Creative Arts Show Benefits for Cancer Sufferers

  By Michael Omidi | May 15, 2013 - 9:34 pm |
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Cancer sufferers offer experience anxiety and pain, which studies are showing may be alleviated by creative arts. 

For years many people have been championing the benefits of creative arts on education and mental health, but a new study may be confirming the benefits of art therapy in cancer patients.

A new study analyzed research that had been conducted over the last 21 years (1989 to 2011) to isolate the potential benefits of arts therapy that involved music, art, and dance. The benefits were small, but were comparable to other techniques employed to help treat anxiety and pain including acupuncture or yoga.

The findings regarding the arts therapies to help manage certain conditions included:

  • Patients with cancer  that received some form of creative art therapy reported a better quality of life, including a reduction in pain, anxiety, and depression. 
  • 42% patients from one study that was analyzed saw pain levels cut in half simply by listening to 30 minutes of music that was familiar to them.
  • Benefits were often seen to reduce once the therapy had ended.

What does this mean for treatment of specific types of cancers such as breast cancer, leukemia, or lymphoma? Further research is intended to be performed by National Institutes of Health to see how long these benefits might extend to those suffering from cancer. According to lead author of the study Timothy Puetz of NIH in Bethesda Maryland, rigorous studies into the length of benefit for patients have been lacking.

This research is also serving to unite those certified as creative arts therapists with clinicians and doctors to discuss how to provide this type of treatment to patients as either an outpatient or inpatient service.

Hopefully these new findings will help patients discover a way to help reduce their anxiety and pain while undergoing treatment.

By Michael Omidi

creative arts therapy

How Effective Are School Programs in Smoking Prevention?

  By Michael Omidi | April 30, 2013 - 8:22 pm |
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A reduction in the number of children who pick up smoking could be linked to school programs. 

Many programs throughout schools in the United States implement anti-smoking education, but very few of these programs have been tested to find out if they are effective and, if so, how they are proving to be effective.

Researchers from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom set out test the effectiveness of smoking prevention programs in a new study that was published in the Cochrane Library.

The authors of the study combed through academic databases that involved a random assignation of schools, classes, and students to have a prevention program or not. Though they found 134 studies that met their criteria they focused on 49 of those that were able to track over 142,000 students between the ages of 5 and 18 that had not taken up smoking prior to the prevention programs. These programs used various methods to prevent tobacco use from life skills training to decision making to education on smoking itself.

Through their studies it was found that programs that focused on the short-term effects of smoking and educated the children on how to overcome their social influences to smoke were the most effective, resulting in a decreased number of children that picked up the habit within at least one year.

Julie McLellan, one of the authors of the study, stated that while this research is a step in the right direction more work needs to be done. Specifically this study points out where more research needs to be conducted in order to provide information on the social support programs instituted by some schools and how they might prove to be more beneficial than other programs.

Andy Johnson, an independent specialist who had reviewed the study but was not involved with it, stated that, “It does say there is a productive science here of how to prevent cigarette smoking and probably other substances as well. We have to pursue that science.” Johnson has been involved in the study of school-based prevention programs and is dean of the School of Community and Global Health at Claremont Graduate University in California.

Currently, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids provides useful tips and tools that can help schools keep their students tobacco free. Methods that they suggest include:

  • Providing Comprehensive Education – Providing information on both the short and long-term effects of tobacco use as well as social acceptability and social influences are believed to be key to preventing tobacco use. 
  • Training for Teachers – Previous studies have shown that by training teachers on how to provide an effective curriculum in tobacco prevention can greatly improve the quality of overall programs.
  • At-Home Education for Parents and Families – The influence that families  have on their children or siblings is substantial and greatly impacts the attitudes and perceptions that impressionable children will have of tobacco use. Providing them with the information they need, and in some cases the ability to help them quit, is key to further tobacco prevention.

A study conducted in 2000 showed that between 50 and 70 percent of children in the United States received education about the short-term consequences of using tobacco, which means that employing further methods for prevention may be sorely needed and that further research will allow these programs to be more effective.

By Michael Omidi

smoking prevention

Car Exhaust Exposure Raises Cancer Risks in Children

  By Michael Omidi | April 10, 2013 - 8:19 pm |
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A new study is reporting that children who are exposed to heavy air pollution suffer greater risks for cancer. Michael Omidi reviews how this could affect children in Los Angeles. 

In a combined effort from UCLA, USC, and UC Irvine, researchers found that when pregnant women are exposed to heavy amounts of car exhaust and air pollution, an increased risk in the child suffering from certain types of cancers may present itself. The same risk also applies to children in early development as well.

Exposure to traffic pollution has already shown signs of being associated with an increased risk of asthma and autism among children and this new study adds to the list of dangers.

