Report Ranks Top Sources of Illness Related to Foods Salmonella is leading contaminant, researchers say

Report Ranks Top Sources of Illness Related to Foods
Salmonella is leading contaminant, researchers say

By Robert Preidt

THURSDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) -- Poultry contaminated with Campylobacter bacteria is the food-pathogen combination that causes the most foodborne illness in the United States, sickening more than 600,000 people a year at a cost of $1.3 billion, according to a new report.

Issued by the University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute, the report identifies the 10 riskiest combinations of foods and disease-causing microorganisms in the United States.

"The number of hazards and scale of the food system make for a critical challenge for consumers and government alike," Michael Batz, head of food safety programs at the institute and lead author of the report, said in a university news release.

"Government agencies must work together to effectively target their efforts," Batz said. "If we don't identify which pairs of foods and microbes present the greatest burden, we'll waste time and resources and put even more people at risk."

The top five illness-causing pathogens -- Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Toxoplasma gondii and norovirus -- cause $12.7 billion in economic losses each year, with the top 10 pathogen-food combinations accounting for more than $8 billion a year, according to the report.

The economic cost takes into account lost productivity, medical care and serious complications or chronic disabilities associated with the illness.

The report names Salmonella as the leading disease-causing microorganism (costing more than $3 billion a year), and Salmonella-contaminated produce, poultry, eggs and multi-ingredient foods all rank in the top 10 food-pathogen combinations.

Other top-ranked combinations include Listeria in deli meats and soft cheeses, Toxoplasma in pork and beef, E. coli in beef and produce, and norovirus in multi-ingredient food products.

SOURCE: University of Florida, news release, April 28, 2011

Many Consumers Don't Know What's in Over-the-Counter Painkillers: Study Lack of knowledge about active ingredients may up the risk of overdose, researchers say

Many Consumers Don't Know What's in Over-the-Counter Painkillers: Study
Lack of knowledge about active ingredients may up the risk of overdose, researchers say

By Robert Preidt

TUESDAY, May 3 (HealthDay News) -- Few Americans bother to read the labels on over-the-counter pain relievers, nor do they pay much attention to the drugs' ingredients, a new study says.

This lack of awareness could be a main reason why acetaminophen overdose is a leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States, according to the researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, is in more than 600 over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medicines.

Researchers interviewed 45 people in six focus groups and found that only 31 percent knew that Tylenol contained acetaminophen, 19 percent realized Advil contained ibuprofen and about the same number knew that Aleve contained naproxen sodium.

About 75 percent knew Bayer contained aspirin and 47 percent knew Motrin contained ibuprofen.

Fewer than half -- 41 percent -- said they read the ingredients on drug labels.

The study appears in the May 3 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The fact that many people don't know acetaminophen is present in OTC products is "incredibly alarming," said senior author Michael Wolf, an associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

"People may unintentionally misuse these medicines to a point where they cause severe liver damage," Wolf said in a university news release. "It's easy to exceed the safe limit if people don't realize how much acetaminophen they are taking. Unlike prescription products, there is no gatekeeper, no one monitoring how you take it."

He and his colleagues recommend that a universal icon for acetaminophen should appear on the labels of all medicines that contain it.

The study was funded by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, which makes Tylenol. Wolf has worked as a paid consultant to McNeil.

SOURCE: Northwestern University, news release

MRIs Can Tell Endometrial, Cervical Cancer Apart: Study In about 3 percent of cases, biopsies fail to do so, researchers say

MRIs Can Tell Endometrial, Cervical Cancer Apart: Study
In about 3 percent of cases, biopsies fail to do so, researchers say

By Robert Preidt

TUESDAY, May 3 (HealthDay News) -- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can distinguish between endometrial and cervical cancer in most cases where a biopsy fails to do so, a new study says.

It found that radiologists using MRI were able to correctly identify the type of cancer in 38 of 48 patients, or 79 percent, who had inconclusive biopsy results.

