Survey Finds Americans' "Ideal Weights" Have Risen.

The Los Angeles Times (11/29, Healy) "Booster Shots" blog reports, "In Gallup's annual Health and Healthcare Survey, the nation's leading polling organization has asked Americans yearly how much they weigh and what their ideal weight would be. Compared to Americans' answers to those questions in 1991, both numbers -- actual weight and ideal weight -- have risen, although 'ideal' weights have not quite kept pace with actual weight gains." Interestingly, "as our actual weight drifts upward, so do our perceptions of what our 'ideal; weight would be," with men and women averaging 15 and 22 pounds more than their respective ideal weights. The blog adds, "Gallup's findings help paint a grim picture of mass delusion in the United States about its rising weight and the spate of health problems that come with it."

Healthcare and Supercommittee

Robert J. Samuelson wrote in his column for the Washington Post (11/27) that the supercommittee was doomed to failure from its outset, as it lacked the time and staffing it would take "to solve a problem as contentious and complex as health care," which lies at the center of US spending problems. Samuelson highlighted a new study from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris that he said settles the debate over which the high cost of healthcare in the US brings with it the best healthcare in the world: "It's not true." The only way to avoid continued runaway healthcare spending, Samuelson said, would be to act in the form of a voucher system or a single-payer option.

Driving Factors in Youth Violence: Interdisciplinary Perpespective

Thursday, December 1, 2011
11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

It is the goal of the Chicago Crime Commission to address the public health aspect of youth violence. "It's clear that youth violence has reached epidemic proportions in Chicago, and other major cities in the United States. A study by the University of Chicago concluded that youth violence is driven by three factors: lack of education, mental health issues, and substance abuse," says Weis. "I will work to bring the law enforcement and public health communities together to find meaningful solutions to this deadly epidemic. The Chicago crime Commission needs to work with all members of the community to ensure our residents remain vigilant for those individuals who want to destroy our way of life."

For over 35 years, Dr. Bell has practiced psychiatry as an internationally recognized lecturer and author. He has given numerous presentations on mental wellness, violence prevention, and traumatic stress caused by violence. In 2007, he was appointed to the National academy of Science's institute of Medicine, Board of Children, Youth and Families and the Board of Health Care Services.

To RSCP for this event – email Claudia Kubnick

Flu vaccines for MPH students

Flu vaccinations will be available for employees, students and volunteers in the Heart Transplant Unit, Loyola Hospital, room 3135, on Saturday, Nov. 19, and Sunday, Nov. 20, for 24 hours each day. Please ask for the charge nurse upon arriving at the unit for your vaccination.

SPRING COURSES

By now, all registered MPH students should have received via email a list of all Spring course offerings. There are multiple new course offerings including both online and traditional courses. These include:

Geographic Information Systems
Public Health Law: Theories and Cases
The Epidemiology of Obesity: an energy balance perspective

Courses may fill up fast. For any questions, contact Dr. Holly Kramer via email hkramer@lumc.edu
For assistance with registering for courses, contact Ilze Berzins at iberzins@lumc.edu

Apply for one of six paid-internships in areas focusing in Latino cancer health disparity research.

Éxito!, funded by the NCI and led by Dr. Amelie Ramirez and the Institute for Health Promotion Research team at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, aims to encourage minority master’s level students and master’s trained health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a career in Latino cancer health disparity research.

Éxito! provides participants the opportunity to:

Attend, in June 2012, a weeklong Summer Institute in San Antonio, TX, where they will hear from reputable guest speakers composed of state and national higher education representatives, including doctoral program directors, faculty, researchers, and Éxito! alumni mentors.

Apply for one of six paid-internships in areas focusing in Latino cancer health disparity research.

To learn more about our program please visit http://ihpr.uthscsa.edu/exito.html . We encourage you to spread the word about our program to your current and former students.


If you have any additional questions, please feel free to email our Éxito! staff at exito@uthscsa.edu.

Loyola Department of Preventive Medicine Journal Club

11 AM Thursday November 17
Department of Preventive Medicine Library
Can also participate via videoconference
Please email Holly Kramer at hkramer@lumc.edu for dial-in information
Article will discuss limitations of intention to treat analyses of achieved blood pressure

Lack Of Doctor-Patient Communication May Lead To Lawsuits.

