Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Mon, Jun 22 1992 Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 05:14:50 EDT Message-ID: 06-22 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update June 22, 19922 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network GULF VETS REPORT STRESS SIGNS: About 10% of gulf war veterans show symptoms of mild post-traumatic stress disorder, says a researcher reported Sunday to the American Psychological Society in San Diego. Presented by psychologist Paul Bartone, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, the study also says that 3% of gulf veterans are at risk for serious combat-related emotional problems, says the study. (For more, see special Veterans package below.) PANEL ENDORSES DEPO-PROVERA: A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel Friday said that the three-month birth control shot, Depo-Provera, should be approved for use in the USA. Evidence presented to the panel said the drug doesn't raise overall risks of certain cancers. The FDA usually follows the recommendations made by its advisory panels. WEIGHT LOSS MAY STOP DIABETES: Weight loss can prevent type II diabetes - the most common form of the disease, suggests a study presented Sunday at the American Diabetes Association's annual scientific sessions in San Antonio. Most people with type II diabetes are over 30 and overweight. Losing half of excess weight should prevent the disease, said Jose Caro of Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. HOSPITALS TURNING INDIGENT AWAY: More than one out of 10 operators of U.S. hospital executives say rising health care costs have forced them to turn away indigent patients, says a new survey. The survey of 1,670 chief executives, conducted for Deloitte & Touche, a Conn.-based, health care accounting firm, also found that 90% believe that health care rationing is likely to be the future of the U.S. medical system. MORE PROTESTS PLANNED: Abortion opponents vowed to continue demonstrations Monday at Milwaukee clinics. Protesters took Sunday off to attend a church rally. At leasts 143 people were arrested Saturday, including 31 children. That brings the total to 319 arrested during the first week of what organizers said would be a six-week protest. Abortion-rights activists have been on the scene and have kept clinics open. ANTI-TOBACCO RALLY HELD: U.S. Surgeon General Antonia Novello, M.D., M.P.H., participated in a rally in Chicago Sunday to protest smoking and cigarette advertising targeting children. Novello, joining more than 500 physicians from the American Medical Association, said, "Of American children living today, five million will die of smoking-related diseases." DANGEROUS PRODUCTS CITED: Some summer products, such as insect repellents and lawn chemicals, can be health hazards, say two environmental advocacy groups. At a news conference Friday, U.S. Public Interest Research Groups and the National Environmental Law Center, released a 14-page report on potentially dangerous summer products and urged Congress to pass consumer protection legislation. FATE OF CONSUMER LAW UNCLEAR: Supporters of an Ohio protection law still need 25,000 signatures to place it on the November ballot. The law would require consumer products to have warning lablels if they contain one or more of approximately 6000 chemicals thought to cause cancer or birth defects. California has already enacted a similar law. ILL. AIDS LAW OPPOSED: A report from an Illinois task force urges officials not to enforce the state's new AIDS notification law. The law requires HIV-infected medical personnel to notify patients they might have infected. However, the law is unlikely to halt the spread of AIDS, the report says. The laws supporters label the report as uncaring and misguided. VA. SCHOOL PLAN PROMOTES HEALTH: A health plan drafted by Virginia education officials asks schools to participate in the federally funded school breakfast program. The plan to improve the health of the state's students also asks schools to seek health screenings for students, ban or confine smoking in school and to have a medical staff on duty. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON VETERANS: SYMPTOMS VARY WITH COMBAT: The more combat experiences a soldier from the gulf war had, the more mild post traumatic stress disorder symptoms they had, says a study out Sunday. Psychiatric tests of 9,6000 soldiers given three to 12 months after the war checked for symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, startle responses and insomnia. The symptoms are normal responses to traumatic events, says psychologists Paul Bartone. CONTINUED SIGNS CAUSE FOR WORRY: Symptoms are to be expected in the short-term, say Bartone. But this level of disturbance three years from now would be a cause for concern, he adds. Soldiers who felt a solid commitment to the mission and had a sense of control over their environment showed significantly fewer symptoms, say Bartone. The study will follow the soldiers for several more years. (End of package.) Health Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM