Old is Gold: Being Old Doesn’t Mean Being Sick, Latest Research by the Canadian Institute for Health Information

There is much worry these days about the impact of the aging population on health-care utilization and spending.

But new research is adding a twist to the discussion, concluding that it is the rise in people living with chronic health conditions like hypertension, diabetes and depression that is driving up health costs, not aging per se.

 The data, published Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, show that patterns of health-care use are similar at age 45, 65 and 85 for people with no chronic health conditions.

And the more chronic illnesses a person suffers from – regardless of age – the more they use health services such as visiting a GP or specialist, consulting a pharmacist, going to emergency and being admitted to hospital.

“Once you get to three or more conditions, utilization really increases,” said Greg Webster, director of primary health-care information at CIHI. People with three or more chronic conditions make, on average, six times more health-care visits than those with no chronic conditions, the report shows.

Mr. Webster noted, however, that while aging is not the principal cost driver, the likelihood of a person having a chronic illness does increase with age. Three in four Canadians over the age of 65 suffer from at least one chronic health condition; by contrast, one in five people under the age of 24 live with a chronic illness.

Among seniors, one in four have no chronic health problems, and one in four have three or more; the balance have one to two persistent health issues. It is noteworthy that those proportions change very little between ages 45 and 85.

“We may erroneously expect that, as we get older, we will get sicker, but the data show that is not necessarily the case,” Mr. Webster said. “We maybe need to change the mindset that aging means illness.”

Mr. Webster said there is also an important message to be found between the lines of the data: One of the keys to controlling health utilization and spending is to prevent the onset of chronic illnesses. “We have a choice: Get on top of this today and prevent multiple chronic conditions, or leave things as they are and a lot of people are going to need a lot of health care,” he said.

The new study shows, however, that there are significant gaps in preventive care.

Only two in five people over the age of 45 reported having talked to a health professional about what they could do to improve their health or prevent illness (measures like quitting smoking, increasing exercise or limiting alcohol consumption).

The new data suggest that patients with multiple chronic conditions are not managed particularly well, either, especially when it comes to medications. Bill Hogg, research director at the University of Ottawa’s Élisabeth Bruyère Research Institute, noted that patients with three or more chronic conditions reported taking an average of six prescription drugs regularly, twice as many as those with only one chronic condition.

The big drug users were more than twice as likely to experience a side effect requiring medical attention. Yet less than half of seniors with chronic conditions reported that their doctor reviewed their medications and explained potential side effects at least some of the time. “Strategies to reduce the number of medications a senior is prescribed, when possible, can result in better compliance with medication regimens and lead to a better quality of life,” Dr. Hogg said.

The new study did not look specifically at spending, but earlier data from CIHI shows that per capita health spending increases steadily with age. It rises from $2,286 per capita for those age 15 to 64 to $5,828 for those age 65 to 69, then $8,078 for those 70 to 74, $10,898 for those 75 to 79 and $18,160 for those 80 and older.

Seniors, who make up 13 per cent of the population, account for about 44 per cent of health spending. But patients with chronic conditions account for about two-thirds of all health spending.

Kids' Addiction to Gaming Lead Them to Frustration, Depression and Anxiety Along With Poor Grades in Studies - - New Study at Singapore

Kids love their video games--but according to a new study of more than 3,000 kids in Singapore--kids who considered themselves as addicts and played about 20 hours a week were more likely to be depressed, anxious and have bad grades.

 

Michelle Keiffer has three young boys--including 12 year old Ashton.

Michelle said she can notice a difference when the kids play too much.

"When we have the rainy season or the cold spells and the boys do play more video games because they're indoors we see them get shorter fuses with one another--shorter fuses with the parents," Michelle said.

Psychologist Susan Fletcher isn't surprised by the study which found 1 in 10 kids to be addicts--she said it's not necessarily the video games--but rather the time spent playing them that causes social phobias.

"It kind of takes them out of the game socially so they are less likely to lean the kinds of skills to overcome things or deal with people in a social fashion," Dr. Fletcher said.

Ashton said he knows kids who play too much and have poor social skills--and even worse grades.

"You can tell actually because if it's some kind of game like Xbox 360 or something like that and you can talk online, they kind of get some kind of interaction talking to people but other than that they can't really speak well in public or stuff like that," Ashton said.

But there is good news--researchers also found that when kids stopped playing so much their depression, grades and anxieties got better.

"Well, think about it," Dr. Fletcher said. "You get outside you feel better, depression sometimes is influenced by being in a dark room and so getting outside, getting some fresh air, getting some sun, interacting with other people can really alleviate the symptoms."

As for Michelle--she'll continue to monitor how much time her boys play video games.

"If we didn't really watch them," Michelle said. "We would probably have 24-7 gaming going on at some level."

The study appears in the February edition of Pediatrics.

10,000 Steps a Day Keeps Diabetes Away - - Better Insulin Sensitivity, Lower BMI and Less Belly Fat Are The Result of 10,000 Steps a Day

Building up to 10,000 steps a day can help control weight and may reduce diabetes risk, suggests new research in the journal BMJ.

