In The News This Week … July 27–August 2, 2008: Exercise, Diabetes, Preeclampsia, Cell Phones, & Errors

How Much Exercise to Maintain Weight Loss?

Findings published in the July 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine looked at the effect of exercise on 24-month weight loss maintenance in 201 overweight and obese women. They show that 275 minutes (4.6 hours) per week of physical activity, in combination with a reduction in energy intake, is important in allowing overweight women to sustain a weight loss of more than 10%.

Distress & Diabetes Risk

A study published in the July issue of Diabetic Medicine looked at 2,127 middle-aged men and 3,100 middle-aged women in Sweden with baseline normal glucose tolerance. Researchers found that men with high psychological distress levels, including symptoms of anxiety, apathy, depression, fatigue, and insomnia, are at increased risk of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Men with the highest levels of psychological distress were 2.2 times more likely to develop the diabetes than those with the lowest levels. No link was found in women.

Soda, Juice, & Diabetes Risk

An article published in the July 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, which looked at 43,960 African American women who were followed up between 1995 and 2005, has found that those who reported drinking two or more non-diet soft drinks daily had a 24% increased risk for type 2 diabetes than those who drank fewer than one per month, and that women who drank two or more sweetened fruit drinks per day had a 31% increased risk than those who drank fewer than one per month. The good news is that diet soft drinks, grapefruit juice, and orange juice were not linked to a higher diabetes risk.

Diabetes & Birth Defects

Findings published online on August 1 in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology indicate that diabetic women who become pregnant are three to four times more likely to have a child with one or multiple birth defects than a mother who is not diabetic. According to a press release from the CDC, defects include heart defects, defects of the brain and spine, oral clefts, defects of the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract, and limb deficiencies. Study lead author Dr. Adolfo Correa, who is an epidemiologist at CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said, "Early and effective management of diabetes for pregnant women is critical in helping to not only prevent birth defects, but also to reduce the risk for other health complications for them and their children."

Preeclampsia and a Mother's Immune System

A letter published online on July 27 in Nature Medicine has found more evidence linking preeclampsia to immunity. Researchers took immune molecules called autoantibodies from women with preeclampsia and injected them into mice, which then started to develop a condition very similar to preeclampsia. However, mice given an injection of losartan to block the action of the autoantibodies did not develop the condition.

Prenatal Cell Phone Exposure & Behavior

A paper published in the July issue of Epidemiology looked at a group of 13,159 children whose mothers participated in the Danish National Birth Cohort early in pregnancy. When the children were seven years old, the mothers completed a questionnaire about their children's behavior and health, as well as their own cell phone use in pregnancy and the child's use of cell phones. Researchers found that prenatal exposure to cell phones (and to a lesser extent, postnatal exposure to cell phones) was associated with behavioral difficulties such as emotional and hyperactivity problems around the age of school entry. They stated, "These associations may be noncausal and may be due to unmeasured confounding. If real, they would be of public health concern given the widespread use of this technology." Another possible suggestion for the observation? "…(T)he lack of attention given to a child by mothers who are frequent users of cell phones."

Cell Phone Texting Advisory

Not that many texting addicts will pay attention, but on July 30, the American College of Emergency Physicians issued an advisory concerning texting, as emergency physicians report they are seeing a dangerous trend: A rise in injuries and deaths related to sending text messages at inappropriate times, such as while walking, driving, biking, or rollerblading. Here are just two of their five recommended safety measures:

Fatal Medication Errors

An investigation published in the July 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine examined all US death certificates from January 1, 1983, to December 31, 2004, for a total of 49,586,156 certificates. During the period, the overall fatal medication error (FME) death rate increased by 360.5%, and far exceeds the increase in death rates from adverse effects of medications (33.2%) or from alcohol and/or street drugs (40.9%). Specifically, researchers examined four types of FMEs, and found variations in increases in death rates as follows: Type 1 (domestic FMEs combined with alcohol and/or street drugs), up 3196%; type 2 (domestic FMEs not involving alcohol and/or street drugs), up 564%; type 3 (nondomestic FMEs combined with alcohol and/or street drugs), up 555%; type 4 (nondomestic FMEs not involving alcohol and/or street drugs), up 5%.

The Cost of Medical Errors

A July 28 press release from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that potentially preventable medical errors that occur during or after surgery may cost employers nearly $1.5 billion a year.

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