Record family health history with Web tool
THE HOLIDAY SEASON is a good time to get answers to family health history questions. Did Grandpa have diabetes? Did Grandma have breast cancer? Knowing the answers may help you make decisions about your own health – or at least avoid being tongue-tied the next time your doctor asks about your family history.
U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona’s office offers a Web-based tool called “My Family Health Portrait” that can help you record diseases that run in your family. You can find it at www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/.
For adults of all ages
Looking for a gift to blow his/her mind? Look no further than “The Architecture and Design of Man and Woman: The Marvel of the Human Body, Revealed.” I have it on good authority that this book of beautiful and exact anatomical illustrations is the coolest present ever.
The book’s author is Alexander Tsiaras, president and founder of Anatomical Travelogue Inc., a New York City company that creates museum exhibits and TV productions that strip away layers of anatomy to reveal the workings of the human body.
I found out about the book by reading www.echojournal.org, a blog devoted to echocardiography, cardiology and clinical sciences.
College students report depression
The need for campus mental health services is growing. That’s the suggestion of poll results from the American College Health Association.
From 2000 to 2004, there was a 4.6 percent increase in the number of students who reported having ever been diagnosed with depression.
In spring 2000, 10.3 percent of students reported that they had ever been diagnosed with depression. Four years later, 14.9 percent of students reported that they had ever been diagnosed with depression. The sample size was 47,202 students at 74 campuses.
Of the students who reported having ever been diagnosed with depression, 25.2 percent said they were in therapy for depression, and 38 percent said they were taking medication for depression.
Watchdog at work
Readers of Public Citizens’ monthly e-newsletter, “Worst Pills, Best Pills News,” weren’t surprised by the five risky drugs listed by U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviewer David Graham in testimony before a Senate subcommittee last month.
Public Citizen petitioned to have two of them, Crestor and Meridia, removed from the market. The group also has warned patients about the risks of taking Bextra, Accutane and Serevent.
To subscribe ($15), go to www.worstpills.org. The site also links consumers to some free content about risky pharmaceuticals.
This month, Public Citizen will expand the site by posting the contents of its book, “Worst Pills, Best Pills,” which provides in-depth information about hundreds of drugs.
Memorial tree
Hospice of Spokane invites people who have lost loved ones to place an inscribed paper dove ornament on the community memorial tree. The tree will be on display Wednesday through Dec. 25 at the STA Plaza in downtown Spokane.