Of 592 middle-aged Australian adults, those who increased the number of steps they took during a five-year period and built up to 10,000 steps per day had a lower body mass index, less belly fat, and better insulin sensitivity than their counterparts who did not take as many steps daily during the same time period.

A hallmark of diabetes, insulin resistance occurs when the body's cells stop responding as well to the action of the hormone insulin, which helps the body use blood sugar (glucose) for energy. The pancreas tries to compensate by producing more insulin, but ultimately fails to keep pace. As a result, excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream, setting the stage for diabetes.

Weight loss is known to increase insulin sensitivity, so researchers suggest that increased walking led to weight loss and decreased body fat which, in turn, improved diabetes risk factors.

“These findings, confirming an independent beneficial role of higher daily step count on body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and insulin sensitivity, provide further support to promote higher physical activity levels among middle-aged adults,” conclude researchers, who were led by Terry Dwyer, MD, director of Murdoch Children’s Research Institute of Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. “The use of a pedometer for measuring physical activity allows quantification of the magnitude of these effects.”

Participants answered questions about their diet and other lifestyle factors and had a full physical exam when the study began. They were also asked to wear pedometers to count the number of steps they took each day. Researchers followed up with the study participants five years later to see how many steps they were taking, and reassessed their diabetes risk factors.

Those who built up to 10,000 steps a day and kept at it showed a threefold improvement in their insulin sensitivity at five years, when compared with participants who only increased their daily steps to 3,000 per day, the study showed.

The Tech-extended Day Times Disrupts Sleep Patterns Leading to Increasing Danger of Cancer

There's growing concern among experts that the proliferation of glowing gadgets like computers may fool your brain into thinking that it's still daytime after the sun has gone down. Exposure during the night can disturb sleep patterns and exacerbate insomnia.

Such concerns are not new -- Thomas Edison may have created these problems when he invented the light bulb. But the problem has grown worse thanks to the popularity of Apple's new slate computer, the iPad.

Many consumers use an iPad to read at night, and paper books or e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle, which does not emit its own light, the iPad's screen shines light directly into your eyes from a relatively close distance.

According to CNN:

"That makes the iPad and laptops more likely to disrupt sleep patterns than, say, a television sitting across the bedroom or a lamp that illuminates a paper book, both of which shoot far less light straight into the eye, researchers said."

 

Everything in nature has a rhythm, and that includes your body. The ebb and flow of the ocean's tide, the rising and setting of the sun, and the transition from one season to another all happen with comforting regularity. Your body, too, strives to keep its 24-hour cycle, or circadian rhythm, steady and even.

This is why most of us naturally feel like waking when the sun comes up, and sleeping when it's dark.

Researchers have also shown how your circadian rhythm is involved in everything from sleep, to weight gain, mood disorders, and a variety of diseases.

Unfortunately, modern life throws multiple wrenches into the works, as it were, mainly by artificially extending 'daytime.'

Shelley Petrie: 16-year-old School Girl Died of Cancer Just After Six Weeks of Diagnosis

A SCHOOLGIRL died of cancer six weeks after her doctor diagnosed a viral infection and sent her home.

Shelley Petrie, 16, died on Hogmanay after an aggressive cancer spread through her lungs and lymph glands.

Last night, her anguished parents said the GP had been too quick to send Shelley away with a prescription.

And they believe they could have had more time with her if she had been able to receive treatment sooner.

Shelley, from Glenrothes, Fife, first felt ill on November 21, when she complained about a sore throat, cough and back pain.

Her parents took her to the doctor on November 24 and say the discomfort was put down to a viral infection.

But after a week, her neck had swollen dramatically.

Her dad Brian, 45, and mum Sandra Ballingall, 50, took her to Glenrothes Hospital and she was sent to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, where a biopsy was taken from one of her lymph glands.

On December 13, Shelley had tests at Edinburgh's Sick Kids Hospital and doctors diagnosed cancer on December 15.

Brian said: "After she passed away, the doctor said he had never, in 21 years, seen a cancer so aggressive."

Sandra, added: "We can't believe it. Six weeks ago, she was running about with her friends and looking forward to Christmas."

"We took her to the doctors on November 24 and they put it down to a viral infection and said come back in a fortnight.

"A week into that we called NHS 24 because her neck had doubled in size.

"I don't want any other parents to go through this. Doctors do make mistakes and they did this time. If they're not sure what something is, they should send them straight to the hospital."

Sandra, who was still grieving after her mother died from cancer in June, said Shelley's boyfriend had been "floored" by her death and her classmates at Auchmuty High School were devastated.

Raith Rovers fan Shelley was a member of the Girls' Brigade at Glenrothes Baptist Church and wanted to become a nurse when she left school.

Sandra said: "She wanted to be a nurse for sick children. She always wanted to care for people.

"Shelley was bright, fun and loving and had an excellent sense of humour.

She added: "Staff at Victoria Hospital were excellent and staff at the Sick Kids were excellent.

