Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Diabetes & Endocrinology for March 2011. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Osteoarthritis Patients Show Increased Pain Sensitivity
THURSDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- Patients suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) are more sensitive to experimental pain at multiple body sites compared to healthy controls, according to a study published in the March issue of Arthritis Care & Research.
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Growth Hormone Increases Adult Height in Turner's
THURSDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment with growth hormone may result in greater adult height for girls with Turner's syndrome, and the addition of low-dose estrogen to the treatment regimen may further improve results, according to research published in the March 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Exercise Plus Dieting Superior in Older Obese Individuals
WEDNESDAY, March 30 (HealthDay News) -- Dieting plus exercise may be better than either alone for improvement in physical function in older adults who are obese, according to research published in the March 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Two-Thirds of U.S. Residents Get Sufficient Vitamin D
WEDNESDAY, March 30 (HealthDay News) -- About two-thirds of the U.S. population takes in sufficient amounts of vitamin D, but 8 percent may be at risk for vitamin D deficiency, according to a March data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
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Safflower Oil Improves Glycemia, Inflammation, Lipids
WEDNESDAY, March 30 (HealthDay News) -- Supplementation with safflower (SAF) oil improves glycemia, inflammation, and blood lipids compared to treatment with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in postmenopausal obese women, according to a study published online Jan. 12 in Clinical Nutrition.
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Online Health Records Less Used by Minorities, Poor
WEDNESDAY, March 30 (HealthDay News) -- Online personal health records (PHRs) are less frequently used by racial or ethnic minorities and patients with low annual income, according to a study published in the March 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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High Number of 'Medalists' Free From Diabetes Complications
WEDNESDAY, March 30 (HealthDay News) -- The relatively high proportion of patients with type 1 diabetes for 50 years or more without complications indicates the presence of protective factors, according to a study published in the April issue of Diabetes Care.
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Insulin Delivery System Recalled by Roche
TUESDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- ACCU-CHEK FlexLink Plus infusion sets are being recalled by their manufacturer, Roche, because the tube used for inserting the set may become kinked or bent, which could result in the under-delivery or no delivery of insulin, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced.
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Bariatric Surgery Weight Loss Tied to Migraine Improvement
TUESDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- Severely obese people who suffer from migraines experience improvement in their headaches after losing a significant amount of weight following bariatric surgery, according to a study published in the March 29 issue of Neurology.
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Decline Seen in Global Youth Mortality Over Last 50 Years
TUESDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- Overall mortality declined substantially between 1955 and 2004 in children aged 14 years or younger and in females aged 15 to 24, but a smaller decline was evident for males aged 15 to 24 years, according to a study published online March 29 in The Lancet.
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Catechin-Caffeine and Caffeine Alone Increase Energy Use
MONDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- Catechin-caffeine mixtures -- such as those found in green tea -- and caffeine-only supplementation increase daily energy expenditure, but only catechin-caffeine mixtures significantly increase daily fat oxidation, according to a meta-analysis published online March 2 in Obesity Reviews.
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Bariatric Surgery Linked to Bone Density Loss in Teens
MONDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- Adolescents who undergo bariatric surgery have reductions in bone mineral density (BMD), although the level is still within the age-appropriate norm, according to a study published online March 28 in Pediatrics.
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Poorer Health Outcomes for Elderly in Public Housing
MONDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- Elders residing in public housing have poor self-rated health status as well as increased prevalence of fatigue and comorbid conditions compared to those who live in the community, according to a study published in the Winter issue of Ethnicity & Disease.
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Reduced Hours for Trainees Has Had Little Effect in U.S.
THURSDAY, March 24 (HealthDay News) -- Reducing work hours for doctors in training to less than 80 per week has had little impact on patient outcomes or postgraduate training in the United States, according to a literature review published online March 22 in BMJ.
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Drug Reduces Rate of Conversion to Type 2 Diabetes
WEDNESDAY, March 23 (HealthDay News) -- Pioglitazone effectively reduces conversion to type 2 diabetes in people with impaired glucose tolerance, though it may also lead to weight gain and edema, according to research published in the March 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Bariatric Surgery in Youth Warrants Caution
WEDNESDAY, March 23 (HealthDay News) -- Bariatric surgery in older children may result in significant weight loss and improvement in quality of life, though long-term data on safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness are limited, according to a literature review published online March 3 in Clinical Obesity.