More than 43,000 women were newly diagnosed with endometrial cancer, which starts in the lining of the uterus, in the United States last year, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

There were about 12,200 newly diagnosed cases of cervical cancer, which starts in the cervix, or the lower part of the uterus that opens into the vagina, according to the NCI.

"In about 3 percent of the cases, there is difficulty determining the primary cancer site," said study author Dr. Heather He, of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, in an American Roentgen Ray Society news release. "Knowing the primary cancer site means that we can give the patients the most appropriate therapy and save some patients from unnecessary surgery."

The MRI images used in the study were examined by two radiologists, one with five years' experience and the other with 18 years' experience. Their diagnoses matched most of the time, which shows that extensive experience isn't crucial, according to He.

The study was presented Tuesday at the society's annual meeting in Chicago.

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

SOURCE: American Roentgen Ray Society, news release, May 3, 2011

Study Questions Giving Babies Botanical Supplements, Teas Nearly 1 in 10 infants fed these largely unregulated products, researchers say

Study Questions Giving Babies Botanical Supplements, Teas
Nearly 1 in 10 infants fed these largely unregulated products, researchers say

(Healthlinne News) -- The use of botanical supplements and teas for infants is a surprisingly common practice, new research finds, but experts warn that such products might not be safe for babies.

The study, conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, found that nearly 10 percent of babies are given botanical supplements or teas during their first year of life. The researchers found that even babies as young as 1 month old were given these products.

"Our study is the first to examine the prevalence of dietary botanical supplement and tea use among a sample of U.S. infants," wrote the study's authors. "The wide variety of dietary botanical supplements and teas given to infants increases the likelihood that some are unsafe."

Results of the study are published online May 2 in Pediatrics. The report is scheduled to appear in the June print version of the journal.

Dietary botanical supplements and herbal teas don't receive the same scrutiny that pharmaceutical products do, according to background information in the study. Use of such products can cause adverse reactions with other medications, and these products may be inherently unsafe themselves.

Some supplements may contain heavy metals or other contaminants, and infants are more susceptible to such toxins, according to the study. In addition, some dietary supplements have caused seizures and even death in previously healthy infants. One dietary supplement was recalled in 2007 because of microbiological contamination.

During the first four to six months of life, child health experts recommend that babies only be fed human breast milk or infant formula, according to the study.

Reviewing information from the Infant Feeding Practices Study that was conducted from 2005 to 2007, the researchers found data from 2,653 mothers.

Almost 6 percent said they had given their infant a botanical supplement or tea once during the first 12 months of the baby's life. Another 3.6 percent said they'd given their infant these products more than once during the baby's first year.

Women were more likely to give their babies these products if they reported using botanical supplements or teas themselves. Women who were older, had more than one child and had a higher education or income were also more likely to give their infants such products. Mothers who breast-fed longer were more apt to try giving a botanical supplement or tea to their baby. Hispanic mothers were more likely than white or black mothers to give their babies dietary botanical supplements or teas.

The most commonly used products were gripe water, chamomile, teething tablets and unspecified tea, according to the study. The most common reasons for giving these products were fussiness, digestion problems, colic and relaxation.

When asked whom they talked to for information about such products, only 27 percent said they talked to a health-care professional. Almost 28 percent got their information from the media, and 30 percent talked to friends and family about botanical supplements and teas for their babies.

Dr. Louisdon Pierre, director of pediatric critical care at the Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City, said that parents have to be extremely cautious when giving their baby any type of supplement or tea, especially when the baby is younger than 4 months old.

"The baby's brain is growing and developing, and the immune system isn't yet mature, so babies just can't fight things off like adults can," he said. "Even things that look benign can be dangerous for babies. Anise is an herbal product that people make tea with. In adults, there may be no reaction, but in babies, anise can cause jitteriness and seizures. The young brain is really susceptible."

Dr. Mark Diamond, a pediatrician with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Children's Community Pediatrics, agreed, adding, "Just because it's natural doesn't mean it's safe. People assume that something's safe if mom or grandma used it, but it might not be."

