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Your Heart is at Risk from Noise Pollution

May 18, 2011 / Staff

The idea that people get used to noise is a myth, the Environmental Protection Agency has reported.

A now-classic study conducted in the 1970s found that children living on the lower, noisier floors of an apartment building overlooking a busy Manhattan bridge had lower reading scores than those living on higher floors.

But was noise really the major factor explaining that difference? After all, people tend to move away from extremely noisy neighborhoods if they can, and those who don’t are more likely to be poor, which by itself is a risk factor for delayed educational advancement and ill health.

Even when we think we have become accustomed to noise, biological changes still take place inside us.

Countries in Europe aggressively regulate noise, he points out. In the Netherlands, some roads are topped with low-noise pavement. Cars have low-noise tires, and airports compensate residents for sound-proofing their houses.
The U.S., however, doesn’t regulate noise on the federal level. There was a time when the EPA handled noise much like other pollutants, setting and enforcing regulations, recommending reductions and assessing the risks. That changed in 1982, when Ronald Reagan closed the Office of Noise Abatement and Control.

Research, Resources, Wellness

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High Demand for Cheap Generic Drugs Dig Into Global Pharmaceutical Market Sales

May 18, 2011 / Staff

Generic drugs are in high demand in growth markets in Europe and China and will quickly out pace the sale of name brand drugs.

One of the fastest growing markets will be for Type II diabetes medications as Western lifestyles and diseases encroach on the developing world.

Global sales growth of prescription drugs could be cut in half over the next five years as lucrative brands lose patent protection and cheaper generics and emerging markets become the only significant growth drivers, according to IMS Health.

Resources, Wellness

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As the Need Rises, Hospital Emergency Rooms are Closing

May 17, 2011 / Staff

Hospital emergency rooms serving the poor are closing at alarming rates.

As the need for emergency care has increased hospitals have been met with longer wait times and less effective care.

As eligability for Medicaid increases with the new health care law, more recipients will turn to emergency rooms as their primary care option as many physicians do not take Medicaid payments.

Urban and suburban areas have lost a quarter of their hospital emergency departments over the last 20 years, according to the study, in The Journal of the American Medical Association. In 1990, there were 2,446 hospitals with emergency departments in nonrural areas. That number dropped to 1,779 in 2009, even as the total number of emergency room visits nationwide increased by roughly 35 percent.
Emergency departments were most likely to have closed if they served large numbers of the poor, were at commercially operated hospitals, were in hospitals with skimpy profit margins or operated in highly competitive markets, the researchers found.

Doctors, Health Care Policy, Health Insurance, Hospitals, Medicaid, Quality Control

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Developing Healthy Habits is the Key to Wellness

May 17, 2011 / Staff

Seemingly little things like getting up early in the morning and daily schedules make a big impact in helping to insure the success of your health goals.

Healthy habits create an environment for achieving your healthy lifestyle.

Make a commitment. Write it down, and tell your friends and family and make it public. Ask them to keep you accountable, support your goals, and join you as you build better habits.
Schedule it. Don’t expect exercise time to appear by magic. You have to make time for it, just like you would a dentist appointment, pedicure, or business meeting. Program it into your day planner. Schedule a couple weeks worth of exercise slots in advance so you can plan for it.
Do it first thing in the morning. If fitness is part of your morning routine, you’ll have it over and done with and won’t let anything else that comes up get in the way.
Do it at work. Give up your lunch-hour fast food run and hit the gym, bike trai,l or local track instead. Ask coworkers to tag along. Or, add “fitness” to the end of your workday and exercise on your way home.
Make no excuses. Even if you’re exhausted, bored or feeling lazy, honor your exercise commitment to yourself. You don’t have to do a full-court press every time. If your energy level is low, do something easy like a walk instead of a run. If you’re bored, do something different like a bike ride instead of running on treadmill. Any exercise you do counts as part of your new habit.

Wellness

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