Princess Health and Princess Health andBeshear says statewide smoking ban 'just a matter of time' .Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andBeshear says statewide smoking ban 'just a matter of time' .Princessiccia

drug abuse drugs General Assembly heroin legislation legislature smoking smoking ban smoking bans smoking ordinances tobacco tobacco prevention

Gusty 08:54 Add Comment

Gov. Steve Beshear said in an interview broadcast Sunday that Kentucky will have a statewide smoking ban once Kentuckians get more comfortable with the idea, but he didn't say how comfortable. A poll last fall showed Kentucky adults favor a ban on smoking in most public places, including restaurants and bars, by more than 2 to 1.

Beshear supported a smoking ban in the recent legislative session, but it never came to a floor vote in the House and didn't get out of committee in the Senate. Asked on WKYT-TV's "Newsmakers" program if a ban would eventually pass, Beshear said, "I think it will pass at some point in the future. This is one of those issues that takes time. People have to get comfortable with this."

Beshear noted that when Lexington passed the state's first local ban, there were fears about its effect on business, but "Now everybody knows it doesn't put you out of business." He said a statewide ban "is just a matter of time, but it's just one of those thing you've got to build a comfortable feeling about."

On another topic, Beshear said he would not call a special session to pass anti-heroin legislation without an advance agreement among legislators, to keep the session short and limit costs. He said that if he did call a session, he would probably include other topics, such as state help for redevelopment of Rupp Arena and its surroundings. Both proposals failed in the recent session.

Princess Health and Princess Health andKentucky leads nation in percentage of children who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andKentucky leads nation in percentage of children who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder.Princessiccia

ADHD attention deficit children disabilities hyperactivity pediatrics poverty research

Gusty 05:55 Add Comment

Kentucky leads the nation in the percentage of children who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder, according to the latest available data, which "showed that ADHD levels have risen steeply in the past decade across the nation," Laura Ungar reports for The Courier-Journal.

Ungar writes that "19 percent of Kentucky children ages 4-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD at some point, compared with 11 percent nationally and 16 percent in Indiana." Almost 15 percent of Kentucky children had the diagnosis in 2011, based on polling by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We're probably over-diagnosing it to a certain extent," Dr. Christopher Peters, a psychiatrist and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville, told Ungar. "But these numbers indicate a problem. There are many kids in need."

The high numbers could "reflect the state's rampant poverty, since ADHD is identified more frequently in the poor," Ungar writes. "Others say more children here may be genetically prone to the disorder or face other risk factors. . . . Studies show that at least a third of parents who had ADHD as children have kids with the diagnosis."

Any over-diagnosis may stem from "overworked primary care doctors who aren't experts in the disorder" and may be over-diagnosing � and possibly over-prescribing � both locally and nationwide," Ungar writes. "Roughly 8 percent of of school-aged boys nationally and nearly 4 percent of girls took ADHD medications in 2012, according to data from the pharmacy benefit management firm Express Scripts."

There are "financial incentives" for an ADHD diagnosis, Ungar notes. "A diagnosis may translate into disability payments if a child has measurable and serious problems, and students with ADHD can get extra help in school. . . . Experts say the higher numbers may also indicate greater awareness of the disorder, meaning the truly needy are getting the medication, therapy and support they deserve."

However, Dr. Carmel Wallace, pediatrics chairman at the University of Kentucky, "said parents rarely push for a diagnosis to get a disability check," Ungar reports. "And the threshold for disability is high."

Still Kentucky has high rates of children and adults getting Social Security disability payments, and ranks high in some risk factors for ADHD.

"Scientists also have linked ADHD to alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy � although doctors said it's unclear whether smoking is a cause or simply occurs more often in families with afflicted children," Ungar reports. "Kentuckians smoke at the nation's highest rate and also have high rates of substance abuse overall."

Ungar's example of an ADHD child was, in preschool, "a tiny tempest � at times defiant, other times bouncing distractedly from toy to toy at daycare, while other children were absorbed in play," but as a second-grader "is doing well . . . with a mild stimulant and counseling." Here's a C-J video of another ADHD child and her mother discussing how they deal with it:

Princess Health and2014 H+P ENDURrace 8K and Combined.Princessiccia

Princess Health and2014 H+P ENDURrace 8K and Combined.Princessiccia

Gusty 11:41 Add Comment

It's hard to believe that yet another ENDURrace has come and gone.  Two weeks ago we had an amazing experience at the ENDURrace 5K, with outstanding team results.  It was going to be tough to top that effort, but we gave it out best shot.

Also, thanks again to Julie from the WRS for the great photography!

Here is how we did in the 2014 ENDURrace 8K:

8K  Team Results:

As a team, we had better than anticipated result!  Despite missing many of our key members, we still managed to have the top 4 finishers in the race overall, and the 2nd and 5th place females overall.  Our open team finished with an outstanding average time of 30:34!  RESULTS.

