Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of The HealthDay Service:
Heart Rhythm Deaths, Hospitalizations Rise in Winter
The risk of being admitted to the hospital or dying from a serious heart rhythm irregularity called atrial fibrillation increases significantly
in winter months, according to a new study.
Research reported this week at a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology in Berlin, Germany, indicates that hospital admissions for atrial fibrillation was 25 percent higher than average in winter for those between the ages of 75 and 84; for those 85 and over, the rate jumped by 40 percent.
The study also found that deaths from atrial fibrillation were higher in winter.
Atrial fibrillation occurs in all age groups, but especially afflicts the elderly, with about 10 percent of people over the age of 75, or two million Americans, suffering from the condition, the Associated Press reports.
Previous research has shown that other heart-related conditions, including heart attacks, heart failure and heart-related sudden
deaths, are also more common in winter.
To prevent the problem, doctors advise patients to stay warm, get a flu shot and stay sober.
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Drop in Foreign Med Student Applications Coincides with Tough English Test
A requirement for a rigorous, costly new test in which foreign medical school graduates must demonstrate their English skills in order
to train in the United States has coincided with a drop-off of applications by more than half, according to a new study.
Research shows that the number of foreign graduates applying for residencies and fellowships dropped from 36,231 to 16,828 between
1997 and 2001. The new test, requiring that students communicate and have staged encounters with fake "patients" in English, was instituted in 1998.
The study's authors say that in addition to the language requirement, the $1,200 cost of the test, as well as the expense of traveling to
Philadelphia, where the test is given, may also be significant deterrents.
The study was conducted by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and appears in tomorrow's Journal of the
American Medical Association.
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Doctors Blunder When Lacking Slumber
The long hours of doctors-in-training take their toll in the form of duller minds and fumbling fingers and may be harming patients, new
research has found.
In reviewing 50 previous studies of fatigue and medical residents, researchers found that sleep deprivation affects both a doctor's cognitive
ability -- the skill needed to read a heart monitor correctly, for example -- and surgical precision, reports HealthDay.
One study found that complication rates were 45 percent higher for surgical residents who'd been "on call" the night before. Two others
of simulated laparoscopy found that residents performed worse and needed more time to operate on post-call mornings.
How much, if at all, sleep deprivation among residents contributes to the estimated 44,000 to 98,000 deadly hospital errors each year
in this country isn't known, the researchers said.
The effects of little rest on the doctors themselves are clearer. Residents face a sharply higher rate of deadly car accidents during their
training, especially in the hours when they are no longer on call.
The findings appear in tomorrow's Journal of the American Medical Association.
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New York City Man Dies of West Nile
A 73-year-old Queens, N.Y., man is the first New York City resident this year to die from West Nile virus, city health officials say. The unidentified man was hospitalized Aug. 30 and died Sept. 1, reports the Associated Press.
New York City is where the country's first-ever cases of the virus were reported three years ago.
So far this year, 638 people in 27 states and the District of Columbia have tested positive for West Nile, and 31 have died, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The CDC is going all out to assure the public that the nation's blood supply is safe, following reports that a Georgia organ donor may have transmitted the virus to four transplant recipients. One of the four, from the Atlanta area, died from the virus and the three others are hospitalized with symptoms of West Nile, the AP reports. Although there is no screening test for West Nile, federal health officials say the chances of someone getting the virus via a blood transfusion or organ donation remain slim.
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Food Labels to Include Trans Fat Details
Sometime next year, the Food and Drug Administration will require all food labels to include information about trans fat, reports The New York Times.
The artery-destroying substances, also known as trans fatty acids, are often found in processed foods and baked goods. Health experts say they are a major cause of artery disease, even more so than so-called saturated fats, whose content is now required on food labels.
The nation's largest food product association, the Grocery Manufacturers of America, says it is opposed to the idea of the trans fat labeling requirementS, saying they are misleading and inadequately explained to consumers.
This summer, the medical arm of the National Academy of Sciences warned all Americans to cut back on trans fats. The Institute of Medicine, in a report to the FDA, said there was not enough research to recommend a safe daily level of trans fats, the Times reports.
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McDonald's Touts Fries With Less Harmful Fats
McDonald's says it is cutting the amount of trans fats in its french fries by 48 percent by using a new cooking oil at all of its 13,000 restaurants nationwide.
McDonald's says the new oil will reduce saturated fat in its fries by 16 percent and increase healthier polyunsaturated fats by 167 percent. The total amount of fat, therefore, will remain the same, as will the taste, the company pledges in a letter to consumers on its Web site.
The new fries formula will be introduced at some restaurants next month and will be available nationwide by February, the company says. The new oil will also be used to prepare Chicken McNuggets, Filet-O-Fish, hash browns and crispy chicken sandwiches.
