News briefs from the Journal CHEST, Dec...( ASTHMATICS WITH FREQUENT MENTAL DISTRE...),Health

Asthmatics with frequent mental distress (FMD) are significantly more likely to engage in behaviors that may cause asthma flare-ups and endanger their health than asthmatics without FMD, according to a new study by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Atlanta, GA. Researchers surveyed 15,080 asthmatics and found that those with FMD, classified as 14 or more days a month of mental health that was not good, were more likely to be current smokers, to be physically inactive, and to be obese than other asthmatics. Survey results also showed that 18.8% of asthmatics were found to suffer from FMD, more than double the 9.3% of nonasthmatics with FMD. Those with asthma and FMD were significantly more likely to report fair or poor general health, frequent physical distress, frequent activity limitations, frequent anxiety, and frequent sleeplessness. The study appears in the December issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

MODEL ACCURATELY PREDICTS LUNG CANCER MORTALITY RATES IN SMOKERS

A new statistical model predicts lung cancer mortality rates in smokers and former smokers, without prior screening. Utilizing data from the Carotene and Reinol Efficacy Trial (CARET), researchers from New York, NY, Milan, Italy, and Lyon, France, developed a formula to predict lung cancer mortality in 8,825 subjects, based on each subject's risk factors for lung cancer mortality, such as age and smoking history. To verify the model's accuracy, researchers tested the model on three study cohorts, separately and combined. When combined, the model predicted 308 deaths due to lung cancer, and 319 deaths were actually observed. This model would essentially allow study subjects to serve as their own control group, because researchers would be able to compare the actual lung cancer mortality rates of subj
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Contact: Jennifer Stawarz
jstawarz@chestnet.org
847-498-8306
American College of Chest Physicians
13-Dec-2004