‘An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away’

I am sure most of us have come across this phrase at some point in our daily lives. It has been put to the test by time and numerous research studies that have only added more significance to it. Yet again, here is another study that reaffirms the same idea that eating fruits and vegetables, especially those that are white in color, are not only beneficial for your overall health but can also help prevent major chronic diseases.

 Full story at http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2011/09/15/apples-pears-stroke.html

Shivinder Dhillon
WHRI Co-op Student

Study shows that breast and cervical cancer kills more women globally than labour

For years, it was assumed that young women in poor countries had a higher risk of dying in childbirth than from cancer. But a new study shows that’s changing: Breast and cervical cancers are killing more women than labour in more than 60 developing countries, experts say.
Read more at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/new-health/health-news/breast-cervical-cancer-kills-more-women-than-labour-study/article2166659/

Study links wrinkles to bone density loss in women

A story in the Vancouver Sun today suggests that we may be able to tell a woman’s risk of bone breakage based on the appearance of her face and neck. More wrinkles = more risk. The relationship is thought to be due to the fact that the level of proteins that affect women’s skin and bones are linked, so if a woman’s face and neck are severely wrinkled, she faces a higher risk of bone density loss.

So the answer to the question: “could wrinkles be any worse?” has just been answered with a loud and clear “Yes”.

Read more at http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Wrinkles+predict+woman+bone+break+risk+Study/4905510/story.html#ixzz1OcS4Iz4T

Giulia Muraca, BSc, MPH
Research Program Manager

BC HPV Research Group

WHRI and BC HPV Research Group Commended in PHSA’s ResearchAbility Newsletter: Research collaboration leads to change of HPV vaccine protocol

A national study led by PHSA researchers has determined that two doses of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine provides the same protection from HPV as three doses. Based on the study’s results, the HPV vaccine protocol in BC has been changed to two doses for all grade six girls in the province. A third booster dose will be available, if required, five years following the first round of vaccination.

Read the full story here.

This week some updates to keep you ‘in the know” about women’s health

Hello WHRI followers,

Today’s blog entry consists of a summary of two topics in the recent health media that affect women’s health in significant ways.  Hope you enjoy….

A quick review of my blogging history (here, or here, or here) reveals that I’m primarily focused on HPV and cervical cancer prevention so the first of these stories is especially exciting for me. In last week’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a large study conducted in Vietnam was published that investigated whether it was any less effective, or any more risky, to deliver the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to adolescent girls using dosing schedules that differ from the standard schedule. Over 900 adolescent girls were randomly assigned to receive the HPV vaccine (Gardasil, Merck) on one of four schedules. The standard intramuscular injection schedule (at 0, 2, and 6 months) was compared with 3 alternative schedules (at 0, 3, and 9 months; 0, 6, and 12 months; or 0, 12, and 24 months). The promising news is that the researchers found that receiving either the standard or the alternative schedules was effective and well-tolerated in the study participants. These results have far-reaching implications since women living in developing countries account for an estimated 88% of cervical cancer deaths and the option of delivering the HPV vaccine on flexible schedules may allow resource-limited countries to minimize costs while maximizing feasibility according to local context and vaccination practices.

The second story appeals to one of my pet-projects that questions the effects of direct-to-consumer advertising in our constantly evolving healthcare system. It made me ask myself: would I ever consider testing to see if my children are genetically predisposed to illnesses like diabetes or heart disease? Would you? Well, a study reported in the Vancouver Sun today showed that many parents in the U.S. say they would. The study raises new questions about direct-to-consumer genetic tests, a growing concern amongU.S. lawmakers and regulators. The study authors surveyed 219 parents who were offered a genetic test. These tests screened for eight health condition including type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, as well as colon, skin and lung cancers. The results showed significant parental interest for doing this kind of testing in their children. Interestingly, a noted risk of direct-to-consumer genetic tests is that, unlike a test that is ordered by a doctor, these tests are sold directly to parents and the results are usually delivered through the web or the mail. This means there is no one there to explain the results, to offer any context around any identified ‘risks’, or to offer any professional counsel. Regulators fear that many people may not be equipped to interpret the results or to understand the real limitations of these tests. However, some argue that early testing of children might motivate parents to take healthier steps now to prevent these conditions from developing.  Where do you stand on the issue? I still need to consider it. I find it amazing how our progress in understanding the human body has introduced so many different questions than were ever dreamed possible in our parents’ generation. Wherever your opinion lies in this debate, I think most would agree that this study should serve as a reminder for clinicians and policy-makers to consider children when regulating genetic tests.

Hope you enjoyed the news update this week and talk to you soon,

Giulia Muraca, BSc, MPH
Research Program Manager

BC HPV Research Group

Should I sleep with him?

 

If you find yourself asking this when you meet a hot guy, then…

 

Consider this…. When you sleep with a new partner, you are essentially sleeping with every partner he has ever had, as well as his partner’s partners. (If you have slept with 5 partners, and your partners have slept with 5 partners and they had 5 partners, then you are looking at a minimum of 125 people you have been exposed to). Studies have shown that within 1 year of having intercourse for the first time, approximately 30% of women will test positive for HPV. Within 3 years, this number increases to almost 50%.

What does this mean for you?  A new partner=a new disease vector.