American Medical News (11/16, Gallegos) reports, "Failing to communicate diagnostic test results to patients and fellow physicians is leading to more doctors being sued. Claim payouts due to communication breakdowns after tests rose by $70 million from 1991 to 2010 across all specialties," according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Radiology. "Of the cases studied, the most common scenarios associated with communication problems were failure to notify the patient of the test result, telling the patient of an incorrect result and failing to notify the referring clinician." The study suggests that using electronic systems, which "are designed to reduce missed notifications by alerting referring clinicians of results and generating delivery receipts," may improve communication.

Director of Research Job Opening

The American Hip Institute is inviting applications for Director of Research, a leadership position within our non-profit organization. The foundation is dedicated to innovation and clinical research in surgical and nonsurgical treatment of hip injuries, and is affiliated with a very busy orthopedic surgical department. The Director of Research will write and publish clinical outcomes studies, write IRB proposals, coordinate data collection, and manage the database of clinical outcomes. An ideal candidate would have experience and training in clinical research. Training might include MPH, or advanced degree in epidemiology, biostatistics, or other area related to clinical research. Applicants should send resumes and statement of intent to:
info@americanhipinstitute.org

Vegan, Vegetarian Diets May Reduce Diabetes Risk

MedWire (11/10, Robertson) reports, "Vegan and vegetarian diets substantially reduce the risk for developing diabetes, compared with nonvegetarian diets," according to a study published online in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease. After analyzing "data from the Adventist Health Study-2 to examine the incidence of diabetes in relation to diet among black (African American, West Indian/Caribbean, African, or other black) and non-black (white non-Hispanic, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Asian, Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander, or American Indian) populations," researchers found that "various forms of vegetarian diets reduce the risk by around 50%, and by as much as 70% in the case of a vegan diet."

Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology: Grand Rounds November 10

November 10 at 10:30
Dr. Holly Kramer will present "Methodological considerations of repeated measures of renal biomarkers" via videoconference. This videoconference is open to all MPH and CRME students and Loyola faculty.
To obtain link, email Dr. Kramer at hkramer@lumc.edu

Racial Disparities Narrowing For Kidney Recipients

HealthDay (11/9, Preidt) reports, "The reversal of a kidney allocation policy has improved black patients' chances of receiving a new organ from a deceased donor," according to a study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. "Until 2003, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) gave priority to potential recipients who had a genetic match with the deceased donor in terms of HLA-B, an antigen involved in the body's immune response to foreign tissue. HLA-B similarity tends to be race-based." After examining data on approximately 179,000 patients on the list for a kidney transplant list, researchers "found that blacks were 37 percent less likely than whites to receive a DDKT before the policy reversal in 2003, compared with 23 percent less likely after the change."

Money Matters Workshop for Loyola Graduate Students

Loan Borrowing and Repayment for Grad Students

When: Tues. November 8th, 4 PM (Centennial Forum Student Union Bremner Lounge)

Wed. November 9th, 5 PM (Corboy Law Center Room 727)



Loans can be an overwhelming topic for many of us. Who do we choose to borrow with? How much do I need to cover my tuition and living expenses? How much have I borrowed so far and what will this end up costing me? This workshop is designed to help graduate students understand the loan process, how to make the right decisions when it comes to borrowing and how to prepare for future loan repayment.



To RSVP: http://luc.edu/finaid/RSVP_financialaid.shtml

FDA Officials Hail Increased Drug Approvals

The New York Times (11/4, A18, Harris, Subscription Publication) reports that officials at the Food and Drug Administration "on Thursday claimed credit for an increase in the approval of new drugs and argued that the results demonstrated the need for legislation to continue financing the current drug approval system." At a news conference FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg said, "I want to underscore that we approved a set of drugs that are truly medically important, and in fact did so in a way that made these drugs available to Americans before other places around the world." Noting that FDA officials have for years "said little about the declining number of new drug approvals," attributing them to a decline in quality applications, the Times adds that, with approvals on the upswing, Hamburg "is claiming some credit by saying that the agency has lowered some approval standards -- particularly for cancer drugs -- and speeded up many of its reviews."

CQ (11/4, Bunis, Subscription Publication) reports that drug makers "have complained in the past that the approval process takes too long and puts the US at a competitive disadvantage with other countries." The FDA report "says that the US 24 of the 35 drugs approved were approvals occurred in the United States before any other country in the world and also before the European Union." Among the successes highlighted in the report are approval of medicines for lung cancer and lymphoma that "are breakthroughs in personalized medicine," seven major improvements in cancer treatment and 10 for rare "orphan" diseases. Almost half the new approvals were viewed as significant therapeutic advances for heart attack, stroke and kidney transplant rejection, and two-thirds were completed in a single review cycle.

