Selah Medical Center - Information

Combined Effect of Poor Health Behaviors

A U.K. cohort study showed that the combined effect of four ‘poor health behaviors’—smoking, excessive drinking, poor diet, and physical inactivity—is “substantial” and significantly raises premature death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Poor lifestyle choices frequently occur together, so this study focused on all four of the above-mentioned behaviors in 4,886 men and women over 20 years. The researchers found that those who exhibit all four are at threefold higher risk of dying prematurely from cardiovascular disease and/or cancer compared with people who do not smoke or drink excessively, exercise regularly and eat healthfully.

Compared with people who had no poor health behaviors, the risk of death rose significantly as the number of poor health behaviors increased from one to four. These findings suggest that modest lifestyle adjustments can help patients achieve a longer and more quality life.

Seasonal Flu

On August 31st, 2010 the Idaho Statesman reported that officials this year are urging everyone to get vaccinated, not just the usual high-risk population. This means that an annual influenza vaccine is now recommended for everyone age 6 months and older. Unlike last year when lines were long for the scarce supply of shots, this year a record vaccine supply has been produced. The supply includes a new all-in-one inoculation that provides protection from swine flu as well as two other kinds of influenza. The typical flu season goes from October through April, but experts say transmission of the virus can begin and end at any time. This year, vaccine shipments began early and it’s readily available in your health care provider’s office.

Most people will require just one shot of the vaccine, but children under 9 years old who are getting their first flu vaccine will need two shots, about a month apart. The new vaccine is not approved for infants younger than six months and people with severe allergies to eggs (used in the vaccine’s production).

Even if you were vaccinated for the flu last year, you do need to get vaccinated again this year because each year a new and different flu vaccine is created to match the constantly changing flu strains that circle the globe.

A new high-dose seasonal flu vaccine is also available for the first time in the 2010-2011 flu season to individuals age 65 and older. The new vaccine provides four times the amount of antigen contained in standard flu vaccines. Older adults are at increased risk for hospitalization and death from seasonal influenza, so the increased dose aims to specifically increase their immune response.

Woman Breast Cancer Risk

Soy, Alcohol and Obesity

Soy in the diet appears to reduce breast cancer risk in the long term. Soy intake also has been shown to reduce breast cancer recurrence and death based on several recent publications. A study from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study showed that in 5,033 surgically treated breast cancer patients, the risk of death and recurrence of the cancer significantly decreased in women who regularly ingested soy (JAMA 2009).

A recent study from Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif. shows that moderate alcohol intake (as little as one-half drink per day) can contribute dangerously to relapse in women with early-stage breast cancer, specifically women who are post-menopausal and overweight. It appears that cancer outcome in younger women is influenced more by tumor biology than lifestyle factors. However, all patients with a history of breast cancer should limit their alcohol intake as well as maintain a healthy weight and limited fat intake.

A Danish registry trial confirmed that significant postmenopausal weight gain, obesity, and insulin resistance have been associated with poor tumor biology and increased breast cancer mortality. The same study showed that the antidiabetic agent metformin was associated with an overall decreased incidence of breast cancer.

Women should actively seek advising from their health care practitioners about lifestyle factors they can modify in order to avoid breast cancer and/or positively affect their breast cancer outcome.