Diabetes News - December 31, 2000US Rules Protect Patient PrivacyBlocked Arteries Lead To Depression? Nighttime Blood Pressure And Stroke Risk Diet And Exercise For Obese Kids Prenatal Exposure To Type 2 Raises Risk New Type 2 Drug Approved    
US Rules Protect Patient PrivacyFor the first time ever, the federal government has released broad new healthcare regulations to protect patient privacy. These rules require healthcare providers to inform people when and how their health information is released, and entitle people to receive notification of every organizaton that has access to their medical history. In addition, the regulations establish fines and criminal penalties for those who violate the privacy regulations. Intentional disclosure of a person's medical information can lead to a $50,000 fine and a year in prison. Disclosing information with the intention of selling it can lead to a fine of $250,000 and ten years in prison. Some healthcare professionals are concerned about the regulations because they fear the regulations will prevent doctors from notifying people of medical treatment they should be receiving. Such treatments include reminders for people with diabetes to get retinal screenings, or women to get mammograms. While these concerns do need to be addressed, the overall intention of the regulations is to protect people's right to privacy.
Blocked Arteries Lead To Depression?It is widely-accepted that people who are depressed are more vulnerable to diseases and their complications than people who are not depressed. However, a new study suggest that the reverse can be true as well-- those who are depressed may be feeling so because of hardened arteries. The study was conducted by doctors at Newcastle General Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and is printed in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry (volume 70, pages 83-87, January 2001). In the study, researchers compared the autopsies of 20 people who were diagnosed with depression with 20 people who were not depressed. All were 60 or older when they died. The researchers found that those people who were depressed were more likely to have had clogged arteries than those who were not depressed. The researchers hypothesize that blockages in the arteries in the brain may lead to this depression. More research is needed, but researchers hope that it will become a common practice for older people with depression to be screened for artery disease.
Nighttime Blood Pressure And Stroke RiskThere are many known risk factors for stroke-- smoking, a history of diabetes, and a history of hypertension are just a few of these. However, recent study data indicate that "nondipping" blood pressure, which is blood pressure that decreases less than 10% while a person is sleeping, increases the risk of stroke. Doctors at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York recently published the results of their study on nondipping in the American Journal of Hypertension (volume 13, pages 1250-1255, December 2000). They included 166 survivors of stroke in the study, and monitored their blood pressure while the people were sleeping. The ethnicities of the people in the stdy were African American, Caribbean Latino, and white. The researchers found that 64% of the participants had nondipping blood presure that decreased by less than 10% at night. Only 37% of the comparison group of people who had not had a stroke had nondipping blood pressure. Differences could also be drawn along ethnicity lines. White people with nondipping blood pressure at night were four times more likely to have had a stroke than white people with lower nighttime blood pressure. African Americans and Caribbean Latinos were twice as likely to have had a stroke when they had nondipping blood pressure. The doctors hope that the results of the study indicate the importance of monitoring blood pressure while a person is sleeping to determine the risk for stroke.
Diet And Exercise For Obese KidsThe increasing rate of obesity in America's youth is tied to increases in heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and premature death among obese children. A new program focusing on decreased caloric intake and increased exercise offers a treatment for the problem. The diet was developed by doctors at Louisiana State University in New Orleans, and was implemented during a study involving eleven obese children between the ages of 7 and 14. The diet was high-protein, and included 800 calories per day. The children also had supplements of vitamins and minerals. They all received education on proper nutrition, and participated in an exercise and behavior modification program. Results of the study, which are published in the Journal of Investigative Medicine (volume 48, pages 411-416, November 2000), were promising. After ten weeks, the children's body mass index decreased from 34.1 to 29.4. The children's cardiovascular strength also increased. The researchers indicate that additional studies are needed, with larger numbers of participants. They also emphasize the importance of having a doctor's supervision before a child is placed on a low-calorie diet, as there are associated health risks.
Prenatal Exposure To Type 2 Raises RiskA mother passes many genetic and environmental strengths and weaknesses to her unborn child. A recent study indicates that Type 2 diabetes may be one of the unfortunate legacies. The study, which can be found in the journal Diabetes (volume 49, pages 2208-2211, December 2000), was conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Phoenix, Arizona. Participants in the study were from the Native American Pima tribe. Fifty-eight siblings from nineteen different families participated in the study. At least one sibling had Type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that those who were born after their mothers had been diagnosed with diabetes were four times more likely to develop Type 2 than those who had been born before their mothers were diagnosed with Type 2. Many of these developed the disease in their early 20s, which is far younger than the usual age of diagnosis. The researchers also studied the rate of obesity in the Pima tribe. They found that those who had been exposed to Type 2 before birth were more likely to be obese than those who were born to mothers without Type 2. Because obesity is a major risk factor for Type 2, this may explain why the children are prone to developing the disease. However, researchers also speculate that exposure to Type 2 in the womb may affect the way the body responds to the insulin it produces. More research is needed before a definite link may be drawn between a mother's Type 2 and her baby's risk for developing the disease. |
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