Health & Wellness
Healthbeat
Study: Eye drops can slash blacks'
chance of developing glaucoma
MIAMI (AP) - Black Americans who are at risk for
glaucoma could cul their chance of developing the disease
in half by using special eye drops, according to a study
published last week.
Blacks are nearly three times more likely than whites
to suffer from glaucoma, which can cause a gradual, irre
versible loss of vision. But previous studies, which
showed the drops to be effective, failed to draw conclu
sions specific to blacks.
Dr. Richard Parrish, a University of Miami researcher
who' contributed to the study published in the journal
Archives of Ophthalmology, said the research indicates
that even people who are at high-risk for the disease can
be helped by preventive measures.
More than 1 ,6(X) people at risk for glaucoma partici
pated in the seven-year study at 22 centers around the
country, including the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the
University of Miami.
Roughly 8 percent of the black patients given eye
drops developed signs of glaucoma during the study,
about half the rate of those who were not treated with
drops. Among patients of other races, signs of the disease
appeared in 4 percent of those treated with drops, and 1 1
percent of those not treated.
The study should help settle a debate over when to
prescribe eye drops to patients at risk for glaucoma,
researchers said. ||t
Arcury wins national award
Thomas Arcury, PhD-, of Winston-Salem, has been
named "Outstanding Rtiral Health Researcher" by the
National Rural Health Association (NRHA). The organi
zation recognizes five rural health leaders each year.
"Each year we are impressed and amazed by the hard
work and unremitting enthusiasm of so many of those
who work in and for rural health care," said NRHA Pres
ident D. David Sniff. "The recipients of these awards rep
resent the best of the best, and we could not be more proud
of their accomplishments. We thank them from the bottom
of our hearts."
Arcury is a professor and research director of family
and community medicine at Wake Forest University Bap
tist Medical Center. His research on green tobacco sick
ness is part of a 10-year research program to improve the
health of migrant and seasonal family workers. He las
also investigated pesticide exposure and safety, food inse
curity and hunger, occupational eye injuries, occupational
skin disease, and stress and mental health.
He earned his master's and doctoral degrees in anthro
pology from the University of Kentucky. He completed a
fellowship at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Ser
vices Research at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
B&N to host BestHealth Day
All Triad residents interested in improving their
health are invited to attend BestHealth Day at Barnes
& Noble on Saturday, June 26, from 9 a.m. until 1 1
p.m.
All BestHealth members will receive 20 percent
off al purchases during the day. Staff members from
the BestHealth program will be on hand to offer infor
mation, answer questions and enroll people in the
membership program, which is open to adults aged 18
and older. Lifetime membership in BestHealth costs
$15 per person or $25 per couple.
Activities will include:
? 10 a.m. - Express Workout demonstration with
YMCA fitness instructor Lypette Hendrick.
? 1 1 a.m. - Cooking demonstration with Kathie
Cooper and Lynn Campbell of Wake Forest Baptist's
Diabetes Care Center
? Noon - Barnes & Noble Cafe nutritious beverage
tasting and demonstration.
? 2 p.m. - Music Red Dot demonstration.
? 4 p.m. - Children's story time with Little Theatre
actress Patricia Oldis. A craft activity for children 10
and younger will be provided.
? 5 p.m. - Dr. Linda Nielsen, author of "Embracing
Your Father: How to Build the Relationship You've
Always Wanted with Your Dad." Healthy hors d'oeu
vres will be provided compliments of Whole Foods
Market.
? 7 p.m. - Gardening lecture with Toby Bost. N.C.
Cooperative Extension Service, master gardener and
author of "N.C. Gardener's Guide."
Health seminars, cooking classes, screenings and
fitness opportunities are available monthly at the
BestHealth store in Hanes Mall and other locations
throughout Forsyth County, Also offered is BestHealth
Kids, a free program for ages 1 2 and younger.
No registration is required to participate in
BestHealth Day at Barnes & Noble.
Temperament, hypertension linked
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Young adults
who keep a cool head under stress may be less like
ly to develop high blood pressure as they age, U.S.
researchers have said.
A study of 4.000 young adults showed that those
who stressed out the least while playing a difficult
video game and taking other tests were less likely
to develop high blood pressure in their 40s.
In 1985 researchers began studying 5,115 men
and women, ages 18 to 30. and re-examined them at
regular intervals.
At the second-year examination. 4.202 of the
volunteers who had normal blood pressure of
140/90 or below took stress tests.
After 13 years of follow-up. 353 of the partici
pants developed high blood pressure, they found.
High blood pressure eventually affects up to 90
percent of Americans as they become elderly and is
a leading cause of heart attack, stroke and heart
failure.
Women urged to be involved in men's health
sg < I \l ro nil CHRONICLE
MIAMI - Testimonials
from celebrity survivors, life
saving advice and an appeal to
women were highlights of the
recently held launch of "Set the
Date," a prostate cancer aware
ness campaign led by Anheuser
Busch Inc.
