News in brief - Jan. 27, 2003

Drinking boosts heart health - Pediatricians called on to treat and diagnose eating disorders early - Extra weight means extra costs - CRP may cause blood clot formation - Several reasons for backpack injuries

Drinking boosts heart health

Findings from a 12-year study of 38,077 male doctors revealed that the frequency of drinking alcohol outweighed other factors in reducing participants' risk of heart disease.

The study looked at the relationship between quantity and frequency and found that it was the frequency of drinking -- not the amount, the type of alcohol, or whether it was consumed with a meal -- that was the key factor in lowering risk.

Compared with men who drank less than once a week, men who consumed alcohol three or four days a week had approximately two-thirds (68%) the risk of heart attack. Men who consumed alcohol five to seven days per week had slightly less (63%) risk. Study data suggest no additional cardiac benefit to drinking more than two drinks per day.

The study was published in the Jan. 9 New England Journal of Medicine. The Health Professionals Follow-up Study has studied a population of male dentists, veterinarians, optometrists, osteopathic physicians and podiatrists, age 40 to 75, for 12 years.

The study came with a warning from Claude Lenfant, MD, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, that members of the public who do not already drink might try lowering their cholesterol levels and blood pressure as a better route to cardiovascular health. "These preventive measures do not have the risks associated with alcohol consumption," he said.

"However, those who already drink alcohol should be aware that current evidence suggests that moderate drinking may reduce the risk of heart disease in some individuals."

Pediatricians called on to treat and diagnose eating disorders early

Primary care pediatricians can play an important part in the early detection and ongoing management of eating disorders and can be a crucial factor in preventing the disease from progressing to a severe or chronic state, according to a January policy statement issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

According to the policy, published in the January Pediatrics, pediatricians should help families and children learn basic principles of nutrition and physical activity, avoid an unhealthy emphasis on weight and dieting and implement screening strategies for the early states of anorexia and bulimia.

The policy is an attempt to make an impact on the growing number of children with eating disorders while also balancing the significant concerns about the increasing number of children who are obese or overweight.

Extra weight means extra costs

Overweight individuals incur hundreds of dollars more in health care costs than healthy-weight individuals, according to a study in the January American Journal of Health Promotion.

Researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor studied the health records of more than 175,000 General Motors employees, retirees and adult dependents over a two-year period. Those with a body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9 -- normal weight as defined by National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Guidelines -- incurred $2,225 annually in medical costs. Overweight individuals -- BMI of 25 to 29.9 -- $2,388, and obese -- BMI of 30 to 34.9 -- $2,801. Very obese people, with a BMI of 35 to 39.9 incurred costs of $3,182, and the morbidly obese, with a BMI higher than 40, had annual health costs of $3,753.

Underweight individuals -- those with a BMI of less than 18.5 -- also strained the health system, incurring costs comparable to the very obese at $3,184 per year.

The correlation between weight and health costs remained consistent until age 75.

CRP may cause blood clot formation

C-reactive protein, a long-suspected villain in heart disease, may play a significant role in blood clot formation, according to a paper published in this month's Circulation.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, incubated human aortic endothelial cells with C-reactive protein in a test tube, finding that the combination greatly increased the expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, a marker of blood clot development. The more the cells were exposed to CRP, the more of the marker was produced.

Researchers say this finding is further evidence that CRP is an active player in producing cardiovascular disease.

Several reasons for backpack injuries

Weighty backpacks can pose a danger to children but not, as widely believed, to their backs. Children's heads and faces were most likely to be injured as a result of tripping over a backpack or being hit by one wielded by a companion.

"Recommending that children put their backpacks in a safe place so they do not trip over them, and not to use them as a weapon to hit another person, could eliminate more than 40% of backpack injuries presenting to the emergency department," concluded researchers.

The study, published in the January Pediatrics, found that of nearly 250 children who arrived at 100 hospital emergency departments with backpack-related injuries, 22% of the injuries occurred to heads and faces, 14% to hands, 13% to wrists and elbows, 12% to shoulders, 12% to feet and ankles, and only 6% related to the back.

The study covered all children age 6 to 18 whose backpack-related injuries were reported to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Boys and girls were equally represented; the mean age was 11.8 years.

The researchers advised that more attention be paid to directing children on the safe use of backpacks rather than restricting loads and redesigning backpacks.