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Facebook’s Lure the Same for Young and Old

FRIDAY, May 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Older adults are joining Facebook in large numbers for the same reasons as kids and younger adults — to develop social connections, a new survey finds.

“Earlier studies suggest a positive relationship between bonding and bridging social capital and Facebook use among college students,” said researcher Eun Hwa Jung, a doctoral candidate in mass communications at Penn State University.

“Our study extends this finding to senior citizens,” Jung said in a university news release.

The online poll of 352 Americans aged 60 to 86 found their main reasons for joining Facebook were to stay connected to relatives and keep in touch with old friends, followed closely by wanting to find and communicate with like-minded people.

Curiosity was another strong motivator for older adults, who are the largest growing group on Facebook, according to the researchers.

Older adults also use Facebook for social surveillance, the study found.

“Surveillance is the idea that you’re checking out what people are up to. This is something that many older adults do. They want to see how their kids are doing and, especially, what their grandkids are doing,” study co-author S. Shyam Sundar. Sundar is professor of communications and co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory at Penn State.

However, requests by family and friends for older adults to join Facebook don’t usually succeed, according to the study.

“When senior citizens respond to requests to join Facebook, that tends to be a negative predictor of use,” Sundar said. “In other words, they are not intrinsically motivated to participate when someone else requests that they join.”

More than one-third of adults 65 and older belong to a social network, according to background notes in the study.

The study findings appeared online in advance of print publication in the August issue of the journal Computers in Human Behavior.

More information

The American Psychological Association has more on social networks.

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Stoned Stoners OK With Driving While High

FRIDAY, May 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Marijuana users are more likely to say it’s acceptable to drive while stoned if they’re asked the question while high, a new study finds.

Researchers surveyed 865 marijuana users in Colorado and Washington who said they had used marijuana or hashish in the past 30 days. More than 16 percent said they were high at the time they completed the survey.

Those who were high at the time of the survey were more likely to believe it was safe to drive while under the influence of marijuana, to say they might drive high in certain situations, and to claim they would not get caught while driving high.

The RTI International study was published in the May issue of the journal Health Education Research.

“When people are sober, most acknowledge they can’t safely drive under the influence of alcohol or marijuana. The problem is, being intoxicated affects our perceptions of risk,” study co-author Jane Allen said in an RTI news release.

“The public health community would do well to address this in campaign planning and development,” she added.

Future research should assess the effectiveness of different types of public education messages meant to discourage driving while high, the study authors suggested.

In the past decade, nearly half of U.S. states have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational uses, and at least other 10 states are currently considering recreational marijuana ballot initiatives, the researchers said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has more about drugged driving.

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More Children Accidently Poisoned by ‘Essential Oils’

FRIDAY, May 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Children are increasingly at risk from essential oils that are often used in natural remedies, a Tennessee poison center reports.

Between 2011 and 2015, reports of toxic exposures to these oils — such as tea tree oil — doubled, the center said. Even more alarming, four out of every five cases were in children.

The oils, which are derived from plants and used in aromatic and homeopathic products, can cause harm when consumed. And children face a heightened risk from exposure, the experts said.

“The rule of thumb in toxicology is ‘the dose makes the poison,’ so all essential oils are potentially harmful,” said Dr. Justin Loden, a certified specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Tennessee Poison Center.

“In children, poisoning typically occurs when they try to swallow the oil, but choke so that a little of it goes into the lungs, which causes pneumonia; it only takes less than half a teaspoonful to do that. This hazard applies to every essential oil,” Loden said in a university news release.

Children have also been poisoned by excessive or inappropriate application of essential oils to the skin, he added.

The oils, which have become increasingly popular in recent years, can be used in a variety of ways. These include diffusing them into the air by using a vaporizer or rubbing them on the skin, Loden explained.

But kids can be harmed by excessive application of these oils, because their skin is thinner and can absorb dangerous amounts. Children may also try to swallow the oils, which often have a pleasant smell, but then they choke due to the bitter taste and send the oil down into their airways and their lungs, Loden said.

Highly toxic essential oils include camphor, clove, lavender, eucalyptus, thyme, tea tree, and wintergreen oils, the researchers noted. Many essential oils can cause symptoms such as agitation, hallucinations and seizures. Symptoms may also include chemical burns, breathing problems, liver failure and brain swelling, among others.

