Losing a baby, new research shows, often affects women significantly longer than their male companions.

It is well known that mothers begin to develop a bond with their children before they’re even born. Miscarriage can leave a woman devastated. Research has shown that this proves true for men as well, especially in cases of planned pregnancy.

Several researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recruited 83 heterosexual couples who’d experienced a miscarriage. Researchers followed these couples for a year, assessing the psychological and emotional effects of miscarriage on men versus women.

As many as two in five men experienced significant psychological distress immediately following a miscarriage, compared to just over half of women. This dropped after three months, when about 7 percent of men and 20 percent of women continued to experience grief and depressive symptoms.

Men’s grief leveled after the three-month mark, while women’s symptoms declined more slowly. By the end of the study, men and women experienced similar rates of depressive symptoms, at 5 and 8 percent, respectively.

“Although the psychological impact of miscarriage on men was less enduring when compared with that on women, a significant proportion of men demonstrated psychological distress after miscarriage,” authors of the study concluded.

Creating a solid support network can help couples cope with the pain of a lost pregnancy. Find support in Healia’s Pregnancy Loss Community, or see the study in the British Journal of Obstetrics&Gynecology.

A recent study by the National Cancer Institute shows that a patient’s blood type may increase his or her risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is a rare form of the disease, accounting for an average of only 29,000 diagnoses in the United States every year. There are more than 42,000 estimated cases this year alone. Pancreatic cancer is difficult to detect, especially in early stages, and spreads quickly. Symptoms include jaundice, abdominal pain, bowel obstruction, and weight loss (because the pancreas is unable to properly metabolize sugar).

Blood type is determined by the ABO gene, found on a region of the 9^th chromosome (typically referred to as “region 9”). Glycoproteins are produced in different combinations to determine an individual’s blood type—either A, B, AB, or O. Blood type dictates how sugars are placed on the cell’s surface. In pancreatic tumor cells, this transference is different.

Although it is relatively rare, pancreatic cancer is extremely life threatening because many people are not diagnosed until after it has already spread. Risk is greater for male smokers over the age of 60 with a family history of the disease.  According to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), it is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and fewer than 5% of patients survive five years following diagnosis.

The relationship between blood type and pancreatic cancer was first suggested more than half a century ago when research in the 50s and 60s yielded similar results. The results of the study come from Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, associated a 17% greater risk for pancreatic cancer for patients with non-O blood types.

The Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium, an organization of 12 academic medical centers, conducted the study with the help of the National Cancer Institute. Researchers followed 4,353 individuals with pancreatic cancer and 4,593 without, using whole-genome scans to detect similar genetic patterns that may be related to the disease.

“As more variants are discovered and follow-up studies are conducted to examine the biological effects of these variants,” says co-author Stephen J. Chanock, M.D., chief of NCI’s Laboratory of Translational Genomics in DCEG, “a better understanding will emerge of the inherited risk factors and mechanisms that lead to the development of pancreatic cancer."

Both tests showed a greater risk for patients with A and B blood types. The first of the two experiments in March, 2009, showed that blood type A had a 32% higher risk, with type AB increasing by 51% and type B increasing by 72% for risk of pancreatic cancer development.

Co-author Patricia Hartge, Sc.D., also of NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, says much more work is needed to better understand the link between blood type and pancreatic cancer: “This finding may lead to improved diagnostic and therapeutic interventions that are so desperately needed."

The study will be published in this month’s online issue of Nature Genetics. Click here to read the study’s extract, or find more information about pancreatic cancer.

Connect with others and learn more in our Pancreatic Cancer Community, or take the Healia Cancer Quiz!

The untimely death of actress Natasha Richardson from head trauma sustained in a fall while skiing brings to mind the tragic skiing deaths of other celebrities. In January 1998, Sonny Bono died of injuries after hitting a tree while skiing in Nevada and Michael Kennedy, one of son Robert F. Kennedy sons, also died while skiing in Aspen, Colorado. Neither of these men nor Richardson had been wearing a helmet.

The official cause of death for Natasha Richardson was epidural hematoma or bleeding between the skull and the covering of the brain. This is often a treatable condition but only if the victim can be hospitalized immediately. Health experts strongly recommend that all skiers and snowboarders wear helmets. The National Ski Areas Association reports that helmet usage in the United States has grown significantly in recent years. According to their studies, 43 percent of U.S. skiers and boarders wore helmets in 2007/08 compared to only 25 percent of skiers and boarders during the 2002/03 season. Here is a list of other celebrities who have died while skiing.

Unfortunately, it often takes a high profile accident such as Richardson’s to make the public aware of the importance of safety measures like wearing a helmet on the slopes. Hopefully, this incident will be incentive enough. Have questions about skiing or head injuries? Please post them at Healia Communities.

