have speculated whether vaccinations are harming or causing Autism in children.

The other day, I was in the hospital at my internship and my mentor’s sister-in-law had just given birth. The sister-in-law had another child that was going into kindergarden. She was telling my mentor how she refuses to get the mandatory vaccinations for her child that the school requested because of articles she has read stating that children do not need these vaccines and the vaccinations do more harm than good.

I am not quite sure where these “valid” articles are coming from. I can understand questioning giving your child multiple vaccinations at once as a precaution. But research has proven that vaccinations do not cause autism. I am curious as to how these accusations accumulate. But I also wonder why people do not believe in something that has helped eradicate a disease already. I have heard some people say, “No one gets this disease anymore so why bother with the vaccination.” Our generation is the first of our nation lucky enough to never be exposed to some of these severe diseases we have been able to keep to a minimum due to vaccinations. I think the fact that we have never been exposed is reducing the seriousness of these diseases and infections in some people’s minds.

On July 20th, an article was released expressing the increase in Pertussis outbreaks since the number of people choosing to be vaccinated has decreased. The outbreak is on track to become the most severe in over a half century.

My parents have had vaccinations, I have had vaccinations, and my younger siblings and cousins have all had their vaccinations. In the end, vaccinations have been used for decades to keep diseases to a minimum and have eradicated polio. Is it worth it to take the risk of not getting your vaccinations and possibly causing harm to yourself or someone else?

Reference:

U.S. Pertussis Outbreak Could be Worst in Half Century

What does your skin reveal about you?

In a recent article posted by BBC News, how you treat the inside of your body is being exposed on the outside. Our skin is a marker of our overall health, it takes more than putting on sun screen to protect your skin. To maintain healthy, young skin one must eat healthy, exercise and reduce stress to keep your entire body in harmony.

Glycobiology, the study of lipids and sugars and how they affect our body, is a new science that is beginning to answer some of our many health problems. In one study, scientists investigated the relationship between high blood sugar and the tendency for skin to look older. The study supported their hypothesis that people with higher blood sugar tend to look older on average, with diabetics looking older. Dr. Gunn, the senior scientist, attributed the correlation to sugar damaging the collagen in our skin. Therefore, by maintaining a low, healthy blood-sugar, it maintains strong, young-looking skin.

After interning this summer with a Diabetes Educator, I have seen the damage a high blood-sugar does to a person’s body. With high blood-sugar comes many increased health complications and risks, including heart disease, stroke, foot & eye complications, mental health, neuropathy… and the list goes on. Now, we are noticing that it even affects the health of our skin! The blood is the most important part of our body, circulating throughout all the systems. If we damage our blood, it will result in damage elsewhere. Therefore, eating the proper portions of foods containing sugar breakdown is vital to our wellbeing.

On top of a healthy diet, Plastic Surgeon Dr. Rozina Ali promotes exercise, reducing stress, and adequate sleep to keep your skin looking radiant.

 

BBC News- Healthy Lifestyle and the science of good Skin Care

Top Hospitals in the United States

U.S. News and World Reports posted the nation’s top hospitals for 2012-2013. Hospitals are ranked by Speciality as well as best in the Metro and State. Check to see if your hospitals make the list:

 

 

 

 

U.S. News Best Hospitals

The Caffeinated Cocktail

Four Lokos, Vodka & Red Bull Cocktails, Rockstars … and the list of alcoholic energy drinks is increasing. To the young, college student this sounds like the ideal alcoholic beverage to get them through a late night of partying, however the side effects and risks of mixing caffeine and alcohol can be alarming.

When caffeine and alcohol are consumed together, it sends mixed signals to your brain. The caffeine keeps you awake and your cognitive abilities unimpaired, therefore masking signs of intoxication and leading to an increase in alcohol intake. These energy-alcoholic beverages have led to many cases of overconsumption and alcohol poisoning. Often, these cases involve kids on college campuses.

The drinks pose a risk of engaging in harmful activities due to the belief that a person is not as intoxicated as they think they are. Also, the drinks are a possible risk factor for alcoholism, due to the capability of people to continue drinking with the caffeinated supplement.

However, there has not been intensive investigations into the effects of combining caffeine and alcohol. The few studies that utilize behavioral control measures (e.g. go-no-go, stop-signal tasks) report mixed findings, indicating that caffeine, when mixed with alcohol, improves alcohol-related detriment on some measures of behavioral control, while having no effect, or even worsening performance, on others. (1)  Therefore, allowing the alcohol/energy drink companies to continue to sell these drinks and release statements on the psychological high of their products.

