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Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Proton Pump Inhibitors May Be Linked To Higher Rates Of CKD.



The Washington Post (1/12, Bernstein) “To Your Health” blog reports that research published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that proton pump inhibitors may be linked to “higher rates of chronic kidney disease [CKD].” Researchers “studied the records of more than 10,000 people treated in community-based settings.” The investigators “found a 20 percent to 50 percent greater risk of the onset of” CKD “among users of the drugs than those who did not take them.”

The NPR (1/12, Stein) “Shots” blog reports that the investigators also studied “248,751 patients in the Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania.” The data indicated that “the 10-year absolute risk” for CKD “among the 16,900 patients using PPIs in the” health system “was 15.6 percent, whereas 13.9 percent would have been expected to develop” CKD. Also covering the story are Reuters (1/12, Rapaport), HealthDay (1/12, Thompson), MedPage Today (1/12, Boyles), and Medscape (1/12, Kelly).


Friday, January 8, 2016

HHS, USDA Release Updated Dietary Guidelines.



The CBS Evening News (1/7, story 9, 2:10, Pelley) reported, “Today the government revised its advice for a healthy diet. The headlines: Lean meat and eggs may now be okay, but sugar and salt still bad.”

USA Today (1/8, Szabo) reports that the new guidelines, from the US Department of Agriculture and the US Department of Health and Human Services, recommend “limiting the amount of added sugars in our diet to no more than 10% of daily calories,” which is approximately “12 teaspoons of sugar a day.”

The Los Angeles Times (1/8, Healy) reports, “Essentially, the latest edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans nudges the country’s nutritional policy toward a traditional Mediterranean diet.”

The AP (1/8, Jalonick) reports that reducing “sodium intake was the major push of the 2010 guidelines, and that document recommended that those most at risk of heart disease, or about half the population, lower their intake to 1,500 mg.” However, “the new guidelines delete that lower amount as part of the top recommendations.” But, “the report says those with high blood pressure and prehypertension could benefit from a steeper reduction.”

However, according to the New York Times (1/8, A3, O'Connor), “the guidelines were also notable for what they did not say.” Although “draft recommendations had suggested all Americans adopt more environmentally-sustainable eating habits by cutting back on meat, that advice was dropped from the final guidelines.” Meanwhile, “longstanding limits on dietary cholesterol were also removed.”