Nowadays people are more stick to the Internet than reading simple real newspapers or magazines that can be obtained at the nearest corner. Online information is updated fast and you do not have to pay for it - hundreds of papers and journals are absolutely free and you can even search the archive of popular papers and magazines, like, for instance, health and fitness magazine or IT and technology magazines.

Recently I’ve found an interesting press-release of the famous Russian health magazine for immigrants in the United States and Canada issued by Jacob Bogatin:
“The Health Magazine has opened a new rubric called “I want to feel and look young”. This section helps people shape a new and emerging healthy life style. It provides readers with information about healthy diets, nutrition, and exercising, which helps and encourages them to look and feel better, but the main idea of this section is to place in the readers mind that there is a future whether you are 17 or 70.”

An interesting review, huh? May be it is worth trying to get a copy.

Mnap radiology medical center started to assist the first clients in the year of 2004. This was the beginning of labs development together with outpatient radiology opportunities. The center began to provide its patients with the latest cutting edge technological development as an Intense Modulated Radiation Therapy. This technology has helped thousands of patients who received personal care and treatment.

MNAP is a unique radiation oncology Philadelphia clinic that provides a great number of cancer treatment techniques and has a dedicated team of medical specialists in nuclear medicine. The board of doctors are qualified experts in the field of fighting cancer who are always testing the new methods available.

All the necessary equipment for treating tumors are provided to MNAP’s clients. MNAP is the official treatment and clinical education center that gets support from School of Radiation Therapy for Clinical Practice, besides MNAP is the only MRI Philadelphia center where doctors use Magnetom Avanto.

It is a widely known fact that the whole humanity is gaining weight.

Some people go in for sport, others torture themselves with different diets or take various drugs to lose excessive weight. But sometimes all these methods just don’t work or the effect is short and soon a man gains even more weight than he had before. Seriously obese people should take into consideration the risks of staying overweight. Hypertension, diabetes, insomnia, increased risk of heart attacks and other dangerous diseases develop due to excessive weight.

If you’re tired of fighting your own body, sick of diets and still don’t see any positive changes then a weight loss surgery may become your only salvation.

This operation is known as lap band surgery and has become very popular in last ten years. Lap (Laparoscopic or Gastric) banding is a type of easy surgeries where the size of the stomach is reduced using a band so that only small meals can be eaten and you feel fuller soon.

The procedure involves placing an adjustable band around the upper part of the stomach which creates a pouch. It fills up with food very quickly and a person feels satiation. Then the food passes through a small gap very slowly and digested normally. That leads to intensive weight loss in a natural way.

Lap band is a reversible operation and is usually done through a small hole in the stomach. It is a low risk surgery but some side effects may occur. In is necessary to understand that the risks of lap band surgery are much less meaningful than numerous benefits of this procedure. Living a healthy and happy life without extra lbs. is beyond these risks.

They may say they just have good genes, but you deserve to know: Many stars are jogging their butts off, and some resort to unsafe, even illegal weight-loss practices, say insiders. “To be fair, a lot of the top women are doing the right things: eating healthy and exercising, but not obsessively,” says Beverly Hills trainer Gunnar Peterson. “It’s the up-and-coming women who I often see starving and going to crazy extremes.” Here’s the silly stuff they’re doing — and the healthy, longer-lasting alternatives you should try instead.

They abuse laxative teas
“The big thing among teen actresses right now is dieter’s tea. It has a mild laxative effect. But many young girls are abusing it — drinking 10 cups a day. I knew one girl who ended up with long-term health problems. Drinking too much of these teas can cause vomiting, stomach cramps, chronic constipation or diarrhea. Not pretty! All that to lose a little water weight.”

The healthier way: “Skip laxatives — the only weight you lose with them is from waste. And it comes right back when you eat and drink again.”

They do superexpensive liquid cleanses
“Once, a very young actress client of mine bought $3,000 worth of supplements from her doctor to do a cleanse. All she was allowed to have for two weeks were liquids and the vitamins she bought — no solid food. She was already incredibly healthy — she worked out and ate really well, and I don’t think she’d had a sip of alcohol in her life. She said she just wanted to ‘clean herself out.’ I joked: ‘From what — apples?’ A week into it she broke down, ate an entire loaf of bread and admitted that her real goal had been to drop a few pounds. An actress friend of hers, who has an eating disorder, had done the cleanse and recommended it.”

The healthier way: Drinking plenty of water and eating well are all the ‘cleansing’ you need.

