Diabetes Rate Levels Off, Waist Size and Breast Cancer Link, and the Latest on Peanut Allergies

Overall Rate of Diabetes Levels Off, CDC Says

Following troubling increases in diabetes among adults between 1990 and 2008, the overall number of people living with the disease and the number of new diagnoses appear to have leveled off, according to U.S. health officials.

The total number of individuals with diabetes increased an average 0.6 percent annually between 2008 and 2012. The number of new cases actually fell an average 5.4 percent, researchers for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported this week.

This compares favorably with an average 4.5 percent annual increase between 1990 and 2008, the researchers said.

Researches noted that the surge in cases of diabetes and the climbing obesity rate in the U.S. have both slowed as more people reduce overall calorie intake.

Overall, these figures are somewhat encouraging but some groups in the United States are seeing increases in the rate of diabetes, researchers also said.

Diabetes rates continue to increase for African-Americans, Hispanics, the aging and the less educated, according to the report published in the Sept. 24 Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers analyzed 1980-2012 data for 664,969 adults aged 20 to 79 years.  The data came from the National Health Interview Survey, an annual survey used to monitor progress toward U.S. health improvement goals.

“Analyses of nationally representative data from 1980 to 2012 suggest a doubling of the incidence and prevalence of diabetes during 1990-2008, and a plateauing between 2008 and 2012,” the report concludes.

This blog has covered the spread of diabetes and “pre-diabetes” – and ways to combat the disease — extensively. Here are some related posts:

—John Fernandez

Growing Waist Size, Breast Cancer Linked, Study Finds

A new study suggests that gaining weight puts women at a higher risk for breast cancer.

Previous studies have found that waist circumference is better than “body mass index” (BMI) at calculating risks for several conditions.

Researchers in the new study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), looked at data from about 93,000 mostly overweight, postmenopausal women in the “U.K. Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer.”

They reached their conclusion after looking at their overall health, cancer status, and “skirt size” for about three years.

An increase in dress size was the factor that best predicted breast cancer risk, the study concluded. Women who went up a single “skirt size” over a 10-year time frame between their mid 20s and mid 60s, were found to have a 33 percent greater risk of developing breast cancer after menopause. Going up two skirt sizes during that same period was linked to a 77 percent increased risk.

While “skirt size” is not an ideal measurement for waist size, but it “has been shown to provide a reliable and feasible estimate of waist circumference at the population level,” the study says.

The study also acknowledges that dress sizes have varied greatly over the years and across fashion labels and stores.

Here are more articles about the connection between cancer and nutrition:

—John Fernandez

Bigger Allergy Risk from Roasted Peanuts?

Is there a difference between raw and roasted nuts when it comes to allergies? Yes, according to an Oxford University study recently reported in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

When peanuts are dry roasted, the high-heating process creates a chemical change in the nuts that could trigger a change in the immune system of the body. This in turn could make you more susceptible to peanut allergies, according to the new research.

The study, though, was conducted on mice, and further research is needed before people should make any dietary changes, experts say.

“This is the first time, to our knowledge, that a potential trigger for peanut allergy has been directly shown,” said Quentin Sattentau, a researcher from the University of Oxford, who was quoted by CNN.

As part of study, mice were given sample of dry and roasted peanut proteins. The immune response was much stronger in those given the roasted nuts relative to those who received the raw nuts. The immune response represents the body’s attempt to fight off something that seems to be a foreign substance.

The topic of food allergies has been covered on this blog:

—Sharon Harvey Rosenberg

New Primary Care Offices

Baptist Health recently opened new Primary Care offices and is holding Open House events for the community. Come meet the doctors, take a tour and enjoy snacks and refreshments. This free, family-fun event is taking place at the newest Baptist Health Primary Care location below:

Saturday, September 27, 12-4 p.m.
7400 SW 87 Avenue, Suite 260
Miami, FL 33173