_{Photo: Rick Smit, Flickr, Creative Commons}

Deaths due to cigarette smoking have declined since the 1960s thanks to a parallel decline in smoking rates. When the Surgeon General first reported that smoking may be hazardous to your health in 1964, about 42 percent of American adults smoked. The most recent data available show that this rate has now dropped below twenty percent (19.8%) for the first time on record. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs report shows that overall death rates from smoking declined in all but one state (Oklahoma) between 1996-1999 and 2000-2004. Below is a list of the states with the lowest rates of smoking-related deaths, followed in parentheses by the smoking-attributable death rate per 100,000 residents and the percent change in that death rate between 1996-1999 and 2000-2004.

The top 10 states with the lowest rates of smoking-related deaths for 2000-2004 are:

1. Utah (138.3 deaths per 100,000 residents, -11.0% change)
2. Hawaii (167.6, -28.0%)
3. Minnesota (215.1, -14.4%)
4. North Dakota (225.6, -10.9%)
5. New Mexico (234, -21.1%)
6. California (235, -37.8%)
7. Nebraska (235.8, -25.9%)
8. Idaho (237.4, -21.5%)
9. Colorado (237.6, -24.3%)
10. Connecticut (238.3, -18.4%)

To find out more about lung diseases related to smoking, visit the Healia Health Community for Lung Diseases. Find help and support to quit smoking at the Healia Health Community for Smoking.

_{Source: Adhikari B et al "State-specific smoking-attributable mortality and years of potential life lost-United States 2000-2004" MMWR 2009; 58:29-33. http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5802a2.htm}

Photo: Paraflyer, Flickr, Creative Commons

Smoking rates—and smoking-related deaths—have declined pretty steadily in the United States since a 1964 Surgeon General’s report that suggested smoking may be hazardous to your health. At that time, around 42 percent of American adults smoked. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that for the first time on record, the smoking rate among U.S. adults has dropped below twenty percent (19.8%). In the CDC's Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs report, the agency reports that overall deaths rates from smoking declined in all but one state between 1996-1999 and 2000-2004. However, the smoking death rate actually increased for women in several states, and many states still have relatively high rates of smoking-related deaths. Below is a list of the states with the highest rates, followed in parenthesis by the smoking-attributable death rate per 100,000 residents and the percent change in that death rate between 1996-1999 and 2000-2004.

The top 10 states with the highest rates of smoking-related deaths for 2000-2004 are:

1. Kentucky (370.6 deaths per 100,000 residents, -13.3% change)
2. West Virginia (344.3, -21.5%)
3. Nevada (343.7, -44.4%)
4. Mississippi (333.6, -9.4%)
5. Oklahoma (332.1 +26.9%)
6. Tennessee (325, -12.4%)
7. Arkansas (323.7, -9.8%)
8. Alabama (317.5 -5.9%)
9. Indiana (308.9, -14.4%)
10. Missouri (307.8, -27.3%)

To find out more about lung diseases related to smoking, visit the Healia Health Community for Lung Diseases. Find help and support to quit smoking at the Healia Health Community for Smoking.

_{Source: Adhikari B et al "State-specific smoking-attributable mortality and years of potential life lost-United States 2000-2004" MMWR 2009; 58:29-33. http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5802a2.htm}

_{Photo: Saudi..., Flickr, Creative Commons}

An international study published in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association finds that following a simple checklist of steps can cut surgery deaths nearly in half and reduce complications by more than a third. When surgical teams used a checklist that contained such simple steps as confirming the patient’s name, marking the part of the body to be operated on, and checking that all instruments are accounted for at the end of the procedure, the rate of surgical deaths dropped from 1.5 percent of patients to 0.8 percent, a 47 percent decrease.

The large study of how to avoid blatant operating room mistakes was conducted at hospitals in Seattle; Toronto; London; New Delhi; Auckland, New Zealand; Amman, Jordan; Manila, Philippines; and Ifakara, Tanzania. The largest decreases in deaths and complications were in the developing countries, with the combined death rate for Jordan, India, Tanzania and the Philippines falling 52 percent. The study excluded heart surgeries and pediatric cases.

The World Health Organization developed the 19-point checklist as a way to standardize surgical procures, especially in developing countries where surgical environments may not be as well regulated as in the developed world. The checklist included checks on anesthesia, blood supply, sterile equipment, drugs, and even a roll call of the surgical team.

Most of the items on the list are elementary and not all the surgical teams were thrilled at the idea of using a list filled with blatantly obvious checkpoints. However, those who were initially skeptical became strong supporters of the checklist after seeing the outcome. Even the lead researcher in the study, a Harvard surgeon, was shocked by the results.

The study demonstrates that the process of painstakingly checking potential errors can help prevent careless mistakes. The study authors think that worldwide adoption of surgical checklists has the potential to prevent huge numbers of deaths and complications. The researchers also believe that such checklists could be used in other areas of medicine, such as everyday checkups and cancer treatment.

The surgical checklist has already been adopted by several countries including Britain, Ireland, Jordan, and the Philippines. In the U.S., the current standard is to use a three point checklist, but the Joint Commission that sets standards for hospitals says it is considering adopting more of the steps.

Have a question about surgery? Ask the experts at Healia Health Communities.


_{Photo: crucially, Flickr, Creative Commons}

As part of the “Protect the Ones You Love” initiative, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report listing the top types of fatal injuries in children and teens. Unintentional injuries account for the greatest number of deaths in children and teens up to 19 years old. The CDC included this data in the “Protect the Ones You Love” initiative in order to raise awareness and to prevent injuries like these from occurring. Death rates are per 100,000 people and are listed in parentheses.

The Top 7 Causes of Unintentional Fatal Injuries in Children up to 19 years old (2000-2005) are:

1. Transportation-related (9.8 deaths per 100,000 children)
2. Drowning (1.4)
3. Suffocation (1.2)
4. Other Injuries (0.9)
5. Poisoning (0.8)
6. Fires or Burns (0.7)
7. Falls (0.2)

Join others in the Child Health community on Healia Communities.

Related Blog Post: Car Accidents, Falls Leading Causes of Injury and Death in U.S. Children and Teens

_{Source: CDC Childhood Injury Report: Patterns of Unintentional Injuries among 0–19 Year Olds in the United States, 2000 – 2006, CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, 2000-2005. http://www.cdc.gov/safechild/Child_Injury_Data.htm}

_{Photo: woodleywonderworks, Flickr, Creative Commons}

A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week finds that car and other transportation-related accidents are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the U.S. About 8,000 child and teen deaths each year in the U.S. involve a motor vehicle occupant, pedestrian, or cyclist, with the highest fatality rates being among occupants of motor vehicles.

To prepare the report, the CDC examined data collected between 2000 and 2006 on emergency room visits and fatalities in children and teens from birth to age nineteen. According to the report, an estimated 9.2 million children visit emergency departments each year for unintentional injuries. Falls caused the most non-fatal injuries (about 2.8 million each year) and were associated with over half of the nonfatal injuries involving children less than one year. Drowning and poisoning were also leading causes of non-fatal injuries among children less than four years old

The report also notes that between 2000 and 2005, unintentional injuries resulted in 73,052 deaths among children and teens, with transportation-related deaths leading the way. Such deaths were highest among children 15 to 19 years of age. Overall, males were almost twice as likely to die from unintentional injuries as females.

The release of the CDC’s report coincided with the World Health Organization′s (WHO) and the United Nations Children′s Fund′s (UNICEF) launch of the 2008 World Report on Child Injury Prevention. The global report found that car crashes, drowning, and other accidents kill 830,000 children worldwide each year. Road crashes are the leading cause of accidental death worldwide, killing 260,000 children each year and injuring 10 million, with drowning, burns, falls, and accidental poisoning rounding out the top five.

Around 95 percent of the worldwide accidental deaths occurred in the developing world, mostly in Africa, and in richer nations deaths from accidents disproportionately affect the poor.

For information about the preventing child injuries and death, see the CDC’s “Protect the Ones You Love” initiative at www.cdc.gov/safechild. The Healia Health Community on Child Health is a great place to discuss the measures you take to keep your kids safe and get ideas from other parents.

 

_{Sources: UPI, CDC}

_{Photo: Old Man Lee, Flickr, Creative Commons}

A recent study found that people are driving less as a result of high gas prices and that this may result in a third fewer car-related deaths annually (about 1,000 less deaths each month). The reduction may be most dramatic among teenage drivers.

The stduy by researchers at Harvard Medical School and the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that, “For every 10 percent increase in gas prices there was a 2.3 percent decline in auto deaths. For drivers ages 15 to 17, the decline was 6 percent, and for ages 18 to 21, it was 3.2 percent”.

The study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the researchers' findings were presented at the American Society of Health Economists meeting last month.

According to the Department of Transportation, Americans drove abput 1.4 billion fewer highway miles in April. This represents six consecutive months where the number of miles driven has dropped in the United States.

high gas prices less car accidents fewer car-related deaths

Tim Russert, a television journalist and political talk show host of "Meet the Press," died of a heart attack after collapsing at NBC's Washington bureau last Friday at the age of 58. Russert had been managing his coronary artery disease through diet, medication, and exercise. 

 

Russert suffered a cardiac arrest, which was apparently related to ruptured plaque that caused blockage of a coronary artery. Dr. Michael Newman told CNN's Larry King that Tim was a great patient, “Tim Russert as a patient was the Tim Russert that we all know. He complied with almost everything that was asked of him. He was well-informed, and asked good questions.”  

 

Taking steps to avoid heart disease is very important. A healthy lifestyle can help prevent a first or subsequent heart attack by controlling the risk factors that contribute to the narrowing of the coronary arteries that supply blood to your heart. Here are five heart disease prevention tips from the Mayo Clinic: 

• Don't smoke or use tobacco products.
• Get active.
• Eat a heart-healthy diet.
• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Get regular health screenings.

 
Tim Russert heart attack Meet the Press