SALUD (142)
NEW YORK (AP) —
Many men gain a new sense of responsibility and purpose when they become fathers. A new study suggests they also gain 3 to 5 pounds.
The research wasn't designed to prove fatherhood causes weight gain and raises more questions than it answers. But one outside expert, while noting its limitations, said the research is provocative and should spark further study.
Doctors pay attention to the weight gain of mothers — both before and after pregnancy. But the waistline of dads? That's not on most doctors' radar, said Tom Wadden, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Weight and Eating Disorders.
The study's lead author — Dr. Craig Garfield of Northwestern University — said he could only speculate about what's behind the extra pounds.
"For men who become fathers, their whole life changes," Garfield said. They may sleep less, exercise less, and experience more stress — all of which can lead to weight gain, he said.
It doesn't help that the food selection at home may gradually change to include more things like "making chocolate chip cookies with the kids," said Garfield. A dad himself, Garfield said his weakness is finishing his kids' leftover cheese pizza.
For their work, the researchers looked at results from another study, which tracked the health of adolescents over two decades. The researchers focused on teen boys and young men, comparing weight changes in the 3,400 who became dads and the 6,800 who didn't.
There was a difference.
After becoming a first-time dad, a typical 6-foot-tall man who lives with his child will gain an average of about 4½ pounds, the study suggested. A same-sized man who does not live with his child can expect to gain nearly 3½ pounds,
But a 6-foot man who does not have children typically loses about 1½ pounds over the same time period, researchers found — after making statistical adjustments to iron out the potential influences of age, marriage, and other factors.
The study checked weights of the men at four times over the two decades. The researchers were not able to determine at what point in time dads put on the weight. Most of it could have gone on during the pregnancy, Wadden noted.
The study found men who lived with their children were a little heavier to begin with, on average, and ended up heavier than the absent fathers and the men who didn't have kids.
Nearly three-quarters of U.S. men are overweight or obese, according to government statistics.
The study was published online Tuesday by the American Journal of Men's Health.
By JENI O'MALLEY
Associated Press
An Indiana county is experiencing nearly daily increases in new HIV infections tied to intravenous drug use, and health officials hope the situation prompts other states to closely track their hepatitis C and HIV rates to identify potential clusters of the diseases.
Indiana state health officials said Friday that the number of positive HIV tests so far this year has jumped to 142 in Scott County, which saw just three new HIV cases between 2009 and 2013, and has never seen more than five cases in a year, health officials said.
The new number includes 136 confirmed cases and 6 preliminary positives in the county, about 30 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky.
"We literally have new cases being reported every day," said Dr. Jerome Adams, the state's health commissioner.
Dr. Joan Duwve, chief medical consultant for the Indiana State Department of Health, said four out of five people infected in the outbreak have acknowledged using injectable drugs, mostly the painkiller Opana.
Federal health officials helping to contain the outbreak issued an alert to health departments nationwide on Friday, urging them to take steps to identify and track HIV and hepatitis C cases in an effort to prevent similar outbreaks elsewhere.
By SUE MANNING
Associated Press
An outbreak of canine flu has sickened more than 1,000 dogs in the Midwest, killing a handful and stirring concern among animal lovers nationwide that the highly contagious virus will sideline their pets.
Experts blame the epidemic on a strain called H3N2 that is seen in Asia and leaves pets feeling lousy for about two weeks. Veterinarians believe the strain, which doesn't yet have a vaccine, will likely spread to other parts of the country, so they offer ways to keep pets healthy or help those that are already ill.
LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Women should get a mammogram every two years starting at age 50 — and while routine screening brings little benefit in the 40s, beginning it that early should be a personal choice, a government task force said Monday.
Also, there's not enough evidence to tell if new 3-D mammograms are the best option for routine screening, or if women with dense breasts need extra testing to find hidden tumors, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded.
The draft advice issued Monday is largely a rewording of the task force's controversial 2009 recommendation that drew protests for questioning the usefulness of mammograms in the 40s. The American Cancer Society has long recommended annual mammograms starting at age 40 and while insurance usually pays for them, experts feared the dueling guidelines would confuse the public.