"I just wish they could have done more but they could not have done any more."

Foods to Fight Cancer: Six Superstar Veggies That Can Prevent Any Type of Cancer

To reduce your risk of cancer, look no further than your fridge. "All the studies on cancer and nutrition point to eating plant-based foods for their phytonutrients and other special compounds," says Richard Béliveau, PhD, chair in the prevention and treatment of cancer at the University of Québec at Montreal and author of Foods to Fight Cancer.

Aim for five to nine daily servings of all kinds of fruits and vegetables—especially these six superstars.

  Broccoli

All cruciferous veggies (think cauliflower, cabbage, kale) contain cancer-fighting properties, but broccoli is the only one with a sizable amount of sulforaphane, a particularly potent compound that boosts the body's protective enzymes and flushes out cancer-causing chemicals, says Jed Fahey, ScD. A recent University of Michigan study on mice found that sulforaphane also targets cancer stem cells—those that aid in tumor growth.

Helps fight: breast, liver, lung, prostate, skin, stomach, and bladder cancers

Your Rx: The more broccoli, the better, research suggests—so add it wherever you can, from salads to omelets to the top of your pizza.

Health.com: 13 easy pizza recipes

Berries

All berries are packed with cancer-fighting phytonutrients. But black raspberries, in particular, contain very high concentrations of phytochemicals called anthocyanins, which slow down the growth of premalignant cells and keep new blood vessels from forming (and potentially feeding a cancerous tumor), according to Gary D. Stoner, PhD, a professor of internal medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Helps fight: colon, esophageal, oral, and skin cancers

Your Rx: Stoner uses a concentrated berry powder in his studies but says a half-cup serving of berries a day may help your health, too.

Health.com: Go wild for berries!

Tomatoes
This juicy fruit is the best dietary source of lycopene, a carotenoid that gives tomatoes their red hue, Béliveau says. And that's good news, because lycopene was found to stop endometrial cancer cell growth in a study in Nutrition and Cancer. Endometrial cancer causes nearly 8,000 deaths a year.

Helps fight: endometrial, lung, prostate, and stomach cancers

Your Rx: The biggest benefits come from cooked tomatoes (think pasta sauce!), since the heating process increases the amount of lycopene your body is able to absorb.

Health.com: 10 tasty tomato recipes

Walnuts
Their phytosterols (cholesterol-like molecules found in plants) have been shown to block estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells, possibly slowing the cells' growth, says Elaine Hardman, PhD, associate professor at Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, West Virginia.

Helps fight: breast and prostate cancers

Your Rx: Munching on an ounce of walnuts a day may yield the best benefits, Hardman's research found.

Health.com: 8 super nuts

Garlic
Phytochemicals in garlic have been found to halt the formation of nitrosamines, carcinogens formed in the stomach (and in the intestines, in certain conditions) when you consume nitrates, a common food preservative, Béliveau says. In fact, the Iowa Women's Health Study found that women with the highest amounts of garlic in their diets had a 50 percent lower risk of certain colon cancers than women who ate the least.

Helps fight: breast, colon, esophageal, and stomach cancers

Your Rx: Chop a clove of fresh, crushed garlic (crushing helps release beneficial enzymes), and sprinkle it into that lycopene-rich tomato sauce while it simmers.

Health.com: Surprising health benefits of garlic

Beans
A study out of Michigan State University found that black and navy beans significantly reduced colon cancer incidence in rats, in part because a diet rich in the legumes increased levels of the fatty acid butyrate, which in high concentrations has protective effects against cancer growth. Another study, in the journal Crop Science, found dried beans particularly effective in preventing breast cancer in rats.

Helps fight: breast and colon cancers

Your Rx: Add a serving—a half-cup—of legumes a few times a week (either from a can or dry beans that've been soaked and cooked) to your usual rotation of greens or other veggies. 

Source: Yahoo

Anti-Anxiety Pens: Built by a Student at The University of Technology Delft, the Netherlands - - Miguel Bruns Alonso's Prototype Pen Reduces Stress

If all gadgets be like this pen, the world would be less stressed (or not). Built by a student at the University of Technology Delft, the Netherlands, this pen makes writing more difficult if used aggressively. This supposedly makes the writer calmer. But only supposedly.

Miguel Bruns Alonso, his creator, devised the pen so that it detects motion rude and too fast, identified with the nervousness. So it puts up resistance to the use and movement, forcing the person who is writing to use quieter movements. Then, the pen also becomes easier to use.

That would reduce by 5% the rhythm of the heartbeat, according to their research. For him, this is one way to interpret the gadget as the user is feeling and help you relieve stress, tend to be followed in future.

Except that Alonso probably missed some details. Most people, when using a gadget that becomes more difficult to use, just when they are nervous, probably going to lose all patience. Just look at YouTube videos of people destroying computers when they give problems. And imagine if you were in that fateful moment to win a video game, and seeing your blood, control it more difficult to use?

As the pen is still a prototype and has to date hit the market, the inventor still has some time to think if his pen or stress will help even more people.