Health Tips ... from UPI

OSTEOPOROSIS UNDIAGNOSED, UNTREATED

Millions of U.S. residents have undiagnosed and untreated osteoporosis and may learn of their condition only when they suffer a fracture. About 10 million Americans have osteoporosis and 34 million more are at risk, but Stanford University School of Medicine researchers estimate that fewer than half of the people with osteoporosis have been recognized. "The gravity of fractures is often under appreciated when in fact patients with hip fractures go on to have deterioration in their health linked directly to their fractures, with a high probability of death or nursing home placement," writes study leader Dr. Randall Stafford in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

COMPUTER PROGRAM/COUNSELING EXAMINED

An interactive computer program can help educate U.S. women about breast cancer risk and genetic testing and provide information on treatment options. A Pennsylvania State College of Medicine study compared the effectiveness of an interactive, multimedia CD ROM-based computer compared to standard genetic counseling for educating women about breast cancer genetic testing. "An interactive computer program was more effective than standard genetic counseling for increasing knowledge of breast cancer and genetic testing among women at low risk of carrying a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation," the authors report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "However, genetic counseling was more effective than the computer at reducing women's anxiety and facilitating more accurate risk perceptions."

8 YEAR OLDS CAN HANDLE CONTACTS

Glasses to contact lenses was once a right-of-passage for teens, but an Ohio State University study finds 8 to 11 year olds can handle the responsibility. A three-month study, published in the journal of Optometry and Vision Science, tracked 10 nearsighted children who wore daily disposable contact lenses. Nine of the children had little to no trouble with handling the lenses. "Many parents don't realize that their 8-year-old child can handle the responsibility of contact lenses, so they don't think to ask," says study author Jeffrey Walline. Daily disposable contact lenses cost about a dollar a day, or about $100 more a year than most disposable contacts, but most parents interviewed for a related study found the convenience worthwhile.

WITHDRAWAL CAN BE DOWNWARD SPIRAL

U.S. adolescents with little self esteem and who tend to shy away from interactions with peers draw more negative feedback prompting more withdrawal. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers finds this withdrawal leaves adolescents with few chances to develop close friendships and to become targets for teasing or bullying. "Unfortunately, youth may enter into self-perpetuating cycles that result in a downward spiral of relationship difficulties," says study leader Karen Rudolph. The study, published in the journal Child Development, finds understanding why some youth experience chronic difficulties in their peer relationships is critically important for learning how to prevent some of the negative consequences associated with isolation, rejection and victimization by peers.

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(EDITORS: For more information on OSTEOPOROSIS, Susan Ipaktchian at (650) 725-5375 or susani@stanford.edu. For BREAST, Valerie Gliem at (814) 865-9481. For CONTACTS, Jeffrey Walline, (614) 292-6603 or jwalline@optometry.osu.edu. FOR WITHDRAWAL, Jim Barlow at (217)333-5802 or jebarlow@uiuc.edu)