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WASHINGTON, DC – August 8, 2023 – Are you trying to reach 10 thousand steps every day to benefit your health? A new study, published August 8^th in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, shows that the number of steps that a person has to walk each day to reduce the risk of dying is lower than previously thought. Walking a little less than 4 thousand steps each day was shown to reduce the risk of dying from any cause and just more than 2 thousand steps a day reduces the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The more a person walks can result in better health.

The study is a meta-analysis of 17 smaller studies and the largest study of its kind. Almost 230 thousand people from around the world had their daily steps counted and compared to their risk of dying. Study participants were followed for an average of 7 years. The average age was 64 years. Most participants were generally healthy when they began the study. Almost half of the participants were female. The authors found that the risk of dying from any cause was reduced by 15% by walking 1 thousand more steps every day and the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease was 7% less by walking 5 hundred more steps a day. The health benefits continued to increase even if someone walked as many as 20 thousand steps a day and even if started after age 60.

The study is an observational study. It indicates that an increased daily step count is associated with a reduction in the risk of death. The study does not prove that an increased daily step count causes a reduction in the risk of death.

According to data from the World Health Organization, inadequate physical activity is the 4^th most frequent cause of death in the world. This was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professor Maciej Banach, the lead author of the study from the Medical University of Lodz, Poland and Johns Hopkins University, said, “Our study confirms that the more you walk, the better. We found that this applied to both men and women, irrespective of age, and irrespective of whether you live in a temperate, sub-tropical or sub-polar region of the world, or a region with a mixture of climates.” The research did not identify any differences according to race or socioeconomic status.

 

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Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ASHEVILLE, NC – August 16, 2023 – The COVID-19 metrics are on the CDC’s COVID Dashboard.

• For the week ending on July 29^th, hospital admissions are at a low level in every county in North Carolina and almost 100% of the counties in the U.S. Buncombe County’s COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased
• For the week ending on August 5^th, there were fewer than 10 deaths due to COVID last week in North Carolina, the lowest level of 6 groups.
• Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina for the week ending on August 5^th, the lowest level of 5 groups.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data for the week ending on August 2^th is on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard.

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at a yellow level representing the middle level of 5 groups, currently between the 40^th and 60^th percentile relative to the past level measured at the same site. This is the highest level since April 14^th.
• The 15-day rate of change of number of viral gene copies in each water sample is decreasing, between 0 to -9%, the 2^nd lowest negative rate of change from 5 possible levels.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wants everyone to know that:

• COVID-19 can affect people differently. Some people have mild symptoms like a cold and others have more severe symptoms like a bad case of the flu. Some effects can be long-lasting.
• Older adults and immunocompromised people are at a higher risk of developing severe illness and being hospitalized.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:

• Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines
• For extra protection, wear an efficient medical grade mask
• People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home
• People with any COVID symptoms should get tested
• If you test positive, your doctor may recommend medical treatment

Most Americans have developed some immunity to COVID-19 from immunizations and previous infection. New variants continue to infect people with the most at-risk groups more susceptible to severe illness.

An updated COVID-19 vaccine will be available at the end of September which targets one of the current versions of the omicron strain. This may be the first of the annual fall shots for COVID-19, similar to the yearly fall shots available for the flu. Most respiratory viruses, like the flu and COVID-19, increase in the winter when people are indoors and travel during the holiday season. Covid-19 can also spike during the warmer summer months because people head indoors to air-conditioned spaces. Dr. Mandy Cohen, the new Director of the CDC, expects that people will get their annual COVID-19 shot at the same time as their flu shot at pharmacies and at work.

As told to the Asheville Citizen-Times on August 10^th, Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, the Buncombe County Health and Human Services Medical Director, said, “COVID is part of our lives. It’s not going away any time in the near future. We just need to have a healthy respect for it and take appropriate action.”

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ATLANTA, GA – July 17, 2023 –  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that drowning is the leading cause of death for children in the United States. This is because more than one-half of Americans lack basic swimming skills and millions do not have access to safe places to swim according to a Red Cross estimate. Drowning is the most frequent cause of death for children ages 1-4. For children ages 5-14, it is the second most frequent cause of accidental injury death after motor vehicle accidents. Although drowning is a preventable public health issue, the United States is without a coordinated plan to reduce the number of fatal and nonfatal drownings and improve water safety. We know that this has been a very hot summer especially in southern states like North Carolina. Many young people look for relief from the heat by going to the closest available pool, river or lake in order to keep cool. What can be done to keep our children cool and safe?

Drowning can occur due to breathing impairment encountered from being in water or under the surface of the water. Some drownings are fatal and some are not. Nonfatal drowning occurs when the person survives the incident. Severe problems can arise from nonfatal drowning including brain damage or permanent disability.

