Personal Health: For Kids, Increased Screen Time Can Equal Increased Blood Pressure

Published on August 10th, 2009 in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

Kids' screen time is linked to development of hypertension
More time plopped in front of a screen - computer, video, video game, and, particularly, television - may raise the risk of elevated blood pressure in children, according to a new study.

The researchers tracked activity levels of 111 children ages 3 to 8 - 57 boys and 54 girls - round-the-clock for a week via measurements from an accelerometer worn over the right hip as well as parents' reports of the average time their child spent sitting or engaging in activities that ranged from painting to watching TV. They also considered age, sex, height, percentage of body fat, and other differences.

Excessive TV time and total screen time were linked to elevated blood pressure - a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and other health problems - even when possibly related measures, such as body fat, were separated from the analysis. Children who spent less than 30 minutes a day in front of a screen tended to have the lowest blood pressures, the researchers report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. (The average was 90 minutes.)

Interestingly, the researchers did not find an association between blood pressure and sedentary behavior in general, leading them to suggest that factors specific to watching a screen - eating foods high in sugar, fat and salt, for example, or disruptive sleep patterns that have been associated with TV time - might play a role. - Heather J. Chin

Read the full article here.

The Tweets Untweeted

As Twitter continues to defend against a hack attempt with "collateral damage," thus preventing me from tweeting important news, I am posting here the two tweets untweeted, in order from most recent backwards.


@alfranken Thanks for the Service Dogs for Veterans Act. http://tinyurl.com/l427qy

@Rick_Bayless Thanks for your fantastic, tasty and wonderfully gracious meal tonight on Top Chef Masters! It's a joy to have such respect!

Personal Health: Antipsychotic Drugs May Increase Risk to Older Diabetics

Published on August 3, 2009 in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

A warning for older diabetics who take antipsychotic drugs
Older diabetics who start on an antipsychotic drug may face a greater risk of high blood glucose levels, or hyperglycemia, according to a study published in the July 27 Archives of Internal Medicine.

The findings are based on a Canadian study of 13,817 diabetics aged 66 and older who took antipsychotics in a two-year period for dementia and other conditions, while also receiving insulin-treatment, oral hypoglycemic (blood-glucose reducing) agents, or no diabetes treatment. Eleven percent - 1,515 people - of patients were hospitalized for hyperglycemia or related conditions.

Those starting on antipsychotics were particularly at risk; after their first prescription, they were eight to 15 times more likely to be hospitalized than those not getting the drugs.

The connection between hyperglycemia and antipsychotic use has been studied in younger patients with schizophrenia, but research in older adults is limited, the researchers said. If the use of antipsychotics in older diabetics with dementia cannot be avoided, the study's authors conclude, then patients and relatives should be on the alert for signs of high blood sugar levels once treatment begins. The researchers recommend enhanced glucose monitoring for all patients starting antipsychotic drugs. - Heather J. Chin

Read the full article here.

Food News: Lobster In Need of New Marketing?

Hey, cheap lobster everybody!

What's most fascinating to me is the talk of down-marketing lobster from celebratory treat to everyday food. While a cool and clever idea, I'd think that if successful, it could backfire if and when prices go up again and they end up having to catch more lobster than they can, especially if the industry really is so well managed. Or lobster may not have the same appeal anymore.

Do people eat lobster because they like the taste or texture or because they think it's a special, once-in-a-while food that appeals to their desire to appear well-off and make a good impression?
Would the demand for lobster stay the same if it were stuck in the frozen food aisle along with similar-tasting shellfish like shrimp?

If so, then maybe they'd end up making more money than ever once prices rise again.

Pennsylvania: Pediatricians and Paperwork

Published on July 27, 2009 in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

Summer's no vacation for pediatricians

Pediatricians know it's summer when the health forms start piling up.

For everything from day care and camps to college and driver's license applications, each form asks different questions and often requires handwritten answers.

