Health Reports May Be Judged On 'Huh?' Factor
Heavy Backpack Can Endanger Arms, Shoulders
Last updated Monday, May 12, 2008 6:00 PM CDT in Your Family
By Lee Bowman
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
There are tens of thousands of medical research reports published in some 6,000 scientific journals each year, way more than any human can even skim.
The National Library of Medicine's database of medical research, published in 4,600 journals since 1966, contains 16 million articles and that's still far from complete.
A few years back, an expert estimated a doctor would have to read 17 medical journal articles every day of the year just to keep current in his field. Today, that number is likely much higher with the advent of even more journals that exist only online, but docs at least have some edge as the Internet captures and distills the knowledge explosion to some extent.
The research world judges academic authors' success largely on how many times a report is mentioned, or cited, by other scientific authors. It's called the impact factor.
But those who write about medical research for readers who may not be scientists, must also consider that elusive quality in a study that editors refer to as the "huh?" factor.
Sometimes that means research that proves what most people already believe is true; sometimes the findings baffle conventional wisdom. And sometimes, a study simply begs the question: "What the heck made them decide to research that?"
So here are a few recent reports that made us go "huh?"
• Besides straining the back, the straps of a heavy backpack endanger the arms and shoulders, according to researchers at the University of California-San Diego. They measured blood flow in eight young adult volunteers who were wearing 26-pound backpacks.
They found that circulation through the main artery to the arm declined by about 43 percent and blood supply to the fingers was reduced 54 percent, enough to cause loss of fine motor control and fatigue.
• Just looking forward to a laugh can be good for your health, say researchers at Loma Linda University in California. They found that levels of two hormones known to reduce depression and improve immune response rose and levels of three damaging stress-related hormones decline in a group of volunteers told they would soon be watching a funny video. There was no such change in a control group that did not look forward to a humor film.
• Overweight kids have fewer cavities. Yup. Researchers at the University of Rochester analyzed results for more than 18,000 children taking part in national health and nutrition surveys and found that those classified overweight or at risk for becoming so had fewer cavities and healthier teeth than normal-weight peers ages 6 to 18.
They're not sure why, but suspect high fat diets (as opposed to more cavity causing sugars) or more sedentary lifestyles might be factors.
• On second thought, if you're going to eat a high fat diet, have a cup of coffee, too. Granted, the subjects were just rabbits, but researchers at the University of North Dakota found that just 3 milligrams of caffeine a day -- equal to about one cup of Joe for most folks -- was enough to offset damage to brain cells from a high cholesterol diet.
• Good old bones. Joan Riudavets Moll was 113 years old and still in enviable health when the researchers caught up with him at his home on the Spanish island of Menorca. They analyzed his bones and genes, along with those of a 101-year-old brother and two daughters and a nephew all in their 70s and 80s.
Riudavets, who lived another year and briefly held the title of the oldest man alive before he died in 2004, had normal bone mass and had never broken a bone. But neither he nor his relatives had gene mutations that have been linked to healthy bones and long life. What they did have in common was a diet rich in olive oil, tomatoes, fish and bread, regular physical activity (Riudavets cycled every day until he was 102.) and mild climate, according to the report in the Journal of Gerontology.
Web Watch
www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov
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