More Americans Have at Least 2 Chronic Health Issues: CDC

HealthDay – 1 hr 50 mins ago TUESDAY, July 31 (HealthDay News) -- The number of Americans aged 45 and older with two or more chronic conditions has grown over the past decade, new research estimates, with seniors especially vulnerable to a rising risk of both diabetes and high blood pressure.

Between 1999-2000 and 2009-2010, the percentage of Americans in the 45- to 64-year age group with two or more of the conditions grew from 16 percent to 21 percent, according to survey results. For adults 65 and older, the percentage increased from 37 percent to 45 percent. The survey was compiled by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Released Tuesday, the report from Virginia Freid and colleagues looked at nine chronic conditions: hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, current asthma and kidney disease.

The percentage of Americans aged 65 and older who had both diabetes and high blood pressure grew from 9 percent to 15 percent, the investigators found.

The report also revealed that 23 percent of adults aged 45 to 64 with at least two chronic conditions -- out of the list of nine -- either didn't receive necessary medical care or delayed it because of cost. That's up from 17 percent a decade earlier.

The percentage of people in that group who didn't get necessary prescription drugs due to cost grew from 14 percent to 22 percent over the decade.

Among individual conditions in people aged 45 or older, the prevalence of high blood pressure grew from 35 percent to 41 percent, diabetes from 10 percent to 15 percent, and cancer from 9 percent to 11 percent.

The rise in the number of people with more than one chronic condition "presents a complex challenge to the U.S. health care system, both in terms of quality of life and expenditures for an aging population," the report stated.

The findings are published in the July edition of the NCHS Data Brief.

More information

For more about coping with chronic illness, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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At least 3 illegal diamond miners die in S.Africa

Reuters – 3 hrs ago JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - At least three illegal miners were killed and 18 others trapped underground when a tunnel collapsed in a disused diamond mine in South Africa's Northern Cape province, police said on Wednesday.

"One man was rescued and he survived the incident. Three are confirmed dead so far," provincial police commissioner Janet Basson said.

The national rescue team was on the way to help the local authorities and police in their search for the other miners.

Diamond giant De Beers said the incident occurred in an area where it had stopped mining two years ago, adding that the miners had ignored warnings not to enter the disused shafts.

De Beers officials have been at the site since Tuesday.

"People are knowingly entering mine property, destroying fences, ignoring signage, evading arrest, transporting mining equipment and undertaking the dangerous excavation of tunnels which have proven to be unsafe and have in fact cost the lives of illegal diggers in the past," it said in a statement.

Unions could not immediately be reached for comment.

The area is on the edge of Namaqualand Mines, which De Beers is in the process of selling to Johannesburg-listed miner Trans Hex.

De Beers said it had recently been telling people living nearby about the dangers of illegal mining via the regional radio and in community discussions.

South Africa has the world's deepest gold mines and is also a major producer of platinum and coal. Old or abandoned shafts are often worked by informal diggers, many of them migrants from Zimbabwe or Mozambique.

In a separate incident at a disused gold mine at Welkom in the Free State province, police said five men had been brought out alive since late on Tuesday but others remained trapped underground.

"There are still people underground, alive. We cannot confirm how many because they are scattered," provincial police spokesman Sam Makhele said. "The problem is that they can only be rescued one by one and that takes time."

In March, up to 20 illegal miners were thought to have died after a rock fall at another abandoned mine.

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Salmonella linked to dog food, sickens at least 14 people

Reuters – Sat, May 5, 2012 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An outbreak of a rare strain of salmonella poisoning linked to dog food has infected at least 14 people in nine states, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention said.

Diamond Pet Foods produced the dry dog food at a South Carolina plant. The company voluntarily recalled three dry dog food products last month, the CDC said in a statement on Thursday.

Infections were reported from October 8, 2011, to April 22, and five people were hospitalized. Cases were reported in Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Seven of 10 ill people said they had had contact with a dog in the week before becoming sick. Five sick people recalled the type of dog food with which they had contact, the statement said.

The bacteria is salmonella infantis, a rare strain, the CDC said.

Salmonella infections often cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps and usually last four to seven days. Most people recover without treatment, but in rare cases it can be fatal.

Diamond Pet Foods has recalled bags of Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal & Rice dry dog food, Diamond Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Adult Light Formula dry dog food and Diamond Puppy Formula dry dog food.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Eric Beech)

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Bayer to pay at least $110 million in settlement: report

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Bayer to pay at least $110 million in settlement: report

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