Diamond said he was also disappointed to see that only about one in four people felt comfortable enough to speak with their physicians about using these products. "That's bothersome to me. Are they afraid to communicate with me about these products? There may be safety issues with some of these products and I want parents to communicate with me."

The most important question parents need to ask of any product is, "Is it safe?" said Diamond. "And that holds true [with] a medicine that I prescribe as much as for an herbal cure," he noted.

SOURCES: Louisdon Pierre, M.D., director, pediatric critical care, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York City; Mark Diamond, M.D., pediatrician, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Children's Community Practice;  2012, Pediatrics, online

Family Meals Keep Kids Slimmer, Healthier, Study Finds Eating together also reduces likelihood of eating disorders, researchers say

Family Meals Keep Kids Slimmer, Healthier, Study Finds
Eating together also reduces likelihood of eating disorders, researchers say



(Healthlinne News) -- Eating meals with their families helps keep kids slimmer and healthier, a new study finds.

Researchers pooled data from 17 earlier studies and found that youngsters who joined family members regularly for meals were 24 percent more likely to eat healthy foods than kids who rarely ate with their families. They were also less likely to suffer from eating disorders.

Parents can "really relate to and understand" the findings, published in the May 2 issue of Pediatrics, said study lead author Amber Hammons, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

"We wanted to look at the family's contribution to positive outcomes as it relates to nutrition," added Hammons. "It's important for parents to know what they can do, especially with obesity and eating habits; they want to know what role they can play."

Through an Internet search in 2009, researchers at the university's Family Resiliency Center obtained relevant studies involving almost 183,000 children and teens ranging from roughly 3 to 17 years old. They looked at the youths' eating habits, weight, and whether they did anything harmful to control it.

Those who ate three or more meals a week with their families were 12 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate few or no meals with their families, and 20 percent less likely to eat sweets, fried foods, soda, and other unhealthy foods.

Eating five or more meals together reduced the likelihood of poor nutrition by 25 percent, an analysis of eight of the studies revealed.

Kids who ate with their families also were 35 percent less likely to engage in "disordered eating" behaviors aimed at losing weight, such as binge-eating, purging, taking diet pills or laxatives, vomiting, skipping meals or smoking.

Participants were deemed overweight if they had a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 85th percentile, meaning that they were heavier than 85 percent of children their age.

Eating two or more fruits and vegetables daily, and skipping soda, candy and fried foods were included as a measure of healthy nutrition.

While the study suggests that eating together as a family confers a "protective" benefit on children, the reasons for that were unclear. Some possibilities included the value of adult role models, and adult intervention before poor behaviors became bad habits, the study said.

Other research has found that meals prepared at home are more nutritious, with more fresh fruit and vegetables, and less fat, sugar and soda.

"We know that meals prepared at home are more likely to be less calorie-dense," said Hammons. But other factors such as communication during meal time might also drive the positive influence of family meals on health, she added.

"The future direction for research will not be looking at quantity of meals but at what is making meal time so important," she said.

Another expert, Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis, said the study gives "a good overview of what research shows in terms of the importance of family meals" on child health. But she cautioned about its drawbacks.

"Some of the studies have limitations, including some variability in collection of nutritional outcomes, diversity of ethnicity and gender, and how studies classified weight," Diekman said.

But even with those stumbling blocks, the study provides "strong indications that shared family meals help boost nutritional intake, control body weight, and potentially prevent disordered eating patterns," said Diekman.

Children may imitate their parents, according to other research. A survey by the American Dietetic Association Foundation found that children identified their parents as their number one role models and claimed that if their parents ate healthier foods, they would too, said Diekman.

The authors of the current study say doctors should emphasize the value of family meals for patients struggling with eating disorders or obesity.

SOURCES: Amber J. Hammons, Ph.D., postdoctoral research associate, Family Resiliency Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition, Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.; May 2, 2011, Pediatrics