Posted on Mon, Oct. 6, 2008
Drinking before age 15 found to raise adult risks
Just in case you were wondering whether to be concerned that your 14-year-old child has been drinking, the answer is yes - more than ever.
Having a first drink of alcohol before age 15 significantly raises the risk for later development of alcohol-use disorders compared with someone who waits until age 18, according to new research. Starting to drink between the ages of 15 and 17 also increases the risk, especially for girls.
The link between early drinking and later problems is not new. By following 22,316 drinkers over three years, however, researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism were able to zero in on the ages at risk. They also were able to report, in the December issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, that the association between age of first drink and alcohol-use disorders in adulthood remained clear even after statistically adjusting for family histories, personality disorders, and childhood risk factors.
The study does not prove that drinking before age 15
causes problems as an adult, but it strengthens the case.
- Don Sapatkin
Articles on drug studies leave out corporate ties
Reader, beware: Many news stories fail to mention when drugmakers funded a study.
Harvard researchers, who noted no financial conflicts themselves, searched the nation's 100 largest newspapers for stories on 117 industry-funded studies published in five major medical journals between April 2004 and April 2008.
A total of 306 news articles were found, of which 130 - or 42 percent - failed to mention the funding, they reported in the current Journal of the American Medical Association.
Newspapers can be important sources of drug information for both patients and doctors, they wrote, and funding sources must be known "so they can assess whether commercial biases may have affected the results."
- Josh Goldstein
Study: Occupational therapy helps osteoarthritis sufferers
For people with osteoarthritis, "move it or lose it" could be more than just a phrase.
Research has shown that even low-intensity physical activity can ward off some of the difficulties of daily living, but adults with arthritis are less likely to exercise because of chronic pain and fatigue. A structured program taught by occupational therapists may help.
Researchers from the University of Michigan Health System studied 54 older adults with hip or knee osteoarthritis. Half were assigned to an exercise program with occupational therapists, the other half an exercise program with only health education. They attended eight sessions over four weeks, plus two follow-up sessions over a six months.
At the end, the occupational therapy exercise group had higher levels of activity than the others.
"People with osteoarthritis tend to know more about surgical options," said lead researcher Susan L. Murphy, an assistant professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation, "and less about how they can take an active role in promoting their own health and well-being. . . . The bottom line is to find ways to help people create and maintain these healthy habits."
The findings will be published in the Oct. 15 issue of the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.
- Sandy Bauers
Vitamin C supplements may hinder killing of cancer cells
Vitamin C supplements might do more harm than good for cancer patients on chemotherapy, say researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
A study published in the current issue of the journal Cancer Research suggests that the vitamin's protective effects might backfire in cancer patients by protecting and strengthening the malignant cells. In cell cultures and animal studies, pretreating cancer cells with Vitamin C reduced the effectiveness of drugs aimed at killing them.
The researchers found the vitamin was protecting an important substructure in cells called the mitochondria, which makes energy. Shoring up the mitochondria is probably great for extending the life of normal cells, says Mark Heaney, who led the study, "but that isn't what you want when you are trying to eliminate cancer cells."
He says he's concerned only about supplements, not the quantities of Vitamin C that people ingest from food. Cancer patients, he says, should eat a healthful diet, which includes foods rich in Vitamin C.
- Faye Flam
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