Study: 1 in 10 men had overlapping sex partners, raising HIV risk

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A University of North Carolina study shows that one in every ten men observed in a 1-year period had overlapping sexual partnerships, which could be a contributing factor in the spread of HIV.

The UNC researchers also found that the prevalence of concurrent sexual partnerships was higher among black and Hispanic men than in other groups. Those men also are likely to have had sex with other men, and to have female sexual partners who also have concurrent sexual partnerships.

The findings were based on data collected from 4,928 men during a 2002 survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study is published in the December 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

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Vitamin D Won't Help Prevent Most Cancers

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High blood levels of vitamin D did not lower the overall cancer death rate in a long-term study, researchers report.
However, they did note a marked reduction in colorectal cancer deaths linked to the vitamin.

The findings, by a team from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, run counter to some earlier data suggesting that vitamin D might help prevent malignancy.

"Over the past several years, a number of publications have suggested that vitamin D can reduce deaths from various forms of cancer," said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. "This is a further bit of evidence that leads us to call for further investigations before we make recommendations for the general population."

Even the finding that the vitamin might lower colon cancer risk merits further study, added Lichtenfeld, who was not involved in the research. "We have called for further research to see if vitamin D does or does not reduce deaths from cancer," he said. "We do not have sufficient evidence at this time to make a recommendation, for example, that people increase their intake of vitamin D to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer."

In their study, the NCI team looked at data on almost 17,000 participants in the third Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who were followed for anywhere from six to 12 years. There were 536 deaths from cancer in the group during that time.

The study found no relationship between overall cancer deaths and circulating blood levels of vitamin D, said the report, published in the Oct. 30 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

However, people with higher levels of circulating vitamin D had a 72 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer mortality than those with lower levels, the report found.

These numbers can't be taken to mean that vitamin D prevents colorectal cancer because the study was not large enough and didn't run long enough to provide definitive information, said Cindy Davis, a program director in the NCI nutrition sciences research group and co-author of an accompanying editorial.

"Cancer is a very long process, and there is an even longer period between incidents of mortality," Davis said. "There was only a very small number of cancer deaths. If there is a relationship, this study is not large enough to show one."

Some other studies have given evidence that vitamin D may provide protection against colon cancer, but others have not, she noted.

In addition, Davis added, "We don't know what the optimum level of vitamin D is, we don't know whether genetics might affect the benefits, and we need to consider interactions with other dietary components. Some people may be put at risk. Evidence suggests an increase in kidney stones [with excess vitamin D], and while a kidney stone is not cancer, it is a problem."

The current recommendation for vitamin D is 200 International Units a day, Davis said, and "I believe that when possible, people are better off meeting their nutritional needs through diet rather than through supplements."

Some foods, such as milk, are fortified with vitamin D, and the nutrient can be found in some fish and fish oils, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The skin also manufacturers vitamin D upon exposure to sunlight.

D. Michal Freedman, the NCI epidemiologist who led the study, said its main finding "was the lack of a relationship between total cancer deaths and vitamin D levels." Freedman downplayed the colorectal cancer data as "a secondary finding."

"The study doesn't address the issue of the effects of vitamin D in the blood," Freedman said. "The issue of what people should be taking in terms of vitamin D involves a lot of other factors."

In a related study published in the same issue of the journal, a team at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, found that treatment with a derivative of vitamin A might help reduce former smokers' risk of developing lung cancer.

Patients who received the derivative, called 13- cis-retinoic acid, displayed reduced lung cell growth of the type that might later form cancers, the team reported.

Report: Heart Disease Patients Getting Younger

www.thepittsburghchannel.com

Medco Health Solutions said more young adults are now using cholesterol drugs and blood pressure drugs than ever.

Experts said there are a couple of reasons young people are using these medications, including obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

But doctors are much more aggressive these days in preventing heart attacks and stroke.

Not long ago, a heart attack nearly took Laura Younger's life.

"When I stood up to leave the room, that's when I collapsed, and my heart stopped," she said.

Paramedics got her heart beating again, and Younger got smart about diet and exercise.

New data show many young adults could benefit from her example.

According to Medco, between 2001 and 2006, the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs jumped 68 percent among its 20- to 44-year-old customers. The rates rose from 2.5 percent to more than 4 percent, or roughly 4.2 million Medco customers.

Blood pressure drugs increased in that age group from 7 percent to 21 percent in the same time period, totaling roughly 8.5 million.

Medco said they believe the epidemic of obesity and overweight young people is the reason more are using cholesterol and blood pressure medication.

Meanwhile, heart disease prevention experts are happy young adults are asking for the medications before they have a heart attack or stroke.

However, they said they should first work to increase their exercise, get a better diet and lose weight.

It's better to take action before you need medications. But experts said once patients start taking medications, they usually stay on them.

Israeli leader to have surgery for early-stage prostate cancer

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JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert revealed Monday that he had been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer and would undergo surgery, but he said his condition was not life-threatening and he would stay on the job.

"According to what my doctors have told me, it is a matter of a microscopic growth that hasn't spread and can be removed by a short surgical procedure," Olmert said at a news conference.

He said he had been told there would be no need for radiation or chemotherapy.

Olmert said the surgery was planned "in the next few months," and an aide said it would not occur before U.S.-sponsored peace talks set to begin in November or December in Annapolis, Md.

Olmert, 62, said that while he was not legally obliged to disclose information about his medical condition, he wanted to bring it promptly to the public's attention on his own initiative.

Olmert had a biopsy on Oct. 19 and received the results about a week later, said Dr. Shlomo Segev, one of his physicians.

Olmert took office in January 2006 after his predecessor, Ariel Sharon, suffered a stroke. Sharon has remained in a coma ever since, and his case prompted demands for full medical disclosure by the prime minister.