People’s Pharmacy: Cold medicines pose a safety hazard for children. 2D
HealthToday
T H U R S D A Y , F E B R UA R Y 22, 2007
SECTION D
WWW.TUSCALOOSANEWS.COM
FITNESS
DAYTON, OHIO | Exercise, or lack of it, is a lifestyle choice that contributes significantly to our quality of life as we age. Experts recommend that for good health, adults achieve a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week, 60 minutes for youth and 60 to 90 minutes for those who need to lose weight or maintain weight loss. An honest look at your current
level of activity and lifestyle habits will quickly help you to determine whether changes should be made. Luckily, it is never too late to begin. Exercise is one of the best ways to maintain a healthy weight and prevent problems with muscles, joints and bones. Muscle and bone loss happen gradually and are examples of changes that we have the ability to slow down or even reverse. Our genetics, and changes in the brain and nervous system, influence the rate and the extent to which we lose muscle and bone density, but our level of physical activity also plays a huge role in this process.
STUDIES
Tongue Tonsils
Air (oxygen) Uvula
Other lifestyle choices influence how we age, including smoking, stress, excess alcohol consumption and poor sleeping and nutritional habits. Cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise is important. Your heart is a muscle and needs regular workouts to help give it the best chance of staying strong and healthy. Cardiovascular exercise allows the heart to pump blood through your body more efficiently and has a positive effect on at least three major risk STAFF FILE PHOTO factors for heart disease — high cholesterol, high blood pressure and dia- Charlotte Flack exercises on a betes. StairMaster at Fitness One on —Cox News Service McFarland Boulevard in 2004.
Open Airway (Normal) Air flows freely from the nose or mouth to the lungs, allowing for uninterrupted breathing during sleep.
Sleeping ‘without
Trouble breathing at night, leading to restless sleep, might be a sign of sleep apnea. Symptoms
Loud snoring Choking or gasping Sleepiness during the day Morning headaches
Causes of sleep apnea
Testing is key to retinal treatment
DETROIT | A molecular eye disease treatment program at the University of Michigan — one of only 10 in the nation — has determined that genetic testing for retinal diseases helps provide an accurate way to diagnose those problems, sometimes even before they are found. Patients participating in molecular testing at the Kellogg Eye Center can have their genetic samples registered for free in a national database. Registering the information might help patients if new treatments emerge. Gene testing costs about $600 for each test, with some exceptions. Insurance coverage varies, from full to no reimbursement. Patients must pay lab fees first before they are tested. About 100 patients had the testing last year at U-M. The blood tests provide answers to such retinal diseases as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. A study about the University of Michigan’s team’s findings appears in the Februar y issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology. Radha Ayyagari, director of the Kellogg Center’s Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory, reported on 350 genetic tests conducted by the lab since 1999, when it became one of the first labs federally approved to perform the testing. The team looked at eight genes known to cause retinal disease, which can be difficult to diagnose. Of the 350 tests, 266 confirmed a clinician’s diagnosis. In the rest, the test was not definitive enough to confirm a diagnosis. New gene discoveries may improve the accuracy of the tests in the future, Ayyagari said in a written statement. Sometimes the tests are used to determine whether a person is a carrier of a retinal disease that can be passed on to other generations, or at risk of eventually developing one of the conditions. For more information, visit the university’s Web site, www.kellogg. umich/edu/research, or call 734647-6347. E-mail questions to eyegenetest@med.umich.edu. — Detroit Free Press
TIP EATING DISORDERS Keep a top-10 list of things you like about yourself — things that aren’t related to how much you weigh or what you look like. Read your list often. Add to it as you become aware of more things to like about you.
— National Eating Disorders Association, National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is Feb. 26 through March 2.
Memory/learning problems Irritability/mood swings Loss of concentration Dry throat Frequent urination at night
What is it? Throat muscles and tongue relax more than normal.
The bone structure of head and neck can mean a smaller airway.
A failure to breathe because of blocked airways, typically lasting 10 to 20 seconds. This can happen 20 to 30 times an hour.
Uvula longer than normal.
Central apnea, though rare, occurs when the brain does not send signals to the muscles to breathe.
Blocked airways
breath’
Large tonsils and adenoids block airways.
Researchers suggest men with a neck size of 16.5 inches or larger and women with a neck size of 15.5 inches or larger are at risk.
Treatments: Surgical
Tonsils
Different elements, such as enlarged tonsils in children, can be removed surgically.
CPAP
(Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) is a mask that blows pressurized air into the nose or mouth.
STAFF GRAPHIC | ANTHONY BRATINA
Reap benefits of exercise now
NUTRITION
Not catching Zzzzzz’s? By Sarah Bruyn Jones
Personal story: The ‘sleep evangelist’
t’s estimated that more than 12 million Americans, about the population of Pennsylvania, stop breathing while sleeping each night. They don’t die; they resume breathing after a few seconds. That process repeats throughout the night. The diagnosis is sleep apnea. Apnea is Greek for “without breath,” and sleep specialists consider the disorder an epidemic. It affects adults and children and is related to obesity, diabetes, stroke, asthma and heart disease. Untreated, it can cause death. As the field of sleep medicine, which was formed in the 1970s, has grown, more people are realizing they can get medical treatment for that snore that wakes up the household each night. Really, sleep apnea is a pause in breathing. Each pause typically lasts 10 to 20 seconds or more and can SEE APNEA | 6D
Kenneth DeWitt is the self-proclaimed “sleep evangelist,” and he’ll sing the praises of his CPAP machine any chance he gets. “After I got my CPAP within a month, it seemed like the colors in the day were brighter,” DeWitt said. “You just can not believe it when you finally catch up on your sleep. ... I had no idea how damaging sleep apnea was.” DeWitt, 47, was diagnosed about four years ago. His noisy snoring, constant fatigue and moody disposition had lasted too long. He would go to bed by 8 p.m. and wake up tired. He gained weight, but he was too tired to exercise. Now, he might still go to bed around 8 p.m., but he’s up at 4:30 or 5 a.m. so he can exercise. He lost weight and said he feels healthier. “I don’t love it,” DeWitt said of the CPAP machine. “But I know my life is better because of it. ... I think it absolutely saved my life.”
