U.S. Life Expectancy Declines

Newly released data from the federal government show a slight decrease in life expectancy for residents of the United States. According to the report, West Virginia is the worst state for mortality, with a death rate there that is almost 1.5 times greater than Hawaii, where people are living the longest.

Data gathered by the National Center for Health Statistics showed that life expectancy for most American men was 75.3 years in 2008, down by one-tenth of a year from 2007. Women also saw a drop in the number of years they can expect to live, from 80.4 years to 80.3 years, the data show. Black men, on the other hand, bucked the trend and reached a record-high life expectancy of 70.2 years in 2008, up by 0.2 years compared to 2007. They were still the shortest-lived Americans, though, with life spans around 10 years less than white women, who have the highest life expectancy, followed by black women and white men. The pattern of white women enjoying the longest lives and black men the shortest has held true for nearly three decades, but life expectancy for all groups has generally increased over those 30 years.

Alzheimer's is now the sixth-leading cause of death. Overall, the United States now ranks 49th worldwide for life expectancy. In 1950, the U.S. ranked fifth.

Jimmy Carter: Best Former President Ever

Jimmy Carter's two-decade battle against a global pest in approaching victory.

This fight against the guinea worm is a battle former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has waged for more than two decades in some of the poorest countries on earth. It is a battle he's almost won. In the 1950s the 3-foot-long guinea worm ravaged the bodies of an estimated 50 million people, forcing victims through months of pain while the worm exited through a swollen blister on the leg, making it impossible for them to tend to cows or harvest crops. By 1986, the number dropped to 3.5 million. Last year only 3,190 cases were reported. Today the worm is even closer to being wiped out. Fewer than 1,700 cases have been found this year in only four countries — Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali and Sudan, where more than 95 percent of the cases are. The worm's near-eradication is thanks in large part to the efforts of Carter and his foundation. "I'm still determined to outlive the last guinea worm," Carter told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Best. Former. President. EVER.

Sending Our Love To Pam Spaulding

As readers of Pam's House Blend are nervously aware, our pal and fellow blogger Pam Spaulding is undergoing major surgery this morning in North Carolina. Pam's illness is forcing an unpaid leave from her day job, so if you'd like to kick her a few bucks her team has set up a Paypal fund. Best wishes, Pam! We're all thinking of you today.

Circumcision Ban May Go To SF Voters

Next year San Francisco's voters may see a ballot question that would ban the circumcision of males under 18 years old.

“It’s genital mutilation,” said Lloyd Schofield, the author of a San Francisco ballot measure that would make it a “misdemeanor to circumcise, excise, cut or mutilate the…genitals” of a person under 18. Baby boys in San Francisco may be relieved but not everybody agrees with a proposed ban. "I just had him circumcised 3 weeks ago,” said Heather Wisnicky of Sacramento, mother of Tyler, a 6-week-old baby boy. “It’s a health issue. It’s cleaner,” she said. Scientists with the Centers for Disease Control are still studying whether circumcisions are healthier, and have promised recommendations to the public. Meanwhile, according to the New York Times, a CDC researcher reported a sharp drop in the number of American parents choosing circumcision in hospitals - from 56 percent in 2006 to less than 33 percent last year. “Most medical groups have not come out with strong opinions regarding pro or con circumcisions,” said CBS 5 medical reporter Dr. Kim Mulvihill. “Most are saying leave it up to the families, let them decide what’s right for their son.”

The measure's backer needs to gather 7100 signatures to place it on the ballot.

FDA Wants Gruesome Smoking Warnings

The FDA has proposed changing the warnings on cigarettes to include photos of dead bodies and gruesomely emaciated cancer patients.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials said a new "comprehensive tobacco control strategy" would include not only these graphic photos but bold statements such as "Smoking Will Kill You." "Today, FDA takes a crucial step toward reducing the tremendous toll of illness and death caused by tobacco use by proposing to dramatically change how cigarette packages and advertising look in this country. When the rule takes effect, the health consequences of smoking will be obvious every time someone picks up a pack of cigarettes," U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg said in a prepared statement. "This is a concrete example of how FDA's new responsibilities for tobacco product regulation can benefit the public's health."

The new warnings will be required within about 18 months.

20% Of Teens Have Some Hearing Loss

The incidence of partial hearing loss among teenagers is soaring, according to a just-released study out of Massachusetts. And experts are naturally pointing to the iPod and similar devices.

The study of thousands of 12 to 19-year-olds found the number of them suffering from partial hearing loss jumped by 30 per cent between the early 1990 s and 2005-06. The prevalence of partial hearing loss rose from 14.9 per cent to 19.5 per cent - a relative jump of almost a third, found the authors of the study, led by Dr Josef Shargorodsky, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. The incidence of slight hearing loss jumped by 77 per cent. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), also found that boys were more likely to experience hearing loss than girls. Emma Harrison, director of public engagement at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), said: "This study highlights the widespread concern felt over the risks personal music players, together with loud music at gigs and clubs, pose to hearing." She said two-thirds of people who used iPods and other in-ear audio players, had used them to listen to music at louder than 85 decibels "which according to the World Health Organisation, can cause permanent hearing damage over time".

I haven't had my own hearing checked in years, but I often wonder what damage I may have done over 30 years on the dance floor.

Federal Court Rules Vitaminwater A Scam

A federal court has ruled that Vitaminwater is nothing but a sugared drink and that its marketing is deceptive. The product is owned by Coca-Cola.

A federal judge ruled this week that Vitaminwater will not, as its labels promise, keep you "healthy as a horse." Nor will it bring about a "healthy state of physical or mental being". Instead, Vitaminwater is really just a sugary snack food; non-carbonated fruit coke disguised as a sports drink. Because it's composed mostly of sugar and not vitamin-laden water, judge John Gleeson held that Vitaminwater's absurd marketing claims were likely to mislead consumers. Coke tried to explain away claims like "vitamins + water = all you need" as "only puffery." The judge disagreed.

The ruling clears the way for a class-action lawsuit brought by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.