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Chronic Otitis Media Associated With Changes in Taste
WEDNESDAY, March 23 (HealthDay News) -- Children with chronic otitis media with effusion (COME) have different taste thresholds, which may be associated with their increased body mass index (BMI), according to a study published in the March issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery.
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Fibrate Use Rises in U.S. but Remains Stable in Canada
TUESDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) -- Fibrate use has increased steadily in the United States but remains stable in Canada, according to a study published in the March 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Long-Term Weight Loss After Laparoscopic Gastric Banding
TUESDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) -- Despite the success of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) for morbid obesity in terms of long-term weight loss, follow-up suggests poor outcomes, according to a study published online March 21 in the Archives of Surgery.
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Taiwanese With Diabetes at Higher Risk of Prostate Cancer
MONDAY, March 21 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of prostate cancer among men in Taiwan is increasing, and men with diabetes are at an increased risk of prostate cancer, according to research published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.
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Majority of Parents Approve of Smoke Exposure Testing
MONDAY, March 21 (HealthDay News) -- The majority of parents, both smokers and nonsmokers, want their children tested for tobacco-smoke exposure as part of their children's health care settings, according to a study published online March 21 in Pediatrics.
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Diabetes Drug Linked to Increased Cardiovascular Risk
FRIDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with type 2 diabetes who take rosiglitazone are at greater risk of congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction (MI), and death, compared to those who take pioglitazone, according to a meta-analysis published online March 17 in BMJ.
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Heart Failure Belt Identified in Southeastern United States
THURSDAY, March 17 (HealthDay News) -- A "heart failure belt" with higher heart failure mortality compared to the rest of the country has been identified in the southeastern United States, which follows a similar geographic pattern to the recognized "stroke belt," according to a study published in the March 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
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Professional Values of U.S. and U.K. Doctors Examined
THURSDAY, March 17 (HealthDay News) -- A core of professional values exists among doctors in the United States and the United Kingdom, though significant differences exist in how these values are expressed and prioritized, according to a study published online March 7 in BMJ Quality & Safety.
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Diabetes Patients Fare Better With Empathetic Doctors
THURSDAY, March 17 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with diabetes whose physicians are more empathetic are more likely to have improved clinical outcomes, according to a study published in the March issue of Academic Medicine.
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Short Nurse Staffing Linked to Higher Patient Mortality
WEDNESDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- Patient mortality appears to be higher when nurse staffing falls eight or more hours below target level and during nursing shifts when patient turnover is high, according to research published in the March 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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U.S. Death Rate Reaches All-Time Low
WEDNESDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- The age-adjusted death rate for the United States has fallen for 10 straight years and has reached an all-time low of 741 per 100,000, or 2,436,682 deaths, in 2009, down 2.3 percent from 2008, according to a new report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
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Early-Onset Diabetes Tied to Raised Cardiac Disease Risk
WEDNESDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- Early- and late-onset diabetes are associated with an increased risk of major coronary heart disease (CHD) events and mortality, with early-onset diabetes equivalent in risk to a prior myocardial infarction (MI), according to a study published in the March 14 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Raised Triglyceride Levels Do Not Cause Type 2 Diabetes
WEDNESDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- Genetically raised circulating triglyceride levels do not increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, or raise fasting glucose or insulin levels, according to a study published in the March issue of Diabetes.
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Heavy Smoking Prevalence Decline Greatest in California
TUESDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- Between 1965 and 2007, the prevalence of high-intensity smoking declined in California and in the remaining states, according to a study published in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Regional Variation in Chronic Disease Case Fatality Rates
TUESDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- There is an inverse relationship between the regional frequency of diagnoses for chronic conditions and the case-fatality rate among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries, according to a study published in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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High Phosphorus Level Tied to Kidney Disease Mortality
TUESDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with chronic kidney disease, evidence suggests that there is an association between higher serum levels of phosphorus and mortality, but there is a lack of strong and consistent evidence associating serum calcium and parathyroid hormone levels with risk of death or cardiovascular events, according to a meta-analysis published in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Sodium Phenylbutyrate Improves Insulin Resistance
TUESDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- Sodium phenylbutyrate (PBA) may improve insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction caused by prolonged elevation of free fatty acids (FFA) in obese or overweight individuals, according to research published in the March issue of Diabetes.