Bloomberg News (11/4, Edney) notes that the report of "particularly notable" new treatments includes Johnson & Johnson prostate cancer drug Zytiga, and Roche AG's Zelboraf melanoma drug. It also pointed to a new hepatitis C treatment, and Benlysta, the first new lupus therapy in 50 years, from Human Genome Sciences Inc.

According to Reuters (11/4, Yukhananov, Selyukh), the FDA report stresses how the user-fees it collects from drugmakers have helped shorten the agency's review times. Janet Woodcock, the director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said that the higher number of approvals did not stem from the agency receiving significantly more applications, but from getting better-quality applications.

Regulators' Claims Precede Hill Fight Over User Fees. The Hill (11/4, Pecquet) "Healthwatch" blog notes that the FDA "touted a banner year for drug approvals as Congress prepares to renew industry user fees that fund the agency." It notes that the FDA, "like other federal agencies, faces looming cuts as Congress seeks to pare back a $1.3 trillion deficit," and that the industry user-fee funding drug approvals is scheduled to expire at the end of September 2012. While the agency "has reached agreement with the two main drug lobbies -- the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) -- on a deal that would trade a $100 million increase in fees over five years for a more predictable drug approval process," Congressional approval would be needed.

The National Journal (11/4, Fox, Subscription Publication) reports that the new report "is the first time the FDA has specifically reported on how many new drugs it has approved. A spokeswoman said that the agency would also review new drug approvals at the end of each calendar year." It also notes criticism of the user-fee funding arrangement by Public Citizen, which says that since its passage in 1992, "there have been an unprecedented number of drugs approved and then withdrawn for safety reasons."

Free flu shots for MPH students at Loyola

Loyola University Health System will require flu vaccinations for all employees, students and volunteers by Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011. This mandatory vaccination policy is to prevent the spread of seasonal influenza to Loyola patients, visitors, employees and their families. Flu shots will be offered today in the following locations:

-LUMC nursing office 1328, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
-Employee Health, LOC, Third Floor, 8:30 a.m. - noon, 1 - 5 p.m.
-Loyola Hospital, 2NE, 10 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3, through 7 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 4

A complete flu shot administration schedule is available on loyola.wired under Flu Central. Students who receive a flu shot outside of LUHS should keep their records.

Money Matters Workshop – Live Life like a Grad Student (Budgeting)

Money Matters Workshop – Live Life like a Grad Student (Budgeting)

Graduate students can face a variety of new financial challenges. Perhaps you have come right from an undergrad program and are just learning financial independence. Or maybe you have been out of school for a while and are wondering how you will balance real world responsibilities and pay tuition while keeping debt to a minimum. Whatever your unique situation is, this workshop is designed to help graduate students develop a budget and improve money management skills.

Tues. 11/1 4 PM (Crown Center Room 530)
Wed. 11/2 5 PM (Lewis Towers Room 415)

Registration is encouraged but not required. To RSVP: http://luc.edu/finaid/RSVP_financialaid.shtml

Breastfeeding may lower risk of hypertension

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Mothers who breastfeed for the recommended amount of time may have a somewhat lower risk of developing high blood pressure later on, new research suggests.

The findings, from a large study of nurses, do not prove that breastfeeding is the reason for the healthier blood pressure. But they do add to evidence that breastfeeding might have benefits not only for babies, but for moms as well, researchers say.

In general, experts recommend that babies be breastfed exclusively for their first six months, then continue getting breast milk along with solid food until they are a year old.

Breastfeeding is thought to help protect babies against certain common ills, like diarrhea and middle-ear infections. But there's also some evidence that breastfeeding may lower a mother's risk of certain health problems down the road.

Studies have found that women who breastfeed have lower risks of diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease later in life -- though none of them prove cause-and-effect.

For the new study, researchers looked at the correlation between breastfeeding and later risk of high blood pressure among close to 56,000 U.S. women taking part in the long-running Nurses' Health Study II. All had had at least one baby.

Overall, the study found, women who had breastfed for at least six months were less likely to develop high blood pressure over 14 years than those who had only bottle-fed.