They subsist on coffee & booze
“One client I had would stave off eating as long as she could — it was just coffee, coffee, coffee all day. She’d have a practically zero-calorie salad in the afternoon, skip dinner then go booze with her friends. Her organs were so stressed that when we trained together, I could literally hear her heart pounding away in her chest. Working out was a waste because she was so exhausted.”

The healthier way: “I always advise eating regular meals — a mix of healthy carbs, protein and fruits and veggies.”

They misuse diet pills
“A musician who’d been taking an over-the-counter fat blocker came to see me. While on the drug, you can have bad side effects if you eat fatty foods, but she kept eating creamy pastas, ribs, you name it. The result: She had oily stools, bloating, gas and bad diarrhea, and she was vitamin-depleted. But she didn’t want to change her eating habits, and just kept taking it. Eventually she snapped out of it, followed a healthy plan I gave her and lost weight.”

The healthier way: “There really is no magic pill. Cut back on unhealthy fats on your own.”

They stay locked in the gym…
“There’s one singer-actress who works out at my gym for about five hours a day, even on weekends. She spent her birthday here. She comes in at 5 A.M., then in the afternoon, and again at night.”

…and then lie about it
“I had one actress who trained with me and took six Spin classes a week. And all she ate was lettuce and Swedish Fish. When the press asked her how she’d ‘transformed’ her body, she said, ‘Oh, I do yoga and hike with my puppy.’ That made me laugh. Don’t lie about how much you work out, because other women are going to think, I walk my dog, why don’t I look like that?”

The healthier way: Several hours of exercise a week is plenty. Several hours a day? Too much.

They obsess over the tabloids
“Paparazzi deliberately try to catch celebs in unflattering moments. It can be devastating. One actress came to me to lose five pounds after seeing a bad photo, and I had to convince her that, really, it was just a bad angle.”

The healthier way: “Remember that the only opinion of your body that matters is yours!”

Source: Glamour

British and Australian researchers believe that happiness can be inherited.

A study of nearly 1,000 pairs of identical and non-identical twins found genes control half the personality traits that make people happy while factors such as relationships, health and careers are responsible for the rest of our well-being.

“We found that around half the differences in happiness were genetic,” said Tim Bates, a researcher at the University of Edinburgh who led the study. “It is really quite surprising.”

The researchers asked the volunteers — ranging in age from 25 to 75 — a series of questions about their personality, how much they worried and how satisfied they were with their lives.

Because identical twins share the same genes and fraternal twins do not, the researchers could identify common genes that result in certain personality traits and predispose people to happiness.

People who are sociable, active, stable, hardworking and conscientious tend to be happier, the researchers reported in the journal Psychological Science.

“What this study showed was that the identical twins in a family were very similar in personality and in well-being, and by contrast, the fraternal twins were only around half as similar,” Bates said. “That strongly implicates genes.”

The findings are an important piece of the puzzle for researchers trying to better understand depression and what makes different people happy or unhappy, Bates said.

People with positive inherited personality traits may, in effect, also have a reserve of happiness to draw on in stressful times, he said.

“An important implication is that personality traits of being outgoing, calm and reliable provide a resource, we called it ’affective reserve,’ that drives future happiness” Bates said.

Health Trends of 2007 were Global Warming & Health Impact, Obesity (it’s all time trend), Breast Cancer and others, but what are you about to expect this year?

According to American Medical Informatics Association’s research top ten health trends that would be popular during the 2008 are as follows:

1. Children’s Obesity
Obesity stays “Number One” problem in modern society. The year of 2008 will not become an exception. But what is more important, children’s overweight problem has become epidemic. It seems much more serious comparing with adult obesity due to young age. The organism is growing and many internal systems are forming and “tune” to proper functioning in this age, that’s why obesity becomes very dangerous.
More than 30% of children in the age group of 6-18 are overweight and around 15% are obese. The problem is still caused by “classical” for the Western society combination of sedentary lifestyle (lack of physical activity) and excessive nutrient intake. Children obesity results in 99% of cases from poor eating habits.

Soft drink consumption (esp. carbonated drinks) is proved to lead to childhood obesity. In a study of several groups of children between 11 and 16 years, scientists found a direct relation of soft drink consumption to children obesity. They discovered children were 1.6 times more likely to be obese for every soft drink consumed each day. Junk food and fast food preferred to natural and healthy food contribute to the problem of obesity as well. Almost 90% of lunchboxes of American children contain junk food. The problem is originated from the meal of the family. Parents usually let their children make their own food decisions. For the few next years child obesity will become an important issue and the situation is not likely to change soon.

