"Sleep problems and sleep disorders are not an inherent part of aging," said Dr. Harrison G. Bloom, a senior associate at the International Longevity Center-USA and associate clinical professor of geriatrics and medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. "It's pretty much of a myth that older people need less sleep than younger people."

Yet, in a study published recently in The American Journal of Medicine, researchers found that more than half of older Americans have problems getting the shuteye they need.

Older people tend to have "sleep fragmentation," meaning they wake up more often during the night, said study author Dr. Julie Gammack, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at St. Louis University.

They also seem to get less "REM" sleep, the type of sleep during which rapid eye movement occurs, Bloom added.

It's unclear what role these naturally occurring changes in sleep patterns have on a person's quality of life, Bloom said. "What is important, though, is that older people often have actual sleep disorders and problems with sleep," he said.

And, experts say, there is usually more than one cause.

"Sleep disturbance in older adults is typically associated with acute and chronic illnesses, including specific sleep disorders like sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome that appear with greater frequency in older populations," said Michael V. Vitiello, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and associate director of the University of Washington's Northwest Geriatric Education Center.

As people age, they typically develop more diseases and suffer from aches and pains. "These things can disrupt sleep, so what they may perceive as a sleep disorder may actually relate to the effects of some of their other medical problems," Gammack noted.

Taking multiple medications, as many older people do, can also lead to fatigue and "hypersomnia," or being tired all the time, Bloom added.

Another big problem, he noted, is depression and anxiety. "Those are very commonly associated with sleep problems."

Despite the prevalence of sleep difficulties in older adults, many patients aren't getting the help they need.

"The average physician receives very little training about sleep disorders and typically does not routinely screen patients for them," said Vitiello, who serves on the board of directors of the National Sleep Foundation. This may be due to a lack of time or training or the belief that there is little that can be done to improve sleep, he explained.

As a result, problems like insomnia, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea and circadian rhythm disorders are underdiagnosed and undertreated, Bloom said.

To rectify the problem, a national coalition of aging, geriatric medicine and sleep organizations is currently developing guidelines to promote prevention, diagnosis and treatment of sleep problems in older adults. The National Coalition for Sleep Disorders in Older People expects to publish its recommendations by mid-2008.

"The reason we're concerned with these [problems], besides a major issue on quality of life and being tired the next day and not functioning properly, is that these sleep disorders are associated with hypertension, diabetes, pulmonary disease, heart disease, depression and anxiety," said Bloom, chairman of coalition's expert task force.

A cause-and-effect relationship has yet to be established between sleep disorders and these chronic health problems, but Bloom suspects they at least contribute to each other. And he believes a causal relationship may be found in years to come.

"This is very, very much a tip-of-the-iceberg problem," he said.

News By: Karen Pallarito,
HealthDay Reporter.

Overall, seven percent of fulltime workers ages 18-64 experienced one or more major depressive episodes in the past year. Women were more likely than men to suffer depression and young adults, ages 18-25, had the highest rate of depression (8.9 percent) among all age groups of adults working fulltime.

Depression rates among other age groups were: 7.6 percent, ages 26-34; 7.2 percent, ages 35-49; 5.1 percent, ages 50-64. Among young adult workers, those in health care and technical occupations had the highest rate of depression within the past year (11.9 percent).

Occupations with the lowest rates of depression were: engineering, architecture and surveying, 4.3 percent; life, physical and social science, 4.4 percent; and installation, maintenance and repair, 4.4 percent.

In the study, a team of American and Norwegian researchers analyzed data for more than 46,000 Norwegian men diagnosed with prostate cancer from 1964 to 1992.

Compared with men diagnosed in the summer and fall, those diagnosed in the winter and spring were 20 percent more likely to die within three years after diagnosis. The study was published in the journal The Prostate.

The researchers also examined whether survivability was affected by factors such as eating foods high in vitamin D (such as fatty fish), taking vacations in sunny southern locations, and where the men lived in Norway.

Only age seemed to have a influence -- younger men had a slightly better rate of survival. The researchers noted that the capacity of skin to produce vitamin D when exposed to sunshine is about 40 percent lower in men 75 and older than in men 60 and younger.

Vitamin D, which has been shown to inhibit cancer growth, may also help maintain immune system health and help regulate cell growth and differentiation, Beer said.

Source: HealthDay

In the first study, researchers said that to avoid heart failure when you're 70 or 80, you must begin by keeping your blood pressure and weight under control when you're 50.