While there are hundreds of essential oils, “tea tree oil is commonly cited, and most of those cases are accidental ingestions by children,” Loden said.

To keep kids and pets safe, Loden recommends storing essential oils properly — locked and out of reach. Follow instructions regarding their use, and seek help by calling Poison Control (1-800-222-1222 in the United States) in an emergency, he advised.

More information

For more about essential oil safety, visit the National Capital Poison Center.

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Inactive Women May Face Higher Risk for Cervical Cancer

FRIDAY, May 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Women who are sedentary appear more likely to develop cervical cancer, but just 30 minutes of exercise each week might significantly reduce that risk, new research suggests.

“We think that this study sends a powerful public health message: that a complete lack of exercise is associated with the greater likelihood of developing a serious disease,” said senior study author Kirsten Moysich. She is a distinguished professor of oncology in the department of cancer prevention and control at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y.

“Our findings show that any amount of exercise can reduce cervical cancer risk,” Moysich said in a Roswell release.

According to study author Dr. J. Brian Szender, the researchers believe that “this is the first U.S.-based study looking at the associations between physical inactivity and cervical cancer.” Szender is a fellow in the department of gynecologic oncology at Roswell.

“Our findings suggest that abstinence from regular physical activity is associated with increased odds of cervical cancer,” he added, although a cause-and-effect link was not proven.

The study involved 128 women diagnosed with cervical cancer, as well as 512 women who were suspected of having cervical cancer but ultimately were found not to have the disease.

Of those diagnosed with cervical cancer, 31 percent of the women reported being inactive. In this study, physical inactivity was defined as exercising less than four times a month.

Even after the researchers considered other risk factors — such as smoking, alcohol intake, family history of cervical cancer and body mass index — these women were 2.5 times more likely to develop cervical cancer than women who exercised, the findings showed.

Meanwhile, 26 percent of the women who had been suspected of having cervical cancer reported being inactive, the investigators found.

“In addition to smoking cessation and undergoing regular screening, we have identified another important modifiable risk factor for this disease,” Moysich said.

The findings were published in the May issue of the Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about cervical cancer.

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Booze, High Blood Pressure a Dangerous Mix

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, May 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Even an ounce of alcohol a day might alter heart function if you have high blood pressure, researchers report.

For someone with high blood pressure, drinking — even in small amounts — can impair functioning of the lower left chamber of the heart, which pumps blood to the rest of the body, according to a new study from Italy.

“Because even moderate alcohol consumption increases occurrence of early functional cardiac changes in patients with [high blood pressure], reduction of use of alcoholic beverages might be beneficial for prevention of cardiac complications in these patients,” said lead researcher Dr. Leonardo Sechi.

How this heart damage occurs isn’t known, and the study doesn’t establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship. Additional studies in which alcohol consumption is reduced or eliminated will be needed to confirm the findings, said Sechi, who with the University of Udine School of Medicine.

The study results were scheduled for presentation Friday at a meeting of the American Society of Hypertension in New York City. Until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, the results should be considered preliminary.

One-third of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, also called hypertension. It contributes to more than 350,000 deaths — about 1,000 per day — each year in the United States, according to the hypertension society.

For the study, Sechi and his colleagues studied the effect of alcohol on 335 patients with high blood pressure who had no other heart problems.

Researchers measured their heart function with an electrocardiogram and heart scans, and asked about their drinking patterns.

Based on daily alcohol consumption, the participants fell into four groups, ranging from no alcohol (over half the participants, or 172) to less than an ounce a day, to about 1.4 ounces or more.

Those who drank the most had thicker left ventricular walls, stiffening the chamber and making it function less efficiently, the researchers said.

Sechi’s team found signs of heart damage in nearly half the participants, which was associated with how much they drank. The more they drank, the more trouble the heart had properly filling with blood between each heartbeat, the researchers said.

Patients with more damage tended to be older, heavier, have diabetes and higher blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, the study authors noted. But after taking these factors into account, the researchers found that alcohol consumption still seemed to be a factor in damaging heart function.

Dr. Gregg Fonarow is a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He said, “High blood pressure is a major risk factor for developing heart failure, which leads to over one million costly hospitalizations a year.”

Alcohol can increase blood pressure, but the impact of alcohol consumption on heart function in individuals who already have high blood pressure has not been well studied, he said.

“These findings reinforce current guidelines that individuals with high blood pressure limit alcohol consumption,” Fonarow said.

