Disease Cluster In a Neighborhood Near You?

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) defines a disease cluster as “an unusually large number of people sickened by a disease in a certain place and time.” The organization, along with the National Disease Clusters Alliance (NDCA), reported in March 2011 that it had identified 42 disease clusters throughout 13 U.S. states: Texas, California, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Delaware, Louisiana, Montana, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas, all chosen for analysis, states the report, “based on the occurrence of known clusters in the state, geographic diversity, or community concerns about a disease cluster in their area.”
State and local health departments respond to some 1,000 inquiries per year about suspected disease clusters, though less than 15 percent turn out to be “statistically significant.” Epidemiologists explain that true cancer clusters typically involve one type of disease only, a rare type of cancer, or an illness not usually found in a specific age group.
A classic example of a disease cluster is in Anniston, Alabama, where residents experienced cancerous, non-cancerous, thyroid and neurodevelopment effects that they believe were caused by releases of various chemicals, including PCBs. The culprit: a nearby Monsanto-owned chemical maker, according to NDCA. And, indeed, a 2003 study in and around Anniston by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry did find that one in five locals had elevated PCB levels in their blood.

Clusters are controversial “in part because our scientific criteria for proving that exposure A caused disease B…are extremely difficult to meet,” says Donna Jackson Nakazawa, author of The Autoimmune Epidemic. “People move, or die, or their disease is never properly diagnosed. How can we prove, with all these variables, that a toxic exposure in an area caused a group of people to fall ill with a specific set of diseases?” Nakazawa is hardly skeptical about the existence of disease clusters. She is part of a growing chorus of voices calling on the government to not only remediate existing sites but to also prevent disease clusters in the first place by developing more stringent standards regarding chemical usage and disposal.
“European environmental policy uses the precautionary principle—an approach to public health that underscores preventing harm to human health before it happens,” Nakazawa reports. In 2007 the European Union implemented legislation that forces companies to develop safety data on 30,000 chemicals over a decade, and places responsibility on the chemical industry to demonstrate the safety of their products. “America lags far behind, without any precautionary guidelines regarding chemical use,” adds Nakazawa.
NRDC says “there is a need for better documentation and investigation of disease clusters to identify and address possible causes.” Armed with better data, advocates for more stringent controls on chemicals could have a better chance of convincing Congress to reform the antiquated Toxic Substances Control Act of 1975 and bring more recent knowledge about chemical exposures to bear in setting safer standards.

Contact: NRDC report, www.nrdc.org/health/diseaseclusters/files/diseaseclusters_issuepaper.pdf.

EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe. Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.

Study Confirms - Height of Heel Matters in Prevention of Foot Pain

New study details biomechanical changes in foot associated with high-heel height

For years orthopaedic surgeons specializing in foot and ankle care have been warning women about the perils of wearing high heels. High heel wearers risk foot injury, muscle imbalance, bone deformities, knee and ankle joint problems, bunions, hammer toes and more. Now a new study featured in the November issue of Foot & Ankle International (FAI), the official scientific journal of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) details the biomechanical changes that occur in feet during high heel wear and the correlation between the heel height and amount of pain, pressure and strain it puts on your feet.

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A glass a day keeps the doctor away? Maybe not but in moderation there are benefits.

“Beer, if drank in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit, and promotes health.”Thomas Jefferson

Studies have revealed that beer can produce the same benefits as drinking wine. Whether you prefer ales, lagers, stout, bitter or wheat beers, studies show that one drink a day for women or up to two drinks a day for men will reduce your chances of strokes, heart and vascular disease. It's no secret that the stroke is the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S. and the leading cause of serious, long-term disabilities.
What's interesting is that it was proven (New England Journal of Medicine - Nov. 1999) that those who drank one beer a week compared to those who drank one beer a day experienced no variance in reducing stroke risks. It is said that light to moderate drinkers will decrease their chances of suffering a stroke by 20%.
A researcher at the Texas Southwestern Medical Center (May 1999) reported that those who consume moderate amounts of beer (one to two a day at the most) have a 30-40% lower rate of coronary heart disease compared to those who don't drink. Beer contains a similar amount of "˜polyphenols' (antioxidants) as red wine and 4-5 times as many polyphenols as white wine.
Alcohol has also been attributed of its ability to increase the amount of good cholesterol (HDL) into the bloodstream as well as help to decrease blood clots.
Beer also contains vitamin B6, which prevents the build-up of amino acid called homocysteine that has been linked to heart disease. Those of us who have high levels of homocysteine are usually more prone to an early onset of heart and vascular disease.

