Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Mon, Feb 17 1992 Date: Mon, 17 Feb 92 06:46:35 EST Message-ID: DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update Feb. 17, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network PROSTATE CANCER DATA REPORTED: One in four U.S. men will have prostate surgery by age 85, most for benign disorders, Johns Hopkins University researcher Donald S. Coffey told an American Cancer Society conference this weekend. Ten million men carry latent cancer cells, with cancer developing in 8% of them and killing 34,000 annually. Physicals should include prostate exams for men over 50, Coffey says. OSHA INVESTIGATES AIR QUALITY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is studying the quality of air in workplaces, including tobacco smoke, chemicals, radon and ventilation problems. It is uncertain whether OSHA will ban or restrict smoking or require improved ventilation. It has requested workplace air quality information from the public and other groups and will keep the file open until March 20. PASSIVE SMOKE REDUCTION URGED: Employers should take steps to reduce employee exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the workplace, a 1991 National Institute for Occupational Safety report recommends. Lung cancer from passive smoke claims the lives of approximately 3,700 people annually, according to a draft report from the Environmental Protection Agency. CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME ON RISE: Rates of carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive stress injuries are on the rise, making up 56% of workplace injuries. A new computer from Dragon Systems Inc. may help alleviate the problem. The computer system, unveiled at a New York convention, recognizes human conversation more quickly than current systems. The system should be available in three to five years. WORKING HOURS INCREASING: U.S. men and women worked an average of 158 hours more in 1989 than they did 20 years ago, reports a new study from the Economic Policy Institute released Sunday. Income doesn't stretch as far as it once did, says economists Juliet Schor and Laura Leete-Guy, who wrote the report. As a result, parents have less time to spend with children. AIDS NOT ONLY IN CITIES, ADULTS: Six of 197 students at a Bogata, Texas, school were reported to be HIV-positive last week. The Centers for Disease Control says that of the 206,882 AIDS cases, 789 cases were among teens ages 13 to 19. A study of Job Corps applicants found a rate of 3.6 in 1,000 among possibly high-risk teens. Infections weren't only in urban areas. Small Southeastern towns had some of the highest rates. COURT RULES AGAINST PACEMAKER: The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled Friday that the Sensolog III cardiac pacemaker manufactured by Siemens-Pacesetter, Inc. infringes the activity rate responsive patent held by Medtronic, Inc. The court granted Medtronic's motion to enjoin Siemens-Pacesetter from further manufacturing, using or selling the Sensolog III device. AIDS FUND-RAISING TOUR BEGINS: "Heart Strings - the AIDS Memorial Quilt - And You," a 35-city tour raising money for AIDS organizations, began this month. Included in the production: Act One, the musical "Heart Strings,' Act Two, a display of the NAMES Project AIDS memorial Quilt and Act Three, a call to action. For tour dates and locations, call 404-876-4673. FAMILIES ARE BEING RESHAPED: The modern family is undergoing a cataclysmic change, not dying, says Arlene Skolnick, a research psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley. In her new book, "Embattled Paradise: The American Family in an Age of Uncertainty," (Basic Books, $23), Skolnick argues families, which were never ideal, are finding forms better suited for the 21st century. HEALTH AWARDS OFFERED: Groups and individuals who have helped improve public health are eligible for a $25,000 "Health Education Award" and a $50,000 "Health Improvement Prize" offered by the San Francisco Bay Area-based nonprofit National Health Management Foundation and the Healthtrac Foundation. For information on the awards, which will be presented in September, contact Harry Harrington at 415-445-5217. N.C. ON-JOB DEATHS MISSED: Of on-the-job deaths from 1987-1991 in North Carolina, one in four were missed by the state Labor Department, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported. The agency, which places priority on probing such deaths, missed 97 of 315 on-jobs deaths, according to the state medical examiner's office. The missing statistics were caused by employers failing to report deaths. MASS. TO CONSIDER AIDS BILLS: Massachusetts will hold the first of three public hearings on AIDS bills before the state Legislature in Springfield Monday. Under the bills, it would be a felony to attack police or emergency workers with the intention of infecting them. The bills would also allow the testing of inmates and accident victims. Health Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. 08:0002170000D0217 INSU-R K Callers-jam-insurance-hotline......... A D0217 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