In reviewing its recommendation this time around, the government advisory panel is stressing that 40-somethings need to weigh the pros and cons of screening with their doctors.
Mammograms clearly can help prevent deaths but they come with trade-offs: anxiety-provoking false alarms, unneeded biopsies, and overdiagnosis, detection of tumors that never would have threatened a woman's life.
"Screening is most beneficial for women ages 50 to 74," said task force past chairman Dr. Michael LeFevre of the University of Missouri.
Compared with biennial mammograms for average-risk women, starting at age 40 instead of 50 could prevent one additional death but lead to 576 more false alarms for every 1,000 women screened, the report calculated. Age aside, the report estimated nearly 1 in 5 women whose tumor was detected by a screening mammogram may be overdiagnosed.
On the other hand, women at increased risk because their mother or sister had breast cancer may benefit more from mammograms than the average 40-year-old, LeFevre added.
Urging that kind of personalized discussion is an important clarification, said Dr. Richard Wender of the American Cancer Society, which had sharply criticized the task force's 2009 recommendation. The American Cancer Society currently is updating its own mammography guidelines, due out later this year, to include the latest evidence on those age questions.
"Mammography is the most effective way to reduce the likelihood of being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, and avoiding a premature cancer death," Wender said.
Monday's task force recommendation is a draft open for public comment through May 18, at www.screeningforbreastcancer.org. It also recommends:
—Women should undergo mammography every two years between 50 and 74, but more research is needed on whether to continue screening women 75 and older.
—About 40 percent of women have breasts so dense that it's more difficult for mammograms to spot cancer, and they're at higher risk of developing tumors, too. Laws in 22 states require that women be told if mammograms show dense breasts, and some suggest they consider extra testing. The task force said more research is needed to tell if adding tests such as 3-D mammograms or ultrasound exams would improve women's outcomes.
—More research also is needed to tell if newer 3-D mammograms should be used for regular breast cancer screening. The task force said it's not clear if 3-D mammograms improve survival or quality of life, or might worsen overdiagnosis.
STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) —
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working on a vaccine to counter a deadly strain of bird flu, as losses to poultry producers mount.
A pure "seed strain" would target the H5N2 virus — which has already cost Midwest turkey and chicken producers nearly 6.8 million birds since early March — as well as some other highly pathogenic viruses in the H5 family that have been detected in other parts of North America. If the USDA decides the vaccine is necessary to stop avian influenza, it will provide that seed strain to drug manufacturers.
The process, though, is fraught with questions about which birds would get the vaccine, how it might affect exports and whether it would be effective against the rapidly spreading strain.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) —
Blue Bell Creameries will survive the crisis caused by a recent recall of products prompted by a finding of bacterial contamination in some of its products, experts said, but they say it will take a lot of work and a lot of money.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported earlier this month that three people in Texas had the same strain of listeria bacteria linked to some Blue Bell ice cream products previously found in five others at a Wichita, Kansas, hospital. Three of the five in Kansas died.
The Austin American-Statesman (http://atxne.ws/1EXjk6R) reports veteran "crisis guru" Gene Grabowski has been advising the Brenham, Texas-based creamery. He says Blue Bell has worked around the clock since the listeria concerns arose to identify and correct any contamination sources.
Associated Press
Diabetes that develops early in pregnancy may increase women's chances of having a child with autism, according to a new study.
The risk was seen in young children whose mothers were diagnosed with diabetes during the most crucial period of fetal brain development. Reasons for the potential link are uncertain but it's possible that exposure to high levels of blood sugar from the mother disrupt fetal brain growth, especially in brain regions important for communication and social behavior, said study co-author Dr. Edward Curry, a learning and behavior specialist for Kaiser Permanente in Fontana, California.
Here are five things to know about diabetes in pregnancy, autism and the study, published in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
THE STUDY
The researchers looked at medical records for more than 322,000 children born at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Southern California between 1995 and 2010. Those whose mothers developed gestational diabetes by the 26th week of pregnancy were 40 percent more likely to be diagnosed with autism than those whose moms didn't have diabetes. Of about 3,400 autistic children, 130 were exposed to diabetes early in pregnancy.
