Article Content

Doctors' and Nurses' Wellness Checklist: Healthy Diet, Exercise, Dietary Supplements

Ever wonder if your physician personally follows the health advice that he/she prescribes to you? According to a recent study, most physicians do engage in very healthy behaviors, with 3 of the top shared health behaviors being trying to eat a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and taking vitamins and other supplements.

 

Nurses tend to follow a similar wellness checklist. Nurses say they try to eat a balanced diet and take supplements. But nurses seem to exercise slightly less than physicians. Nurses are also more likely to seek out advice from other healthcare professionals, whereas physicians are less likely to visit a healthcare professional regularly. There is also interesting news when it comes to sleep and the thirst for caffeine. Despite their often long hours, most physicians and nurses say they regularly get a good night's sleep, whereas fewer admit to consuming large quantities of caffeine. In addition, the overwhelming majority of physicians and nurses abstain from smoking and consuming large quantities of alcohol. Most physicians and nurses claim they maintain a healthy weight and do not take any prescription medications.

 

For more information please go to http://www.lifesupplemented.org.

 

Most Doctors Support National Health Insurance, New Study Shows

Reflecting a shift in thinking over the past 5 years among US physicians, a new study shows that a solid majority of physicians (59%) now support national health insurance. Such plans typically involve a single, federally administered social insurance fund that guarantees healthcare coverage for everyone, much like Medicare currently does for seniors. The plans typically eliminate or substantially reduce the role of private insurance companies in the healthcare financing system but still allow patients to go the physicians of their choice. Support among physicians for national health insurance has increased across almost all medical specialties.

 

Physicians have often expressed concern about the lack of patient access to care because of rising costs and patients' insufficient levels of insurance. An estimated 47 million Americans currently lack health insurance coverage and another 50 million are believed to be underinsured. At the same time, healthcare costs in the United States are rising at the rate of about 7% a year, twice the rate of inflation.

 

For more information about this study, visit http://www.pnhp.org/docsurvey.

 

Personal Counseling and Web-Based Strategies Show Modest Success for Sustaining Weight Loss

According to a study conducted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, adults who lost weight in a 6-month program were able to keep at least some of the weight off for 2.5 years with the help of brief monthly personal counseling. A Web-based intervention also helped participants keep the weight off for 2 years, but the benefit waned during the last 6 months of the trial. The results of the Weight Loss Maintenance Trial, the largest and longest-duration trial to test different weight loss maintenance strategies, were published in the March 12, 2008, issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

 

The study enrolled 1,685 overweight or obese adults with high blood pressure, high cholesterol level, or both. Of those, 1,032 lost an average of 18.7 lb during an initial 6-month weight loss intervention involving 20 weekly group counseling sessions that emphasized a heart-healthy dietary pattern and 3 hours per week of physical activity. They were then randomly assigned to 1 of 3 strategies for weight loss maintenance: monthly personal counseling on diet and physical activity, a Web-based intervention with the same advice, and self-direction, where participants received minimal further intervention from study staff. At the end of the study, participants receiving personal counseling retained an average weight loss of 9.2 lb, compared with an average of 7.4 lb for those using the Web-based intervention and 6.4 lb for those in the self-directed group. Personal counseling sessions were brief and mainly by telephone. The Web site was developed to provide the same advice as personal counseling. Both interventions were designed to be practical to implement in a variety of settings.

 

For more information, contact [email protected].

 

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Issues First US von Willebrand Disease Clinical Practice Guidelines

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health issued the first clinical guidelines in the United States for the diagnosis and management of von Willebrand disease (VWD), the most common inherited bleeding disorder. The guidelines include recommendations on screening, diagnosis, disease management, and directions for further research.

 

In VWD, low or absent levels of a blood protein called von Willebrand factor affect the blood's ability to clot. The von Willebrand factor also carries with it clotting factor VIII, another important protein that helps blood clot. Typically, VWD is milder but more common than another bleeding disorder, hemophilia. However, for some people with VWD, the condition can pose serious health risks, especially during surgery, after an injury, or during childbirth. Out of every 100 to 1,000 people, 1 is affected by VWD-in both males and females. Hemophilia mainly affects males.

 

In consultation with the American Society of Hematology, the NHLBI convened an expert panel on VWD whose members were selected for their scientific and clinical knowledge and experience, including specialists in hematology, as well as family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, internal medicine, and laboratory sciences. Screening recommendations in the guidelines call for healthcare providers to take a complete medical history and physical examination and order a sequence of blood tests to evaluate persons whose history suggests VWD or any bleeding disorder. The symptoms of VWD include frequent large bruises from minor bumps or injuries, frequent or hard-to-stop nosebleeds, extended bleeding from the gums after a dental procedure, heavy bleeding after a cut or after surgery, and heavy or extended menstrual bleeding in women.

 

The guidelines address the 3 types of VWD: (1) type 1, in which patients have a low level of the von Willebrand factors and may have lower-than-normal levels of factor VIII; (2) type 2, in which the von Willebrand factor does not work the way it is supposed to; and (3) type 3, in which patients have no von Willebrand factor and low levels of factor VIII. According to the guidelines, it is important for people with VWD to avoid over-the-counter medicines that can affect blood clotting, including aspirin, ibuprofen, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory. Those with VWD should talk to their dentists to determine if medicine is needed before dental work to reduce bleeding. Anyone older than 2 years with VWD should be immunized against hepatitis A and B to decrease risks of complications from blood transfusions.

 

For more information, contact [email protected].