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Ann Nesby with AHA Top 20 Cities with HIV Kidney Walk First Lady Speaks www.ADWnews.com
May 29 - June 4, 2014
Does Cancer Like Rich People More? By Whitney Greer According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the number of Web sites offering health-related resources grows larger every day. While many online health resources can be useful, others may publish information that isn’t accurate. So, which sites can you really trust? According to a new study, not Wikipedia: a new study has found that 90% percent of health articles on the popular “collaboratively-edited Internet Encyclopedia” contain errors. American researchers compared the online encyclopedia’s entries about 10 conditions with peer reviewed medical research and found that most Wikipedia articles contained multiple mistakes, says HealthDay. The 10 conditions included in the study were the “most costly” in the United States and included asthma, depression, lung cancer, diabetes, heart disease, back problems and osteoarthritis. “While Wikipedia is a convenient tool for conducting research, from a public health standpoint patients should not use it as a primary resource because those articles do not go through the same peer-review process as medical journals,” said lead author Dr Robert Hasty, of the Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine in North Carolina. The “best resource” for people with health concerns is their doctor, Hasty added. The study was published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.
According to a new study, certain types of cancers are very much connected to your wealth (or lack of). “Socioeconomic status is not something that appears on a medical record, so it is not really part of national cancer statistics, and this has skewed our thinking about cancer risk,” said study co-author Kevin Henry, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Rutgers School of Public Health in New Jersey. In fact, in the poorest areas of the country, the incidence of cancer is generally lower than in richer regions. However, deaths from cancers are higher, due in part to better screening habits among wealthier people. Cancers That Affect the Poor More Kaposi sarcoma (a skin cancer common among AIDS patients) and cancers of the larynx, cervix, penis and liver occur more often in the poorest neighborhoods, the investigators found. Kaposi sarcoma is an HIV-related cancer, and HIV patients are likely to be poorer, the study researchers said. Poorer areas also had higher rates of cancers related to drinking, smoking and using injectable drugs. These are considered modifiable risk factors for cancer. Since smoking rates are higher in poor areas, so is the incidence of smoking-related cancers, said Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, vice president for surveillance research at the American Cancer Society. Cancers tied to sexually transmitted diseases and poor diets were also more likely in the poorest neighborhoods. Cancers That Affect the Rich More In the wealthiest areas, thyroid and testicular cancer, melanoma and other skin cancers were more common, according to the report. Diagnoses of breast and prostate cancer are also more common in richer areas because of greater access to screening, such as mammography, Jemal said. The Significance of Screening Screening identifies these cancers early when they can be treated. This helps explain why poor people are more often diagnosed with advanced cancer and are more likely to die from these cancers, Jemal said. These disparities, Jemal added, can be reduced only by targeting poor neighborhoods with messages about living a healthy lifestyle. Jemal advocates for stressing the importance of good nutrition, physical activity, maintaining a normal weight and not smoking.
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LivingWELL
www.AtlantaDailyWorld.com
Singer Ann Nesby on Board With Metro Atlanta American Heart Association According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 67 million Georgians have high blood pressure and many more may be at risk. To combat the issue and reduce a major risk factor for stroke and heart disease, the Metro Atlanta American Heart Association/American Stroke Association launched the Check. Change. Control. program to help residents identify, lower and maintain healthy blood pressure levels. And now, Grammy award winner, Atlanta resident and congestive heart failure survivor Ann Nesby will be introduced as a local spokesperson for the cause through a new PSA. Check. Change. Control is a free initiative focused on the power of support. Participants are matched with volunteer mentors, encouraged to check blood pressure regularly, and given resources to help reach optimal blood pressure goals. Mentors monitor results and offer support through phone calls, texts, email or face-to-face meetings. To check progress, participants and mentors use the American Heart Association’s online health tracking tool, Heart360.
Top 20 Cities With the Highest HIV and AIDS Rates By Terry Shropshire
the study with blood pressure higher than 150/90 mmHg, systolic pressure (top number) decreased by 24.2 mmHg and diastolic pressure (bottom number) decreased by 10 mmHg. Eventually, 70 percent of participants had a blood pressure lower than 140/90 or a 10 mmHg decrease in systolic pressure. The initiative is one way the Association and its volunteers are working toward the overall goal of improving cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20 percent by the year 2020. For more information about Atlanta’s Check. Change. Control. program, contact Nettie Jackson at nettie.jackson@heart.org. To register, go to www.heart360.org/MetroAtlanta. For information about high blood pressure, visit www.heart.org/hbp.
