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- Few U.S. Adults Proficient at Managing Health Care: Report
- More Americans Taking Drugs for Chronic Health Problems
- Americans Overconfident About Their Food-Safety Abilities: Survey
- New Fitness Test for U.S. Adults
- Major Depression Affects 1 in 12 Teens: U.S. Report
- Research Prompts Worries About 'Designer Babies'
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Few U.S. Adults Proficient at Managing Health Care
Only 12 percent of the 228 million adults in the United States have the health literacy skills to manage their own health care proficiently, according to the latest News and Numbers report from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research.
Health literacy skills -- which describe a person's ability to obtain and use health information to make appropriate health care decisions -- include weighing the risks and benefits of different treatments, knowing how to calculate health insurance costs, and being able to fill out complex medical forms.
People with poor health literacy skills may have worse health care outcomes and face an increased risk of medical errors.
A 2003 survey found that:
- 12 percent of American adults had proficient health literacy skills.
- 53 percent had intermediate skills, such as being able to read instructions on a prescription label and determine the right time to take medication.
- 22 percent had basic skills, such as being able to read a pamphlet and understand two reasons why a disease test might be appropriate despite a lack of symptoms.
- 14 percent had below-basic skills, which means they could accomplish only simple tasks such as understanding a set of short instructions or identifying what's permissible to drink before a medical test.
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More Americans Taking Drugs for Chronic Health Problems
A new study suggests that more than half of all insured Americans regularly take prescription drugs to treat chronic health problems, with drugs to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol the most widely used, the Associated Press reported.
The Medco Health Solutions Inc. analysis of prescription records from 2001 to 2007 revealed that 51 percent of American adults and children were taking one or more prescription drugs for a chronic condition in 2007, compared to 50 percent in 2006, and 47 percent in 2001.
Regular use of medications to treat chronic health problems occurred in all demographic groups:
- Three out of four people 65 or older.
- Almost two-thirds of women 20 or older.
- 52 percent of adult men.
- One in four children and teenagers.
The study found that among older Americans, 28 percent of women and nearly 22 percent of men take five or more medicines on a regular basis, the AP reported.
Medco manages prescription benefits for about one in five Americans.
Experts said the study findings reflect both worsening public health and better medicines for chronic conditions and more aggressive treatment by doctors, the AP reported.
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Americans Overconfident About Their Food-Safety Abilities: Survey
While 82 percent of Americans say they're confident in their ability to safely prepare food, many don't follow simple steps to reduce the spread of bacteria in the kitchen or ensure safe cooking temperatures, according to a new survey.
For example, only 48 percent of respondents said they used separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry and produce, and only 29 percent said they use a meat thermometer.
The third annual Food and Health Survey, conducted by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation, included 1,000 American adults.
Among the findings:
- 92 percent said they wash their hands with soap and water when preparing food.
- 79 percent said they store leftovers within two hours of serving a meal.
- 67 percent said they cook food to the required temperature, but only 29 percent use a food thermometer to check the "doneness" of meat and poulty.
- Only 15 percent said they check the wattage on their microwave ovens and only 7 percent said they use a meat thermometer when using their microwave.
"Consumers are a lot more confident about their ability to safely prepare food than they ought to be, based on what we learned," Danielle Schor, senior vice president of food safety for the IFIC Foundation, said in a prepared statement. "We still have a long way to go to educate the public about the basics such as avoiding cross contamination and cooking to proper temperature."
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New Fitness Test for U.S. Adults
Aerobic fitness, muscle strength, and flexibility are the main components included in an adult fitness test being introduced Wednesday by the U.S. government. The test will feature several of the exercises done by millions of students each year as they strive for a Presidential Physical Fitness Award.
The new test for people 18 and older who are in good health was developed because baby boomers kept asking whether there was a physical-fitness test available similar to the ones they took as students, Melissa Johnson, executive director of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, told the Associated Press.
The aerobic part of the test consists of a one-mile walk or 1.5-mile run, while the strength tests include push-ups and half sit-ups. The sit-ups are done for one minute and the push-ups are done until a person can't do any more. A "sit-and-reach" exercise is used to measure flexibility.
Participants can enter their scores online and get results that show where they rank among people in the same age group, the AP reported.
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Major Depression Affects 1 in 12 Teens: U.S. Report
One in every 12 American teens (about 2.1 million) ages 12 to 17 experienced major depression in the past year, according to a report released Tuesday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
There was a large gender difference, with 12.7 percent of females and 4.6 percent of males reporting major depression. It's defined as a period of two weeks or longer of depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure, and at least four other symptoms -- such as problems with sleep, energy, concentration and self-image -- reflecting a change in functioning.
The report, based on data from 67,706 teens who took part in the 2004 to 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, also found that 48.3 percent of teens who reported major depression said it severely impaired their ability to function in at least one of four major areas of their everyday lives, such as home life, school/work, family relationships, and social life.
Teens who reported the most severe depression-related impairment were unable to carry out normal activities on an average of 58.4 days in the past year.
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Research Prompts Worries About 'Designer Babies'
Researchers believed to be the first to genetically alter a human embryo are dismissing worries that it's the first step toward creating "designer babies" by inserting specific genes into embryos to promote desired traits such as athletic ability or intelligence.
The scientists said their work was focused on stem cells, and they used an abnormal embryo that had no chance of developing into a baby, the Associated Press reported.
"None of us wants to make designer babies," said Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He and his colleagues presented their study last fall at a meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, but it only received widespread attention after it was highlighted over the weekend by a British newspaper.
The Cornell scientists are developing techniques that others might use to produce genetically-modified humans, "and they're doing it without any kind of public debate," said Marcy Darnovsky, associate executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society, the AP reported. The research was also criticized by a London-based group called Human Genetics Alert.
The research doesn't trouble Kathy Hudson, director of the Genetics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., who noted that there are still many technical barriers to modifying babies by inserting genes.
"We're not even close to having that technology in hand to be able to do it right," and it would be ethically unacceptable to attempt it when it hasn't been proven to be safe, Hudson told the AP.
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Published on: 05/14/2008
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