Deciding on a Good Article Title

How important is the title of an article?  I would think it is important enough to catch the reader’s attention.  So, I find an article title interesting enough to click on it and read it, only to find that the title is misleading.  Had I not clicked on the link, I would not know what the main story was. That is what happened when I read the article titled, “Low-Income Adults Less Likely To Have Coverage, Regular Source of Care,”  published earlier this month by the California Healthline.

My first thought was – Do we need a study to tell us that low-income adults cannot afford to have health coverage, but I anyway clicked on the linked article.  And, was I surprised to find that the intent of the main article was not to stop at stating that low-income adults have lesser health coverage, but also that the healthcare reform could bridge those gaps!  The original article published by The Commonwealth Fund was titled, .”The Income Divide in Health Care: How the Affordable Care Act Will Help Restore Fairness to the U.S. Health System.”

Had I scrolled all the way to the end of the article, I would have found a concluding paragraph referencing the healthcare reform law.  It wasn’t intentional I think, but the online article may have lot several readers due to the misleading title.  Or perhaps, the writer thinks of the healthcare reform or Obamacare (as it popularly known) as socialized medicine!  I don’t know the answer.

 

Do differences in blood pressure in both arms matter?

Although my blog is titled Healthcare Updates, I haven’t posted anything related to healthcare for some time now.  I also notice that my recipes get more views than the healthcare posts did…so, isn’t the message very clear?  However, I’m not giving up just yet and here is one very interesting research article that I found today. 

Coming back to the blog title, Do differences in blood pressure in both arms matter?  If you were trying to guess, here is the answer….Yes, it does matter if your blood pressure is different in both arms as this may signal a risk of heart disease.  A study published in the online edition of The Lancet presented data from a systemic review and meta-analysis and linked differences in blood pressure between arms to both central and peripheral vascular disease.  They establish that systolic differences of at least 15 mm Hg are associated with an increased risk of peripheral vascular disease and report weaker but significant associations with cerebrovascular disease and mortality (Clark, C. et al.  Do differences in blood pressure between arms matter? The Lancet. January 30, 2012).

A team of researchers from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Exeter in Devon, England, reviewed 28 studies that looked at differences in systolic blood pressure between arms.  The process called meta-analysis uses data from previously published studies to find trends that may not have become evident in the original data.  They found that a difference of 15 millimeters or more between the left and right arms increased the risk of peripheral vascular disease by 2.5 times, although a difference of even 10 mm could increase a patient’s risk. A 15-point difference also was associated with a 1.6 times higher risk of cerebrovascular disease and a 70% greater risk of dying from heart disease.  Interestingly, it does not matter which arm has the higher or lower pressure, it’s the difference between them that matters.

According to the authors, varying blood pressure readings between arms may signal the narrowing or hardening of a person’s arteries, particularly on one side of body. “If we don’t know to measure both arms, we’re not going to make the right diagnosis and the right treatment choices for our patients,” says lead study author Christopher Clark.

 

Could The Innocent Gas Pump Handle Be The Filthiest Item You Touch?

Turns out YES!  The gas pump handle was identified as the filthiest surface Americans may encounter….who knew?  Would you have thought that gas pump handles, ATM buttons, mailbox handles, and escalator rails had anything in common?  According to a study released by Kimberly-Clark Professional, a unit of Kimberly-Clark Corp, the personal hygiene giant, these are among the dirtiest surfaces we touch every day.  The study was carried out in six major U.S. cities.  Trained hygienists swabbed frequently touched surfaces in high traffic areas in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, and Philadelphia using an instrument that monitors sanitary conditions in industry, and analyzed a total of 350 surfaces.  

The test checked for levels of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), which is used in food hygiene and signals the presence of animal, vegetable, bacteria, yeast, or mold cells.  Surface reading levels with ATP of 300 or higher suggest high risk of contamination of a transmitted illness.  The tests revealed that the following surfaces had ATP counts of 300 or more:

• 71 percent of gas pump handles
• 68 percent of mailbox handles
• 43 percent of escalator rails
• 41 percent of ATM buttons
• 40 percent of parking meters and kiosks
• 35 percent of crosswalk buttons and vending machine buttons

So, even if you do not drive or own a car you are still at risk for contracting germs at other surfaces used daily. The study results may or may not surprise many readers, but shows that we need to take care against germs at our workplaces and in public places, which surprisingly lists everything else but public toilets!  Another place to avoid are the public water dispensers in public places. 

Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona, who helped designed the study stresses the importance of keeping surfaces clean and washing hands frequently throughout the day to prevent getting sick and spreading illness. Continue to wash your hands and use the hand sanitizers and alcohol dispensers whenever you can.