"It's overwhelming, particularly in the summer" when camps, school, and sports seasons converge, says Jeffrey Bomze, a pediatrician whose Bryn Mawr practice sees around 3,000 patients a year. "It's not just a signature and out the door."

Every year, pediatricians typically see about 95 patients per week, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. At nearly 5,000 patients per year, four health forms per child, and about eight minutes per form, that means one person could spend 333 workdays a year on health forms alone.

And it's getting worse.

Read the full story here.

Personal Health: Unlabeled food additives can hurt kidney patients

Published on July 27, 2009 in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

Food-label study: Meat additives could harm kidney patients

Raw meat and poultry products may contain hidden food additives that can be harmful for people with kidney disease, reveals a new study into the potential health risks of incomplete food labeling.

The research, which appears online in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, focuses on the presence of dietary phosphate and potassium, often injected into fresh meat along with sodium, antioxidants, and flavorings. Too much of both substances can cause death in patients on dialysis.

Researchers purchased 36 uncooked meat and poultry items, most of which listed additives but not amounts, at several supermarkets in northern and central New Jersey. Items were transferred to separate plastic bags to prevent lab technicians from seeing the food-labeling information.

The results showed products labeled as "enhanced" with a 28 percent greater average phosphate concentration than additive-free products. High potassium content was present in 20 percent of the enhanced products.

The authors conclude that more complete food labeling is needed to help an already at-risk group.

- Heather J. Chin

Philly Region: Summer Camps Deal With Swine Flu

Published on July 16, 2009 in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.
I contributed some reporting on this.

Some camps report swine flu cases

By Kristin E. Holmes
Inquirer Staff Writer

Camp directors are battling more than unruly youngsters this summer. They have been contending with outbreaks of what they think is the swine flu.

Some area camps, as well as ones outside the region that host large numbers of youngsters from the area, report sending home dozens of campers who have exhibited flulike symptoms.

Pennsylvania health officials say they know of 10 to 20 camps in the state that have had a high-enough incidence of the flu to warrant control measures such as isolating campers or sending them home.

"I'd say we've had a fair number of camps that have clusters of illness," said Stephen Ostroff, acting state physician general and director of the state Bureau of Epidemiology.

In South Jersey, fewer than five cases have been reported to health agencies. Reported cases might be low because officials test for the flu only when patients are hospitalized or clusters of illness occur.

No camps in Pennsylvania or South Jersey have closed, officials said.

Read the full article here...

International and Food: Italian Province Bans Non-Italian Ethnic Food

GlobalPost has a story up today on a ban instituted in the Italian province of Lucca, against all ethnic restaurants and shops that sell goods using non-provincial or non-Italian ingredients. Here's an excerpt:

The law banned the opening of any new ethnic restaurants, “with a view to safeguarding culinary traditions and the authenticity of structure, architecture, culture.” It also prohibited the opening of any commercial premises serving food and drink “whose business is related to different ethnic groups. If an established restaurant owner decided to produce a non-Italian menu, it must include “at least one traditional Lucca dish made exclusively from ingredients commonly acknowledged as being typical of the province.”

On one hand, I understand the desire to keep traditions alive, but on the other, I find it a bizarre and dictatorial thing to do. It's also pretty confounding. Requiring at least one dish per restaurant menu to be made from local ingredients is one thing, but to both give favoritism to established restaurants and to expect locals to only cook and eat in a certain style and method is a rather clear affront to basic freedoms. And, with the allowance of a French restaurant yet not a Sicilian one, could be targeting Middle Eastern cuisine in particular. There have been few concessions, so there's not a lot of ammunition on that front to go by.

Plus, it disregards the human inclination to not want to eat the same thing every day and to resist unnecessary bans. It's not as if the entire province was going to stop eating Italian food.

As a foodie and some time cultural analyst, I also find it interesting, though, how Lucca's governmental leaders have caught on to the idea of food as a gateway to a culture. It makes sense, in a way, with Italian history, culture and identity steeped in the art of joining gastronomic delights and the foundation of a life well-lived.