More information

For more about blood pressure and alcohol, visit the American Heart Association.

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5 Warning Signs of Stroke

FRIDAY, May 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Knowing five sudden and severe warning signs of stroke can help save lives and reduce the number of people living with disabilities, a stroke expert says.

” ‘Sudden’ and ‘severe’ are key words, but if in doubt, do not take chances,” Dr. Doojin Kim, a neurologist at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, said in a hospital news release.

The American Stroke Association urges anyone who notices the following sudden and severe signs of stroke to immediately dial 911:

Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg (especially on one side of the body).
Sudden confusion or trouble speaking or understanding speech.
Sudden vision problems in one or both eyes.
Sudden difficulty walking or dizziness, loss of balance or problems with coordination.
Severe headache with no known cause.

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability in the United States. People having a stroke need immediate medical attention to improve the effectiveness of treatment and reduce their risk for death or long-term side effects, Kim explained.

“If someone has an ischemic stroke — the type in which a brain artery becomes blocked or restricted — the effects often can be reversed or drastically reduced if treatment is started within three hours,” said Kim. “But if they’re unsure or they wait to see if symptoms will go away, the window of opportunity for effective treatment can close.”

However, the warning signs or symptoms of stroke may go unrecognized. Part of the problem is that many people think strokes happen to “other people,” Kim said.

“Stroke is occurring more and more often in younger people,” he said. “It’s still more common in those in their senior years, but just because someone is middle-aged or even younger doesn’t mean they can’t have a stroke.”

Strokes are more common among women than men, the American Stroke Association reports. Black people are also at higher risk than whites, Kim said.

People with a family history of stroke are also at greater risk of stroke, said Kim. This risk factor can’t be changed. But, there are ways people can reduce their risk for stroke, he advised, including:

Exercising regularly.
Maintaining a normal weight.
Following a healthy diet.
Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels.
Keeping blood pressure in check.

Also, don’t smoke.

“Although most people have heard the list of risk factors before, it never hurts to provide a reminder because we often think, ‘It can’t happen to me.’ The reality is, it can,” Kim said.

More information

The American Stroke Association provides more information on warning signs of stroke.

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Many COPD Patients Have Trouble Finding Care

FRIDAY, May 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Americans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease face high out-of-pocket costs and other significant barriers to adequate medical care, a new report finds.

“This report reveals a real patchwork of care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” the report’s lead author, Dr. Meilan Han, said in a news release from The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

The report, written by experts in the field of respiratory health, was commissioned by the journal to provide the first comprehensive look at chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care in the United States.

COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States, Han said. And the condition disproportionately affects some of society’s most vulnerable people, such as older people and those with low incomes.

Many COPD patients lack access to medications and treatments that could improve their quality of life, said Han. She is medical director of the University of Michigan’s Women’s Respiratory Health Program.

“As a physician, I can discuss best treatments with my patients, only to later find out it isn’t covered by their insurance, or the co-pay is simply too high. This report aims to move us from debating what ideal care could look like, back to a discussion of what patients are actually facing on a day-to-day basis,” Han said.

COPD is an umbrella term for a group of progressive lung diseases, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis. People with COPD experience worsening breathlessness. Treatment for the condition usually involves inhalers and other medication, as well as pulmonary rehabilitation, the report authors said.

Smoking can lead to COPD. But there are other environmental risk factors for the disease, including long-term exposure to wood smoke or air pollution, the experts noted.

In the United States, about 15 million adults have been diagnosed with COPD. But, nearly 29 million people may have signs of the condition, indicating that about half of those with COPD remain undiagnosed, the report said.

Access to COPD care has improved, but patients with the disease can have out-of-pocket drug costs of $75 or more for each medication they need to take. As a result, many patients skip doses or cut down on their doses. In some cases, people simply may not refill their prescriptions, the study authors said.

The report showed that only half of COPD medication doses are taken as prescribed. This compares with about 75 percent of drug doses that are taken properly for other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, the study authors said.

Patients have reported that pulmonary rehabilitation was the most beneficial treatment for their quality of life. But access to this therapy is often limited by insurance coverage. And, in some cases, patients don’t have access to this treatment in a convenient location, the report authors noted.

Every year, COPD results in more than 10 million doctor visits, 1.5 million trips to the ER and nearly 700,000 hospital admissions. One in five people admitted to the hospital for COPD returns to the hospital within one month, draining resources, the report revealed.