Autism affects about 1 in 68 U.S. children. In the study, youngsters whose mothers had pre-existing diabetes or developed it later in pregnancy faced no extra autism risk.
Associated Press
California saw a record number of deaths from the West Nile virus last year, and the state's drought may have contributed to the spike in infections, according to health officials.
Thirty-one infected people died in 2014, the most since California began recording West Nile cases in 2003, the state Department of Public Health said Wednesday.
There were 801 Californians who tested positive for the virus - coming close to the record of 880 cases a decade ago.
Orange County recorded the highest number of cases, with 263.
It's possible the drought had a role in the increased West Nile activity because birds and mosquitoes, which spread the virus, were drawn to the same few water sources, said Dr. Karen Smith, director of the state's health department.
"As birds and mosquitoes sought water, they came into closer contact and amplified the virus, particularly in urban areas. The lack of water could have caused some sources of water to stagnate, making the water sources more attractive for mosquitoes to lay eggs," Smith said.
West Nile is transmitted to humans and animals by the bite of an infected mosquito. Flu-like symptoms can occur. Most people have a low risk of serious illness, but older people and those with pre-existing medical conditions have a greater risk of developing complications. Some individuals - less than one percent - can develop a serious neurologic illness, such as encephalitis or meningitis.
Officials said it is not possible to predict the level of West Nile activity in 2015 because the spread is influenced by many factors including climate, the number and types of birds and mosquitoes in an area, and the level of immunity in birds to the virus.
Residents are urged to protect themselves by draining standing pools of water, using insect repellant, and wearing protective clothing while outside, especially at dawn and dusk.
DAVID McHUGH, Associated Press Business Writers
JOAN LOWY, Associated Press Business Writers
Lufthansa knew that the co-pilot of the passenger plane that crashed in the French Alps last week had suffered from an episode of "severe depression" before he finished his flight training with the German airline.
The airline said Tuesday that it has found emails that Andreas Lubitz sent to the Lufthansa flight school in 2009 when he resumed his training in Bremen after an interruption of several months.
In them, he informed the school that he had suffered a "previous episode of severe depression," which had since subsided.
The airline said Lubitz subsequently passed all medical checks and that it has provided the documents to prosecutors. It declined to make any further comment.
French authorities say voice recordings indicate Lubitz, 27, locked the other pilot out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed the Airbus A320 in the French Alps on March 24. All 150 people aboard Flight 9525 from Barcelona to Duesseldorf died.
The disclosure that Lubitz had told the airline he had suffered from depression before he was hired in September, 2013 at Lufthansa's budget arm Germanwings is another blow to the company's reputation. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr had said that Lubitz passed all tests and had been pronounced fit to fly.
The revelation adds to questions about how much Lufthansa and its insurers will pay in damages for the passengers who died.
It also underlines questions about how thoroughly the aviation industry and government regulators screen pilots for psychological problems.
JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press
Seven-year-old Faith Lennox never thought much about putting a prosthetic limb where her missing left hand had once been.
Not until the little girl learned she could design her own, strap it on easily and then jump on her bike and pedal away at speeds previously only imagined.
With family members occasionally shouting "Be careful" and "Watch out for that car," Faith firmly placed her new hand's bright blue and pink fingers on her bike's left handlebar and took off for a seemingly endless sojourn around the Build It Workspace on Tuesday morning. Inside, just a short time before, that hand had rolled off a 3-D printer that built it overnight.
"I don't think we'll ever get her off it," said her mother, Nicole, smiling with resignation as she watched her daughter continue to circle the parking lot in this Orange County suburb.
The prosthetic that had just made such a task immediately easy represents a breakthrough in small, lightweight hands that are economical and easy for children to use. It weighs only a pound and costs just $50 to construct out of the same materials used to make drones and automobile parts.
When Faith outgrows it in six months or a year, a replacement can be made just as cheaply and easily, said Mark Muller, a prosthetics professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills, who helped with the design. He said a heavier adult model with sensors attached to a person's muscles would run $15,000 to $20,000.
