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HEALTH

Feds Teen use of pot can lead to dependency, mental illness

By STEVEN SENNE (AP)

Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.

A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed _ 25 percent compared with 12 percent, said the report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

"Marijuana is a more consequential substance of abuse than our culture has treated it in the last 20 years," said John Walters,...

By Danny Johnston (AP)

There's a grim, rarely talked-about twist to all that medical know-how doctors learn to save lives: It makes them especially good at ending their own.

An estimated 300 to 400 U.S. doctors kill themselves each year _ a suicide rate thought to be higher than in the general population, although exact figures are hard to come by.

Some doctors believe the stigma of mental illness is magnified in a profession that prides itself on stoicism and bravado. Many fear admitting psychiatric problems could be fatal to their careers, so they suffer in silence.

And when the pain is too...

By Oded Balilty (AP)

The death toll from a viral illness that is striking children across China has risen by two to 30, health officials said Thursday, as the number of reported cases jumped to nearly 20,000.

The latest deaths from hand, foot and mouth disease occurred on the island province of Hainan in China's south, where 180 cases have been reported, Hainan's health bureau said on its Web site.

It said the two children tested positive for enterovirus 71, a virus that can cause a severe form of the disease, a common childhood ailment that typically causes little more than a fever and...

By Rob Carr (AP)

The federal government's new advice to doctors for helping smokers quit recommends the drug Chantix, which has recently been linked with depression and suicidal behavior.

The new guidelines mention the psychiatric risks but also say the popular Pfizer Inc. drug is the most effective at helping people get off cigarettes. The guidelines mention other options, too, and highly recommend combining counseling and medication. But doctors are encouraged to talk to all smokers who want to quit about trying medication.

Consumer advocates cautioned that the safety picture on Chantix is...

By (AP)

China announced Wednesday new rules that require health care providers to report all cases of a viral illness that has killed 28 children and sickened thousands in outbreaks across the country.

There have been 15,799 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease this year, the official Xinhua News Agency said, cropping up in areas ranging from the tropical island province of Hainan in the south to Jilin province in the northeast and Yunnan province in the southwest.

The number and scope of cases in recent years, along with the need for increased surveillance, prompted the Health...

By (AP)

China has made it mandatory for health care providers to report all cases of a viral illness that has sickened thousands of young children across the country, as the death toll rose Wednesday to 28.

So far there have been 15,799 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease this year, the official Xinhua News Agency said, cropping up in areas ranging from the tropical island province of Hainan in the south to Jilin province in the northeast and Yunnan province in the southwest.

The number and scope of cases in recent years, along with the need for increased surveillance, prompted the...

By (AP)

New outbreaks in China reported Wednesday put the number of children infected with hand, foot and mouth disease above 15,000 and the death toll has risen to at least 28 across the country.

A 2-year-old girl in the southern province of Hunan died of the disease after being in a coma, the provincial health bureau said on its Web site.

Another death was reported in the neighboring Guangxi region, Guangxi health officials said but did not give any details. The official Xinhua News Agency said the victim was a 3-year-old boy who died May 3.

Two kindergartens in Beijing were...

By Damian Dovarganes (AP)

Rana Parker tells pudgy police they have the right to remain chubby, but it can and will be used against them on the streets of Los Angeles.

The dietitian lays down the law for recruits, veterans and top brass, letting them know that eating right can help them do a better job and could even save their lives.

"I joke with them that I'm not the food police, that I'm just here to give them information, education and hopefully give them motivation to help themselves," she said.

While overweight officers aren't unique to Los Angeles, the police department believes it's th...

By (AP)

New outbreaks in three Chinese provinces and Beijing put the number of children infected with hand, foot and mouth disease above 12,000 and the death toll has risen to at least 26, China reported Tuesday.

The official Xinhua News Agency said outbreaks in southwest Yunnan, the northeastern province of Jilin and the tropical island of Hainan, putting the total number of infections at 12,164.

Two kindergartens in Beijing were temporarily shut down Tuesday after children there showed symptoms of the disease, Xinhua said. There have been 1,482 cases in Beijing, most in...

By (AP)

More than 200 million children worldwide under age 5 do not get basic health care, leading to nearly 10 million deaths annually from treatable ailments like diarrhea and pneumonia, a U.S.-based charity said Wednesday.

Nearly all of the deaths occur in the developing world, with poor children facing twice the risk of dying compared to richer children, according to Save the Children's global report.

Sweden, Norway and Iceland top the ranking in terms of well-being for mothers and children in 146 countries surveyed, while Nigeria ranks last.

Eight out of 10 bottom-ranked...

By Rob Carr (AP)

A Massachusetts study suggests that restaurant smoking bans may play a big role in persuading teens not to become smokers. Youths who lived in towns with strict bans were 40 percent less likely to become regular smokers than those in communities with no bans or weak ones, the researchers reported in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

The findings back up the idea that smoking bans discourage tobacco use in teens by sending the message that smoking is frowned upon in the community, as well as simply by reducing their exposure to smokers in public...

By (AP)

China reported a jump Monday in the number of children sickened with hand, foot and mouth disease, saying more than 9,700 cases have been reported.

At least 24 deaths in the central province of Anhui and Guangdong province in the south have been blamed on enterovirus 71, one of several viruses that cause the disease, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Two other children _ one in Guangdong and another in the coastal province of Zhejiang _ have also died of hand, foot and mouth disease but it wasn't immediately clear which strain of virus killed them, it said.

Xinhua...

