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HEALTHBEAT SHOW NOTES .... Episode #81 - Recorded January 26, 2007

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of HealthBeat, Chiropractic OnLine Today’s Health, News and informational Podcast.

In this week’s news:  We’ll Look At –  

• Active Lifestyle and Low Back Pain

• Financial Cost of Arthritis

• ACN and Opt-Out

• Trans Fat Bans Continue

• Exercise and Diet Reduce Fatty Liver in Teens

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #81, recorded January 26, 2007.  HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories.  Please surf to our web site at www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

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And Now for some news ….

Active Lifestyle and Low Back Pain

A study in the January 1, 2007 issue of the journal Spine, looked at the connections between physical activity, physical function, and incident low back pain (LBP) in an elderly population.

Currently, the relationship between an active lifestyle and LBP in seniors is unknown.  Participants in the population-based Longitudinal Study of Aging Danish Twins free from LBP at baseline (no LBP during the past month) were included, and interview data on physical activity, overall physical function, and LBP at baseline and follow-up were obtained.

Associations between levels of physical activity and LBP were estimated using logistic regression for the entire cohort, and using a matched case-control design for twin pairs discordant for physical activity.

The study found that statistically significant dose-response associations between increasing frequency of strenuous physical activity and magnitude of this protective effect were found. Participants with poor initial physical function experienced the strongest protective effect of strenuous physical activity.

Finally, LBP does not appear to be an important factor affecting whether participants remained engaged in strenuous physical activity at baseline and follow-up or vice versa.

The study concluded that strenuous physical activity at least once a week is protective for incident LBP in seniors.

For more information, surf to our Show Notes for a link to this study - http://www.spinejournal.com/pt/re/spine/abstract.00007632-200701010-00013.htm;jsessionid=FqnhPDvNmPX1qVyvlMFDpyPP8lFBQLbchghMSpVSF1PY3ydGp9nM!2118075020!-949856145!8091!-1

Financial Cost of Arthritis

According to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, costs directly attributable to arthritis and other rheumatic conditions in the United States increased 24% between 1997 and 2003 to total $80.8 billion.

The substantially increased costs of AORC (arthritis and other rheumatic conditions) in 2003 were driven by an increase in number of persons with AORC. Costs likely will continue rising because the number of persons with arthritis is projected to continue to increase, with another eight million arthritis cases anticipated during 2005 to 2015.

In 2003, both direct and indirect costs from AORC totaled approximately $128 billion, equal to 1.2% of the 2003 U.S. gross domestic product. This figure includes about $80.8 billion in direct costs, such as actual medical expenditures, and about $47 billion in indirect costs, such as lost wages, according to the report, published in the January 12 edition of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Surf to our Show Notes for a link to this article - http://www.orthosupersite.com/default.asp?page=view&rid=20103

ACN and Opt-Out

In December, 2006, the New York State Chiropractic Association, the NYSCA, sent out a notice concerning the insurance group, ACN’s mid-December mailing announcing a “new network access program” – the “Aetna Workers’ Compensation Access, LLC Program,” a Workers’ Compensation (WC) Preferred Provider Organization (PPO).

Unfortunately, the NYSCA has learned, an ACN staffer gave out the wrong fax number participating providers to use if they were interested in opting-out of the ACN/Aetna program.  Since the error was ACN’s, the NYSCA feels that ACN should honor opt-out requests sent and received already albeit to the wrong ACN facsimile number. 

Nonetheless, to be doubly sure that opt-out information has been properly received, the NYSCA recommends that providers re-fax their opt-out letters again to (763)  595-3333, even if you sent an opt-out letter once already. It is the NYSCA’s understanding the correct facsimile number for opting out of this program is (763) 595-3333.

Trans Fat Bans Continue

Wanting to stay ahead of the curve, lawmakers in the state of Massachusetts have introduced a bill that would make Massachusetts the first U.S. state to ban artificial Trans fats from restaurants.

This has occurred only a couple of months after New York City banned the artery-clogging oils from city restaurants. Trans fats have been shown to increase the risk of heart disease and stroke by not only increasing levels of bad LDL cholesterol, but also by reducing levels of the good HDL cholesterol.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Massachusetts is already one of the healthiest states in terms of population obesity.

The ban would focus solely on the artificial trans fats found in oils many restaurants currently use for frying. The ban would not affect food served directly to consumers contained in the manufacturers originally sealed package, such as potato chips.

Some of the more notable food companies that are making the switch away from trans fats include Wendys, Dunkin Donuts, and most recently Starbucks.

Exercise and Diet Reduce Fatty Liver in Teens

Research published in the December 2006 issue of the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology indicates that children who participate in regular exercise programming and eat a healthy diet can reverse fatty liver disease, a condition commonly associated with obesity.

Known medically as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the prevalence of this condition in today’s youth population is increasing as levels of childhood obesity have met epidemic proportions. The study examined 73 obese teens who participated in a 12-week program consisting of nutrition education and two one-hour exercise sessions per week.

At the completion of the study, approximately 48% of the children had lost weight, another 48% had maintained their weight, and the remaining 4% had gained weight. At the onset of the study approximately 50% of the participants were diagnosed with fatty liver disease. The 12-week program resulted in a significant reduction of the prevalence of fatty livers in the children, down to 29% of the entire pool of study participants.

The evidence supports the theory that a gradual reduction in weight loss will be more beneficial as it relates to fatty liver disease, than a single sudden, drastic reduction. Additional studies are needed to examine the long-term effectiveness of nutrition and exercise programming lifestyle interventions in the fight against liver disease.

Surf to our Show Notes for more information - http://www.eurojgh.com/pt/re/ejgh/abstract.00042737-200612000-00001.htm;jsessionid=F0gLj1N4MnqdJ45SqLnV48gGdPqBpCJlk0gphhkbFhr11shxT1Rt!990059801!-949856144!8091!-1

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropractiRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember - COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

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Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

“An obstacle is a stepping stone to success.”
- CBS Evening News - 7/13/01

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

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