2. Problem of Electrosmog
Most people use cellular phones and wireless internet (WiFi). But they can’t answer the question, what impact on your health all this electrosmog has. More and more medical institutions warn people about potential risks. WiFi, mobile phones and other electrical items may lead to headaches, insomnia, dizziness and nausea. The major problem is that you can’t see your potential “enemy” and can’t hide from harmful exposure.
3. Goods Dangerous to your Health

There were several facts of recall of dangerous Chinese toys from U.S. market in 2007. All toys were painted with lead containing material. If swallowed, some substances from this paint can convert into GHB (toxic drug), and lead to death. American government and common consumers will stay sharp to prevent their citizens and children from possible threat. Although, the risk of being “poisoned” still remains high enough.

4. Mental Health
A certain negative trend is a rise of mental disorders of grown-ups and children. Each year the number of people facing problems of mental health increases. Autism, bipolar disorder and all sorts of panic disorders are diagnosed very frequently. Actually 1 in 70 Americans appear to have these disorders. This figure has increased more than 50 times over the previous decade. People use more and more antidepressants and other drugs to keep their heads “clear”, but mental health research centers remain skeptical. With the modern type of life in big cities there is no chance to see any decrease in this negative trend.

5. Health and “Healthy” Lifestyle
More than 60% of all minor and serious problems with health are derived from one’s lifestyle. Alcoholism leads to cirrhosis and excessive smoking causes cancer. That is quite clear. This rule works the other way as well; healthy lifestyle will help you to lead a long healthy life. This topic is sure to become one of the major trends in 2008 as more and more people become aware of their health and lifestyle. Infrastructure of “Leading a Healthy Life” is to experience a great boost this year.

6. Clean Air and Water Accessibility
The problem of clean water and air stays very important. People who live in big cities got used to buy drinking water while using industrial water for other purposes. But what are we going to do with air? It’s impossible to buy a bottle of fresh air to breathe with. World population is growing and putting pressure on all water and air resources. Cities and towns utilize water from lakes and rivers and use excessive amounts of fresh air for industrial means. Governments develop public services which ensured water is clean and available to the community. This water hasn’t always been free but it hasn’t been commercialized and sold to the highest bidder, until recently. So, very soon the same situation is to arise with clean air? The next few years will show how the situation is to develop.

7. Genetic Therapy
There were a lot of researches dedicated to different isolated genes in the past years; but in 2008 a new emphasis will be made on the work of the whole genetic system of the body. New effective therapies will be invented. People with incurable diseases will get their chance to be cured. The process will surely take more than a year, but this genetic trend is to become one of the top trends this year and the significance of the issue is to rise.

8. Heart Diseases – Killer Number One
Lack of physical activity, excessive smoking, high cholesterol level and high blood pressure lead to weakening of the whole system of blood vessels and to the heart. Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States, it also causes disability. There are many different forms of heart disease. The most common cause of heart disease is narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart itself. People have heart attacks and their immune system suffers too. This trend stays at the top for at least 5 years and it is here to stay for at least 5 years more.

9. Trans Food
Trans food labeling laws went into effect in 2007 but some supermarkets and fast food providers continued to use some trans food products (fats). Now, even with strict rules of labeling trans food a consumer can’t be sure that he’s just had “clean” chicken or hamburger. The fear of trans food will increase this year and food industry is to do its best to sell its unpopular modified products. More and more researches proving possible hidden danger of trans food will be issued and disputes about genetically modified eatables will stay loud and popular during 2008.

10. Nature Friendly – Health Friendly
A long-term trend that appeared last year will stay very powerful in 2008. The market of so called “green products” is tremendously huge now ($500 billion a year), and it will reach $700-750 billion this year. Organic food, hybrid cars, using ecology friendly products will remain popular and more people are to share these ideas. People start to believe, that being green will benefit to their health and the health of other people. This is a very positive trend that will rise higher during next several years.

In December 2008 we will make another survey to see how close this Top List is to real life trends of the year.

Researchers have found a correlation between drinking diet soda and metabolic syndrome — the collection of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes that include abdominal obesity, high cholesterol and blood glucose levels, and elevated blood pressure.

The scientists gathered dietary information on more than 9,500 men and women ages 45 to 64 and tracked their health for nine years.

Over all, a Western dietary pattern — high intakes of refined grains, fried foods and red meat — was associated with an 18 percent increased risk for metabolic syndrome, while a “prudent” diet dominated by fruits, vegetables, fish and poultry correlated with neither an increased nor a decreased risk.