By (AP)

A viral outbreak in China has sickened more than 6,300 people and killed another child, raising the death toll to 26 children, authorities said Monday.

The latest fatality from enterovirus 71 was in coastal Zhejiang province, the provincial Health Ministry said. It said 1,198 other children have been stricken in the province with the virus, also known as EV-71.

It appealed for any sick children "to be sent immediately to health clinics" and for the cases to be reported "immediately to health and education departments."

An additional 5,151 cases have been reported in ne...

By (AP)

Insulin pumps are used by tens of thousands of teenagers worldwide with Type 1 diabetes, but they can be risky and have been linked to injuries and even deaths, a review by federal regulators finds.

Parents should be vigilant in watching their children's use of the pumps, researchers from the Food and Drug Administration wrote. They didn't advise against using the devices. But they called for more study to address safety concerns in teens and even younger children who use the popular pumps.

The federal review of use by young people over a decade found 13 deaths and more than...

By Denis Poroy (AP)

Day 1 at Project Walk fell on their 13th wedding anniversary. In years past, John and Marci Pou might have gone to dinner.

Instead, in a strange place thousands of miles from home, Marci watched as John fought to maneuver his broken body. It was June 26, 2006, the start of a regimen that would push John to the limit physically and challenge both of them emotionally and even spiritually.

Taking hold of John's sneaker, Chris Corpuz, a Project Walk recovery specialist, pulled his left leg straight out in front of him.

"All right," Corpuz directed, "bring your knee up to y...

By Denis Poroy (AP)

It was only a chair, but it had become his purgatory.

Each day that John Pou spent in the wheelchair, his spirit seemed to die a little more. It was a perpetual reminder of the calamity that had brought him and Marci, even the kids, to this place.

The chair stood for all that was lost: A promising career as a policeman, a vigorous life spent in karate classes and fishing the lakes of his beloved North Carolina, future plans conjured when things were perfect _ plans that seemed irrelevant and impossible now.

Their home, too, the dream house John had worked on with his...

By (AP)

Flu vaccine manufacturers expect to make a record number of doses for next flu season despite concerns that demand may drop because this year's vaccine was largely ineffective.

The five companies that make flu vaccine for the U.S. market plan to make at least 143 million doses for the 2008-2009 season. They made 140 million doses for the current season _ the worst in four years for adult deaths from flu and pneumonia.

Part of the problem was the vaccine didn't work well against the viruses that ended up circulating. Each year, health officials essentially make an educated...

By (AP)

Seventy-seven more people that were treated at a Las Vegas outpatient clinic have been diagnosed with hepatitis C, health officials said.

Authorities can't say for sure how the 77 people were infected, said Brian Labus, senior epidemiologist with the Southern Nevada Health District. But they know each was treated from March 2004 to Jan. 11 this year at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada.

"We know they didn't have a positive test before they went to the clinic, and now they're positive," Labus said.

The reports bring the number of cases linked to clinics run by th...

By (AP)

More than half of U.S. adults with diabetes also have arthritis, raising a serious obstacle for diabetic patients urged to exercise, according to a government study.

The survey of nearly 800,000 people is the first extensive look at the overlap between the two conditions, said Dr. John Klippel, president of the Arthritis Foundation.

And its findings highlight a significant challenge: Most diabetics are told exercise is important to their health, but experts say many of them don't do it.

People with diabetes who exercise have better control of their blood sugar and a...

By (AP)

Agents selling private health insurance plans to the elderly and disabled would be barred from cold-calling, door-to-door solicitations and pitching their products outside hospital waiting rooms or pharmacies, under a federal rule proposed Thursday.

The rule is designed to make it harder to pressure Medicare beneficiaries into signing up for insurance products they don't need or want. It essentially restricts face-to-face solicitations to those initiated by the customer.

A new Medicare drug benefit began Jan. 1, 2006. Since then, participants and state insurance commissioners...

By (AP)

A consumer advocacy group petitioned the government Thursday to pull the birth-control patch off the market, calling it far riskier than the pill.

"Ortho-Evra is a poor choice for women," Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen wrote the Food and Drug Administration.

Warnings about the Ortho-Evra weekly patch have escalated since a 2005 investigation by The Associated Press found patch users suffer higher rates of life-threatening blood clots than women who take birth-control pills.

Blood clots are a rare side effect for estrogen-related products. Some, but not all, studies...

By (AP)

The Humane Society of the United States has released new video of sick and injured livestock the group says were mistreated on their way to being slaughtered.

The group says the videos were taken of livestock auctions and stockyards in Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Texas.

A graphic videotape made inside a California slaughterhouse released by the same group in January led to the nation's largest beef recall.

...

By (AP)

People who sleep fewer than six hours a night _ or more than nine _ are more likely to be obese, according to a new government study that is one of the largest to show a link between irregular sleep and big bellies.

The study also linked light sleepers to higher smoking rates, less physical activity and more alcohol use.

The research adds weight to a stream of studies that have found obesity and other health problems in those who don't get proper shuteye, said Dr. Ron Kramer, a Colorado physician and a spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

"The data is...

By (AP)

Athletes from 10 European countries will take part in an allergy and asthma study at the Beijing Olympics.

The study announced Tuesday on World Asthma Day is likely to involve hundreds of athletes. It's sponsored by the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network, an EU-funded research network.

"The pan-European study will allow scientists to specify the prevalence of asthma, exercise induced asthma and other allergic diseases among European athletes qualified for the Beijing Olympics," the Brussels-based group said.

Participating countries are Britain, Denmark, Finland,...

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