 “Clearly, drinking alcohol has some benefits. But there also are some very real risks. If you choose to drink, be mindful about it and always drink in moderation.”

— Donald Hensrud, M.D., Preventive Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Recently, consistent information has been provided in support of an association between light to moderate alcohol consumption and protection from vascular and all-cause mortality, ischemic stroke, peripheral arterial disease, congestive heart failure, and recurrence of ischemic events. After reviewing the information with respect to major aspects of cardiovascular pathophysiology, to potential confounders and to underlying mechanisms, several concepts emerge. First, the recommended amounts of “safe alcohol drinking” in healthy individuals are up to two standard drinks (~20 g/d) for a man and up to one drink (10 g/d) for a nonpregnant woman. 

© Thieme Medical Publishers

C-Section Prevention, More Comfortable Pregnancies and Easier Births With Chiropractic!

          Celeste was expecting. She felt great and welcomed each miraculous change. The baby moved easily into to the head-down position. She walked comfortably with a steady confidence throughout her last trimester. The delivery was easy and beautiful. Her midwife commented on the joy of assisting in such a wonderful delivery experience. Her recovery quickly unfolded.

          How close is your vision of a “normal” pregnancy and delivery to the above? First of all, IT IS POSSIBLE! With the right game plan, the odds of a perfect pregnancy and delivery can be greatly improved. The purpose of this article is to introduce the many, but often little known, benefits of chiropractic care for the expecting mother and developing fetus.

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January is Glaucoma Awareness Month

 What do Heavy Winter Rains Have in Common
with Glaucoma?

Every winter across the US, heavy rains bring thoughts of flooding,

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What does the new screening mammography guidelines mean to you?

On Nov 17th (my mother’s birthday), there was a cataclysmic change in mammography.

The age at which a woman should have her first mammogram was changed from 40 to 50 and the frequency changed from every year to every-other year. Until now, it was believed that yearly mammograms were essential. As a radiologist and the son of a woman whose life was saved by mammography screening (breast cancer survivor since 1993), let me share my perspective on this issue.

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A Glass Of Milk A Day May Keep Colon Cancer Away

Moms and health experts agree: milk does a body good. It delivers the calcium you need for strong bones and teeth, muscle contraction and a beating heart. And now, studies are showing that people who drink milk every day lower their risk of colorectal cancer as much as 12 percent, and double that if they drink two glasses a day!

The experts at Johns Hopkins advise that both men and women over age 50 get tested for this deadly disease, which is highly treatable. Even if you drink lots of milk, the most important thing you can do to reduce your risk of colon cancer is to undergo routine screening.

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A Journey Through a Foreign Country Called Cancer, a survivors story.

"Each of us who has made the journey through the foreign country of cancer has our own story. My journey of two bouts with breast cancer changed my life forever. I learned to speak up for myself, to discover my own special gifts, to deepen my spirituality and belief in the body-mind-spirit connection, and to be grateful for the wonder of life. Although many times it was a dark and difficult path, the road was also lighted with moments of unexpected kindness, love, and miracles. After my own experience, I wanted to help others cope with the diagnosis of cancer, and to realize they are not alone without a passport in a foreign country."

 Linda Texter Hall, a breast cancer survivor who was first diagnosed with non-invasive intraductal carcinoma in early 1983, refers to her illness as a “journey through the foreign country of cancer.” And now, because of her experiences, she is committed to help others cope - “to realize they are not alone without a passport in a foreign country.”

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