"We tested the hypothesis that higher levels of blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) in midlife would be powerful determinants of heart failure risk in later life, and that the risk posed by preceding measurements would remain even after accounting for these risk factors measured later in life," said lead researcher Dr. Ramachandran S. Vasan.

"This is exactly what we found," added Vasan, a senior investigator with the Framingham Heart Study and a professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.

An increase of about 20 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure at age 50 was associated with a 36 percent higher risk of heart failure up to 20 years later. Every 2.2 pound increase in BMI (a ratio of weight to height) at age 50 was associated with a 6 percent increase in the risk of heart failure, Vasan said.

"The study highlights the importance of maintaining an ideal BMI and blood pressure over the life course of individuals," Vasan said.

For the study, Vasan's team collected data on 3,362 people who were part of the Framingham Heart Study who had routine examinations between 1969 and 1994. During follow-up, 518 people developed heart failure.

"The prevention of heart failure should begin early in life and should include screening for elevated blood pressure and BMI," Vasan said. "Failure to identify or treat such modifiable risk factors in early and mid-adulthood may result in the loss of opportunities to reduce the incidence of heart failure in later life."

The findings are published in the November issue of the journal Hypertension.

Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said he agrees that keeping both your weight and blood pressure down will help you avoid the ravages of heart failure.

"The lifetime risk for developing heart failure in both men and women is one in five," said Fonarow. "However, heart failure can be prevented, and there are a number of modifiable risk factors for heart failure, including hypertension, obesity, and diabetes.

"Maintaining a healthy blood pressure and body weight is essential to reduce the risk of heart failure," he said.

The second study found that fewer than 20 percent of patients seek cardiac rehabilitation after a heart attack or coronary bypass surgery.

"It has been shown by many trials that cardiac rehabilitation reduced the risk for new coronary events, re-hospitalization and mortality. The main advantage of cardiac rehabilitation is to reduce mortality," said study leader Dr. Jose A. Suaya, a lecturer and scientist at the Brandeis University Schneider Institutes for Health Policy, Heller School, in Waltham, Mass.

Cardiac rehabilitation also improves functional capacity, Suaya said. "Patients can walk more without pain and improve their quality of life," he said.

For the study, Suaya's group collected data on 267,427 men and women, 65 and older, who had survived a heart attack or bypass surgery. The data were drawn from 1997 Medicare claims records.

In the year after hospital discharge, only 18.7 percent of the patients had at least one session of cardiac rehabilitation. Patients who underwent bypass surgery were more likely to seek rehabilitation -- 31 percent -- compared with heart attack patients -- 13.9 percent.

More men had cardiac rehabilitation (22.1 percent) than women (14.3 percent). Age also played a role -- patients 75 to 85 were less likely to go for rehabilitation, the researchers found.

In addition, patients with other medical conditions, such as diabetes, a previous stroke, congestive heart failure or cancer, were significantly less likely to seek cardiac rehabilitation, Suaya's group found.

The study results are published in the Oct. 9 issue of the journal Circulation.

There are many reasons why patients don't seek rehabilitation, the researchers said.

"Many doctors may be reluctant to refer patients to cardiac rehabilitation," said study co-author Donald S. Shepard, a research professor at Brandeis' Heller School. "In addition, patients may not know or ask about it."

Shepard also noted that many medical institutions don't promote the service, which typically includes exercise and advice on diet. "It's not glamorous and, from the data we have, it is not very profitable," he said.

It may also be difficult for people to get to rehabilitation centers, Shepard said. "One of the findings in the study was that the closer you are, the more likely you are to use the service," he said. "Travel time and travel expense are things that reduce the use of the service."

Fonarow said "more needs to be done to ensure that eligible patients are effectively enrolled in supervised cardiac rehabilitation. The American Heart Association's 'Get With The Guidelines Program' is one example of a highly successful initiative to improve referral to cardiac rehabilitation after hospitalization for cardiovascular event or surgery."

Lab tests conducted by the Food and Drug Administration confirmed the presence of Cryptosporidium, a parasite that can cause diarrhea and intestinal infections, in unopened bottles of apple-flavored Baby's Bliss Gripe Water, according to the FDA. The supplement's distributor, MOM Enterprises of San Rafael, Calif., said it had recalled about 17,600 bottles of the product that were being sold through the Internet and at retail stores nationwide.

The Minnesota baby so far is the only person with a reported illness possibly linked to the product, which is sold in 4-ounce bottles with the code 26952V and has an expiration date of October 2008.

