MATURE MARKET HEADLINES 03/06/2000
Boomer Pot-Use Part of New Risk-dom Trend
The sixties are over, boomers. Time to stop letting your health go up
in smoke. Smoking, in general, is harmful to your health. There's a
mountain of evidence to prove that point. So just putting a cigarette
in your mouth makes you look pretty foolish, even stupid. However,
smoking marijuana, according to a new study, makes you look like a real
butt head. Nevertheless, many baby boomers continue to abuse marijuana.
Is this risky business part of a new baby boomer trend that could be
labeled as "risk-dom"? AgeVenture News Editor and gerontologist, Dr.
David Demko thinks so. Here's one case in point.
Middle-aged and elderly marijuana users increase their risk
of a heart attack by more than 400% during the first hour after smoking
the drug, according to a new study presented at the American Heart
Association's annual conference on cardiovascular disease. Researchers
collected detailed information on marijuana use in 3,882 patients who
had suffered heart attacks. Some marijuana users reported smoking the
drug within 24 hours before their heart attack. Still others had used
it within an hour of the onset of symptoms.
"To my knowledge, this is the first study to document that smoking marijuana can trigger a heart attack," says
Murray A. Mittleman, M.D., Dr.P.H., director of cardiovascular epidemiology at Boston's Beth
Israel-Deaconess Medical Center. "It increases the heart rate by about 40 beats per minute," he says. "It also
causes the blood pressure to increase when the person is lying down, and then abruptly fall when the person
stands up, often causing dizziness. These effects may pose significant risk, especially in people with
unrecognized coronary disease."
"We found that during the first hour after use, the risk of a heart attack is 4.8 times higher than during periods
of non-use," says Mittleman. "In the second hour, the risk drops to 1.7 times higher than during periods of
non-use. This indicates a rapid decline in the dangerous effects of marijuana on the heart, but the short-term
risk is considerable, especially for patients with other risk factors."
Based on the study, the cardiac risks to individual users posed by marijuana appear to be much lower than
those associated with cocaine use, which causes much sharper rises in both heart rate and blood pressure,
Mittleman says. However, he adds that the overall public health threat from marijuana could be even greater
than from cocaine because marijuana use is believed to be more widespread.
The study's findings provide "possible new food for thought" in
the ongoing controversy over whether
marijuana use for medical purposes should be legalized, he says. In a
1996 referendum in California, voters approved the legal medical use of
marijuana, and since then, at least seven other states have passed laws
allowing physicians to prescribe the drug, although it is still
prohibited by federal law, Mittleman says.
A recent report by The Institute of Medicine, of the National Academy of Sciences, found no significant
marijuana-related cardiac risk among younger users, he says. "But part of the problem lies in the fact that we
now have millions of baby boomers who are reaching the age when the risk of coronary heart disease
increases for both men and women," Mittleman adds.
"Many of these people were users of marijuana when they were in
their teens and 20s, and a sizable
percentage of them may still use the drug, either frequently or
occasionally," he says. "They should at least be aware that their risk
of a heart attack suddenly soars each time they smoke the drug."
Mittleman says researchers still aren't sure whether it's the marijuana itself that causes the increased risk of
heart attack, or whether it's other components in the smoke such as carbon monoxide, or a combination of the
two. "This is an area that warrants further study," he says.
"Given the mounting evidence regarding the negative effects of both
marijuana and smoking in general, it's surprising that educated, mature
adults continue to take such risks", says AgeVenture News Editor, Dr.
David Demko. "This study doesn't exactly support the old notion that with age comes wisdom".
Aging boomers feel that with only a "few good years left", they might
as well indulge themselves, regardless of the health risks. If that's
the case, maybe that old notion about age and wisdom needs to be
updated. How does this sound, "with age comes risk-dom"? It
wouldn't be the first time baby boomers changed the world to suit their
own purposes. There's already evidence of what Demko calls the new
"risk-dom" trend among boomers. One case in point is the increasing
popularity of the new National Geographic "Adventure Magazine" that
documents plenty of boomer risk-takers constantly pushing the envelope,
sometimes with disastrous effects.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
Do Boomers Myth Marijuana? Science Thinks So
Marijuana Study Blows The Lid Off Pot
25 Exciting Adventures ... keep up with the Indiana Jones
Boomers Drive Adventure Travel Trend
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Judge's Education Ruling Courts StupidityThe educational level
of a society is like a barometer measuring the degree of hopefulness
for our collective future. A learned society can offer the promise of
hope and prosperity. On the other hand, the "dumbing down" of our
children's educational experience doesn't paint a pretty picture of the
future. Well, here's today's forecast for Florida's future, and it
isn't exactly sunny. Many Florida schools are failing to educate our
kids, and if one Florida judge has his way, things will pretty much
stay that way. Here's the proverbial scoop on the state of Florida's
schools.
