Press Release Source: Harvard Health Publications

Harvard Health Letter Names Top Ten Health Stories of 2003
Tuesday November 25, 3:13 pm ET

BOSTON, Nov. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- A look back over 2003's significant health stories gives insight into the state of America's health. The December issue of Harvard Medical School's Harvard Health Letter discusses the top ten health issues of the year and examines their implications for the future. Though the SARS epidemic was probably the leading health issue on people's minds, its threat was not nearly as serious as what the editors of the Harvard Health Letter identified as the number one health concern of 2003: obesity. Research conducted this year has made new connections to the severity of obesity's consequences while the number of Americans that are overweight or obese continues to increase.

The complete Harvard Health Letter top ten list is:

1) Obesity, like smoking, kills: Doctors and health care organizations are beginning to view obesity as a serious, pervasive, and yet preventable health risk.

2) SARS threat contained: The handling of the SARS threat is a model of how to confront an emerging health threat, especially an infectious disease.

3) Angioplasty is the best treatment for heart attacks: Two studies this year have helped to establish angioplasty as the preferred treatment for heart attack.

4) New blood pressure guidelines push old drug, new category: New government guidelines for high blood pressure prevention and treatment were released this year and featured changes that weren't at all minor.

5) Medical guidelines aren't being followed the way they should: A study this year uncovered a disturbing trend in the amount of times that recommendations for care and preventive services are actually being followed.

6) Being old is getting younger: A combination of health measures and medical advances as well as social and economic support for older people has turned back the aging clock by at least five years.

7) Yet another setback for hormone replacement therapy: An analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative showed that the risk for dementia went up, not down, among women taking estrogen-plus-progestin pills.

8) High fives for low carbs: Two studies published this year showed positive results for a low-carbohydrate diet.

9) Post-tamoxifen drug halves risk for breast cancer recurrence: A study this year found that women who took letrozole, an anti-estrogen, for an average of 2.4 years after completing the usual five years of tamoxifen therapy had about half the recurrence rate of those given a placebo.

10) The bumpy ride to the genomic era: Experts envision a future of diagnosis and treatment tailored to your genes -- but many pitfalls still exist before we get there.

Although identifying this year's health stories celebrates the continued advances in medical research, the December issue encourages readers to consider ways to improve their health as they move into the New Year.

Harvard Health Letter is available from Harvard Health Publications, the publishing division of the Harvard Medical School. You can subscribe to Harvard Health Letter for $32 per year at www.health.harvard.edu or by calling 1-877-649-9457 toll-free.

If you are a member of the media, please contact Christine Junge at Christine_Junge~hms.harvard.edu for a complimentary copy of the newsletter, or to receive our press releases directly.

About Harvard Health Publications

Harvard Health Publications, a division of Harvard Medical School, publishes five monthly newsletters-Harvard Health Letter, Harvard Women's Health Watch, Harvard Men's Health Watch, Harvard Mental Health Letter, and Harvard Heart Letter-as well as more than 40 Special Health Reports and eight books. The goal of all of our publications is to bring the public the most current practical and authoritative health information by drawing on the expertise of the 8,000 faculty physicians at the Harvard Medical School and its world-famous affiliated hospitals. For more information about our company and our publications, please visit our Web site, www.health.harvard.edu.

Contact: Christine Junge
Christine_Junge~hms.harvard.edu
617-432-4717


Source: Harvard Health Publications

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