The FDA said that people infected with Cryptosporidium generally display symptoms within two to 10 days. The most common symptom is diarrhea, and other symptoms include dehydration, weight loss, stomach cramps or pain, fever, nausea and vomiting. Health officials advised consumers to discard any of the product they have and to consult a pediatrician if it was consumed by a child who seems sick.

News Source Associated Press

(HealthDay News) -- Vaginal yeast infections are common and often recur in many women. But they are easily treated with either over-the-counter or prescription medications.

These are common triggers of yeast infections, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

• Becoming stressed or not getting enough sleep.
• Maintaining a poorly balanced diet, particularly one that's high in sugar.
• Being pregnant.
• Taking certain medications, including steroids, birth control pills or antibiotics.
• Getting your period.
• Having certain health conditions, including HIV or poorly managed diabetes.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 219,000 Americans went to the emergency room for eye injuries in 2006. More than half of those injuries occurred at home.

Ninety percent of home eye injuries can be prevented by wearing safety goggles while doing lawn work, cleaning or working on the car, experts say. Safety goggles should have "ANSI Z-87" stamped on the lenses or frames. The stamp means they have been certified by the American National Standards Institute.

People should also wash their hands when they complete their chores before touching their eyes or face.

"When we perform the same chores or tasks around the house, week after week, we can get complacent about how quickly accidents can happen," Daniel D. Garrett, senior vice president of Prevent Blindness America, said in a prepared statement. "We all need to take extra care when we're at home to protect our sight and not wind up in the emergency room."

Prevent Blindness America has declared September "Home Eye Safety Awareness Month" in an effort to draw attention to everyday risks to vision.

Children are at special risk because of their "creative" use of ordinary household items such as coat hangers, glue and pencils. Prevent Blindness America offers the following tips to help kids learn eye-safe behaviors:

• Teach children not to run around with forks, knives, pencils, combs or toothbrushes.
• Keep detergents, cleaning supplies, nail polish remover, mouthwash and cosmetics in locked cabinets or out of reach.
• Keep clothes hangers hanging in the closet.
• Place nails, glue, screwdrivers and other tools out of children's reach.
• Keep younger kids away from work areas where power tools are in use.

Source:(HealthDay News)

By Amy Norton Thu Sep 13, 12:37 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obese pregnant women may have an increased risk of losing their baby relatively late in pregnancy, and black women appear particularly at risk, a large study suggests.

Researchers found that Obese Women were 40 percent more likely than normal-weight and overweight women to have their pregnancy end in stillbirth -- defined as fetal death in the 20th week of pregnancy or later.

African-American women were especially at risk. Compared with obese white women, their rate of stillbirth was 90 percent higher, the study authors report in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Part of the reason for the obesity-stillbirth link may rest in the fact that obese women are more prone to diabetes and high blood pressure in pregnancy, explained Dr. Hamisu Salihu, an associate professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa and the study's lead author.

Because black women have higher rates of these pregnancy complications than white women do, this may also help explain the racial gap, according to the researchers.

However, diabetes and high blood pressure are not the whole story, Salihu told Reuters Health, and other factors must be at work.

For example, he explained, obese women also have higher levels of lipids -- blood fats such as cholesterol. These fats suppress a substance called prostacyclin, which can narrow the blood vessels and promote blood clotting in vessels supplying the fetus.

Whatever the reason for the higher risk of stillbirth, the best way to reduce these odds is for obese women to shed weight before getting pregnant, according to Salihu.

"Weight reduction before becoming pregnant should be the cornerstone of any strategy that aims to reduce the high level of risk for stillbirth among obese mothers," he said.

The findings are based on pregnancy outcomes of more than 1.5 million Missouri women who were pregnant between 1978 and 1997. Salihu's team found not only that obesity raised the risk of stillbirth, but also that the odds continued to climb with the degree of obesity.

Women who were classified as extremely obese had nearly double the risk of stillbirth as women who were normal-weight or overweight before becoming pregnant.

While Weight loss before pregnancy may be the best way to prevent these stillbirths, this is clearly not possible for all women. According to Salihu, researchers still need to determine the best way to manage obese women's pregnancies in order to lower the risk of stillbirth.

Obesity itself has only recently been recognized as a risk factor for stillbirth, he noted, and there are no standard recommendations on how doctors should address the problem.

SOURCE: Obstetrics & Gynecology, September 2007.

Researchers at Aberdeen University who studied the records of 46,000 women over a 36-year period found that taking the oral contraceptive for up to eight years did not lead to an increased risk of cancer over a woman's lifetime.