But the one-third who ate the most fried food increased their risk by 25 percent compared with the one-third who ate the least, and surprisingly, the risk of developing metabolic syndrome was 34 percent higher among those who drank one can of diet soda a day compared with those who drank none.

“This is interesting,” said Lyn M. Steffen, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota and a co-author of the paper, which was posted online in the journal Circulation on Jan. 22. “Why is it happening? Is it some kind of chemical in the diet soda, or something about the behavior of diet soda drinkers?”

Source: NY Times

It is well known that too much soda can increase the risk of diabetes and obesity. But when it comes to kidney problems, is there a difference between colas and other kinds of soda?

Colas contain high levels of phosphoric acid, which has been linked to kidney stones and other renal problems.

Much of this conclusion stems from anecdotal and circumstantial evidence. So last year, a team of scientists at the National Institutes of Health took a closer look.

In a study published in the journal Epidemiology, the team compared the dietary habits of 465 people with chronic kidney disease and 467 healthy people. After controlling for various factors, the team found that drinking two or more colas a day — whether artificially sweetened or regular — was linked to a twofold risk of chronic kidney disease.

But drinking two or more noncola carbonated drinks a day, they found, did not increase the risk.

The authors of the study say more research is needed, but their findings support the long-held notion that something about cola — the phosphoric acid, for example, or the ability of cola to pull calcium from bones — seems to increase the risk of kidney stones, renal failure and other conditions affecting the kidneys.

The claim has the ring of a myth. But environmental scientists say it is real.

The reason is that hot water dissolves contaminants more quickly than cold water, and many pipes in homes contain lead that can leach into water. And lead can damage the brain and nervous system, especially in young children.

Lead is rarely found in source water, but can enter it through corroded plumbing. The Environmental Protection Agency says that older homes are more likely to have lead pipes and fixtures, but that even newer plumbing advertised as “lead-free” can still contain as much as 8 percent lead. A study published in The Journal of Environmental Health in 2002 found that tap water represented 14 to 20 percent of total lead exposure.

Scientists emphasize that the risk is small. But to minimize it, the E.P.A. says cold tap water should always be used for preparing baby formula, cooking and drinking. It also warns that boiling water does not remove lead but can actually increase its concentration.

Source: US EPA

Recent laboratory tests found so much mercury in tuna sushi from 20 Manhattan stores and restaurants that at most of them, a regular diet of six pieces a week would exceed the levels considered acceptable by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Sushi from 5 of the 20 places had mercury levels so high that the Food and Drug Administration could take legal action to remove the fish from the market. The sushi was bought by The New York Times in October.

“No one should eat a meal of tuna with mercury levels like those found in the restaurant samples more than about once every three weeks,” said Dr. Michael Gochfeld, professor of environmental and occupational medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, N.J.

Dr. Gochfeld analyzed the sushi for The Times with Dr. Joanna Burger, professor of life sciences at Rutgers University. He is a former chairman of the New Jersey Mercury Task Force and also treats patients with mercury poisoning.

The owner of a restaurant whose tuna sushi had particularly high mercury concentrations said he was shocked by the findings. “I’m startled by this,” said the owner, Drew Nieporent, a managing partner of Nobu Next Door. “Anything that might endanger any customer of ours, we’d be inclined to take off the menu immediately and get to the bottom of it.”

Although the samples were gathered in New York City, experts believe similar results would be observed elsewhere.

“Mercury levels in bluefin are likely to be very high regardless of location,” said Tim Fitzgerald, a marine scientist for Environmental Defense, an advocacy group that works to protect the environment and improve human health.

Most of the restaurants in the survey said the tuna The Times had sampled was bluefin.

In 2004 the Food and Drug Administration joined with the Environmental Protection Agency to warn women who might become pregnant and children to limit their consumption of certain varieties of canned tuna because the mercury it contained might damage the developing nervous system. Fresh tuna was not included in the advisory. Most of the tuna sushi in the Times samples contained far more mercury than is typically found in canned tuna.

Over the past several years, studies have suggested that mercury may also cause health problems for adults, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and neurological symptoms.

If there is no such thing as free will, do you really have to put that money into the office coffee kitty when no one is looking?

A study suggests that when people are encouraged to believe their behavior is predetermined — by genes or by environment — they may be more likely to cheat. The report, in the January issue of Psychological Science, describes two studies by Kathleen D. Vohs of the University of Minnesota and Jonathan W. Schooler of the University of British Columbia.