Then there is the use of "local food" as a cultural cuisine-specific phrase, as opposed to the "grown-here" ideal making the rounds here in the United States. I'd never thought of it like that. And I'm glad that such a ban would never fly in the America I know, thanks to American's wide-ranging palate, diverse backgrounds, and recognition that food of all spices and origins is a huge business. And after all, our country is a melting pot, in both a social and gastronomic sense.

Music: Olympus PEN Camera Ad Campaign

This song, written for the Olympus camera company, is really beautiful and sweet. And the stop-motion animated video is jaw-dropping.

Here are the song lyrics:


Down Below – Johannes Stankowski / prod. & arranged by Michael Kadelbach

Be just who you want to be, my friend
You just got to trust in fate.
Do the things you want to do ‘cause life don’t wait
Take it easy, keep your head up high
No need for sorrow and despair
Just keep on moving, it’s such a wonderous world out there

The years are flashing by and everything will change
But way down deep inside – we all just stay the same
And down below
Old memories come alive and then we know
Down below

It’s a long road we all got to walk
But there’s an awful lot to see
And the sun keeps rising up wherever you may be
Fly the ocean, dive into the blue
No need for sorrow and despair
Just keep moving, it’s such a wonderous world out there

The years are flashing by and everything will change
But way down deep inside – we all just stay the same
And down below
Old memories come alive and then we know
Down below

The years are flashing by and everything will change
But way down deep inside – we all just stay the same
And down below
Old memories come alive and then we know
Down below

International: Asylum for the Domestic and Sexually Abused?

This post is in response to this NYTimes article, which reports on an issue that reveals the indignance presented by the Bush administration and the walking-on-eggshells hesitation by the Obama administration as regards setting asylum criteria that would consider sexual abuse and physical abuse as eligible instances to would trigger asylum.

The reservation is understandable, but one can be protective without being cold and hard and hypocritical. What, ultimately, makes political or religious asylum any different than asylum based on sexual abuse? Perhaps it reflects our existing willingness and even desire to ignore physical and sexual abuse in domestic situations even of our own citizens.

Personal Health: Excessive Hair-Pulling

Published on July 13, 2009 in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

An aid in cases of hair pulling
A common dietary supplement containing an amino acid may help people with trichotillomania, also known as compulsive hair pulling, according to a study by researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine in Minneapolis.

The amino acid N-acetylcysteine occurs naturally in the body and is sold in pill form in health-food stores.

Two to four percent of the U.S. population suffer from trichotillomania, a physically, emotionally and socially damaging condition that often coexists with other psychological disorders.

Fifty sufferers - 45 women and five men, with an average age of 34 - were randomly assigned to take 1,200 milligrams to 2,400 milligrams of N-acetylcysteine or a placebo for 12 weeks. Most were also receiving psychotherapy or psychotropic drugs.

After nine weeks, more than half of the supplement-takers reported improvement - such as reduced hair-pulling urges and fewer hair-pulling episodes - compared with 16 percent of those on the dummy pills. The positive response continued for the remaining three weeks.

The study is reported in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

- Heather J. Chin

Philly Local: Hospitals Expand Safe Sleep Practices

Published on July 7, 2009 in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

Hospitals push safe sleep practices for infants

By Heather J. Chin
Inquirer Staff Writer

For the last year, parents have been banned from sleeping with their sick babies at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children.

The hospital instituted the policy after three infants over three months were pronounced dead in the emergency room after bed sharing-related accidents at home.

Babies who sleep with a parent can become overheated, be rolled onto, or be smothered by soft sheets or pillows. They can also lose circulation if wedged between the mattress and furniture.

The hospital's ER typically gets one such death every couple of months. But the "little cluster" of tragedies early last year inspired St. Christopher's nurses to propose that the hospital lead by example.

"Today, people often don't have primary pediatricians," said emergency nursing director Kirsten Johnson-Moore. "So emergency departments, I feel, have a responsibility to educate and prevent."

Read the full story here...

