The News Review:
- Genetic Abnormalities In Sperm Linked To Dietary Folate Intake, Study…
- Roxon discusses Indigenous health pledge
- Health Highlights: March 20, 2008
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Announces Campaign to Address…
- Study shows smoking in cars hazardous to health
- Health Notes
Genetic Abnormalities In Sperm Linked To Dietary Folate Intake, Study…
Science Daily – Science Daily (press release) – Mar 20, 2008
government in 1998 began requiring food manufacturers to add folic acid to breads, cereals, flours and other grain products. At least one study suggests that there has been a significant reduction in neural tube birth defects in this country since the folic acid fortification program began. "The emphasis related to the birth of a healthy baby has been weighted towards the health and diet of women, not just during pregnancy, but before," said Brenda Eskenazi, professor of epidemiology and maternal and child health at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health and co-principal investigator of the study. "What we’re finding now is that a nutritious diet, specifically folate intake, may be beneficial for men as well when it comes to producing healthy offspring. "
An estimated 1 to 4 percent of a healthy male’s sperm have abnormal numbers of chromosomes, or aneuploidy, that are caused by errors during cell division (meiosis) in the testis. However, the causes of these errors are not well understood. If these abnormal sperm fertilize a normal egg, there would either be a miscarriage or a fetus with a chromosomal disorder such as trisomy, in which cells have three rather than the normal two copies of a given chromosome.
Roxon discusses Indigenous health pledge
abc.net.au – Mar 20, 2008
30 Select
Roxon discusses Indigenous health pledge. Transcript
KERRY O’BRIEN: The Rudd Government sign off on another ambitious policy promise today, essentially to make the same primary health care available to Indigenous Australians that others receive now, and to do it within 10 years. The ultimate goal is to close the scandalous 17 year gap in life expectancy by 2030. That is, within a generation. Two immediate priorities announced today were a plan to tackle smoking in Indigenous communities and another to encourage a greater Indigenous recruitment into the health workforce… KERRY O’BRIEN: Well, Aboriginal Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma has spelt out some very practical things that he says must be tackled to achieve general health equality; the same standard of drinking water as non Indigenous Australians; the same standard of fresh fruit, vegetables and meat; of refrigeration; of sewerage and garbage services; standards of housing; so people don’t have to live five or 10 to a room. Are you serious that you can achieve, genuinely achieve that kind of equality in all those things, plus many more, within 10 years? NICOLA ROXON: Well, the commitment, particularly in my area in the health service area is about the sorts of services that nurses and doctors and Aboriginal health workers can provide. But we know that tackling the life expectancy gap, the child mortality rate and other issues are intimately tied with housing investments, are tied with the way we make sure that the community’s people are living in are safe. It’s not just in my health area that we’re going to have to act, it is in these other areas. But the commitment specifically made today focused on the sorts of things that we will need to do so that health services can be provided and health outcomes can become more equitable across the country. Now I think providing that infrastructure within the primary health care setting in Indigenous communities and in urban areas can be achieved within 10 years, and I know that my colleague Jenny Macklin and, of course, Julia Gillard in education are absolutely working at 100 miles an hour the same as me to make sure those other infrastructure changes are possible as well. KERRY O’BRIEN: Exactly how many doctors, nurses, dentists and other health professionals are you going to need through rural and regional remote Australia to deliver all this? Because it would be a very substantial number I would think? NICOLA ROXON: Well look it is a substantial number of permanent extra staff that needed but there’s also I think different ways of doing things to provide back up for those staff.
Health Highlights: March 20, 2008
Washington Post – Mar 20, 2008
However, 76 percent said they recognized that self-medication can pose possible risks. About one in five adults who typically self-medicates said they have not used non-prescription drugs as directed, either by taking more than the recommended dose (20 percent) or be taking them more frequently than indicated (17 percent). —–Some Americans Question Private Health SystemMany Americans aren’t certain the country’s private health-care system is better than public health care in Canada, France, and Great Britain, suggests a Harvard School of Public Health survey released Thursday,Bloomberg Newsreported. The telephone survey of 1,026 people found that 45 percent believed the U. health system was generally the best, while 54 percent said they didn’t know or thought the other countries’ health systems were better. “Most Americans still think that the quality here is relatively good, but they are concerned about cost and affordability.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Announces Campaign to Address…
Earthtimes – Mar 20, 2008
""As a business leader in Illinois with relationships spanning all facets of the state’s healthcare system, Blue Cross’ involvement has the potential to significantly advance awareness and actions that address childhood obesity," Adam Becker, CLOCC executive director, said. BCBSIL to help advance system to track Illinois children’s healthEstablishing a baseline and monitoring progress is integral to assessing the efficacy of statewide efforts to reduce childhood obesity. In fact, the state of Illinois requires that data, including height and weight, be recorded by physicians on the Certificate of Child Health Examination Form and submitted to schools before children enter kindergarten, sixth, and ninth grades. The state legislature mandated that these data be reported to the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health. To this end, BCBSIL has provided an additional $38,000 in funding to CLOCC for a summit designed to advance development of a database into which data from the form can be entered. The aggregate data would be used to establish a baseline and help track the progress of state-based initiatives over time. With more than 7 million members, BCBSIL, a division of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, is the largest health insurance company in Illinois.
Study shows smoking in cars hazardous to health
CTV.ca – Mar 20, 2008
People should think of the kids and others. Dick KearnsI agree that smoking in a small enclosed area is dangerous to your health however will we extend this law to include the home. A child might spend 10% of his time in this vehicle but will be in the house with smokers most of the time. It has become fashionable to attack smokers at every instance but we should remember that other polutants are as deadly which are ignored. I was advised by a nurse recently that during their training they examined a set of lungs of a Toronto resident who did not smoke and those of a person living in the country who smoked most of their lives and they found no appreciable difference in the damage to the lungs. So I guess, using the same logic, young people living in Toronto should not be allowed to have children.
Health Notes
Washington Post – Mar 20, 2008
Breast-feeding mothers group discussion , led by a maternal-infant nurse and lactation consultant. Baby-weight check, resource information and refreshments. -noon Mondays and Thursdays, Inova Fairfax Hospital Women’s Center, 7 S. Dayroom, 3300 Gallows Rd… Wellness Recovery Action Plan group, for people experiencing psychiatric symptoms and those who care about them, including health-care professionals, family members, supporters and friends. Tuesday, Laurie Mitchell Employment Center,6295 Edsall Rd. , #175, Alexandria.