Researchers have also found that only one in three hospital admissions adhere to standard recommended care guidelines. The authors suggested that a lack of written protocols for hospitalized patients may make COPD a low priority in some hospitals.

Most re-admissions for COPD are the result of poor access to care or support outside the hospital, the study authors said. They suggested that preventing hospital re-admissions for COPD through better diagnosis and access to treatment should be a priority.

Therefore, more education for COPD patients and doctors is needed, the study authors said. In addition, doctors, drug makers and insurance companies must work collaboratively to ease the financial burden on COPD patients. This could boost patients’ adherence to their treatment plans and reduce overall health care spending, the report concluded.

The study was published May 13, and the findings were scheduled for presentation May 17 at the American Thoracic Society meeting, in San Francisco.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about lung disease and conditions.

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What Works — And Doesn’t — to Manage Your Tot’s Screen Time

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, May 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — As any parent of a preschooler knows, media management can be a minefield of do’s, don’ts — and tantrums.

Tablets and other electronic gizmos can provide a child with learning and entertainment, but what works when it’s time to sign off?

A new study into the issue holds some surprises, including the fact that giving a preschooler a “two minute” warning for media downtime may backfire.

Even though the study found almost four in every five parents used the technique, only 20 percent of them said it actually helped.

The “‘two more minutes’ warning can both set expectations and remind a child that he or she is not the one in control,” said study lead author Alexis Hiniker.

That “can lead to a power struggle,” she said. “So if that is something that a family is struggling with, I might recommend experimenting with ways of setting expectations that give the child a little bit more of a voice or a sense of agency.”

Hiniker is a doctoral candidate in the department of Human Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle. She and her colleagues are slated to present the findings this week at a meeting of the Association for Computing Machinery, in San Jose, Calif.

In the study, Hiniker’s group interviewed 27 sets of parents, and 28 families also kept a “screen time diary” for two weeks.

One finding ran counter to what many may believe: In most cases, parents were not deemed to be using a tablet or other device as a kind of electronic “babysitter,” the research team found.

In fact, nearly all the parents expressed a “general negative impression” of screen media for kids, and felt exposure should be carefully monitored and limited.

It was often tough to get a child to stop using devices on their own, however, and most said they — not their child — put an end to sessions. The most common reason for doing so was because of a change in situation, such as an impending play date.

How did the kids typically respond? Nearly 60 percent of the time parents got a “neutral” reaction to their request, and in 20 percent of cases children even reacted “positively,” the researchers said.

However, things turned negative in about 20 percent of cases. And nearly all parents said their child had, on occasion, thrown a tantrum in response to being asked to leave their device. More than a third of parents said turning screens off almost always sparked a fight.

What worked best to ease those outbursts? Many parents said establishing regular, predictable viewing habits helped smooth out the process.

About four in five relied on advance, “two minute”-type warnings, trying to avoid conflict, which only worked a fifth of the time.

What did work? Shutting machines down at “natural stopping points” — such as when a video ended, or when embarking on a daily routine such as breakfast.

And blaming the technology for the shutdown — such as letting batteries die or losing Wi-Fi — also prompted better responses, Hiniker’s team said.

However, every family’s dynamic is going to be different, Hiniker said.

“I wouldn’t tell anyone to change what they do if they feel like their current practices are working well,” she said. “And I definitely wouldn’t recommend switching screens off in an unpredictable way without setting expectations. In fact, one of our findings was that routine and predictability actually helps a lot.”

And she stressed that “being thoughtful about what children are watching is just as important as setting limits on the amount of time they spend with screens.”

That point was seconded by Susan Neuman, a professor and chair of the teaching and learning department at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development at New York University, in New York City.

“What I urge parents to consider is not just the time spent viewing, but the content,” Neuman said. “Children are going to be interested in the technology and it can be fun, it can be good. But the pace, the content and the age-appropriate quality of what they’re watching matters.”

Scott Campbell is a professor of telecommunication in the department of communication studies at the University of Michigan. He agreed, noting that watching shows and playing games “are immersive experiences” that have the potential to be “good and bad” for kids.

According to Campbell, it’s critical that parents consider “where, when, with whom, what content, and a host of other contextual factors that can shape the experience, either positively or negatively.”

Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

There’s more on technology and preschoolers at U.S. National Association for the Education of Young Children.

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