Pushing the mode of life healthy reduces the risk of chronic disease in blacks: study (HealthDay)

A program promoting the exercise and other healthy lifestyle habits that can help prevent chronic disease proved effective for black American couples in which one partner is HIV and the other does nota new study finds.

The researchers divided 535 these couples - medical language called HIV-serodiscordant couples - two groups. Two hundred and sixty couples participated in an intervention to reduce the risk of transmission and to HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, and 275 couples participated in a program to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and strokediabetes and some cancers through healthy behaviours.

These measures in health including physical activity, increased fruit and vegetable consumption and projections for breast and prostate cancer.

The two programs involved eight sessions of two hours a week. Couples reported their healthy behaviors at baseline, immediately after they have completed the program, and from 6 to 12 months after the program. The average age of participants was 43, and the female was HIV-positive partner to 60.4% of couples.

The study appears in the issue of April 25 of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

"Health promotion intervention participants were more likely to report eating five servings of fruits and vegetables per day and adhering to the guidelines for physical activity compared to STD/HIV intervention participants," writes Nabila El-Bassel and his colleagues at the U.S. National Institute of mental health Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial for African-American Couples group.

HIV in the, participants have the health intervention of du STD STD STD, promotion more la plus la,?. hommes,?. hommes,?., men received screening Researchers, alcohol consumption did not differ between intervention groups, "said in a press release of the newspaper.

In 2007, blacks accounted for 48 percent of the population of the United States with HIV. Because antiretroviral drugs especially strongly assets (HAART), are so effective, many HIV-positive people are living longer and are therefore at risk for other chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

"In conclusion, African Americans are at high risk of morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases and are less likely to engage in behaviours associated with the reduction of disease risk and to detect at an early stage."", report" the authors write.

"In addition, the risk of chronic disease is of particular concern for African-Americans living with HIV because HIV and its treatment with HAART are associated with an increased risk," they added.

The study found rates low fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity and cancer screening participants. "Therefore, this study is important, showing that the [action] that teaches skills resulted in positive change on multiple diseases related to chronic behaviors African-American members"of this group, researchers have written."."

Blacks with Cancer more likely to fund to extend the life of the exhaust gases: study (HealthDay)

the white patients with lung or colorectal cancer are less likely that patients with other races or ethnic groups to use their personal financial resources to prolong their lives, a new study concludes.

American researchers analyzed data from 4,214 participants in the research study on the results of monitoring of patients with newly diagnosed Lung Cancer care or colorectal cancer.

Patients were interviewed on various aspects of care, including their willingness to exhaust their personal financial resources for the treatment of life rather than less expensive treatment that would not extend their lives also long.

Those who said that they spent all their money to live longer included 80 percent of black patients, 72% of the Asian, 69% of Hispanics and 54% of whites.

After that researchers accounted for factors such as income, stage of disease, quality of life, age of patient, time perceived patient left to live and other medical conditions, researchers have determined that patients black were 2.4 times more likely than whites to say they would exhaust their personal finance life.

Hispanic and Asian patients were also less inclined to spend their money than blacks, but it is more likely than whites to do so.

The study appears online on April 26 in the journal Cancer.

Further research is needed to determine the reasons for these differences between races, said Michelle Martin of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and his colleagues in a press release of the newspaper. Learn more about this issue can lead to a cancer care reflecting systematically the preferences and values of patients, they added.

Blacks with less than cancer of the liver get transplants (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Americans with cancer of the liver are less likely than whites to get a transplant for the disease, according to us researchers.

And this gap has not changed in a decade, they report in the journal of Cancer.

"This treatment is expensive, high technology and rising - just the kind of storm that leads to a disparity in care," said study investigator Dr. Anthony Robbins, the American Cancer Society, who called the liver transplant "a new lease on life."

Liver cancer is a brutal disease, let alone seven Americans in alive five years after it was diagnosed.

About one in 100 men to the United States develop cancer at some point, while women are less than half more likely to do so, according to the American Cancer Society.

The new study, Robbins and her colleagues from the records of U.S. hospitals on more than 7 700 patients with liver cancer diagnosed between 1998 and 2007.

All the patients in the study had the form the most common disease, known as hepatocellular carcinoma, which affects 80% of all patients with liver cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, liver hepatitis b and c infections are behind most of the cases of this type of cancer.

The researchers found that, in the course of the first half of the study, white patients liver cancer had a 30 percent chance of receiving a new liver, compared to only 15 percent for blacks.

