Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 5, 1995 TAG: 9505050087
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
LONDON - Health-conscious drinkers should stick to wine and cut out cocktails, a large Danish study suggests.
Investigators found that people who drank three to five glasses of wine a day lived longer than those who abstained. Hard-liquor drinkers died sooner, but beer had no impact.
The findings will to be published in Saturday's issue of The British Medical Journal.
Despite a slew of studies exploring the effects of alcohol, the evidence is still not clear that the benefits outweigh the risks. The vast majority of studies indicate that, if anything, any kind of alcohol is beneficial, not the particular drink.
Unlike previous research, the new study examined all causes of death, including cancer and accidents, not just heart disease.
``I wouldn't want to recommend never-drinkers to start drinking, but it [the study] does indicate that if you drink spirits [such as vodka or gin] you might want to change to wine,'' said Dr. Morten Gronbaek, the leading investigator at the Institute of Preventive Medicine in Copenhagen.
- Associated Press
Skin cancer deaths increase 4 percent
ATLANTA - The deadliest of skin cancers has gotten deadlier.
The number of people diagnosed with melanoma rose about 4 percent a year from 1973 to 1991, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was faster than any other kind of cancer.
And the rate of melanoma deaths rose by 34 percent, from 1.6 per 100,000 people in 1973 to nearly 2.2 in 1992, the CDC reported. Melanoma causes about three-quarters of all deaths from skin cancer.
- Associated Press
Hospital stays now shorter for childbirth
ATLANTA - Women are spending 37 percent less time in the hospital for childbirth than they did in 1970 as insurance companies push for shorter stays to rein in costs, federal health officials reported Thursday.
The average length of stay for hospital deliveries dropped from 4.1 days in 1970 to 2.6 days in 1992, and the decline hasn't stopped, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Women spent 46 percent less time in the hospital for vaginal births, with the average stay dropping from 3.9 to 2.1 days. The stay for Caesarean sections was cut in half, from 7.8 to 4 days.
- Associated Press
Many children still need vaccinations
WASHINGTON - As many as 2 million American children under the age of 2 don't have all the vaccinations they need because of problems ranging from missed opportunities at the doctor's office to inadequate services for the poor, experts told a Senate panel on Thursday.
Even with the 7-month-old government Vaccine For Children Program, which provides free vaccines for uninsured, underinsured, Medicaid-eligible and some minorities, many children still fall through the cracks, said Dr. David Satcher, director of the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. F.E. Thompson Jr. of the Mississippi Health Department told the Senate Finance Committee that physicians often do not check on whether their young patients have been vaccinated.
- Associated Press
by CNB