Individual 8K Results CLICK:

Brendan Hancock had an excellent race.  Running alone for the duration of the 8K, he managed to take 1.5mins of his 8K time from Feb, running a mid-28, and winning the race OA.

Luke Ehgoetz had yet another awesome performance.  He came in second overall, well under 30 minutes, and first in his AG.

Nick Burt was the next runner to come in.  He completed the podium sweep for H+P, finishing in 3rd place after just barely edging out Aaron Mailman in an epic sprint finish.

Aaron Mailman came in next with a huge PB of 30:44, good enough for 4th OA and 1st in his AG.

Jessica was next for the team and our first female.  She had an excellent performance, finishing in 33-low, and placing 2nd OA for females!

Vicki was our second female across the finish line.  She has yet another PB, and handily won her AG!

Dave Rutherford showed true determination and grit.  Doing nothing but recovering from injury and run walking over the last 2 months, he had a great, controlled effort.  While it was supposed to be a rehab run, he still manged to walk away with a 33 minute 8K that was good enough for the AG win!

Daniel Cook had an awesome first H+P race.  He had a massive PB, and placed first in his category!

Cari also had an awesome race.  She had a huge PB, coming in well under 46 minutes!

Shantell had a great return to action as well with the team!  As did Jeremy Tracey.  The momentum is starting to build with both of them again!

Combined Results RESULTS:

With so many runners having run both races, it was exciting to see how we stacked up once the 5K and 8K times were combined.  Here is how it looked for the team:

• Luke WON with a combined time of just under 48 minutes
  
• Mailman was 2nd OA as be banked more than enough time in the 5K to beat Nick with the combined time
• Nick battled back from a tough post-exam 5K, making up time on the 2nd and 3rd place runners in the 8K.  He ended up finishing only seconds off the podium, bringing him in 4th place OA
• Vicki took care of things in the women's race, winning the combined title in her AG in a great time of well under 1 hour
• Daniel Cook finished strong with a combined time of 1 hour which got him the win in his category
• Cari came in top 10 in her AG when her two PB's were combined!

Princess Health and Princess Health andLess than 60% of Kentuckians say they visited a dentist in the past year, ranking the state 43rd in the nation.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andLess than 60% of Kentuckians say they visited a dentist in the past year, ranking the state 43rd in the nation.Princessiccia

dental care dental health dentistry health insurance income oral health poll poverty

Gusty 15:04 Add Comment

Kentucky ranked 43rd among the 50 states in percentage of people who told pollsters that they had visited a dentist in the past 12 months. The rankings in the annual Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index appeared to be driven largely by income and insurance.

"Residents of the 10 states with the highest dental-visit rates are somewhat more likely to say they have enough money to pay for healthcare than residents in the 10 states with the lowest dental visit rates, 84.8 percent vs. 77.6 percent," Lindsey Sharpe of Gallup reported. "Further, the bottom 10 states for dental visits have a significantly higher average uninsured rate, at 20.5 percent, than the top 10 states for dental visits (12.6 percent). Previous Gallup research shows that the likelihood of visiting the dentist annually increases with income."

Kentucky's 58.6 percent rate of reported visits in the past year ranked just below Missouri, at 59 percent, and ahead of Tennessee and West Virginia, with 56.9 and 56.6 percent, respectively. Figures for other adjoining states were Illinois, 66%; Indiana, 61.8%; Ohio, 63.6%; and Virginia, 67.5%.

Ranking below West Virginia were Texas, 56.3%; Arkansas, 56,1%; Louisiana, 55.3%; Oklahoma, 55.2%; and Mississippi, 53 percent. The top state was Connecticut at 74.9 percent, followed by Massachusetts at 74.5 percent and Rhode Island at 73.8 percent.

Princess Health and Princess Health andMorehead State, UK and Morehead hospital sign agreement to form Appalachian Health and Research Center.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andMorehead State, UK and Morehead hospital sign agreement to form Appalachian Health and Research Center.Princessiccia

Appalachia hospitals medical education research rural health University of Kentucky

Gusty 05:57 Add Comment

Morehead State University, St. Claire Regional Medical Center and the University of Kentucky's Institute for Rural Health Policy signed a memorandum of understanding April 30 to form the Appalachian Health and Research Center.