A Florida judge has made a judgement call that is troublesome
for our future. In a nutshell, kids who are stuck in a failing public
school will not be permitted to seek educational refuge in a private
school ... not with the support of Florida's Opportunity Scholarship
Program. That's the program that many people refer to as the "voucher
system". Translation. Even when things get really bad, it's always
possible for them to get even worse.
Millions of Florida's baby boomer parents and millions more of
Florida's grandparents don't have much to look forward to when it comes
to educating our children, the little ones who represent Florida's
future.
Don't take my word for it. I'm including a statement from the governor
in today's column. So the status report on Florida's educational system
will come to you straight from "the horse's mouth", in a manner of
speaking. So, if you're a parent, grandparent, or heck even a kid (it's
really your future at stake here), then you need to understand and
support our governor's position on Florida's educational policy. Here's
the statement by Governor Job Bush.
Statement By: GOVERNOR JEW BUSH
Regarding Opportunity Scholarship Program Ruling
"Today, a local Tallahassee judge enjoined part of Florida's
Opportunity Scholarship Program which provides tuition assistance and
other aid to children trapped in chronically failing public schools.
The judge's order will prevent any Florida child from attending a
private school under the Opportunity Scholarship Program next year, even
if the public schools in the surrounding area are not providing high
quality educational services.
"My heart goes out to the children and parents who are currently
receiving Opportunity Scholarships and who may be adversely affected by
this decision. I promise that I will not let this lawsuit interfere
with their educational experiences. I also promise them that we will
fight this ruling vigorously in the appellate courts.
"The judge's decision in this case is at odds with all the relevant case
law, as well as long-established practice in the State of Florida. For
decades, millions of state dollars have been spent each year to provide
private education to children in need. No one has ever claimed that
this spending is unconstitutional, yet this opinion clearly suggests
that it is under the new constitutional language Florida voters adopted
in 1998. In my view, this is a gross distortion of the Florida
Constitution, and will be reversed by the higher courts."
(End of statement).
When I first learned about the judge's decision and read the
governor's response, it really got me thinking.
First, I felt bewildered by the judge's position because I could find
no evidence of logic in that decision. Second, I felt encouraged by the
governor's response because the greatest thing about living in a
democracy is that the people always have recourse to righting a wrong.
Third, I understand that you can learn from your mistakes. Yes,
adversity can be a great teacher. Every problem, if you work on it,
teaches a solution. I hope Florida will learn from this judge's
mistake, and become involved in a campaign that encourages the best
education for our children, regardless of where it can be found. This
may be our last chance to make a difference. If we don't, the next
generation may not be about to read either a judge's questionable
decision, or a governor's courageous response.
David Demko, Editor, AgeVenture News Service, Boca Raton, Florida.
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Doctors Gain Faith in Power of Prayer
Remember that popular war-time phrase? "There are no atheists in
foxholes." And what song was the orchestra playing on the sinking deck
of the Titanic ... "Nearer My God to Thee". Yep, they were about as
near as you can get. So, it comes as no surprise that when the going
gets tough, people turn to a higher power, the power of prayer.
Nevertheless, the debate between faith in science and faith in
God has been going on for centuries. Recently, though, the gap between
science and spirituality has narrowed. Not that one will ever replace
the other, but it seems that the power of medicine and the power of
prayer are being welded into a powerful force for healing. Will the
operating rooms of the future echo the voices of surgeons singing
"Praise the Lord, and Pass the Anesthesia"? Could be. Take a look at
what medical science is discovering about the healing power of prayer.
Steven Lamm, MD, writes in the March issue of New Choices
magazine that researchers "recruited a cross-denominational team of
Christians to pray for half the patients admitted to the coronary care
unit at the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri." The
internist cited astonishing recoveries from illness generated by the
prayers and positive expectations of the patient's friends and family.
In the Kansas City study, Dr. Lamm reported that "The
chaplain's secretary randomly assigned all new patients to one of two
groups: those who would be prayed for and those who received the usual
care." Lamm says that "Over a 12-month period, the patients who were
prayed for (and who, again, were unaware of the prayers) fared better
than those who had no prayers said for them."
Dr. Lamm also cites a study by Texas orthopedic surgeon J.
Bruce Moseley, Jr., M.D. In that study, says Lamm, "Five people
received arthroscopic surgery (an operation performed through a very
small incision), while five others underwent sham surgery consisting of
three shallow nicks that made it seem that they actually had the
operation." "Two years later, those who'd had the sham surgery reported
the same amount of relief from pain and swelling as those who had had
the real operation. Even more astonishing, four of the people in the
placebo group recommended the surgery to friends, and another requested
that the operation be repeated on the other knee."