Staff Writer
I
CHILDREN Disorder can be cured
MEN Neck girth contributes
WOMEN Symptoms not apparent
Sleep apnea is thought to affect about one in 100 children, although some experts think the number could be as high as in 100. The causes vary, and unlike in adults, children can often be cured. Sleep apnea seems to occur equally among genders and can result in sickness and death. While adults will often complain of being tired, children rarely will concede sleepiness. Instead, they may become hyperactive, or exhibit attention problems. Enlarged tonsils and adenoids are common reasons for sleep apnea in children. Removing the tonsils or adenoids will often cure a child’s sleep apnea. But children’s expanding waistlines lead to blocked airways. Obesity, and specifically increased neck size, also cause sleep apnea. It can sometimes be treated through diet and exercise, said Dr. James Geyer, director of the DCH Sleep Center in Northport Medical Center. He often works with dietitians, nutritionists and other specialists in treating sleep disorders.
Men are the most likely to have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is believed to be a factor in the death in 2004 of football legend Reggie White. Even if the disorder was never conclusively linked, it caused enough attention for researchers to look at sleep apnea in other linemen. Researchers found that thicker necks did correlate to sleep apnea. Today, research suggests any man with a neck size larger than 16.5 inches is at risk for sleep apnea. While football players may intentionally beef up the circumference of their necks to prevent injur y, obesity is the cause of many larger necks.
Dr. James Geyer, director of the DCH Sleep Center in Northport Medical Center, said women are often the hardest to diagnose. They don’t always snore and often don’t experience other common indicators of sleep apnea. “It’s less common, and when they do have it, for some reason it’s harder to figure out,” Geyer said. Thin women will sometimes suffer from sleep apnea. Instead of the uvula or tongue blocking the air passage, the sides of the airway collapse. Often thin women will have a somewhat narrower airway, which can contribute. On the other hand, obesity also contributes to sleep apnea in women. When women carry weight in their upper bodies, and especially their faces and necks, the risk for sleep apnea increases. In fact, women with neck sizes larger than 15.5 inches are considered at risk.
FILE | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Green Bay Packers player Reggie White died in 2004, at 43. Sleep apnea may have been a factor in his death.
For an interactive graphic on sleep apnea, visit www.tuscaloosa news.com.
A red-hot list of healthy foods
From blue to green to red and orange, pigments of foods are indications of the nutrients that lie within. The color map to good eating applies principally to plant foods. The Produce for Better Health Foundation’s Web site, www.5aday.com, includes a nifty feature where you can click on a color and the associated benefits are revealed. Individual pigments offer visual clues about various health-promoting plant compounds called phytochemicals. Dr. Loreli DiSogra of the National Cancer Institute elaborates: “By eating fruits and vegetables from each color group, you will benefit from the unique array of phytochemicals, as well as essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that each color group has to offer.” When you see red in fruits and vegetables, it’s a sign that they contain the compounds lycopene and anthocyanin. These dietar y good guys, classified as antioxidants, are associated with promoting heart health, memor y function, urinar y tract health, insulin health and a lowered risk of certain cancers including prostate cancer. Reddish-orange tones in foods such as red peppers and tomatoes are evidence of betacarotene, another potent antioxidant. The Produce for Better Health Foundation, which started the nutrition mantra to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, is launching an educational campaign in March — called More Matters — to convey the powerful benefits of eating nine or 10 servings of produce a day. — Cox News Service
FULL OF ANTIOXIDANTS Red apples Blood oranges Pomegranates Red peppers Red grapes Red pears Tomatoes Grapefruit Strawberries Cranberries Red onions Radishes Watermelon Radicchio
Red potatoes Cherries Beets Rhubarb
Vitamin D, calcium may deter fractures
Women who take vitamin D and calcium supplements, even for a short time, appear to lower their risk of stress fractures, researchers have found. The researchers followed the health of more than 5,000 female Navy recruits participating in eight weeks of basic training. Members of one group were given 2,000 milligrams of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D a day, while the other group received placebos. Earlier studies had found that a lack of these nutrients makes people, especially women, more susceptible to stress fractures, which can be very painful and lead to permanent disability. But the researchers, who presented their findings at a recent Orthopaedic Research Society conference, did not expect to see a big difference between the two groups, especially given how short basic training is. “We were very surprised,” said Joan Lappe, the principal investigator in the study. Women in the study who took the supplements were about 25 percent less likely to have a stress fracture than those in the other group. If the findings were applied to all 14,000 women who passed through the training camp over the two years of the study, the researchers said, about 130 fractures could have been prevented. — N.Y. Times News Service