HPV virus is linked to 25,000 cancers over five years. The human wart virus known as HPV caused 25,000 cases of cancer in the United States between 1998 and 2003, including not only cervical cancer but also anal and mouth cancers, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Monday. The study suggests the need for screening of both men and women to be expanded for human papillomavirus, or HPV, said another team of researchers, who did a similar study. HPV includes about 100 different viruses, and they are the leading cause of cervical cancer. The viruses, transmitted sexually and by skin-to-skin contact, can also cause anal and penile cancers, as well as cancers of the mouth and throat. HPV also causes common warts. Both Merck and Co. and GlaxoSmithKline make vaccines against some of the strains of HPV most strongly linked with cervical cancer, but not all. The vaccines are recommended for girls and young women who have not yet become sexual activity. ”Currently available HPV vaccines have the potential to reduce the rates of HPV-associated cancers, like oral and anal cancers, that are currently on the rise and for which there is no effective or widely applied screening programs,” the CDC’s Dr. Mona Saraiya, who led the study, said in a statement. “This gives us baseline data to measure the impact of HPV vaccine and cervical cancer screening programs in reducing the incidence of cervical cancer and other HPV-associated cancers… .”
Sleep is seen as the newest obesity fighter. Consistently getting a good night’s sleep may help protect children from becoming overweight adults, a study published Monday suggests. Researchers found that among more than 1,000 people followed from birth to age 32, those who got too little sleep as children were more likely than their well-rested counterparts to become obese adults, Reuters News reports. The link between sleep deprivation during childhood and obesity risk later in life held up even when the researchers figured in things like the impact of a child’s weight or TV habits, and adulthood exercise level. All of this supports the idea that early sleep habits have a direct effect on weight in the long term, according to Dr. Robert John Hancox, the study’s senior author. “Although we cannot prove that this is a cause-and-effect relationship,” he told Reuters Health, “this study provides strong evidence that it probably is.”
Eating more fish can help you control diabetes. Centering your dinner around a fish dish at least twice a week might help people with diabetes lower their risk of kidney disease, a study suggests. In the November issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, British researchers analyzed the records of more than 22,300 middle-aged and older English men and women who were part of a large European cancer study to determine the effect of fish on kidney disease. What they found is that of the 517 study subjects who had diabetes (most of whom had type 2), those who on average ate less than one serving of fish each week were four times as likely to have albumin in their urine than people with diabetes who ate fish twice a week. Adler speculates that the nutrient content of fish may affect kidney function and improve blood glucose control. But the researchers could not say what type of fish had the biggest impact, reports USA Today.To get more help with diabetes, go to BET.com/Body &Soul.