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Preventive Services Underused by Older Adults in U.S.
TUESDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- The aging population is growing steadily, but many older adults do not receive the preventive services they need, according to a new report issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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Metformin Ranks Highest As Diabetes Treatment
TUESDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- Metformin may be the best choice for a first-line agent to treat patients with type 2 diabetes, according to research published online March 14 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Bariatric Surgery Viable Option for Severely Obese
TUESDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- Bariatric surgery is a viable option that often leads to long-term weight loss and reductions in cardiac and other risk factors in severely obese patients who have failed other weight-loss therapies, according to an American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement published online March 14 in Circulation.
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VAP-1 Predicts Mortality in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
MONDAY, March 14 (HealthDay News) -- The level of serum vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1), a protein involved in inflammation, can predict the 10-year mortality risk among patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the March issue of Diabetes.
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Potassium Level Tied to African-American Diabetes Risk
MONDAY, March 14 (HealthDay News) -- Low serum potassium concentrations found in African-Americans may be a contributing factor to their increased risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a study published online March 2 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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U.S. Has Higher Rates of Chronic Disease Than England
MONDAY, March 14 (HealthDay News) -- Americans experience higher rates of chronic disease and markers of disease than their English counterparts at all ages, according to a study published online March 9 in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
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Washing Before Self-Monitoring Yields Best Glucose Results
FRIDAY, March 11 (HealthDay News) -- Washing hands with soap and water and then using the first drop of blood is best for self-monitoring blood glucose, according to a study published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.
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Menopausal Symptoms Improve After Acupuncture Treatment
FRIDAY, March 11 (HealthDay News) -- Acupuncture may be an effective alternative therapy for reducing menopausal complaints, especially the severity of hot flushes, according to a study published in the March issue of Acupuncture in Medicine.
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Depression Linked to Adverse Renal Disease Outcomes
FRIDAY, March 11 (HealthDay News) -- Symptoms of depression are associated with subsequent adverse outcomes in patients with renal disease, according to a study published online March 10 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
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Impact of Adiposity Measures on Heart Disease Risk Alike
FRIDAY, March 11 (HealthDay News) -- Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio all have a similar strength of association with cardiovascular disease, but do not significantly improve risk prediction when information on blood pressure, diabetes, and lipid levels is available, according to a study published online March 11 in The Lancet.
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Non-Infectious Problems Lower Dialysis Catheter Survival
THURSDAY, March 10 (HealthDay News) -- The failure of peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheters is associated with catheter-related non-infectious problems, and other risk factors need not hinder the selection of patients for PD catheter initiation, according to a study published in the October-December 2010 issue of The Journal of Vascular Access.
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Increased Insulin May Be Needed Over 5,000 Meters
THURSDAY, March 10 (HealthDay News) -- For individuals with complication-free type 1 diabetes, there is an association between acute mountain sickness (AMS) and increased insulin requirement when trekking at very high altitudes, according to a study published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.
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High Polychlorinated Biphenyl Concentrations May Affect IVF
THURSDAY, March 10 (HealthDay News) -- Higher serum polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentration levels that are within the normal range for women in the general U.S. population are associated with failed implantation in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a study published online Feb. 24 in Environmental Health Perspectives.
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Diabeo Smartphone Improves HbA1c Level in Type 1 Diabetes
THURSDAY, March 10 (HealthDay News) -- The Diabeo smartphone system improves HbA1c levels in patients with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes, according to a study published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.
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Insulin Degludec Effective Alternative to Insulin Glargine
THURSDAY, March 10 (HealthDay News) -- Insulin degludec appears to provide comparable glycemic control to insulin glargine, without increased adverse events, and may reduce dosing frequency from once per day to three times weekly, according to a study published online March 10 in The Lancet.