In 1988, notes Lamm, one of the "most astonishing studies" in
the power of prayer was conducted in the coronary care unit of San
Francisco General Hospital. Randolph Byrd, M.D., asked volunteers to
offer a daily prayer for 192 critically ill men and women, without
their knowledge. Although these patients were unaware of the prayers,
Lamm reports in his New Choices magazine column, that they had fewer
cases of congestive heart failure, heart attacks, and pneumonia, and
less need for antibiotics when compared with 200 other patients in the
unit."
AgeVenture News (AVN) encourages continued research into the
power of prayer as it relates to health and wellness. Perhaps
additional studies will include other faiths in order to generalize the
beneficial affects of all types and denominations of prayer. Such an
approach appears to make sense, because even though faith practices
differ widely, the belief in one recipient of prayer, one God, is
fairly universal. At any rate, this is an area of medical research that
shows great promise. It is an area of knowledge that needs to grow.
Let's pray that it does.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
A Prayer A Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Prayer Versus Elder Depression
Longevity Fostered by Faith and Friendship
Religious Are More Faithful to Ways of Wellness
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Nurseless Nursing Homes Nursing Less
Discovering that America's nursing homes are running low on ... nurses
... is unimaginable. Like a Dunk'n Donut shop without ... donuts.
Starbucks without coffee. What's going on here? Nursing homes without
nurses?? !! That's right. One of the biggest problems in eldercare
today is nurseless nursing homes that are nursing less. Just when the
most frail elderly are in the greatest need of nursing care, the very
nursing care facilities set up to help them may be doing more harm than
good.
A 1999 GAO study of nursing homes in four states found that
many institutions had caused actual or potential death or serious
injury to residents. "One of the major reasons that some nursing homes
are still providing inadequate quality of care is that they provide
inadequate levels of nursing staff," says Charlene Harrington, RN, PhD.
Dr. Harrington is a professor at the UCSF School of Nursing.
An expert panel found that in nursing homes where nurse staffing was
low, resident problems such as high urinary catheter use, low rates of
skin care, poor feeding of residents, malnutrition, dehydration,
starvation and low participation in activities were more frequent. The
expert panel on nursing home care was convened by the John A. Hartford
Institute for Geriatric Nursing, Division of Nursing at New York
University.
The experts recommend a minimum ratio of one caregiver to five
residents during the day, one caregiver to ten in the evenings, and one
to fifteen residents at night. The experts recommended residents
receive at least 273 minutes (4 1/2 hours) per day of direct care, with
increases in staff for residents that require additional care.
According to the federal On-Line Survey, Certification, and Reporting
System, a database on all nursing facilities federally certified for
Medicare and Medicaid, residents currently receive 210 minutes (3 1/2
hours) of direct care. A key barrier to adding more nursing personnel
is cost, says Harrington.
AgeVenture News Editor, Dr. David Demko summarized the current demise
in nursing home care in these terms. "If it's true that you get what
you pay for, then the nation's most vulnerable elders aren't getting
the care they require." "Unless staffing patterns in nursing homes
improve, the notion of reaching a ripe, old age will continue to be a
mixed blessing. Sure it's great to live a long time, but if you require
nursing care, today's system seems to be running a bit ... well ...
careless".
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
New Effort Improves Nursing Home Care
Nursing Homes Ignore Many Elders in Pain
Shopping for a Nursing Home? Start Here
HCFA Champions Quality Elder Care in Nursing Homes
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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The Color of Money vs Color of Patient CareThe color of a
patient's money is always green, but the "color of the care" received
can be either red, yellow, black or white ... according to a new study
evaluating differences in attitudes toward primary care physicians
among patients of various ethnic and racial backgrounds. The study,
which was conducted by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical
Care Program in Northern California and the University of
California-San Francisco, was funded by the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality.
The study included reports from 1,007 Asian patients, 836
African American patients, 710 Latino patients, and 7,747 white
patients who received care from a mix of general internists, internal
medicine subspecialists, and family physicians at 13 Kaiser facilities.
The patients, who were between the ages of 35 and 85, were asked to
rate doctors on their technical competence, communication skills,
overall accessibility, prevention and health promotion activities, and
overall satisfaction.
Among different Asian ethnic subgroups, Chinese and Filipino
patients appeared less likely to be satisfied with their physicians,
while Japanese patients were least likely to say they would recommend
their doctor. Latino patients rated physicians' accessibility and
technical skills less favorably than did white patients. African
American patients gave physicians' use of the latest technology and of
psychosocial and lifestyle health promotion a higher rating than did
white patients.