While opportunities has increased somewhat over the next five years, disparities remained. Taking into account how long patients are dead - some might be dead before they could get a new liver, for example - blacks were less likely than whites to undergo surgery by 36%.

They were also more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis of 36%. Black once received on a transplant waiting list, however, the gap closed and they face the same chances of survival than whites.

Robbins, said the medical community has known for years on inequality in care between black and white.

"After intense effort to try to fix things and a lot of thought and sensitivity to this issue, the gap has not disappeared," he said.

Although there are probably several reasons for the disparity, Robbins added, "the greatest motivation is the difference in access to care in the early stages of the disease by health insurance." And that must change. ?

The average cost of surgery more first year medical costs amounts to $ 450,000.

The study also compared Asian and Hispanic whites.

There was little difference in the number of liver transplants between whites and Hispanics. Asians were 19% of chance to get a new liver in the first half of the study and a chance to 24 per cent in the next five years.

While it was much lower that the whites, their illness tended to be less devastating and probably did not require a transplant in the first place, researchers say.

Dr. Andre Dick, transplant surgeon at Seattle Children's Hospital who was not involved in the study, said that the new research is important.

"It makes people aware that it is no longer in the queue which is important and this is where the actual disparities are still showing," he told Reuters Health. "And how the question is, how overcome them us?".

Blacks more willing to spend for cancer care (AP)

ATLANTA - blacks and other minorities with cancer are more likely than whites to say that they spent all that they have on aggressive treatment that might extend their lives, a study found.

Researchers don't know why this is the case and not asked pas, but some believe it may reflect differences in beliefs about miracles, distrust of doctors among the minorities, and may be a poor understanding of end-of life how ugly and painful.

Approximately 80 percent of blacks said they were ready to use all the money to extend their lives, compared to 72% Asian, 69% of Hispanics and 54% of whites.

"It's interesting how far patients minority, particularly black patients, are ready to go to extend their life," said Ellen McCarthy, a researcher at Harvard University who has studied the racial disparities in cancer care but was not involved in the new study.

The findings, published online Tuesday by the journal Cancer was based on telephone surveys more of 4,100 persons newly diagnosed lung and colon cancer. About 17% of patients in cancer of the colon and 31 per cent of lung cancer patients were in the more advanced stages of their illness.

These two cancers were chosen because they are common and lethal when diagnosed in the later stages. Patients with cancer of the breast or prostate - the most common types among women and men, respectively - were not included, and it was unknown if their attitudes differed.

The cost of cancer care have exploded in recent years, with many treatments at a price of $100,000 or more adding sometimes only a few months of life.

Last days under aggressive treatment may be sad. Patients may have tubes in the nose and throat and be unable to eat or speak. They may be in pain or barely coherent.

"Some believe to be living in all circumstances is an absolute good, which suggests a underappreciation of loads and overappreciation care benefits extend life," said Holly Prigerson, another researcher from Harvard who heads a centre of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute that studies the social and psychological influences on cancer care.

The study asked: you want treatment extended your life as long as possible, even if it caused go you broke? Or you would opt for cheaper treatment which has not kept you live so long?

The researchers gave no aggressive example of what care - surgery or chemotherapy, example could - and did not specify how much more the patient might live.

The results revealed the racial differences even when other factors were taken into account.

For example, people with spouses and dependent children were generally less favourable than the single exhaust their financial resources for their care. But among these family people, blacks were more ready to go broken.

The same schema racial place regardless of how the patients were, their income and savings, the age, time since diagnosis and how long they thought they had left to live.

"It was surprising," said lead author Michelle Martin of the University of Birmingham in Alabama.

The study found black had more often an attitude "try". This seems to contradict previous studies that have indicated Blacks have a greater distrust of the medical system.

But mistrust might still be a factor. Perhaps a greater proportion of minorities worried that doctors could withhold care of them, and therefore they might seek the more aggressive, available options, McCarthy said.

Minorities tend to be diagnosed at later stages of cancer than whites. At least a study of patients with advanced cancer found that blacks who wanted intensive end of life care were less likely to receive only the whites with the same preference.

Faith may be another factor. The study did not assess participants how religious were, but other studies have shown that very ardent people tend to want and get treatment to prolong life, said Prigerson.

"Assert many religious patients, ' there is a higher authority than my physician.". God, not my doctors, decides if my time or not. "These patients believe that it is a demonstration of their faith to keep for as long possible to expect the granting of a miraculous healing of life,"she said."