Drinking a few cups of coffee a day can help colon cancer patients (the second most diagnosed cancer among Latinos) recover better and lower their chances of dying early according to a new study-- reports NBC News. For the study colon cancer patients reported in a daily diary their daily physical activity and their diet. "What we found in this slightly less than 1,000 patients is that those who drank coffee regularly had a better disease-free survival, meaning they had a lower rate of having their cancer recur or of dying," Dr. Charles Fuchs, director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston told NBC News. Researchers found that “those who drank four or more cups of coffee a day were 42 percent less likely to have their cancer come ...
Numerous diseases can be detected early with an eye exam. According to a recent report by CBS News “61 million American adults are at risk for losing their eyesight, but only half visited an eye doctor in the past year.” Latino adults, who many lack the financial resources or insurance to visit an eye doctor regularly- are also at risk. Among the diseases that can be diagnosed early with an eye exam are: diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke. "The eye is unique in the body," Dr. Christopher Starr, an ophthalmologist at Weill Cornell Medical Center told CBS News "We can examine blood vessels, we can even examine the brain - the optic nerve is part of the brain - and we can see that in great detail on our eye exams. It's the only place in the body where that's ...
Currently, 220,000 Hispanics are living with HIV in the United States and if trends continue the CDC estimates that 1 in 36 Latino men and 1 in 106 Latina women will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. The age group at highest risk are those between 13-24 years old, who accounted for 26 percent of new HIV infections. Among young gay and bisexual males the number of new HIV infections increased by 22 percent. A survey from 2013 found that 34 percent of high school students who reported being sexually active in the previous three months-41 percent did not use a condom. In order to help reduce the numbers of new HIV infections in the Latino community the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched “We can stop HIV One Conversation at a Time / Podemos ...
Científicos de la escuela de medicina de la universidad de Colorado descubrieron que las drogas recreacionales tienen un efecto más elevado en el cerebro de las mujeres que en el de hombres. Reportes demuestran que desde el 2008 el uso de drogas recreacionales por jóvenes latinos ha ido en aumento. El estudio, publicado en Radiology, analizo exámenes del cerebro a través de MRI en 127 hombres y mujeres; entre las personas estudiadas 59 de ellas (28 mujeres y 31 hombres) padecían de previa adicción a la cocaína, anfetaminas y metanfetaminas. Los MRI revelaron que mujeres que anteriormente habían sido adictas a las drogas habían perdido mucho más materia gris que los hombres que anteriormente habían sido adictos. “Mientras las mujeres previamente ...
According to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) teens below the poverty line are doing better than their more affluent peers in getting the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV), which protects against cervical cancer, NPR Health reports. The 2014 National Immunization Survey for Teens, shows that “among teenage girls ages 13 to 17 whose total family income was less than the federal poverty level for their family size, 67.2 percent have received the first dose of the human papillomavirus vaccine, compared to 57.7 percent for those at or above the poverty line. For teen boys, it's 51.6 percent compared to 39.5 percent.” One of the reasons for this trend, according to Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and ...
Compared to the general women population in the U.S. the rate of breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings are low among Latinas. In a new study published in the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives, researchers attribute the low rates among Latinas to age and fear of cancer diagnosis. The research was conducted by analyzing and understanding the characteristics of women who did not follow up with phone calls and participation in Esperanza y Vida, a program aimed at addressing the low rates of breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings among Hispanic women. "Participant loss to follow-up represents a potentially important source of bias in research studies," says Deborah Erwin, PhD, Principal Investigator of the study and Director of the Office of Cancer ...
Inexpensive generic drugs can improve rates of survival in women diagnosed with breast cancer, which disproportionately affects Latinas, CBS News reports. The studies published in The Lancet , revealed “ a class of hormone-therapy drugs called aromatase inhibitors and bone-preserving drugs called bisphosphonates” dramatically increased the rate of survival in post-menopausal women with early breast cancer. "It may be that this is a first step in helping us figure out which patients are more likely benefit and which patients are not," Dr. Dawn L. Hershman, associate professor of medicine and director of the breast cancer program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, told CBS News. "We can strategize to ...
The gap is closing for some disparities among Latinos, but others are widening, according to the 2014 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The most notable reduction in health disparities is the number of uninsured Hispanics. In the first half of 2014, “the percentage of adults ages 18-64 without health insurance decreased more quickly among Blacks and Hispanics than Whites.” The decrease was significant, especially in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Health Care Act. Disparities Among the disparities widening, is Hispanics access to quality health care. Latinos “received worse care than Whites for some quality measures.” The report also found that poor households ...
A recent report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation reveals that in the last years the gap between financially stable families and “economically fragile” Latino families is widening. The 2015 Kids Count Data Book, reveals the harsh realities of growing up Hispanic in the United States. Among the most interesting findings: 42% live in single-parent families.
35% — more than any other racial or ethnic group — live in a household headed by someone without a high-school diploma.
63% of 3- and 4-year-olds do not participate in pre-K programs.
More than 80% fail to read at a proficient level in 4th grade.
Nearly 80% fail to score proficient in math in 8th grade. In Texas, where Latinos make up more than 40 percent of the population, Latino children’s reading ...
