BPA Update, Life Expectancies Decline & ADHD

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7:00am Segment Info:
Last week I told you about how the government is concerned about a chemical called bisphenol-A or BPA in plastics.

Now TOYS "R" US says it will phase out baby bottles containing BPA. They plan to have all baby products with BPA off the shelves by the end of next year. The national toxicology program says there is some concern about bisphenol-A because studies in rats show it can cause problems with behavior, puberty and possibly precancerous changes in the prostate and breast.

How common is BPA?

MORE AFTER THE JUMP...

It's extremely common. In fact, according to health officials virtually all of us have trace amounts of BPA in our systems. The big question here is, is it safe. And to be honest we really don't know the answer to that question right now. The plastics industry says it's safe, but not everyone agrees. That's why the government wants to study this chemical more closely.

In other news, some women aren't living as long as they used to...

That's right, at a time when people are supposed to be living longer.

A new study finds life expectancy is on the decline for women in 180 counties in the United States. Between 1983 and 1999 the decline averaged 1.3 years. Researchers blame the decrease on high blood pressure and chronic diseases related to smoking and obesity like lung cancer and diabetes. Most of the women lived in the deep South and Appalachia.

What about men?

Men's life expectancy was also down by 1.3 years but only in 11 counties.
The sad part about this is that these causes of death. Related to smoking and obesity are completely preventable. We need to do a better job educating people about the importance of losing weight and kicking the habit. And also give them the tools to make it happen.

7:00am Segment Info:
The American Heart Association now recommends that children with attention deficit disorder be screened for heart problems before getting drugs like Ritalin or Adderall because the stimulant drugs can increase blood pressure and heart rate.

A screening of about 1100 healthy children found about 2% of them had some kind of heart problem. While this is not a problem for most children, it could make those with heart conditions more vulnerable to sudden cardiac
Arrest.

What kind of testing is needed?

It's very simple and not very expensive. The American Heart Association is recommending children get a thorough physical exam, a family history and an electrocardiogram or ECG. This is also recommended for children already on the medication if they have not had an evaluation in the past. The FDA found reports of 19 sudden deaths in children treated with ADHD drugs and 26 reports of other problems including strokes and fast heart rates between 1999 and 2003.

Steve, a simple saliva test may one day be used to quickly tell if a person is having a heart attack?

A group of bio-chemists developed a nano-bio-chip sensor that's programmed to detect sets of proteins in saliva in people currently having a heart attack or those at risk of having one in the near future. The saliva heart attack test takes as little as 15 minutes.

How could this help doctors in the ER?

It would be a tremendous tool. One of the toughest decisions an e-r doc has to make is to determine if someone is having a heart attack or may be at risk for one in the immediate future. Sometimes it's very easy to tell other times it's not. So a test like this would be great. But it has to be reliable.