For every person under age 18 who dies from drowning, there are 7 who are seen in the emergency department for nonfatal drowning incidents. Almost 4 of 10 nonfatal drownings are either hospitalized or must be transferred to another hospital for care. Although drowning deaths have decreased by 33% in the past 30 years, there are still 4 thousand drowning deaths in the U.S. annually. The estimated annual cost is $53 billion according to the CDC. One in 4 drowning deaths are in children.

Some children are at a higher risk of drowning according to their parent’s ability to swim, their age, their economic resources, and their racial group. Most drownings in children ages 1-4 occur in swimming pools. A drowning can happen when the child is without adult supervision and not supposed to be in the pool. Drowning death rates are much higher for Black children than White children, ages 5-14. A child of a parent who has never learned how to swim learns to swim only 13% of the time. A child in a multifamily home is more likely to have a drowning fatality than a child from a single-family home.

Drowning deaths vary by location. Most drownings in infants under 1 year occur in bathtubs. Most drownings among children ages 1-4 occur in private swimming pools. Drowning among children 5-14 occur most frequently in natural bodies of water and 2^nd most often in pools. Most drownings in adolescents 15 years and older occur in natural bodies of water like lakes, rivers and the ocean.

According to the CDC, there are more than 10 million private swimming pools in the U.S. and only 309 thousand public ones. Americans have very few places to learn how to swim unless they can afford swim lessons at private pools. Learning how to swim and swimming safely has been made worse in recent years by a national shortage of life guards. Therefore, the U.S. National Water Safety Action Plan was created this year to address the need that “everyone is safe in the water, on, and around the water.” The Plan is the result of a collaboration between governmental and non-government organizations whose goal is to reduce drowning in the U.S.

According to a recent New York Times editorial by Mara Gay, “In America today, swimming is a luxury, not a public good.”

Factors that contribute to children drownings include:

• Being unable to swim or a weak swimmer
• Having inadequate fencing around home pools
• Poor supervision

Important interventions to reduce incidents of drowning in children are:

• Swimming lessons and water safety education need to be affordable and accessible to all
• Public pools need to be built
• Designated swimming areas at lakes and rivers in rural areas and swimming deserts need to be created
• 4-sided fences should be required around home pools
• More life guards need to be hired at all public swimming pools and at popular swimming areas

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

WASHINGTON, DC – August 4, 2023 – On August 4^th, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first pill to treat postpartum depression. The generic name for the drug is zuranolone and the brand name is Zurzuvae. It is manufactured by Sage Therapeutics. The pill is taken once a day for 2 weeks.

Postpartum depression can occur in about 1 out of every 7 women after childbirth. Women can experience symptoms of sadness, guilt, or thoughts of hurting themselves or their newborn child. The illness can damage the bond that develops between the mother and her child resulting in physical and emotional developmental problems. These symptoms can also occur late in pregnancy. The medicine can prevent postpartum depression from occurring and can last for one month after the last dose.

Current treatment for postpartum depression includes counseling and the FDA-approved intravenous drug Zulresso. This medicine can only be administered in specific health-care facilities. The new drug can be taken at home.

Zuranolone works much faster than anti-depressants that are not specific for postpartum depression. It can start being effective in a few days. The other medicines can take weeks or months to be fully effective. Zuranolone is related to the hormone progesterone, one of the female hormones that rises during pregnancy and drops precipitously after childbirth. Its side-effects can include drowsiness, tiredness, and diarrhea. The pill should be taken at night before bedtime. Patients should not drive for at least 12 hours after taking the medicine because of potential drowsiness.

Other factors that may play a role in postpartum depression include: lower socioeconomic status, lower education level, and exposure to trauma and gender-based violence. Zuranolone may not help everyone with postpartum depression because of these other contributing factors.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ASHEVILLE, NC –  August 9, 2023 – The COVID-19 metrics are on the CDC’s COVID Dashboard.

• For the week ending on July 22^nd, hospital admissions are at a low level in every county in North Carolina and almost 100% of the counties in the U.S. Buncombe County’s COVID-19 hospitalizations are low and have increased from the previous week.
• For the week ending on July 29^th, the percentage of deaths due to COVID-19 last week in North Carolina were less than 2%, the 2^nd lowest level of 6 groups.
• Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina for the week ending on July 29^th, however, they have increased more than 20% from the previous week.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data for the week ending on July 26^th is on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard.

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at an orange level representing the 2^nd highest level of 5 groups.
• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample over the past 15 days is at an increasing rate of change, the highest positive rate of change from 5 possible levels.

In summary, wastewater levels and emergency department visits are up from the previous week.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour