DM Risk – White Rice Bad

Eating more white rice may up the risk of type 2 diabetes, especially for Asian populations, researchers said.Patients who ate the greatest amounts of the grain had a 27% greater risk of developing the disease than those who ate the least, and the relative risk was higher among Asian patients, Qi Sun, PhD, of Harvard, and colleagues, reported in BMJ.

via Medical News:Diabetes Risk: White Rice Joins White Bread – in Primary Care, Diabetes from MedPage Today.

This is very bad news for Chinese take out businesses.

Spider Angioma — NEJM Images in Clinical Medicine

Compression of the central arteriole caused the entire lesion to blanch, and it quickly refilled once the compression was released  This pattern of blanching and refilling characterizes spider angiomas, which are suggestive of liver disease.

Spider Angioma — NEJM.

For the underwriter who always wondered what one of these things looks like.  For the geekiest underwriters, click on and take a look at the video.  And for the underwriter who thinks she should have a Medical Doctor, the following is from the NEJM Resident E-Bulletin of 02.23.12.

Clinical Pearls

  •   What is the differential diagnosis of a subacute confusional state in a patient with liver disease?

The differential diagnosis includes five major syndromes: hepatic encephalopathy, Wernicke’s encephalopathy, alcohol withdrawal, occult seizures, and infection. Hepatic encephalopathy refers to an alternation in cognitive function that is secondary to a metabolic process caused by liver failure. Wernicke’s encephalopathy refers to the triad of gait ataxia, ophthalmoplegia and confusion caused by thiamine deficiency, commonly seen in chronic alcoholics. Alcohol withdrawal, occult seizures, and underlying infection may also cause a subacute confusional state in a patient with chronic liver disease.

BBC News – Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan’s ‘wake-up call’

He began drinking heavily because he thought it would help to prevent his panic attacks – which he had suffered from since he was a teenager. At his worst, he says he was drinking “a gallon of vodka a day”, and then 10 bottles of wine a day “when I was trying to taper down”.

via BBC News – Hardtalk – Guns N’ Roses’ bassist Duff McKagan’s ‘wake-up call’.

For the next time someone asks you why entertainers are underwritten cautiously and carefully.

Scary Chart of the Day – 9/15/11

EconomPic: The Evolution of Food Consumption

While not a surprise, this is rather concerning. I recently outlined that bottom earners have been earning less for the better part of the past 15+ years and it looks like it may be actually impacting the dietary habits of Americans (i.e. eating less [unlikely] or eating cheap / unhealthy food [likely]).

The crossover point in 1999-2000 is what fascinates me.

I was relaxing, catching up with the news when I realized I hadn’t posted a Scary Chart in quite some time.  Then, I saw this chart.  The quote above is from the author of the chart, not me.  Interesting, eh?

Globalization of Diabetes

Globalization of Diabetes

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes is a global public health crisis that threatens the economies of all nations, particularly developing countries. Fueled by rapid urbanization, nutrition transition, and increasingly sedentary lifestyles, the epidemic has grown in parallel with the worldwide rise in obesity. Asia’s large population and rapid economic development have made it an epicenter of the epidemic. Asian populations tend to develop diabetes at younger ages and lower BMI levels than Caucasians. Several factors contribute to accelerated diabetes epidemic in Asians, including the “normal-weight metabolically obese” phenotype; high prevalence of smoking and heavy alcohol use; high intake of refined carbohydrates (e.g., white rice); and dramatically decreased physical activity levels. Poor nutrition in utero and in early life combined with overnutrition in later life may also play a role in Asia’s diabetes epidemic. Recent advances in genome-wide association studies have contributed substantially to our understanding of diabetes pathophysiology, but currently identified genetic loci are insufficient to explain ethnic differences in diabetes risk. Nonetheless, interactions between Westernized diet and lifestyle and genetic background may accelerate the growth of diabetes in the context of rapid nutrition transition. Epidemiologic studies and randomized clinical trials show that type 2 diabetes is largely preventable through diet and lifestyle modifications. Translating these findings into practice, however, requires fundamental changes in public policies, the food and built environments, and health systems. To curb the escalating diabetes epidemic, primary prevention through promotion of a healthy diet and lifestyle should be a global public policy priority.

© 2011 by the American Diabetes Association.  Reproduced on this blog under a Creative Commons license.  Source attribution is provided via link.