The researchers utilized data from the California Cancer Registry in order to examine a sample of children diagnosed with cancer under the age of 5 between 1998 and 2007. The researchers combined this data with that of the California Line Source Dispersion Modeling Version 4 that estimates traffic exposure to children in their first year of life and pregnant women in their third trimester.

What they found was that there was an increased risk for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, retinoblastoma, and germ cell tumors.

With Los Angeles being one of the most polluted cities in the United States, especially when it comes to air pollution caused by traffic, it is imperative for the health of young children that measures be taken to reduce the amount of pollution, something many residents of Los Angeles have been fighting for many years.

By Michael Omidi

Problems Facing Those With Autism

  By Michael Omidi | March 21, 2013 - 6:52 pm |
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Several new studies are finding further complications associated with autism including higher rates of diagnosis and increased suicide ideation and attempts in children with autism. Michael Omidi examines these new studies and what they have found.

The news is teeming with findings regarding autism with new studies being released from King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, the CDC, and several others. What follows is a look at the findings of these studies.

Autism Diagnosis on the Rise

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have announced that over the last four years autism diagnoses have risen 72% to one out of every 50 children between the ages of 6 and 17 being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Autism spectrum disorders include conditions such as autism, prevasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and Asperger syndrome, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

A decade ago the number of diagnoses for autism spectrum were roughly 1 in 150 and within the last twenty diagnosis has shot up over 600%. Researchers believe that roughly 1/3 of the 600% increase could be attributed to better awareness and diagnosis, but that the majority of this increase stems from genetics and environmental impact.

According to a study conducted by Stanford University, when pairs of identical twins were studied, with only one twin suffering from autism, environmental factors were found to account for 62% of the risk and 38% associated with genetics. This seems to correlate to the significant increase of untested chemicals now in use in food, cleaning, grooming products, and manufacturing. Of the 80,000 chemicals in use today, only 3,000 have been tested for harmful effects.

Children with Autism at Higher Risk of Suicide Attempts and Ideation

In a study published in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, researchers found that children with autism were at a higher risk of both suicide ideation and suicide attempts. The rates that were reported in the study were roughly 28 times greater for children with autism than for typical children.

The rates of suicide ideation and attempts for children with autism occupied the area between typical children (0.5%) and depressed children (43%) at roughly 14%. Significant risk demographics included male children over the age of 10 that were Black or Hispanic and had lower socioeconomic status. Comorbid psychological issues included behavior problems, teasing or bullying, and depression.

Age of Grandfather Could Increase Risk of Autism

A study that was conducted by researchers in Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Australia found that the risk of autism would increase the older the age of the grandfather at the time their son or daughter was born. When compared to men who had children between the ages of 20 and 24, men who had a son or daughter at the age of 50 or older had an increased chance of having a grandchild with autism by 1.79 times.

The study suggested that risk for autism can increase throughout the generation.

Autism Awareness

April 1st sees the beginning of Autism Awareness Month and the following day (April 2nd) is World Autism Awareness Day. To learn more about what you can do to spread awareness during April you can visit the charity website for Autism Speaks.

By Michael Omidi

 

Michael Omidi on the Vicious Cycle Between Tobacco Use and Poverty

  By Michael Omidi | March 6, 2013 - 9:53 pm |
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Michael Omidi discusses the vicious cycle that exists between poverty and tobacco use. Michael Omidi looks at how poor countries are trying to fight the marketing of the tobacco industry and provide vaccines to prevent cancer deaths. 

In 2011 the World Health Organization released a comprehensive study called “Systematic Review of the Link Between Tobacco and Poverty” that outlined the vicious cycle that exists between impoverishment and tobacco use. [1]

The study released by the WHO found some startling statistics:

  • 82% of the world’s 1.1 billion smokers live in low and middle income level countries.
  • In the United States the difference is staggering. 28.9% of adults living below the poverty line were smokers while 18.3% of adults who lived at or above the poverty line smoked tobacco. [2]
  • Tobacco spending consisted of 10.7% of total expenditures among low-income individuals, while it consisted of only 3.7% of total expenditures among those in the medium income category.

The study concluded that one of it’s major findings was, “a robust trend for higher prevalence of any tobacco consumption in the most economically deprived stratum.”