In one, 30 college students were asked to solve math problems on a computer. Some were first asked to read a passage arguing that most educated people do not believe in free will. The volunteers were told that owing to a computer glitch, the answer would pop up after the problem if they did not the hit the space bar. They were asked to do so but told that no one would know. Members of the group encouraged to doubt free will were more likely to let the answer appear.

In the other study, about 120 students were asked to answer problems on a sheet of paper, with the promise of $1 for each right answer. Those who had read statements skeptical about free will, when allowed to grade themselves and then shred the answer sheet, took more money than they should have, the researchers said.

The findings, they said, raised questions about how human behavior might change if the belief in free will continued to decrease. But they cautioned against reading too much into the results.

Americans are spending more money than ever to treat spine problems, but their backs are not getting any better.

Those are the findings of a report in The Journal of the American Medical Association, which found that spending on spine treatments in the United States totaled nearly $86 billion in 2005, a rise of 65 percent from 1997, after adjusting for inflation. Even so, the proportion of people with impaired function because of spine problems increased during the period, even after controlling for an aging population.

“You’d think if you’re putting a lot of money into a problem, you’d see some improvements in health status,” said Brook I. Martin, research scientist at the Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at the University of Washington and lead author on the study, published Wednesday. “We’re putting a lot of money into this problem, and it’s a big investment in health care expenditures, but we’re not seeing health status commensurate with those investments.”

The report is the latest to suggest that the nation is losing its battle against back pain, and that many popular treatments may be ineffective or overused. Researchers have produced conflicting data about the effectiveness of spinal surgery for back pain, although one major clinical trial, known by the acronym Sport, showed that spinal surgery patients did better than patients receiving more conservative care, which included medications or physical therapy. However, some doctors have questioned whether surgeries, injections and narcotic pain medications are being used appropriately.

“I think the truth is we have perhaps oversold what we have to offer,” said Dr. Richard A. Deyo, a physician at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland and a co-author of the report. “All the imaging we do, all the drug treatments, all the injections, all the operations have some benefit for some patients. But I think in each of those situations we’ve begun using those tests or treatments more widely than science would really support.”

To study spending trends on spinal care, the researchers examined annual household survey data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which was collected from about 23,000 people a year from 1997 to 2005. It includes pharmacy and medical record data, and was used to estimate national spending and treatment practices.

The researchers found that people with spine problems spent about $6,096 each on medical care in 2005, compared with $3,516 in medical spending by those without spine problems.

The biggest surge in spending has been for drugs. In 2005, Americans spent an estimated $20 billion on drug treatments for back and neck problems, an increase of 171 percent from 1997. The biggest jump was for narcotic pain relievers, like OxyContin and other drugs, which increased more than 400 percent.

Outpatient treatment for back and neck problems increased 74 percent to about $31 billion during the period, while spending related to emergency room visits grew by 46 percent to $2.6 billion. Spending for surgical procedures and other inpatient costs grew by 25 percent to about $24 billion.

Despite the growth in treatment of back problems, the data show that the percentage of people with serious spine problems has not declined; it appears to have increased.

Based on the sample, the researchers estimated that in 1997, about 21 percent of the adult population suffered from back or neck problems that limited their function. By 2005, that number grew to about 26 percent, after adjusting the numbers for an aging population.

It is not clear why more people appear to be suffering from back and neck pain. It could be because of rising obesity rates, researchers suggested. Or excessive treatment of back problems could lead to more problems.

Source: NY Times

Home remedies for soothing mild burns run the gamut, from aloe vera gel to butter. Most that have been around for ages are clearly bad ideas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that applying butter or various popular ointments, for example, can increase the risk of infection. But at least one remedy, honey, has held up well.

In studies of quick and easy treatments to soothe mild burns, scientists have found that honey has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that may promote healing. One study in 2006, examining results of more than a dozen previous studies, found that small, nonserious burns healed faster when treated with gauze and a dash of honey, on average, than those treated with antibiotic creams and other dressings. A separate report published earlier found similar results.

Medical doctors say the tried and true method for healing small burns remains applying a wet compress, immersing it in cool water and then covering the area with a sterile, nonadhesive bandage. But for those who prefer using natural remedies to soothe discomfort, honey may be a decent option.

Source: NY Times

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, but the good news is that it can be prevented with lifestyle changes, particularly diet. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation about what we should be eating to keep our hearts beating. With the help of the experts, we debunk five myths about heart-healthy diets and give you truths (and recipes) you can take to heart.

• A low-fat diet prevents heart disease.

