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Managing Incontinence After A Stroke - May Is Stroke Awareness Month
Approximately 800,000 people suffer a stroke in the United States each year, nearly three-quarters of which occur in people over 65 years old. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds.
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HIVMA Supports Public Plan Option To Ensure Patients' Needs Are Met
As Congress drafts health care reform legislation, HIV clinicians urge lawmakers to include a public plan option to ensure affordable access to comprehensive care for HIV patients - nearly 30 percent of whom have no insurance. The HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) believes that a public plan option can help offer everyone the chance to benefit from early and reliable access to lifesaving HIV care and treatment.
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Link Between Vitamin D Insufficiency And Bacterial Vaginosis In Pregnant Women
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal infection in US women of childbearing age, and is common in pregnant women. BV occurs when the normal balance of bacteria in the vagina is disrupted and replaced by an overgrowth of certain bacteria. Because having BV puts a woman at increased risk for a variety of complications, such as preterm delivery, there is great interest in understanding how it can be prevented. Vitamin D may play a role in BV because it exerts influence over a number of aspects of the immune system. This hypothesis is circumstantially supported by the fact that BV is far more common in black than white women, and vitamin D status is substantially lower in black than white women. This relation, however, has not been rigorously studied. To assess whether poor vitamin D status may play a role in predisposing a woman to BV, Bodnar and coworkers at the University of Pittsburgh and the Magee-Womens Research Institute studied 469 pregnant women. The results of their investigation are published in the June 2009 issue of the Journal of Nutrition.
Diagnostics

New Study Reveals Wide Variations In Depression Diagnoses Among Ethnic Groups

Whites experiencing depression are far more likely to be diagnosed by a physician than other ethnic groups, according to a new Consumer Health Sciences (CHS) study presented today at the 14th Annual ISPOR (International Society for Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research) Conference in Orlando, Florida. The study reveals that 76% of whites with self-reported depression symptoms are officially diagnosed, compared to just 58.7% of blacks, 62.7% of Hispanics and 47.4% of Asians. Findings also show strong differences among ethnic groups in the prevalence of depression among the four ethnic groups studied. Of the 53.8 million Americans reporting they suffer from depression -- a quarter of the US population -- 25.8% are white, 19.8% are black, 27.6% are Hispanic and 16.1% are Asian. (Respondents who were not among the four ethnic groups being examined were excluded from the study.) "Although the differences in prevalence are significant, the wide variations in diagnosis rates are particularly critical and alarming, since patients must be diagnosed to be treated," says Michael Fronstin, Chief Operating Officer of CHS. "While we are unsure of the cultural or socio-economic drivers behind those variations, it is clear that steps must be taken to provide both patient and physician education programs that support increased diagnoses and more timely therapy for minority patients. "One of the issues the research uncovered is that patients don"t associate depression symptoms with the actual condition. We must provide the tools and training for medical providers and patients to be able to discuss depression, as well as its specific symptoms, in culturally relevant terms that ensure those who are suffering get the help they need." Reporting Symptoms Does Not Mean Recognizing Depression The CHS study assessed depression by asking respondents if, over the last month, they have often experienced being down, depressed or hopeless and/or having little interest or pleasure in doing things. The results show a clear disconnect between patients reporting depression symptoms and recognizing the underlying condition. Of those who do not self report having depression, 11.5% of whites, 12.5% of blacks, 13% of Hispanics and 12.7% of Asians indicate they are suffering from one of the depression symptoms. In addition, 10.1% of whites, 11.5% of blacks, 12.9% of Hispanics and 11.2% of Asians not self-reporting depression are, in fact, experiencing both symptoms. "While recommendations have been made at the policy level to increase access to care and treatment for minority patients, that"s just part of the solution," says Fronstin. "We also must raise both physician and patient awareness of the importance of talking openly about symptoms." About the National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS) The study"s results were drawn from the 2008 US National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS), a nationally representative, self-administered survey conducted annually via the Internet. Topics covered include the health status, attitudes and outcomes among adults 18 or older. CHS, a Kantar Health company, conducts NHWS annually in the US, Europe and Asia. The survey is the largest self-reported patient database in the healthcare industry. Consumer Health Sciences


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