In a recent article from Reuters, experts have been reporting that tobacco use is the main driver behind the growing cancer burden around the world, a burden that has seen cancer accounting for 15% of deaths globally. [3]

The steps that can be taken by each country are to enact some of the following guidelines to curb tobacco use:

  • Increase taxes on tobacco products
  • Ensure that healthcare workers are setting an example by not smoking
  • Protect citizens from increased marketing efforts from the tobacco industry (especially in impoverished nations)
  • Deglamorize the habit of smoking

Many of these methods have been implemented in the United States and over the last decade the percentage of those who smoke in the US has dropped from a high in 2001 of 28% to 19.3% in 2010. [4] While these figures are still high that is a significant drop and a considerable margin between the number of smokers in countries in Africa such as Namibia (40%) and South Africa (36%) [5] and the high numbers in countries in Asia such as China in 2005 (over 60%). [6]

The cycle between poverty and tobacco use needs to be broken and hopefully some of these methods will help to achieve it.

By Michael Omidi


 

 

 

 

[1] http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/9789241500548_eng.pdf

[2] http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/

[3] http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/06/us-cancer-global-idUSBRE9251AY20130306

[4] http://www.gallup.com/poll/109048/us-smoking-rate-still-coming-down.aspx

[5] http://www.africapedia.com/SMOKING-IN-AFRICA,-2008-STATISTICS

[6] http://www.economist.com/node/9833717

 

 

Michael Omidi on the Dangers of Diet Drinks

  By Michael Omidi | February 12, 2013 - 9:55 pm |
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Michael Omidi looks at a study that outlines how harmful diet sodas are to health. Michael Omidi discusses some lesser known health affects related to artificially sweetened drinks. 

While there are campaigns to spread education regarding sugary drinks and how detrimental they can be to your health, there is not as much coverage regarding the negative health affects of drinking diet soda.

Many people believe that diet drinks are the solution to the sugary beverage crisis, but studies have been showing for decades that diet sodas are just as dangerous. One study now shows that diet soda could actually be more dangerous than regular soda.

According to a study conducted by France’s National Institute of Health and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, drinking just ONE 12-oz can of diet soda a week increases your risk of contracting Type 2 diabetes by 33%.

So how does drinking a light or diet soda contribute to a greater risk for diabetes? One reason is that these types of beverages typically contain the artificial sweetener aspartame, which, according to the researchers, “causes an increase in glycaemia and consequently a rise in the insulin level in comparison to that produced by sucrose.”

In addition to increasing your risk of diabetes, diet sodas can contribute to depression. In a study published in January, researchers found that those who drank four or more servings of soda a day had a 30% greater likelihood of developing depression, and those that drank beverages such as light or diet sodas, fruit punches, or iced teas had a slightly higher risk than those that consumed beverages high in sugar.

When building a healthy diet make sure that you account for your beverages, as oftentimes beverages can be extremely high in calories and sugar content, and potentially lead to depression and diabetes.

By Michael Omidi

No More Poverty

  By Michael Omidi | January 11, 2013 - 7:00 pm |
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Recent figures on poverty in California have only strengthened the resolve of Julian Omidi and I feel to make sure that there is no more poverty in the state and around the world.

Through our the charity No More Poverty that I co-founded last year I hope that we can put an end to some of the disheartening numbers illuminated in the Prosperity Threatened: Perspectives on Childhood Poverty in California report that was published this month.

According to some of the findings of this report:

  • 1 in 5 children live in poverty in California.
  • Approximately 6.1 million residents live at or below the poverty line (about 16% of the state’s population).
  • Almost 1 in 2 (45%) of poor adults grew up in poverty.
  • Out-of-pocket medical expenses drives a great degree of the poverty in the state with 7 million uninsured residents.
  • 300 school districts have 25% of their students living in poverty.
  • 38.1% of African-American children under the age of 6 live in poverty.

While those who suffer from poverty may live in developing countries in areas far away from your home, there are many people in your country, your state, your county, and your hometown that are suffering as a result of poverty and they need your help to stop it.

We hope that you will participate in our efforts in 2013 to change the tide of these startling statistics and help the children and families who suffer in poverty. Please visit the No More Poverty website for more information on how you can get involved.

By Michael Omidi

Michael Omidi on How to Break Old Habits and Make New Ones Effectively

  By Michael Omidi | January 3, 2013 - 10:08 pm |
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With the dawning of a New Year many people will be quick to make New Year’s Resolutions, but if you are planning to start new behaviors and eliminate old ones throughout the entire year past the afterglow of the New Year here are some tips you can follow based on research conducted by experts.

Forbes recently took a look at some of the most common resolutions made in the New Year and what research has to say about the effectiveness of sticking to them. Here are some of the tips to keep this behavior consistent throughout the year and not just in the afterglow of the New Year.