Not necessarily. While it’s true that a diet high in saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease, other types of fat are actually good for your heart. When eaten in moderation, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can help decrease blood levels of “bad” cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and stroke. Try Salmon with Almonds and Tomato-Lemon Sauce for a recipe with three sources of good fat.

• A low-cholesterol diet prevents heart disease.

This is partially true, but it’s not the whole story. High blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease, but weight, physical activity, age, and gender can also affect cholesterol levels. Plus, saturated fat and dietary cholesterol are both culprits in raising blood cholesterol, with saturated fat being the ring leader. For a satisfying entrée that is low in saturated fat and totally cholesterol free, try Asian Noodle, Tofu, and Vegetable Stir-Fry.

• Salt doesn’t matter–only fat.

Salt does matter. Eating less salt/sodium helps to reduce blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart attacks. And a new study reported by the American Heart Association (AHA) showed that a reduced-sodium intake also decreased the risk of death from heart disease. The AHA recommends less than 2300 milligrams of sodium per day, about the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of salt. When trying to reduce the salt in your diet, don’t deprive yourself of flavor. Try Spicy Rubbed Flank Steak with Spicy Peach-Bourbon Sauce at 425 milligrams sodium per serving.

• Foods labeled “trans fat free” are heart-healthy.

Maybe not. Under FDA label regulations, if a serving of food contains 0.5 grams or less trans fats, the label can state “trans fat free”. If one serving contains 0.4 milligrams per serving and you eat four servings, you’ve eaten close to the recommended limit of 2 - 2.5 grams per day. Also, some manufacturers are getting around the trans fat ban by replacing trans fats with saturated fats. Read the labels of all packaged food carefully, and, instead of fast-food fries, try our trans-fat-free Oven-Fries with Crisp Sage Leaves.

• Sugar is off-limits.

Not true–moderate amounts of sugar are just fine. It’s also about choosing your sources of sugar wisely. For example, a smoothie is a better choice than a soft drink, even though they both contain sugar. Focus on sugar-containing foods that have other nutrients instead of just empty calories. Of course, if you have diabetes or are trying to lose weight, pay attention to any type of extra calories, sugar, and carbohydrate because eating too many sugar-containing foods can wreak havoc with blood sugars and also lead to weight gain.

A single bone mineral density (BMD) test given 15 years earlier predicted a woman’s risk of developing fractures to her spine over time, according to the largest and longest prospective study of osteoporosis.

The study, published in the Dec. 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and led by investigators at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, also found that women who had a spinal fracture at the start of the study were four times more likely to have another fracture. In fact, more than half of the women with low BMD and existing spinal fractures developed new fractures over the 15-year study period, raising concerns about the impact of so-called “silent” fractures to the spine.

“Spinal fractures are the hallmark of osteoporosis, but one of the problems with diagnosing them is that they often have no symptoms,” said Jane Cauley, Dr.P.H., professor of epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. “Many women may be walking around with multiple fractures and not even know it. Our study raises concerns about the impact of these fractures on quality of life by putting women at risk for subsequent fractures, but it also provides evidence that a simple and non-invasive bone density test can help identify those at risk.”

The findings are based on 2,300 women over the age of 65 enrolled in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF), a longitudinal, multi-site study initiated in 1986 to learn more about the risk factors and causes of osteoporosis. For the current study, investigators from five institutions took lateral radiographs of the thoracic and lumbar spines of research participants and measured their BMD and body weight. Researchers found that by year 15 of the study, 18 percent of the women had experienced spinal fractures. They also found that 25 percent of women who began the study with low BMD developed spine fractures, compared to only nine percent of women with normal BMD.

According to Dr. Cauley, the study’s results demonstrate the importance of BMD testing for women over the age of 50. About 700,000 spinal fractures occur each year in women in this age group, and 75 percent of these fractures occur without symptoms. Spinal fractures result in chronic back pain and increased risk of other fractures, including those in the hip.

“Women don’t have to end up with dowager’s hump, the hallmark of osteoporosis,” said Dr. Cauley. Dowager’s hump indicates that a woman has endured multiple spine fractures. “Osteoporosis is not an inevitable consequence of aging. Under-diagnosis remains a major problem. There are several effective treatments for osteoporosis that can prevent subsequent fractures, so it is vitally important to recognize these fractures with repeat spine films over time.”

Based on the results of the study, Dr. Cauley and colleagues are developing a risk model to help physicians better identify women who are more likely to have a silent spine fracture and who may benefit from treatment.

Source: UPMC