October Health Pearls

October Health News

1.  Primary Care Utilization and Colorectal Cancer Incidence and Mortality Among Medicare Beneficiaries, Annals of Internal Medicine, 2013; 159(7):  437-445.

Senior citizens who see a primary care physician more often (5-10 visits over an 11 year period versus 0-1 visits during the same period) are less likely to develop colorectal cancer and less likely to die from colorectal cancer.  This study supports previous studies that going to see a primary care physician improves health outcomes.  So if you have not seen your physician this year, please make an appointment to do so!

 2.   Association Between Influenza Vaccination and Cardiovascular Outcomes in High-Risk Patients:  A Meta-analysis, Journal of the American Medical Association, 2013:  310 (16):  1711-1720

Scientists recently published a paper, which combined data from 12 separate studies of the flu vaccine, on the relationship between flu vaccination and cardiovascular events in patients with heart disease.  Patients who had suffered a heart attack in the last year were 55% less likely to have another cardiovascular event if they had received a flu shot.  Patients with stable heart disease were 36% less likely to have an event, and overall the death rate was 19% less in those who had been vaccinated.  Besides preventing the flu, it appears the flu vaccine can reduce heart attack risk.  There is yet another good reason to get the flu shot. 

To learn more about the many different types of flu vaccines, go to our previous blog on this year’s flu shot offerings:  https://ladydocscornercafe.com/article/whats-new-with-flu-(2013-2014)-vaccine/#sthash.Qigerd1i.dpbs

 3.  Recreational Physical Activity and Leisure-time Sitting in Relation to Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers Prevention,  2013  22 (10) :  1906-1912

Postmenopausal women in the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study II who walked at least 7 hours a week (1 hour a day) had a 14% lower risk of breast cancer than those who walked less than 3 hours a week.  The most active women had a 25% lower risk of breast cancer than women who were sedentary.  Sitting time did not influence risk of breast cancer.  Another study that supports the importance of regular exercise!