�The primary mission of the AHRC is to increase the capacity for innovative, collaborative research based out of Morehead, which directly addresses health issues faced by residents of Appalachian Kentucky and beyond,� said Dr. Michael Henson, Morehead State's associate vice president for research and graduate-school dean. �AHRC will seek to improve local educational opportunities related to health research and to facilitate the translation of research findings into local health policy.�

From left: Reynolds, Andrews and hospital CEO Mark Neff

Dr. Brady Reynolds, UK's Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky Endowed Chair in Rural Health Policy and co-director of the Institute for Rural Health Policy, said, �This partnership stands to greatly increase capacity for health-related research in the Morehead area and northeastern Kentucky, with the ultimate aim of improving health and health policy in the region. Through this partnership we will be able to accomplish research and community health goals that may not otherwise be possible.�

Morehead President Wayne Andrews said the agreement will �allow us to focus on some areas of research that will help us improve the lives of the citizens in East Kentucky.� The specific AHRC goals are to:

• Create new and productive research partnerships with regional colleagues at the two universities and the hospital in the areas of health and wellness;
• Increase infrastructure for health research in Morehead and the surrounding area;
• Enhance opportunities for faculty, students, and medical residents to participate in cutting-edge biomedical research;
• Streamline the required review process for collaborative projects and increase the number of behavioral and clinical trials into which local residents and patients may be enrolled;
• Promote dialogue with the public about health, wellness and biomedical research; and
• Actively work to identify and translate specific research findings to local health policy to improve health in the region.

The research center will be housed in Morehead State's Center for Health, Education and Research, which was created in 2010 as the first such partnership involving a regional public university, a land-grant research university and a nonprofit hospital corporation. The $30 million, 90,000-square-foot facility is the largest construction project in the history of Morehead State, according to a university press release. 

Princess Health and Fat vs. Carbohydrate Overeating: Which Causes More Fat Gain?. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Fat vs. Carbohydrate Overeating: Which Causes More Fat Gain?. Princessiccia

low-carb overweight

Gusty 05:00 Add Comment

Two human studies, published in 1995 and 2000, tested the effect of carbohydrate vs. fat overfeeding on body fat gain in humans. What did they find, and why is it important?

We know that daily calorie intake has increased the US, in parallel with the dramatic increase in body fatness. These excess calories appear to have come from fat, carbohydrate, and protein all at the same time (although carbohydrate increased the most). Since the increase in calories, carbohydrate, fat, and protein all happened at the same time, how do we know that the obesity epidemic was due to increased calorie intake and not just increased carbohydrate or fat intake? If our calorie intake had increased solely by the addition of carbohydrate or fat, would we be in the midst of an obesity epidemic?

The best way to answer this question is to examine the controlled studies that have compared carbohydrate and fat overfeeding in humans.

Horton et al.

Read more �

Princess Health and Princess Health andStates and their congressmen battling new painkiller that is easier to crush and inject.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andStates and their congressmen battling new painkiller that is easier to crush and inject.Princessiccia

addiction drug abuse drugs

Gusty 20:49 Add Comment

Some states are restricting the use of the new painkiller Zohydro, "setting up a showdown with the federal government over who gets to decide the best way to protect public health," Michael Ollove reports for Stateline.

Rogers (Herald-Leader photo)

Though millions of chronic pain sufferers could benefit from the drug, some officials worry that abusers will crush and inject it for a big high, will significantly worsen the painkiller abuse crisis they have been battling. Combating prescription drug abuse has been a focus in Kentucky for the past few years. U.S. Reps. Hal Rogers of Somerset and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts have introduced a bill to withdraw the Food and Drug Administration's approval, done though an advisory board voted 11-2 against it.

A federal judge told Massachusetts officials that they cannot ban a drug that the FDA has declared safe and effective, but Gov. Deval Patrick is restricting its use. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has taken similar measures, and the Ohio legislature is debating similar action. Twenty-nine state attorneys general, including Kentucky's Jack Conway, have requested that the FDA rethink its approval of Zohydro.

"We're in the context of a very serious epidemic of opioid drug addictions and opioid deaths, and that's a public health crisis that has been growing over the last decade and half," said Michael Carome, director of the Health Research Group at the consumer organization Public Citizen. "The last thing we needed was another extended release opioid for treating chronic pain."

According to Trust for America's Health's 2013 report, "6.1 million Americans abuse or misuse prescription drugs," and "Overdose deaths involving prescription painkillers have quadrupled since 1999, and now outnumber those from heroin and cocaine combined, Ollove reports. Zohydro is an opioid, and opioids are not only easily abused but are also unfortunately gateway drugs, influencing people to use heroin, which isn't as expensive. One advantage to Zohydro is that it is a single-ingredient, long-acting product, unlike other painkillers that were combined with acetaminophen, which can be injurious to the liver.

Opponents are frustrated that the FDA not only approved the drug but also did not force the manufacturer, Zogenix, to create a version that isn't so easy to abuse. The company has said it is making such a version. "In the meantime, it said it has implemented other safeguards, such as compensating sales representatives for educating doctors, pharmacists and patients on the risks and benefits of extended-release opioids," Ollove writes.

Sherry Green, chief operating officer of The National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws, agreed withZohydro maker Zogenix "that taking action against selective prescription drugs is the wrong approach," Ollove reports. Green said, "When we focus almost solely on an individual drug, we tend not to put as much attention on the underlying problem, which is the abuse and addiction. Obstructing illicit routes to one medication only creates pathways to another one." (Read more)