GPM is not hiring or looking to add to their underwriting staff at this time. A previous post on this topic was in error. My apologies for the misinformation.
High Risk for Recurrence or Death After 1st Stroke
After a Stroke, High Risk for a Recurrence – BusinessWeek
For the study, published in the Feb. 16 issue of Neurology, Feng’s team collected data on almost 10,400 people in South Carolina who’d had a stroke.
They found that 25 percent of those who had a stroke died within a year, and eight percent had another stroke within a year of their first stroke.
After one year, the risk for another stroke or death continued to rise, the researchers found, with about 18 percent having had another stroke within four years. In that time, about six percent had a heart attack and 41 percent had died from any cause, including 27 percent whose deaths were attributed to a stroke or heart attack.
Define “Celebratory” Please
“Celebratory” of course refers to the practice of some insurance company underwriting departments to allow non-tobacco rates for applicants with occasional use of cigars and pipes.
Cigars, Pipes No ‘Healthy’ Alternative to Cigarettes – BusinessWeek
The study results show clearly that cigar and pipe smokers are exposed to toxins and run the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a progressive destruction of airways than can be crippling. Emphysema and chronic obstructive bronchitis are the two major forms of COPD, which is a leading cause of death among U.S. adults.
Cancer Mortality Rates – Europe
Persistent Favorable Trends in Cancer Mortality Rates in Europe
Overall cancer mortality rates in the European Union decreased by 9% in men and 8% in women from 1990 to 1994 and from 2000 to 2004.
Soft Drinks and Pancreatic Cancer – a Weak Link
Pereira and colleagues followed 60,524 men and women who enrolled in the Singapore Chinese Health Study between April 1993 and December 1998 and were followed for 14 years.
At enrollment, the participants completed a 146-question food frequency questionnaire, which contained three items related to soft drinks and juice. The questions asked the participants how much, if any, they drank of soft drinks such as Coca-Cola and 7-Up, orange juice, and other fruit and vegetable juices.
The dietary data was later cross-referenced with records from the Singapore Cancer Registry and the Singapore Registry of Births and Deaths, to determine which of the participants had died of pancreatic cancer and whether it might be related to their soft drink or juice consumption.
Overall, researchers found that 140 participants had contracted pancreatic cancer.
The results were largely consistent with three of four previous U.S. studies on the links between pancreatic cancer and soft drinks. Three of the U.S. studies found an association between soft drinks and cancer.
Watch That Paxil in Breast Cancer Applicants
Overlapping use of tamoxifen and the antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil) significantly increases the risk of breast cancer mortality, data from a large cohort of breast cancer patients showed.
The excess breast-cancer mortality risk ranged as high as 91%, depending on the duration of simultaneous use, researchers reported online in BMJ.
Oops.
Calcium Scoring May Miss CAD
Contrary to guidelines, the absence of coronary artery calcium doesn’t rule out coronary artery disease in symptomatic patients, researchers found in a new study.
In a multicenter clinical trial, 19% of patients with a coronary calcium score of 0 had stenosis of at least 50% in one or more coronary artery segments, according to Carlos E. Rochitte, MD, of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and colleagues.
Likewise, 20% of vessels seen to be totally occluded on revascularization had no calcium on scans, they reported in the Feb. 16 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
“The absence of coronary calcification should not be used as a gatekeeper and should not prevent a symptomatic patient from undergoing angiography,” the researchers wrote.
Oops.
Four Innovation Lessons from a Beer Company
Four Innovation Lessons from Anheuser-Busch – Scott Anthony – Harvard Business Review
Refreshingly simple, clear, and concise.
Adapting to your business and executing well. That’s the hard part.
The Turnaround is Coming
MIB: Life Activity Increases – Distribution – Life and Health Insurance News
Yesterday I had a nice conversation with a recruiter friend. Search activity is up and increasing weekly. The first talent spots to get filled are in sales and marketing. Support positions will follow. If you’re an underwriter, hang in there. The turnaround is coming.
AEGON Adding to Staff
AEGON in St. Pete is also looking for a life underwriter. Go to the Great Insurance Jobs website.
lifeunderwriter.net 
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