Lifelong Learning

Our Problem to the South

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Kidnapping of US antikidnapping consultant rattles Mexico | csmonitor.com

The time I spent working in the international offshore life markets was interesting.  You learned quickly that some risks (CHD, cancer) are the same as US mortality while others were quite different.  Understanding the difference in mortality risks by country often IS the difference between profits or losses.

If you rent a movie this weekend, I recommend Man on Fire.  This film came out in 2004 and was directed by Tony Scott with Denzel Washington playing the lead role as a security guy.

Even Denzel didn’t get out alive.

Med + VOO and Nuts to You

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Arch Intern Med — Abstract: Effect of a Mediterranean Diet Supplemented With Nuts on Metabolic Syndrome Status: One-Year Results of the PREDIMED Randomized Trial, Dec 8/22, 2008, Salas-Salvadó et al. 168 (22): 2449

I am particularly fond of cashews and EVOO.  My favorite EVOO is Borges.  It won’t be long before we design dietary drill downs for our tele-underwriting scripts.

CKD Risk and High HgbA1c

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Arch Intern Med — Abstract: Poor Glycemic Control in Diabetes and the Risk of Incident Chronic Kidney Disease Even in the Absence of Albuminuria and Retinopathy: Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, Dec 8/22, 2008, Bash et al. 168 (22): 2440

The more we know, the less we know.  The study population is small, but the findings merit our collective attention.  Think about these things the next time you are considering credits for the absence of retinopathy and/or albuminuria in a diabetic applicant.

Vitamin D and All-Cause Mortality

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Follow this link to The American Academy of Dermatology homepage to download a PDF version of the AAD’s position statement on Vitamin D.  We are seeing a lot more older age applicants and it is critical for underwriters to factor in low Vitamin D levels when assessing such risks.

Very few foods in nature contain Vitamin D (but you already knew that, didn’t you?). 

Low levels of Vitamin D have a higher risk of all-cause mortality.

Click this link to access a good article on Vitamin D deficiency and higher all-cause mortality. 

Primary Care Metabolic Group – Vitamin D Deficiency

May I recommend a couple of glasses of soymilk daily?