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Drug Delays Microalbuminuria in Type 2 Diabetes
WEDNESDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- Olmesartan, an angiotensin-receptor blocker, delays the onset of microalbuminuria in people with type 2 diabetes, but it also appears to be associated with an increased risk of fatal cardiovascular events, according to research published in the March 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Ethnic Differences Seen in Academic Measures for U.K. Docs
WEDNESDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- United Kingdom-trained physicians and medical students with ethnic minority backgrounds tend to underperform academically compared to their white peers, according to a meta-analysis published online March 8 in BMJ.
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High HDL Cholesterol Tied to Decreased Colon Cancer Risk
WEDNESDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- Higher concentrations of serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer, according to a study published online March 7 in Gut.
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Exergames Increase Energy Expenditure in All Children
WEDNESDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- Interactive digital exercise featuring player movement (exergames) successfully elevates energy expenditure to a moderate or vigorous intensity among children with various body mass index (BMI) levels , according to a study published online March 7 in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
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Pharmacological Meta-Analyses Rarely Report Disclosures
TUESDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- Meta-analyses of pharmacological treatments rarely include information addressing primary study funding and conflicts of interest (COIs) of the authors for the included randomized control trials (RCTs), according to a study published in the March 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Diabetes Belt Identified in Southern United States
TUESDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- A geographically congruent "diabetes belt" with high prevalence of diabetes exists in the United States, according to a study published online March 8 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
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Fatty Liver Independently Linked to Type 2 Diabetes
TUESDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- Ultrasound-diagnosed fatty liver is independently associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), according to a study published online Jan. 20 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
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Mediterranean Diet Tied to Lower Metabolic Syndrome Risk
TUESDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- Adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and has beneficial effects on its individual components, according to a meta-analysis published in the March 15 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Physical Activity Tied to Mortality in Kidney Recipients
FRIDAY, March 4 (HealthDay News) -- Low physical activity (PA) in renal transplant recipients (RTRs) is independently associated with increased risk for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, according to a study published online March 3 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
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Role of Diabetes in Premature Death Is Substantial
WEDNESDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) -- Diabetes is substantially associated with premature mortality from cancers, infectious diseases, external causes, intentional self-harm, and degenerative disorders, according to research published in the March 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Intensive Glucose Therapy May Not Be Best in Type 2 Diabetes
WEDNESDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) -- Therapy designed to intensively lower glucose in people with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors appears to lower the risk of nonfatal heart attack but is associated with an increased risk for all-cause mortality, according to research published in the March 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Obesity Rate in Canada Not As High As in United States
WEDNESDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) -- More North Americans are obese today than were 20 years ago, and the prevalence of obesity in Canada is about 10 percentage points lower than it is in the United States, according to a data report issued March 2 by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.
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Obesity Associated With Risk of Dissimilar Breast Cancers
WEDNESDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) -- High body mass index (BMI) and low levels of physical activity are associated with increased risk of triple-negative and estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers in postmenopausal women, according to a study published online March 1 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
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Risk of Adverse Effects Lessens Drug Acceptance in Elderly
WEDNESDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) -- The willingness to take medication for primary cardiovascular disease prevention in older persons is highly sensitive to its adverse effects and relatively insensitive to its benefits, according to a study published online Feb. 28 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Rare Variants in HMGA1 Gene Linked to Type 2 Diabetes
WEDNESDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) -- The presence of functional gene variants of high-mobility group A1 (HMGA1) protein (a crucial regulator of insulin receptor [INSR] gene expression) is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in individuals of white European ancestry, according to a study published in the March 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Type of Health Care-Associated Infections Is Falling
TUESDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs) in intensive care units (ICUs) has decreased by more than half since 2001, but the infections continue to occur in substantial numbers in inpatient wards and outpatient hemodialysis centers, according to research published in the March 1 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Doctors, NPs Equally Effective in Helping Patients Lose Weight
TUESDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- Health care professionals can play a big role in helping overweight patients lose weight and maintain weight loss, starting with acknowledging their overweight status in the first place, according to two studies published in the Feb. 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Many Patients Do Not Consolidate Drugs Efficiently
TUESDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- Many patients, especially those with low literacy, do not consolidate prescription regimens efficiently, according to a study published in the Feb. 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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