If the problems facing our seniors aren’t bad enough, now a new study in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing has found that as many as one in six people who took part in a study of older people who live at home were under-nourished and at risk of malnutrition. The study found that overall risk is higher for women and depression increases for men.

Researchers at Linkoping University, Sweden, found an overall malnutrition risk of 14.5 per cent when they studied 579 older people aged 75 and 80 as part of an ongoing study. Fifty-two per cent of the people who took part in the study were male.

They found that women faced a higher overall risk and that men were more likely to be at risk if they were depressed.

At the first yearly follow-up ten per cent of the 436 people still in the study were under-nourished and faced a malnutrition risk. By the second yearly follow-up the number studied had fallen to 371 but the malnutrition risk had risen to just over 16 per cent.

The researchers continued studying the 75 year-olds for another two years, reporting malnutrition risk rates of 11 per cent (out of 157 people) at the third annual follow-up and eight per cent (out of 145 people) at the fourth.

“We carried out a wide range of physical and biochemical tests on the people who took part in the study and asked them lots of questions, including how they perceived their health and their health-related quality of life” explains Yvonne Johansson from the Department of Medical and Health Sciences at the University.

“Our aim was to discover how prevalent the problem was and identify key factors that can predict an increased risk of malnutrition among older people living at home.

“We discovered that people were most likely to be at risk of malnutrition if they felt their health was poor. The second factor was symptoms of depression – especially in men – and higher age.”

Key findings of the study, which was carried out between 2001 and 2006 in southern Sweden, include:

• Women were more likely to be at risk than men – for example,19 per cent versus 10.5 per cent at baseline, 11 per cent versus nine per cent at the first follow-up and 17 per cent versus 15.5 per cent at the second follow-up.
• Three-quarters of women in the at-risk group (75 per cent) described themselves as unhealthy compared with 44 per cent of the women who were not at risk. The figures for the men were 63 per cent and 38 per cent. Men and women in the at-risk groups were more likely to be registered with a doctor.
• Women in the at risk group were more likely to live alone than women in the no risk group (63.5 per cent versus 50 per cent) but the difference in the men’s group was less marked (19 per cent versus 17 per cent).
• Women in the at-risk group were more likely to be unsatisfied with contact with others (42 per cent) than women in the no risk group (16 per cent). The difference between the two male groups was less marked (25 per cent and 28 per cent).
• Men and women in the at-risk groups had lower handgrip strength than people in the no risk group.
• The risk of malnutrition was also higher in people who showed symptoms of depression. This was particularly apparent among men.

“We hope that the findings of our study will be of use to health professionals working with older people” concludes Yvonne Johansson. “They clearly show that people who feel their health is poor and show symptoms of depression face a higher risk of developing malnutrition and that the risk gets higher as people get older.

“Our population is ageing and it is vital to ensure that health professionals are looking after their nutritional health as well as caring for any medical conditions they may have. This study provides evidence of some of the key warning signs to look out for.”

Our modern diet and accompanying lifestyle is providing to be deadly.

It’s being reported that approximately 6.3 million adults—or one fourth of the people in the U.S. with diabetes mellitus—are unaware they have the disease, and this undiagnosed population accounts for an estimated $18 billion in health care costs each year. That’s according to a study in a recent issue of Population Health Management, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 

Diabetes costs the U.S. economy about $174 billion in 2007 in medical expenses and lost productivity, but that figure does not take into account the national economic costs associated with undiagnosed diabetes, which could raise the estimate to more than $192 billion.

Yearly health care needs for individuals with undiagnosed diabetes tend to be higher than for persons who do not have diabetes. The health care costs associated with diabetes begin to increase at least 8 years before diagnosis and grow at a faster rate shortly before and after diagnosis.

“Diabetes is one of the most devastating chronic diseases and costs the nation billions of dollars. Building an evidence base as to what works and what doesn’t is going to be critical,” says Journal Editor-in-Chief David B. Nash, MD, MBA, Dean and Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor of Health Policy, Jefferson School of Population Health, Philadelphia, PA.

From about.com, here are some signs you may have diabetes:

Frequent trips to the bathroom:

Are you visiting the bathroom much more lately? Does it seem like you urinate all day long? Urination becomes more frequent when there is too much glucose in the blood. If insulin is nonexistent or ineffective, the kidneys can’t filter glucose back to the blood. They become overwhelmed and try to draw extra water out of the blood to dilute the glucose. This keeps your bladder full and it keeps you running to the bathroom.

Unquenchable Thirst:

If it feels like you can’t get enough water and you’re drinking much more than usual, it could be a sign of diabetes, especially if it seems to go hand in hand with frequent urination. If your body is pulling extra water out of your blood and you’re running to the bathroom more, you will become dehydrated and feel the need to drink more to replace the water that you are losing.