High blood pressure or hypertension, affects one in three Americans, and occurs when blood pressure is 140/90 mm Hg or higher. African Americans in the United States have the highest rates of high blood pressure than any group in the world. “My grandparents, parents, sister and many of my fans have been affected by high blood pressure and/or heart disease. It’s killing our communities and we have to get it under control,” said Ann Nesby. “Through Check. Change. Control., the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association is not just providing knowledge and resources. It’s offering a personal connection to motivate people to keep their blood pressure controlled to healthy levels.” The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association is piloting the program in more than 50 cities across the country. Preliminary results show that those who began
May 29 - June 4, 2014
Despite a bevy of preventative measures and public service announcements endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other local agencies, the HIV and AIDS rates in some U.S. cities rival the most atrocious numbers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The creation of the anti-retroviral drug Truvada has dramatically improved the chances of HIV and AIDS victims for living with the debilitating disease. Still, because too many citizens refuse to adhere to the
admonishments of abstinence or contraception advocates — coupled with the crippling antipathy of a nation, lack of more aggressive government intervention and the refusal of more people getting tested to find out their statuses before engaging in sexual activities — many U.S. cities are sentenced to being buried financially under this epidemic. Take a look at the cities with the highest rates of HIV and AIDS rates, according to the United States Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce.
HIV RATES Per 100,000 and total number of cases 1. Miami, Florida 37.2/64,573 2 2. Baton Rouge, Louisiana 30.6 /4,565 3 3. Jacksonville, Florida 29.1/ 7,292 4 4. New York, New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania 27/ 223,508 5 5. Washington, D.C.-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia 26.6 /37,916 6 6. Columbia, South Carolina 23.5 /3,949 7 7. Memphis, Tennessee-Mississippi-Arkansas 23.3/ 6,018 8 8. Orlando, Florida 23.3 /10,457 9 9. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana 23/ 9,941 10 10. Baltimore-Towson, Maryland 22.8/ 23,875 11 11. Jackson, Mississippi 22.2/ 2,881 12 12. San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo, Puerto Rico 20 /24,126 13 13. Lakeland, Florida 18.9/ 2,210 14 14. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia 18.7/ 27,313 15 15. San Francisco, California 18.3/ 44,422 16 16. Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida 17.4/ 13,135 17 17. San Antonio, Texas 12.3/5,892 18. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California 16/14,723 18 19. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, North Carolina-South Carolina 15.7/ 4,123 19 20. Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, Texas 15.1 /29,556 20
National Kidney Foundation’s Atlanta Kidney Walk on May 31 In 2001, Bruce Parks was enjoying a fulfilling job that allowed him time to play semi-professional basketball around region. It was a dream for the local Atlanta resident. “I felt like it was the prime of my life, everything was going great for me,” he said. But at times, Parks would get headaches, which he brushed off and attributed to his high blood pressure. It wasn’t until he was being sent to the hospital that he was told his kidneys were failing. “It just hit me out of the blue,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t controlling my blood pressure like I should, but I didn’t know about kidneys and I had never heard the term dialysis before. I’m a testament to what happens when you don’t know.” Over 17,000 people are on dialysis in Georgia and 4,000 people are waiting for kidney transplants in the state. Every year, kidney disease kills more people than breast and prostate cancer combined. It is estimated that 1 in 9 people have kidney disease, but most don’t know it because symptoms usually develop in the disease’s later stages.
By Sean Roach Parks was on dialysis for over eight years, waiting on the list for a kidney transplant. Then in September 2009, he underwent surgery and received a kidney at Piedmont Hospital. “I am blessed to be living, and every day I remember that I have a gift,” Parks said. “It’s now my job to let people know about kidney disease and that blood pressure can really blow your kidneys out.” “It’s especially important for the African American community, because we seem to be more at risk for kidney failure.” African Americans suffer from kidney failure at a significantly higher rate than others in the U.S. African Americans constitute more than 32 percent of all patients receiving dialysis for kidney failure while making up 13 percent of the overall U.S. population. As part of his mission to get the word out about kidney disease, Bruce is taking part in the National Kidney Foundation’s Atlanta Kidney Walk. The Kidney Walk is the nation’s largest walk to fight kidney disease. Held in nearly 100 communities, the event raises awareness and funds lifesaving programs that educate and support patients, their families and those at risk.
“The NKF has been good for me and my family,” Parks said. “They supply resources and information, and they help to inform others about kidney disease and its two leading causes, high blood pressure and diabetes, which are rampant in the community.” Kidney Facts: • More than 26 Million Americans - 1 in 9 adults – have chronic kidney disease and most don’t know it. • 73 million American adults are at risk due to high blood pressure, diabetes or a family history of kidney disease. • Every 5 minutes someone’s kidneys fail. • Of the over 120,000 Americans on the national organ transplant waitlist, more than 100,000 await a life-saving kidney. The Atlanta Kidney Walk will be held on Saturday, May 31, at Turner Field. Registration begins at 9am and the walk starts at 10am. To register for the event, call the National Kidney Foundation at 770-452-1539 ext. 11 or register online at www. kidneywalk.org.
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