Anheuser-Busch has part
nered with 100 Black Men of
America Inc., the National
Council of Negro Women Inc.
and the Institute for the
Advancement of Multicultural
and Minority Medicine to create
"Set the Date." The two-year
initiative asks African- American
women to urge the men in their
lives to get tested for prostate
cancer. To combat the crisis of
prostate cancer in the African
American community, "Set the
Date" will include testing at
African-American events and
conventions across the nation,
,as well as a public service cam
paign.
Billy Davis Jr. and his wife,
Marilyn McCoo. formerly of the
singing group The Fifth Dimen
sion, were among the celebrities
who shared their personal testi
monies on the importance of
scheduling annual prostate
exams. McCoo, urged women
to "be a nag" when it comes to
making sure the men in their
lives not only make a doctor's
appointment, but also in keeping
the appointment. Davis also
shared that without the support
of his wife, his faith and early
testing, he would nof^jhve sur
vived to tell his story.
Sec Prostate on C4 Singers Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. have been married for years.
A Sudanese mother cries as she cradles her sleeping child.
AmeriCarcs Photo
Group aids African women, children
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
STAMFORD. Conn. - On
June 13, AmeriCares airlifted
30,000 pounds of additional life
saving medicines and hospital
supplies to help alleviate the
ongoing health crisis in refugee
camps on the Chad/Sudan bor
der. An AmeriCares relief team
is stationed in the Chadian capi
tal of N'djamena, where relief
workers will hoard smaller
planes to reach refugees in Bahai
and Cariari.
The airlift follows a large
AmeriCares air shipment of
emergency relief supplies to
Chad on May 15. The aid was
delivered to AmeriCares' part
ner, the International Rescue
Committee, which has estab
lished mobile health care clinics
and drug distribution protocols
that are helping save the lives of
those driven to this desolate
location.
The cargo includes 1 4t),000
treatments of water purification
supplies, remedies for diarrhea
and cholera, IV fluids and other
essential drugs and relief provi
sions.
The aid will help an estimat
ed 25.000 people who live in
appalling conditions and lace
severe shortages of food, water,
insufficient sanitation and
access to essential medicines.
Many suffer from acute malnu
trition. diarrhea and other water
borne diseases.
Terrorized Sudanese, mostly
women and children, continue to
overwhelm the border camps in
their efforts to seek safe haven
from violent militia attacks in
neighboring Darfur. Sudan.
Moreover, the heavy rainy sea
son has also begun, impeding
whai rudimentary roads existed,
and severely obstructing relief
supplies from reaching those
most in need.
Nearly 200.000 Sudanese
have crossed the border into
Chad and another I million have
been forced from their homes
and b are internally displaced
within Sudan. UN officials esti
mate more than 2 million people
are affected by the violence that
Sec AmeriCares on C4
AMA adopts new
plan to fight obesity
SPEC1A1 ro rHECHRONKH I
CHICAGO - The American Med
ical Association (AM A) moved forward
in its fight against obesity, adopting sev
eral new policies to neip com
bat the nation's growing prob
lem with obesity and
unhealthy eating. The policies
address a number of issues,
including the role of racial
and ethnic disparities in obesi
ty
While obesity is a prob
lem throughout American
society - with 31 percent of
U.S. adults 20 and older con
sidered obese - racial and eth
nic minorities are particularly at risk for
obesity and its health complications. A
recent study found that 46 percent of
African-American women are obese,
compared with about 24 percent of white
women.
New AMA policy recognizes that
racial and ethnic disparities exist in the
Davis
prevalence of obesity and diet-related
diseases such as coronary heart disease,
cancer, stroke and diabetes. To. combat
these disparities, the AMA will now rec
ommend that:
? Physicians use cultur
ally responsive care to
improve the treatment and
management of obesity and
diet-related diseases in
minority populations.
? Cultural and socioeco
nomic considerations should
be included in nutritional
and dietary research and
guidelines in order to treat
overweight and obese
patients.
? Culturally effective guidelines that
include ethnic food staples and multicul
tural symbols to depict serving sizes
should be included in the revised Dietary
Guidelines for Americans and Food
Guide Pyramid.
"Physicians play an important role in
See AMA on C4
Officials: Hot car could
become a child's coffin
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
In hot weather a parked
ear can rapidly become a
child's coffin. That's why
state Public Health officials
lire urging parents and
other care-givers to
not leave children in
cars.
"Deaths of chil
dren who are left in
cars in the summer
heat are tragedies that
unfortunately are
repeated summer after
summer in North Car
olina." said State
Health Director Dr.
Leah Devlin. "It is
critical that parents and care
takers of children realize that
the temperatures inside a car
can heat up very quickly and
that a child left in a car is at
great risk for heat-related
death.
"No one should ever leave
Devlin
a child in a parked car - not
even for a few minutes."
On a warm, sunny day.
even at temperatureiTasmikl
as fill degrees, a closed" vehi
cle can heat up to dangerous
levels in a matter
of minutes. Dur
ing the summer
months, the tem
perature inside a
parked car can
reach more than
1 20 degrees in as
little as 10 min
utes. Direct sun
light and a dark
colored car fur
ther speed the
process.
Heat exhaustion can occur
at temperatures above 90
degrees and heat stroke can
occur when temperatures rise
above 105 degrees. If not
treated immediately, heat
exhaustion can lead to heat
Sec Coffin on C4