Personal Health: On Statins and Walking Aids

Published on Monday, July 6, 2009 in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

Likely benefits to prescribing statins to curb heart disease

Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, the standard of care for people with heart disease, may also benefit many patients who are merely at risk of developing the disease, researchers report in a review of 10 previous studies involving 70,000 people worldwide.

Prescribing statins as a preventive measure to patients with risk factors such as diabetes and high blood pressure was associated with a 30 percent drop in major heart disease and a 12 percent drop in deaths over an average of four years, researchers said on bmj.com, an online British medical journal.

Statins are powerful drugs, and the researchers - several of whom reported support in the past from manufacturers - stopped short of recommending their use for all people at risk of developing heart disease.

While men over 65 who have other risk factors and older women with diabetes and other risk factors appear to be most in danger of developing heart disease, they write, "the correct identification of such people remains a challenge," as does prediction of an individual's risk. - Heather J. Chin


Study of falls suggests need to teach safer use of walkers

More than 47,000 older Americans a year - 129 a day - seek treatment at hospitals after falls involving walkers or canes, according to a six-year review of ER records that suggests more time should be spent teaching people how to use walking aids.

Falls are the leading cause of injuries in people over 65. Less than 3 percent involve walking aids, but the researchers, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said they were the frailest and most vulnerable population. And while twice as many older people use canes than use walkers, the researchers found seven times as many injuries associated with walkers.

Fractures were the most common type of injury. Men injured their head and neck most frequently, while women hit their hip or pelvis. Women, who are more likely to use walkers, made up 77 percent of all falls examined.

The goal now, the authors write in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, is to identify potential risk factors that lead to falls, to design better walking aids, and to provide education on safe usage. Information about falls and how to prevent them: http://go.philly.com/health. - Heather J. Chin

Pennsylvania: Insuring the Uninsured

Published on July 1, 2009 in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

Bill to expand Pa. health insurance sparks debate

By Michael Vitez and Heather J. Chin
Inquirer Staff Writers

Democratic leaders in Pennsylvania hope to double the number of residents who receive state-sponsored health insurance, known as adultBasic, but Republicans fear the costs may be too high.

The Pennsylvania House on Monday voted, 104-98, in favor of HB 1, to increase the number of individuals receiving adultBasic from 45,000 to 90,000.

Republican leaders in the Senate say they might oppose the effort. Carolyn Scanlan, president and CEO of the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, also expressed reservations.

Pennsylvania, like the nation, has seen the numbers of uninsured soar in the last year as the economy has declined, making a bad situation much worse.

AdultBasic is designed for people who earn too much to qualify for poverty programs such as Medicaid but can't afford insurance themselves.

An individual is eligible for adultBasic if he or she earns $21,600 or less; a family of four can earn $44,000 or less.

The program can't begin to meet the rising need. The waiting list, officials say, is growing by 20,000 a month and projects 270,000 as of today.

A year ago, it was at 96,000.

Read the full story here...

Personal Health: Music and Electronic Medical Records

Published on Monday, June 29, 2009 in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Music therapy may help control blood pressure
When it comes to matters of the heart, music may be more than just the food of love. A small study by Italian researchers has linked swelling crescendos - volume increase - to heart rate arousal and gradual decrescendos to relaxation.

The 24 subjects, half of whom were experienced singers, were monitored using electrocardiograms while they listened to five random tracks of classical music, including Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Verdi's La Traviata. As volume increased, so did the subject's blood pressure, heart rate, and blood flow. Long melodies led heart rhythms to synchronize with the tempo. And during a two-minute silence, breathing and blood pressure dropped.

The authors, who have done similar research before, hope their findings will show how music therapy can help in rehabilitative medicine. The paper was published in the journal Circulation.

- Heather J. Chin

Some patients are often left in dark on test results
Physician failure to notify patients or accurately record notifications about abnormal test results is common, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Records that were part electronic and part paper-based were more likely to be incomplete than those consisting entirely of one or the other.