Nearly 8,900 women overall were eventually diagnosed with high blood pressure. But those odds were 22 percent higher for women who did not breastfeed their first child, versus women who'd exclusively breastfed for six months.

Similarly, women who'd either never breastfed or done so for three months or less were almost one-quarter more likely to develop high blood pressure than women who'd breastfed for at least a year.

That was with factors like diet, exercise and smoking habits taken into account.

None of the findings prove that breastfeeding, itself, gives long-term protection against high blood pressure, according to lead researcher Dr. Alison M. Stuebe, of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

It's possible that some other factor both hindered women from breastfeeding and contributed to their high blood pressure, Stuebe noted in an interview. A stressful work environment would be one potential example.

On the other hand, it's plausible that breastfeeding has direct benefits, Stuebe said. Animal research has found that the hormone oxytocin, which is involved in breastfeeding, has lasting effects on blood pressure.

It's also known that women tend to have a short-term blood pressure decrease immediately after breastfeeding, Stuebe noted.

If breastfeeding is in fact protective, Stuebe's team estimates that 12 percent of high blood pressure cases among women with children could be linked to "suboptimal" breastfeeding.

But, Stuebe said, "the point here is not to exhort women to try harder."

"If this is a causal relationship," she said, "then taking away barriers to breastfeeding could make a difference in women's health later on."

One way to help more moms breastfeed successfully would be to get them off to a good start at the hospital, according to Stuebe. The World Health Organization encourages hospitals to take certain "baby-friendly" steps that have been shown to aid breastfeeding -- like not feeding newborns anything other than breast milk, avoiding pacifiers and allowing mom and baby to be together 24 hours a day.

But Stuebe pointed to a 2008 study of 1,900 U.S. mothers that found only eight percent experienced all six recommended baby-friendly practices at their maternity hospital.

She also suggested some other steps breastfeeding advocates have long called for, including better access to lactation counseling, which is often not covered by insurance; break time at work so women can pump breast milk and paid maternity leave.

Right now, the U.S. requires employers with 50 or more workers to offer 12 weeks of non-paid maternity leave.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/s7LTI3 American Journal of Epidemiology, online
October 12

Obama Signs Executive Order On Prescription Drug Availability.

Fox News' Special Report (10/31, Baier) reported, "President Obama today continued his effort to appear as proactive as possible in the remedy for, as he says, an inactive Republican Congress. He addressed a problem we told you about earlier this month, the shortage of some prescription drugs." White House correspondent Ed Henry added, "President Obama still can't convince Congress to pass his jobs bill, so he brought a pharmacy manager and a cancer patient to the Oval Office to explain his move to deal with drug shortages that are putting lives at risk."

ABC World News (10/31, story 4, 0:30, Sawyer) reported that "for almost a year, we at 'World News' have been reporting on the growing drug shortages in this country. Chemotherapy drugs, antibiotics, heart medications, even those crash cart drugs used in emergencies. Well, today President Obama took action, signing an executive order, no Congressional approval necessary, to force drug companies to take action when there's a shortage on the horizon. The most immediate change, a crackdown on price gouging due to the shortages, and that will kick in, starting tomorrow."

Chris Matthews, in a very brief item for MSNBC's Hardball (10/31), reported, "President Obama is adding prescription drug policy to his growing list of executive actions. It's all part of his new slogan, 'we can't wait.'"

The AP (11/1) reports, "An Obama administration analysis concluded a big part of the problem is rising demand, especially for cancer drugs, that those companies haven't been able to boost production to meet. But, 'the main cause of drug shortages is economic,' argued Dr. Thomas J. Smith of Johns Hopkins' Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and Virginia Commonwealth University pharmacist Mandy Gatesman in this week's New England Journal of Medicine."

Also covering the story are the Wall Street Journal (11/1, A5, Burton, Meckler, Subscription Publication), the Financial Times (11/1, Rappeport, Subscription Publication), the Washington Post (11/1, Kliff) "Ezra Klein" blog, PBS NewsHour (11/1), FOX News (11/1), Bloomberg News (11/1, Armstrong, Edney), Modern Healthcare (11/1, Subscription Publication), Reuters (11/1), CNN (11/1, Silverleib), CQ (11/1, Subscription Publication, Reichard), the National Journal (11/1, Fox, Subscription Publication), the Los Angeles Times (11/1, Levey), the Washington Post (10/31, Nakamura, Stein), the Daily Caller (10/31, Ballasy), and USA Today (11/1, Jackson).