life underwriting

Physicians are being murdered for not prescribing opioids

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I would like to suggest that the root of this opioid epidemic lies far deeper than “physicians overprescribing.” The problem is that we are now a society of adults who have no coping skills. No ability to deal with the curves that life throws us. Everyone is looking for a quick fix. We have taught our children that they should never have to feel any sort of discomfort whether emotional or physical.

Source: Physicians are being murdered for not prescribing opioids

I’ve been concerned about the lack of coping skills for quite some time.

Then I read this:

The number of Americans who say they’ve taken an antidepressant over the past month rose by 65 percent between 1999 and 2014, a new government survey finds.

Source: Antidepressant Use Jumps 65 Percent in 15 Years

This is depressing.

Jargon Muddies Radiology Reports

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The study, for which Dr Gunn was lead author, was a survey of 59 radiologists and 100 primary care physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), which he undertook during his training there (J Am Coll Radiol. 2013;10:122-127).

Both groups of doctors were asked to consider hypothetical radiology reports and interpret the statistical likelihood (0% to 25%, 26% to 50%, and so on) of the presence of metastatic disease based on the terms used in the report.

The modifying terms were “diagnostic for,” “represents,” “likely represents,” “probably,” “consistent with,” “compatible with,” “concerning for,” “suspicious for,” “may represent,” and “cannot exclude.”

Source: Jargon Muddies Radiology Reports, Including About Cancers

The article comments are priceless.  For example, Dr. Mark Walters writes:

This is a made up problem.  I have never had a clinician, in 30 years of Radiology practice, come to me and say they did not understand the meaning of ” consistent with” or “cannot exclude”.

Clear as mud.

Abdominal Aortic Calcification Among Individuals With and Without Diabetes: The Jackson Heart Study

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In the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), we examined the association of diabetes with abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) among African Americans. Among included individuals (n = 1,664), the mean age was 57 (± 11) years, 69% were female, and 18.3% had diabetes (based on fasting blood glucose [FBG], HbA1c, use of glucose-lowering medications, or physician diagnosis). The median AAC and coronary artery calcification (CAC) scores were 904.15 (interquartile range 0–1093.10) and 0 (0–96.19), respectively. The prevalence of any AAC or CAC was 69% and 49%, respectively. Individuals with diabetes were older, had higher BMI, had higher systolic blood pressure and prevalence of hypertension, had lower HDL levels, were less affluent or physically active, had poorer nutritional intake, and had higher levels of hs-CRP.

Source: Diabetes Care

Social isolation, loneliness could be greater threat to public health than obesity – ScienceDaily

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To illustrate the influence of social isolation and loneliness on the risk for premature mortality, Holt-Lunstad presented data from two meta-analyses. The first involved 148 studies, representing more than 300,000 participants, and found that greater social connection is associated with a 50 percent reduced risk of early death. The second study, involving 70 studies representing more than 3.4 million individuals primarily from North America but also from Europe, Asia and Australia, examined the role that social isolation, loneliness or living alone might have on mortality. Researchers found that all three had a significant and equal effect on the risk of premature death, one that was equal to or exceeded the effect of other well-accepted risk factors such as obesity.

Source: Social isolation, loneliness could be greater threat to public health than obesity — ScienceDaily

Get off your damn phone, get out of the house and go do something with your family and friends.

Change in Diet Can Lower Mortality Risk

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A worsening diet over the course of 12 years was associated with an increased mortality of 6% to 12%, the researchers found.  Those who stayed consistently on a healthy diet starting at baseline had a 9% to 14% lower risk for death than those who stayed consistently on a poor diet.

Source: Change in Diet Can Lower Mortality Risk

Source: Association of Changes in Diet Quality with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality — NEJM