There is no obesity epidemic: Two new studies by the CDC — one about obesity in children and the other about adult obesity — both published in JAMA.
Births of babies with cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs and other less familiar disorders have dropped. Reason: Gene testing as part of routine prenatal care.
Cost to develop a new drug: $1 billion. Previous estimate was $802 million. (Hat tip to Jason Shafrin.)
Less generous swine flu coverage previously at this blog: the reaction of hospitals, the lack of vaccines, and a decentralized approach to pandemics.
High rates of premature birth are the main reason the United States has higher infant mortality than do many other rich countries… If the United States could match Sweden’s prematurity rate, the new [CDC] report said, “nearly 8,000 infant deaths would be averted each year, and the U.S. infant mortality rate would be one-third lower.”
[But, once born,] premature infants in the United States are more likely to survive than those elsewhere.
The idea that they do is often used to justify higher taxes on tobacco. On balance, however, society makes a profit off of smokers:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [estimates] that smokers cost the country $96 billion a year in direct health care costs, and an additional $97 billion a year in lost productivity….. However, smokers die some 10 years earlier than nonsmokers, according to the CDC, and those premature deaths provide a savings to Medicare, Social Security, private pensions and other programs.
Vanderbilt University economist Kip Viscusi studied the net costs of smoking-related spending and savings and found that for every pack of cigarettes smoked, the country reaps a net cost savings of 32 cents.
A Dutch study published last year in the Public Library of Science Medicine journal said that health care costs for smokers were about $326,000 from age 20 on, compared to about $417,000 for thin and healthy people.
This is a Henry Miller editorial at Forbes.com:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fully three-quarters of all antibiotics prescriptions from office-based physicians are for the symptoms of upper respiratory infections – sore throats, runny noses, congestion, coughing, earaches and so on – which are most often caused not by bacteria, but by viruses. Thus, antibiotics won't help.
Antibiotics put bacteria under selective pressure, killing sensitive organisms but allowing drug-resistant mutants to survive, so that the over-use of antibiotics gives rise to drug-resistant bacterial populations….. Infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria contracted by patients in hospitals are a particular problem. Almost two million patients nationwide become infected in hospitals each year – approximately 4.5% of admissions – and 100,000 die, according to the CDC.
With a brain scan, of course. The neural correlates of envy and schadenfreude were tied together, with the magnitude of one predicting the strength of the other
Does in vitro pose genetic risks?
No one knows. The real question – what is the chance that an IVF baby will have a birth defect? – has not been definitively answered. That would require a large, rigorous study that followed these babies. The C.D.C. study provides comparative risks but not absolute risks.
Tara Parker-Pope reviews the vitamin studies.
It includes this: Today about half of all adults use some form of dietary supplement, at a cost of $23 billion a year.
And this: "Most antioxidants are also pro-oxidants… In the right context and the right dose, they may be able to cause problems rather than prevent them."
Surprise fact: only about 15 percent of Americans regularly consume beverages and foods that contain artificial sweeteners.
Rat study: Those given saccharin gained more weight and more body fat because they overcompensated for the noncaloric sweetener.
Human study: Those who drank the diet drinks took in 100 fewer calories a day and lost significantly more weight and kept more of it off.
Private hospitals tend to have private rooms and lots and lots of plumbing. These features help control infections and make hospitals safer for patients. Because governments can shut down private hospitals that fail cleanliness standards, private hospitals also spend a lot on maintenance and housekeeping. Government hospitals tend to do things differently. Continue reading Hospital Infections: Does Hospital Ownership Matter?
Jamie Robinson and Paul Ginsburg have paired up in Health Affairs to take another shot at consumer driven health care. This is one of the most peculiar articles I’ve read on the subject. You can tell which author wrote which part of the piece. Ginsburg (Center for Health System Change) has long been a skeptic who is willing to look at the evidence. Jamie Robinson (UC Berkeley), on the other hand, has been consistently foaming-at-the-mouth hostile. About a year and a half ago he gave a speech to the Consumer Driven Summit where he declared the death of consumer driven health care (CDHC) in favor of what he termed “managed consumerism.” He had a list of about ten particulars, but as we wrote at the time, he was wrong on every single one. He just hadn’t bothered to look at the evidence. Continue reading Health Affairs Slams CDHC
The Texas Association of Health Plans newsletter reports that:
…It is widely known that the three leading causes of death in the country are heart disease, cancer and stroke. However, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists the "actual" causes of death to be lifestyle-related. It reports that three leading actual causes of death to be (1) poor diet/lack of exercise; (2) tobacco use; and (3) alcohol abuse.
It also quotes Dr. Christine Cassell, president of the American Board of Internal Medicine, as observing that "There is a stark correlation between reduced utilization and better outcomes."
So, stop smoking, stop drinking, eat tofu, avoid medical care and….maybe…. just maybe….we'll lower your premiums.
The annual survey of the Centers for Disease Control finds that 20.3% of all people under age 65 have a high deductible health plan (HDHP) – more than the number covered by public programs (19.4%). The HDHP is defined as having a deductible of at least $1,100 for an individual or $2,200 for a family. Over one-fourth of this number also had a dedicated account (HRA or HSA).
Source: CDC report on NHIS Survey.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D9S48A81os
Bob Dylan singing "The Times They Are A-Changin'"