What you should know? HPV is transmitted through sexual intercourse. However, most people do not realize that it can also be transmitted through simple skin to skin contact. This means that you do not even need to have penetrative sex to get HPV. Oral or genital contact alone is enough for the transmission of HPV between partners. A person infected with HPV does not usually show any signs or symptoms and can pass on the virus unknowingly. Condoms are strongly recommended to prevent the transfer of HPV and other STI’s but they are not 100% effective.

How can you protect yourself? Make sure you have regular scheduled Pap tests and get the HPV vaccine!! 

What if you don’t know what HPV is? Then you need to educate yourself FAST. Check out this link. http://hpvinfo.ca/hpvinfo/home.aspx

Check out this link to read the article “Risk of Female Human Papillomavirus Acquisition Associated with First Male Sex Partner” by our neighbors across the border:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2875685/pdf/nihms182349.pdf

Researchers at BC Women’s Hospital are dedicated to fighting against HPV and are running a number of studies looking at the vaccine’s effectiveness in various populations and ages. We are also looking at what women know about HPV and cervical cancer, Pap screening, and the vaccine. Check out our website to learn more about our research and about other HPV research being conducted by Provincial experts who have partnered with the WHRI to advance our knowledge in this important area:

http://www.whri.org/our-research/hpv.aspx

Call to Action: United Nations Requesting increased funding and attention to cervical cancer

Please take a moment to read the following Call to action from the Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention, Cervical Cancer Action, PATH and the HPV Vaccine Global Community of Practice:

The Cervical Cancer Action coalition, the Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention and the HPV Vaccine Global Community of Practice are teaming up to urge our members to help ensure that the outcomes document from the United Nations High Level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs), to be held in New York on September 19-20, will appropriately emphasize the burden of cervical cancer, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

A letter from you to your Minister of Health and other national officials could influence the outcomes document significantly!

Background

Because of the growing global burden of non-communicable diseases, including cancer, the United Nations has decided to organize a 1.5 day, “High Level Meeting” to focus on NCDs. We are pleased to note that the meeting aims to produce a concise, action-oriented outcomes document to help guide, stimulate and energize new initiatives.

Since the world now has appropriate technologies to prevent and detect cervical cancer in both low- and high-resource settings, we feel that we have an unprecedented opportunity to reduce the global burden of the disease. We hope that the outcomes document acknowledges the importance of utilizing these tools to reduce rates of cervical cancer, particularly in low-resource settings where mortality is high. Ideally, such recognition will increase funding for sustainable, improved, and expanded prevention services worldwide.

What you can do

Please consider writing to your:

• Ministry of Health
• Representatives of United Nations health agencies in your country (World Health Organization, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, World Bank, and UNAIDS)

The outcomes document will be written over the next few months, so if your letters are to have impact, they should be sent soon, by the end of March or early April at the latest.

Here are some ideas for topics:

• Request support for ensuring that cervical cancer figures prominently in the United Nations High Level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases outcomes document.
• Note that cervical cancer kills about 275,000 women each year, with more than 85% of those deaths in less-developed countries.¹ The great tragedy is that cervical cancer is preventable and treatable. Programs in Africa, Asia and Latin America are showing promising results, but much more needs to be done. As a start, awareness about cervical cancer and proven prevention and treatment methods must increase. The United Nations High Level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases outcomes document could be a powerful tool for that purpose.
• Remind them that in 2010 the World Economic Forum highlighted NCDs (including cervical cancer) as one of the three most significant risks to global well-being.²NCDs have become a neglected global epidemic, despite having cost-effective solutions at hand.
• Request that civil society representatives are invited to actively engage in the United Nations meeting.
• For your Minister of Health: You could mention that there are a number of earlier meetings leading up to the High Level Meeting in September. These meetings will be important venues for negotiating the contents of the outcomes document. The Global Ministerial Conference on Healthy Lifestyle and Non-communicable Disease Control will be held on April 28–29 in Moscow. Urge your Minister to consider attending that meeting so that your country’s voice may be heard on these important issues.
• For your United Nations agency heads: You might suggest that they consider contacting the delegations of member states, as well as United Nations agencies, who are organizing the High Level meeting. They could inform those delegations about our common concerns regarding the heavy burden of women’s cancers and our interest in increasing the use of tools available to reduce associated deaths.

To make your letter more personal and relevant, you may like to:

• Quote statistics on the burden of cervical cancer in your country. Data for every country and region can be found at the World Health Organization GLOBOCANwebsite and at the World Health Organization/Institut Català d’Oncologia Information Centre on HPV and Cervical Cancer.
• Describe activities in your country related to screening or treatment of cervical cancer or HPV vaccination.
• Testify to the importance of improved cervical cancer control in your country.
• Acknowledge support for this issue among other leaders in your country.
• Add any other information you feel would make your letters more persuasive.
• Forward this message to your friends and colleagues—urge them to write, too.
• Consider sharing your letter with local media to amplify your voice!

Finally, please also share a copy of your letter with us, so that we can track participation. Send electronic copies to: rho@path.org

Thank you for participating in this important initiative!

Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention
Cervical Cancer Action
HPV Vaccine Global Community of Practice

¹ Ferlay J, Shin HR, Bray F, Forman D, Mathers C and Parkin DM. GLOBOCAN 2008, Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 10 [Internet]. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2010. Available from: globocan.iarc.fr

² World Economic Forum Global Risk Network. Global Risks 2010. Geneva: World Economic Forum; 2010.