  • Dieting- Overall this is believed to be an effective method for losing weight, and for some people dieting can be a way to being healthier and losing weight. What research has shown to be most beneficial is to make small changes instead of a sweeping overhaul of your dietary consumption. Here are some suggested changes that you can make that are small but pack a big punch:
    • Cut soda out of your diet and it can save you about 150 calories.
    • Eating oatmeal for breakfast instead of a muffin can save you from 250 to 450 calories each day.
    • Instead of drinking a latte in the morning switch to regular coffee with non-fat milk and this will save you over 100 calories.
  • Quit Smoking- Quitting smoking, and most importantly staying quit, can be one of the most difficult things that people attempt, but it is also one of the most beneficial as well. The likelihood that you will wake up one day and suddenly decide to quit and stay quit is slim so here are a few suggestions to assist you in this endeavor:
    • Communicate with others who have successfully stopped smoking. Whether you can depend on people you know for advice or use message boards, forums, or social media to connect with others, this is a great way to receive advice and encouragement.
    • You can utilize smoking cessation methods such as nicotine replacement in the form of gum, patches, or medications.
    • Focusing on increasing your dopamine levels through exercise and a healthy diet can be beneficial as well.
  • Exercising More – In order to instill a new and beneficial behavior it may be necessary to eliminate other habits; if you want to exercise more you may have to cut back on time spent in front of the television or time spent at the office. Prioritizing your exercise and making it something you participate in everyday no matter what will allow you to get into the new habit.

Whether it is the beginning of a new year or just time that you feel it is necessary to make a change, you can implement these tips to help you achieve your goals and resolutions.

By Michael Omidi

Michael Omidi Reviews Illness Associated with Anti-Energy Drink

  By Michael Omidi | December 4, 2012 - 9:35 pm |
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Michael Omidi looks at a recent outbreak of illness resulting from what is being referred to as an “anti-energy” drink. This news is the latest in a line of health issues caused by beverages readily available to children and young adults.

News has surrounded the negative health effects of many different types of beverages sold in the United States. From sugary drinks that are contributing to childhood obesity to energy drinks that have resulted in the hospitalization and even death of several patients, readily available beverages have resulted in a number of significant health issues.

Many are contributing these events to lack of FDA regulation on many energy drinks such as 5-Hour Energy and Monster, as well as new anti-energy drinks, which claim to naturally relieve anxiety and provide stress relief.

One such “anti-energy” beverage – known as Marley’s Mellow Mood after reggae star and cultural icon Bob Marley – has been linked to many students at a New Jersey school becoming ill. Both Satz Middle School and Homldel High School in New Jersey were providing Marley’s Mellow Mood in the cafeteria and the beverage was purchased by several students who soon experienced feeling drowsy, splitting headaches, and even vomiting.

The drink contains ingredients such as valerian root and rose hips, which are not thoroughly reviewed by the FDA. This is not the first anti-energy drink to become available on the market and in fact the beverage known as Drank has been available for several years.

Though the beverage states that it is not intended for use by children, Chartwells School Dining Services somehow allowed the drink to pass through it’s approval process, citing that the on-site manager was removed following the incident pending an investigation.

By Michael Omidi

 

Michael Omidi on the Lawsuit Over Vioxx

  By Michael Omidi | November 6, 2012 - 9:55 pm |
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Here Michael Omidi looks at the lawsuit over the prescription painkiller Vioxx. Dr. Michael Omidi discusses how the lawsuit surrounding Vioxx has come to a conclusion and the developments that were made in that lawsuit.

Merck & Co. Inc. has come to the decision to settle a class action lawsuit that was filed by patients in Missouri. The claims of the lawsuit state that the company had violated the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act when it promoted the medication known as Vioxx, a prescription pain reliever that was taken off shelves in 2004. Evidence surrounding the medication concluded that it could as much as double the user’s chance of suffering from a heart attack or stroke.

Among the issues that led to the lawsuit included not only the increased risk of stroke and heart attack but also that the company marketed the drug for rheumatoid arthritis before being approved for that condition by the FDA. Further claims stated that the company violated marketing laws and that false claims about the drug’s safety were made by the company in order to increase sales.

April of 2012 saw Merck settling a nationwide lawsuit to the tune of $950 million, which resolved complaints filed in 43 states. Though Missouri was included in this settlement, and received almost $14 million, the Missouri specific lawsuit focused on consumer fraud. In addition to these settlements Merck also settled over 50,000 patient lawsuits for $4.85 billion. Judges presiding over these lawsuits were primarily in California, New Jersey, and Louisiana. Amongst the lawsuits were those filed in Los Angeles by men that had used the drug and suffered heart attacks.

Source:

Salter, Jim. “WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NCMerck Settles Multimillion Dollar Mo. Vioxx Claim.” Merck Settles Multimillion Dollar Mo. Vioxx Claim. WorldNow, 02 Nov. 2012. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://www.wbtv.com/story/19985945/merck-agrees-to-220m-settlement-of-mo-vioxx-suit>.