I was strongly against alcoholic energy drinks after learning the amount of alcoholic overdoses last year took place due to these drinks. However, it is interesting to hear how it might not be causing the intoxicated behavior, but rather people are not monitoring their alcohol intake. Either way, I believe the drinks are risky, especially for inexperienced drinkers. Also, the way the drinks are advertised is enabling binge drinking and excessive consumption. I think it is important for the companies to release statements on the effect the drinks have on your cognitive abilities. The FDA should also regulate the amount of caffeine and alcohol in each drink.

Nonetheless, until there is more research studying the effects of the combination of alcohol and caffeine, it is important to be aware that it can lead people to believe they are less intoxicated than they really are and to drink casually.

References

1. Attwood, Angela. “Caffeinated Alcohol Beverages”. Alcohol and Alcoholism: 2012;47(4):370-371. Medscape: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/766631.

2. Goodnough, Abby. Caffeine and Alcohol Drink Is Potent Mix for Young. NY Times: 10/26/12. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/us/27drink.html

Obesity & Diabetes in 2012

This past semester at Gettysburg, I took a public health course and the primary issue we focused on was obesity in our nation. This summer, I have been interning with the Diabetic Educator at Shore Medical Center in New Jersey. Between the two experiences, I have learned that obesity has a much larger effect on our health than most people understand. 

This past week, I was sitting in a Diabetes Education class and the dietitian was informing us how certain things have changed since 40 years ago to accommodate the increased obesity rates. Since 1970, dishware has increased from 8-10 in. diameter plates to 10-12 in diameter plates. Chairs in restaurants once were approximately 10 in. width, now they are 14 in width. Today, a pant size 6 is larger than a size 6 in the 70s.

There are many factors that effect the high percentage of obese and overweight people in our nation. Economy, time, fast food, quality of food.. the list goes on. However, eating properly as well as portion control is something every person can easily manage to prevent ourselves from developing diseases. Before learning what I have on obesity and diabetes, I use to think that if you were obese you were generally only at risk for a heart attack and if you had diabetes (type II) it was because you were overweight but it was not a progressive disease. I believed once you had diabetes, you only needed to cut sugars out of our diet and take insulin. However, I was very mistaken and was quite alarmed at how little I knew of the relationship between obesity and diabetes. 

If you are obese, it does not mean you have diabetes-type II; and if you have diabetes, it does not mean you are obese. However, both diseases are more life-threatening than alluded to. These diseases are so deadly because you don’t see or feel how the disease is breaking down your body, your heart and blood vessels, and your organs. Yet, obesity and diabetes are highly preventable and manageable. Both diseases need moderate exercise, healthy eating, and portion control. It requires developing daily habits, but in the end it will keep the disease from progressing and allow you to live a fuller and happier life. I have seen many people with diabetes in the hospital that understood the complications to diabetes and made life changes that led to them living normal lives. I have also seen people that refuse to acknowledge the severity of their disease and have lost limbs, suffered strokes, and overall feel they are hopeless.

It is not easy at first to accept that one is suffering from obesity or diabetes, and it is difficult to understand that it takes more than just doing one of the necessary measures to manage the disease (medicine, exercise, healthy portions). All of these things are needed in harmony together to help YOU be the healthiest person you can be. No one can manage your health better than yourself, it is up to you to take control.

ObamaCare: The Beginning of a New Era

Hello Everyone!

For some time now, I have been debating starting a blog focusing on the current health issues our nation is facing. After the Supreme Court Ruling upholding the Affordable Care Mandate as a part of Obama’s Health Care Plan, I decided today was the perfect day to start blogging.

The Affordable Care mandate requires all Americans to have health insurance by 2014 or otherwise pay a fine. The mandate was upheld under the federal government’s power to levy taxes.

After watching the aftermath of the Court’s decision as well as Romney’s reaction to the decision, I was disappointed to see that their focus was on persuading for the upcoming presidential election. Many people are uninformed on Obama’s health care plan and are not receiving the facts behind the Act as well as what is taking place currently in U.S. health care. Right now, the United States spends more money than any other nation in the world on health care. However, we are not even in the top thirty countries of mortality rates. Also, we are the only developed nation that does not have universal health care.

Obama’s speech was a breath of fresh air in between the battling of political figures. While Romney reiterated how this healthcare plan would be a detrimental financial deficit to our nation, he never explained the basis for his argument. Instead, Obama explained why the plan would not drive our nation into a deeper financial deficit but will be beneficial for the government, health care professionals and us. He went on to explain exactly how the Health Care Plan would be a positive step forward for our nation. Obama stated that the Court’s “decision was for all people”. He ends his speech with reiterating how this is not about a political win, but about our nation’s people and their health.

With the election only a few months away, it is important that people research for themselves the basis of the new health care plan. We should not be relying on news anchors opinions to shape our own. Before making a decision, rely on yourself for the facts.

Supreme Court Ruling Details:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/28/politics/supreme-court-health-ruling/index.html