Researchers noted that their findings may represent actual
differences in quality of care or variations in patient perceptions,
expectations, and/or questionnaire response styles. They concluded that
more research is needed to assess, in accurate and culturally
appropriate ways, whether health plans are meeting the needs of diverse
patient populations.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
How to be a Power Patient at Next Doctor Visit
Strengthening Doctor-Patient Relationships
Glaucoma Surgery Varies Based on Race
Menopause More Kind To Japanese Women
Hispanic Elders High Risk for Diabetes
New Trend in African-American Eldercare
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Bill's Medicare Bill Doesn't Quite Fit the BillMedicare reform
is headed for the top of the nation's domestic agenda, say Heritage
Foundation analysts, James Froguef and Robert E. Moffit, but President
Clinton's blueprint for modernizing Medicare's 35 year old bureaucracy
falls short of the mark. This is no slam at the President. The guy with
the nation's top job always has a full plate of social issues to
digest. So let's see if we can help Bill's Medicare Bill "fit the
bill", so to speak, by analyzing some of the issues. Afterall, there's
a pressing need for comprehensive Medicare reform because the program
is going bankrupt while simultaneously consuming ever-larger chunks of
the federal budget.
Let's start at the beginning. The Clinton blueprint for Medicare reform includes the following.
- Grant the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) more
authority to contract with providers it deems to be exceptional in
terms of efficiency and quality of care.
- Institute a "competitive defined benefit," which would permit
private plans to compete for Medicare beneficiaries on the basis of
price and quality.
- Add an outpatient prescription drug benefit (Medicare Part D).
- Allow persons aged 55-64 to buy into Medicare.
- Commit $432 billion in unrealized on-budget surpluses to Medicare over 10 years.
The Clinton proposal, says the Heritage Foundation, has at least five disturbing features. Specifically, it would:
- 1.Expand the power of the Health Care Financing Administration, the powerful federal agency that runs the Medicare program.
- 2.Cost taxpayers and retirees far more than official estimates indicate.
- 3.Retain Medicare's 35-year-old bureaucratic structure,
despite significant changes in health care delivery and the dramatic
projected increase in the Medicare population.
- 4.Constrain Medicare patients' choice of private health plans and benefits.
- 5.Cause senior citizens to lose private employer-based prescription drug coverage.
At the heart of the Clinton proposal is a plan to add an
outpatient prescription drug benefit to Medicare: a HCFA-run Medicare
Part D. Beginning in 2003 (under the most recent version of the
proposal), seniors would pay $26 per month for the program, which would
reimburse them for 50 percent of up to $2,000 in drug costs in that
year. The cost per beneficiary would gradually increase to $51 per
month by 2009 for 50 percent of up to $5,000 in drug costs.
This coverage design also exhibits several shortcomings, say Froguef and Moffit.
- Seniors could still be exposed to new, high costs if their treatment required very expensive medicines.
- Lower-income working families would be subsidizing first-dollar drug coverage for wealthy retirees.
- Employers would be encouraged to drop retirees from private coverage.
- The cost to seniors of the newest, most effective drugs could be much higher, making this coverage even weaker.
Congress should avoid the temptation to create a larger, more
complex, and perhaps all-too-powerful government bureaucracy. Instead,
the focus should be on how best to enable seniors make their own
choices, says the Heritage Foundation. "Allow beneficiaries either to
remain in traditional fee-for-service Medicare or to select a private
plan."
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
Medicare Extension Ounce of Prevention
Medicare Reform: Its Voices and Refrains
Senior Law Center Calls for Medicare Reform
Drug Price Controls Bad Medicine for Elders
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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GenX Attachment Styles vs RelationshipsJamila Bookwala, a
psychology professor at Penn State Abington near Philadelphia who
specializes in the study of aggression and attachment styles in
relationships, studied 161 undergraduate students of both sexes
recently to determine how their attachment style affects the way they
approach relationships with the opposite sex.
The students were asked to rate themselves based on the following qualities:
- SECURE
those who view themselves and their partner in a positive light; enjoy close relationships; are comfortable
with intimacy.
- DISMISSING
those who view themselves positively but not others; do not feel a need for close, intimate relationships.
- PREOCCUPIED
those who view themselves negatively but view partners positively;
have low self- esteem; seek to form intimate relationships but feel
threatened about losing the partner; see the partner as less
emotionally involved in the relationship than they would like.
- FEARFUL
those who view themselves and the partner negatively; have
difficulty trusting others; are uncomfortable with intimacy and fear
that it will eventually lead to hurt and disappointment.
Bookwala found that those who had a "fearful" attachment
style were the least likely to be involved in a serious dating
relationship, while those respondents who identified more with having a
"secure" attachment style were at the opposite end of the romantic
spectrum. "Fearful" individuals, says Bookwala, includes those who are
uncomfortable in close relationships.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
GenX Cynicism Rivals That Of Boomers
Elder, Boomer, & GenX Views on God
Money Tips For GenX, Boomers, And Seniors
Millennium Manifests GenX Moral Majority
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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