The study examined 5,434 outpatient medical records from 19 community-based and four academic medical centers that offered primary care services, as well as the centers' methods of documentation - paper records, electronic medical records, or partial electronic records. Eleven blood tests and three screening tests - mammographies, Pap smears, and fecal occult blood matter - were examined in patients who were between 50 and 69 years old when treated.

Out of 1,889 abnormal test results, 135 patients were not informed of them promptly - either within 21 or 90 days, depending on the type of test. That was a failure rate of 7.1 percent. Three medical centers had a zero error rate while the rest ranged up to 26.2 percent.

The authors aim for more awareness of how often these errors occur and how managing results can reduce failure rates and successful malpractice claims from uninformed patients.

- Heather J. Chin

Philly Local: Philadelphia VA Prostate Cancer Scandal

Published on June 23, 2009 in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.
I contributed some reporting to this story.

Specter plans hearing on VA prostate cancer treatment


By Marie McCullough
Inquirer Staff Writer

Four years ago, after talking to doctors at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, the Rev. Ricardo Flippin opted for a radiation therapy that would precisely target his prostate cancer and leave nearby organs unharmed.

Instead, his prostate cancer got too little radiation while his rectum received so much that he suffered excruciating, permanent damage.

Flippin, 68 - a minister, teacher, and Air Force veteran - is hardly unique.

The Philadelphia VA has notified 92 prostate cancer patients treated between 2002 and 2008 that their "brachytherapy" radiation doses were too high or too low. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has shut down the brachytherapy program in Philadelphia and three other VA hospitals with less serious problems.

Yesterday, the unfolding scandal prompted Sen. Arlen Specter (D., Pa.) to say he would hold a hearing on the matter in Philadelphia on Monday.

Read more here...

Philly Local: High School Health Fellowships

Published June 10, 2009 in THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.


Fellowship seeks to give ninth graders a boost

By Heather J. Chin
Inquirer Staff Writer

A new fellowship program will pair about two dozen low-income ninth graders in Philadelphia with professional mentors this fall to prepare them for careers in health care and science.

The Karabots Junior Fellows Program will offer traditional mentoring from physician experts over three years as well as field trips, extra classes, college prep, internships, video seminars, and online networking. It is funded with an initial $800,000 grant from the Karabots Foundation in Fort Washington.

"You can't fulfill a dream unless you have the dream," said George M. Wohlreich, chief executive officer of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, a professional society that is hosting the fellowship and providing mentors. "Our goal is to help them create a dream and show them how to fulfill it."

As the need for health care rises, the demand for qualified candidates is growing, too. But many low-income minority youth lack academic and familial support to keep up with their better-off peers.

Read more here...

Canarsie, Brooklyn: Terminal Eyes New Beginning

Check out Terminal Eyes New Beginning, a multimedia package on the Brooklyn Terminal Market that Jessica Simeone, Robert Voris and I created for the NYCity News Service.

A Midtown Lunch Spot: Meal O'Bama

A chalkboard sign advertises the daily specials at Meal O'bama, the recently renamed food cart located on the corner of W39th Street and 7th Avenue.

Other fast-food chains, such as Obama Fried Chicken in Harlem and Brownsville, have gained media attention in recent weeks for changing their name to reference President Barack Obama.

This vendor stand seems not to be attracting controversy, though. It is supervised by Mr. Muhammad Rahman, famous for formerly being a chef at the Russian Tea Room, who owns and operates a small chain of food vendor carts called Kwik Mart throughout Midtown.

A day-in-the-life timeline of the workers and cooks who operate the Kwik Mart vendor chain, of which this cart is a part of, can be found on the NYC eatery blog, Midtown Lunch.

Eureka!? - Job Networking Is Mutually Beneficial-

Today, the New York Times has a piece on job networking social gatherings. The whole nut of the article hinges on the fact that these groups are proliferating in small and large sizes around the country. And that successful networking requires helping others while they help you.

That this still strikes some as novel saddens me. I wonder if more people are more giving now that many are all in the same boat. Or if it's just a more cutthroat environment.