However, doctors said the risks of cancer were greater in women who took the pill for longer than eight years.

Researchers, led by Prof. Philip Hannaford, found that "there was no overall increased risk of cancer among pill users" and that taking the pill could cut the risk by up to 12 per cent in some cases.

A 12 percent reduction equated to one fewer case of cancer for every 2,200 women who used the pill for a year, the study published by the British Medical Journal showed.

"It is pretty small, but if you take that across 3 million women in Britain and 100 million women throughout the world actually a small risk translates into major benefits," Hannaford told BBC radio.

The study, analyzing data from the Royal College of General Practitioners, compared half the sample of women who began taking the pill in 1968 and half who had never taken it.

In one of two main datasets analyzed women on the pill "had significantly lower rates of large bowel/rectal, uterine body and ovarian cancer," the study concluded.

"Many women, especially those who used the first generation of oral contraceptives many years ago, are likely to be reassured by our results," the authors of the report said.

Evidence also suggested that women were protected from the risk of developing cancers for at least 15 years after stopping.

Since its introduction in the early 1960s, more than 300 million women are thought to have used oral contraception, often for prolonged periods.

There have been hundreds of studies into the pill's safety since its launch in 1961, some showing benefits and others claiming it increases the risk of cancer.

Heart failure is also a side effect with Avandia. Such problems led one diabetes expert to recommend that both drugs be considered second choices behind older, cheaper pills.

Heart failure "is a significant side effect," said Dr. Alvin Powers, director of Vanderbilt University's diabetes center. "No one would say that you should be on these drugs to prolong your life." He was not involved in the research.

Older drugs including Metformin are available in generic form and can cost less than 20 cents a day — 10 times less than Avandia and Actos. However, the older drugs can stop working and doctors may try newer pills instead of having patients resort to insulin injections.

When the older drugs lose effectiveness, Actos "is a drug that clearly I think is preferable," said Dr. A. Michael Lincoff, who co-authored the Actos study with Cleveland Clinic colleague, Dr. Steven Nissen.

Their research was paid for with a $25,000 grant from Takeda Global Research & Development, a Deerfield, Ill., division of Actos' maker, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. of Osaka, JapanTakeda had no role in designing their analysis.

A third author, Cleveland Clinic researcher Stephen Nicholls, has received consulting fees from drug companies, including Takeda. Lincoff and Nissen also reported getting research funds from other diabetes drug makers and they have consulted for several drug companies. They said any fees are donated to charity.

The review, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, is the biggest to date on Actos. It pools results of 19 rigorous studies involving more than 16,000 people. Compared with patients taking other diabetes drugs or none, Actos patients had an 18 percent reduced risk of death, heart attack or stroke.

The findings are important because heart attacks are a leading cause of death in diabetics, the authors said.

The same researchers wrote an analysis earlier this year linking Avandia with increased heart attack risks, and a drug advisory panel is recommending stronger warnings on that drug's packaging. The FDA has not acted on that recommendation.

The agency is requiring label warnings of the heart failure risks for both Avandia and Actos.

In the new analysis, death, heart attack or stroke occurred in 375 of 8,554 patients, or 4.4 percent, versus 450 or 5.7 percent of 7,836 patients on other drugs or no treatment.

A separate analysis of four Avandia studies in the same journal found heart attack and heart failure risks similar to earlier reports. Dr. Curt Furberg, a co-author of that analysis, reported that he heads a government heart disease study that received a 2004 grant from GlaxoSmithKline PLC.

Takeda's Dr. Robert Spanheimer said the Actos analysis adds "scientific validity" to previous data on the company's drug.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Avandia's maker, said the new report doesn't prove Actos is safer than Avandia. The company added that the Avandia review amounts to selective analysis of old data.

An editorial in the medical journal said the new information underscores the need for quicker regulatory action when signs of trouble with new drugs surface.

Actos and Avandia each have been used by more than 7 million patients since they were introduced in 1999. They belong to a troubled newer class of diabetes treatments.

Actos and Avandia control blood sugar by improving the body's sensitivity to insulin. Avandia can increase levels of LDL cholesterol, the bad kind; while Actos can increase HDL cholesterol, the good kind, and can lower triglyceride levels — effects that may help explain the study results, Nissen said.

David Barish, a 49-year-old Chicago attorney with diabetes and heart disease, called the new analysis reassuring. His doctors switched him from Avandia to Actos because of safety concerns.

While Barish said he doesn't feel any different on the new drug, "it sounds like it's a better risk."