Losing Weight Without Trying:

This symptom is more noticeable with Type 1 diabetes. In Type 1, the pancreas stops making insulin, possibly due to a viral attack on pancreas cells or because an autoimmune response makes the body attack the insulin producing cells. The body desperately looks for an energy source because the cells aren’t getting glucose. It starts to break down muscle tissue and fat for energy. Type 2 happens gradually with increasing insulin resistance so weight loss is not as noticeable.

Weakness and Fatigue:

It’s that bad boy glucose again. Glucose from the food we eat travels into the bloodstream where insulin is supposed to help it transition into the cells of our body. The cells use it to produce the energy we need to live. When the insulin isn’t there or if the cells don’t react to it anymore, then the glucose stays outside the cells in the bloodstream. The cells become energy starved and you feel tired and run down.

Tingling or Numbness in Your Hands, Legs or Feet:

This symptom is called neuropathy. It occurs gradually over time as consistently high glucose in the blood damages the nervous system, particularly in the extremities. Type 2 diabetes is a gradual onset, and people are often not aware that they have it. Therefore, blood sugar might have been high for more than a few years before a diagnosis is made. Nerve damage can creep up without our knowledge. Neuropathy can very often improve when tighter blood glucose control is achieved.

Other Signs and Symptoms That Can Occur:

Blurred vision, skin that is dry or itchy, frequent infections or cuts and bruises that take a long time to heal are also signs that something is amiss. Again, when these signs are associated with diabetes, they are the result of high glucose levels in the body. If you notice any of the above signs, schedule an appointment with your doctor. He or she will be able to tell you if you have reason to be concerned about a diagnosis of diabetes.

If the kind of weather we had today (May 7, 2009) prevails next week, then riding your bike to work will be a blast.

Any way, riding a bike is good for you.

Here are five good health reasons for riding a bike from about.com

—Increased cardiovascular fitness

—Increased strength

—Increased balance and flexibility

—Increased endurance and stamina

—Increased calories burned

It can be done by people of all ages, from childhood up even through the adult years when achy joints don’t allow for more stressful exercise like jogging.

To encourage more trips to work on a bicycle, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services together with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Nebraska Department of Roads are celebrating May as National Bike Month and May 11-15 as Bike to Work Week.

Nationally, transportation on a bicycle is low at about 1% of all trips. In Nebraska, the rate is less than half that.

“Nebraska has a vast network of scenic rural roads, trail systems and pleasant weather conditions, making the Cornhusker state a favorable place to bike to work and to get physically active,” said Dr. Joann Schaefer, Chief Medical Officer for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. “Increased bicycle riding will promote health and wellness and help to become or stay fit, avoid overweight and obesity, and reduce the risk of many chronic diseases and conditions.”

Here are some tips that will help you enjoy biking to work more:

• Have your bike checked over by your local bike shop
• Always wear a helmet to protect your head in the event of a crash
• Ride the right-most lane that goes in the direction you are traveling
• Obey all stop signs, traffic lights and lane markings
• Look before you change lanes or signal a turn; indicate your intention, then act
• Be visible and predictable at all times
• Wear bright clothing and signal turns

Now that the flu scare is abiding, here comes the bed bugs. They are those little critters that come out at night and feed on you while you’re in bed sleeping. And according the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, you won’t even know it until you feel the effects later.

According to UNL, bed bugs have become such a problem that University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension is trying to teach people more about them. Extension has joined with the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department to present the workshop “Bed Bugs: What You Need to Know” on May 21 at the Lancaster County Extension Center, 444 Cherrycreek Road.

The workshop is open to the public but is targeted toward landlords and property managers, said Barbara Ogg, extension educator.

“That group isn’t as aware of how difficult it is to treat these and how fast they spread,” Ogg said.

Bed bugs, a one-fourth-inch long reddish brown insect, hide in cracks and crevices of mattresses, box springs, sofas and chairs, Ogg said. Females can lay three to five eggs a day, and the white eggs about the size of a pin head can be difficult to see.

Usually people don’t know they have a problem with bed bugs until after they have been bitten, Ogg said. The nocturnal bugs crawl onto sleeping humans and bite, feeding on blood. The bite is painless but the result is red, swollen, blotchy skin that will itch for several days.

A resurgence in bed bugs was noticed in the United States in the late 1990s and the problem has been growing, Ogg said. It can be an especially difficult problem in apartment buildings, where the bugs can be brought in by one person and affect nearly everyone, crawling from unit to unit.

Travelers sometimes pick up bed bugs while staying in hotels. The bugs will crawl into suitcases and be brought to homes. They also can be brought into the home through the purchase of used furniture.

“Landlords and property managers need to be able to recognize the problem and take subsequent management tactics, including thorough treatment by a pest control company,” Ogg said.