Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 14 October 2005 — Page 20

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2005

Talk to your doc about your alternative meds

(HealthDayNews)—The popularity of complementary and alternative medicine is on the rise, with more than one-third of U.S. adults using at least one these treatments, according to a recent report by the Institute of Medicine. And if you’re like most proponents of these treatments, you probably don’t mention them to your primary-care physician. You may think it’s not important or you might just forget. Or, you might think your doctor won’t approve. But it’s crucial to tell your doctor, says Dr. Robert Bonakdar, a family physician at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, in La Jolla, Calif, who directs pain management and blends conventional and alternative approaches. “Everything a patient is using is im-

portant for the doctor to know,” he says. “Full disclosure enables full care.” Complementary and alternative medicine describes a wide group of medical practices and products, according to the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Complementary describes techniques used in conjunction with conventional medicine; alternative describes techniques that can be used in place of it. Among the options are homeopathic medicine, chiropractic, dietary supplements, aromatherapy, and massage therapy, among many others. So, howbest to approach your doctor? First, understand that your doctor may not have alot ofbackground or knowledge

about an alternative or complementary approach, Bonakdar says. Few doctors, especially older ones, studied these treatments in medical school. Physicians should be open to discussion, at least, he says. “The patients should expect the doctor to be open and non-judgmental in the discussion of complementary treatments,” he said. “They should hear you out.” “They should be able to educate you from their standpoint based on whether they think it is safe, appropriate and effective,” he adds. As a patient, you should expect your physician, if he or she is unfamiliar with the treatment you are interested in, to offer to check to see if there is any evidence that it works, Bonakdar says.

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HEALTH BRIEFS ► Continued from Cl Body. Spirit" is an annual one-day event that brings together service providers, clergy, social workers, school administrators, teachers, day care providers and parents to discuss the most effective ways to build healthy families. It will take place Friday, Nov. 4 at the Marriott downtown from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This annual event is free of charge and open to anyone wanting to gain knowledge and resources to enhance and build stronger families. Event speakers include Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.; Michael Turner, MD; Antoinette "Toni" Laskey, MD; K. "Bernie" Lyon, Ph.D.; Suellen Reed, state superintendent of public instruction; and Carol “The Coach" Juergenson-Sheets, ACSW, LCSW. For more information about the event visit the Web site at www.clarian.org/communityplunge.

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Smoking rises among poor Blacks

By EMILY ANN BROWN NNPA Special Contributor

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Two years ago, when Don Jordan’s doctor showed him a picture of a “clear lung and a dirty lung” he decided it was time to kick his 27-year cigarette smoking habit. “All that stuff came together,” said the 42-year-old Washington, D.C., resident. “I got tired of not being able to breathe when walking up stairs - breathing fast, chest caving in and tightening...” Jordan considers himself lucky. Thanks to his doctor’s scare tactic, he kicked a habit that he started at age 13 when he was “bored” and likely saved himself from getting a tobaccorelated disease, such as lung or throat cancer. Unfortunately, accordingto arecent report published in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, a large number of low-in-come African Americans who smoke have yet to follow suit in kicking their nicotine addiction. The report also said that cigarette smokers in the Black community are getting younger. Though recent reports note that

the overall smoking population is decreasing, that is not true for certain Blacks. Jorge Delva, a co-author of the smoking report. “When people report that in their state smokers are decreasing, a huge disparity is missed,” Delva said. “Most of the research focuses on non-minor-ity populations and not in the lowest of lowest economic status and it’s not because they are purposely neglected.” He explained, “It’s possible that this population is very unique,” he said. “The fact is that the findings points to the need to research of those low-in-come populations who are less likely to quit (smoking) and less likely to reach a doctor or nurse that can help them.” The study was conducted by the Detroit Center for Research on Oral Health Disparities in 2002. It began as a study to find out the overall health condition of low-income, underserved AfricanAmericans. Butin 2005, ateam of researchers, including Delva, an associate professor of social work at the University of Michigan, analyzed the information and found that the number of poor Black people who smoke has remained stable or risen over the past few years, he said. The report randomly selected African Americans living in some of the poorest neighborhoods in Detroit.

“It’s the type of poverty where if you work around it, you know about it. But most of the country doesn’t know. It’s like what happened in New Orleans,” Delva said referring to various television images of poor people, mostly African Americans, stranded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Of the 1,021 African Americans selected for the study, 42 percent said they smoked - 59 percent were men and 41 percent were women. When the smoking participants were asked why they smoked, they said it relieves stress and anger, helps in dealing with the emotion of discrimination or because of a lack of social support, Delva said. “People who have social support will likely not be smokers,” he said. Despite the given reasons for smoking, the report said that African Americans maynotbebenefitingfrom current intervention efforts. It added that advertising, targeting African-American adults and youth using hip-hop icons, contributes to the problem too. Nonetheless, Delva said the primary goal behind publishing the findings is to bring awareness of the growing, often overlooked disparities in lowincome, minority populations.

New Web sife for families living with autism

Electronic Urban Report MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.With 1 in 166 children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, and 1 in 6 children diagnosed with a developmental disorder and/or behavioral problem, manyfamilies may notknow what to do or where to go for help. A new Web site - AutismConcepts.com - created by an African-American family raising an adolescent child with autism, shares credible and relevant information with other families. The Internet is an easy and convenient way for parents to meet, share their experiences and other information. In addition to the usual facts found

on autism-related Web sites, AutismConcepts.com also shares information, research and resources related to African Americans, directly linking to the source. Research has revealed disparities in early detection of autism, treatment and special education: • African-American children with autism are diagnosed nearly two years after children of all other ethnic groups. Black autistic children received more misdiagnoses than whites. Early diagnosis and intervention leads to a better way of life for children with autism. Excerpts from Race Differences in the Age at Diagnosis Among Medic-aid-Eligible Children with Autism, David S. Mandell,

Sc.D., John Listerud, M.D., Ph.D. • Minority children with disabilities all too often experience inadequate services, low-quality curriculum and instruction, and unnecessary isolation from their non-disabled peers. Moreover, inappropriate practices in both general and special education classrooms have resulted in overrepresentation, misclassification, and hardship for minority students, particularly Black children. • African-American and Latino students are about twice as likely as white students to be educated in a restrictive, and separate educational setting. • Among high school students with disabilities, about 75 percent of Af-

rican Americans are not employed two years out of school. Three to five years out of school, the arrest rate for African Americans with disabilities is 40 percent. Minority disabled students also have much higher rates of school disciplinary action and placement in correctional facilities. Excerpts from Racial Inequity in Special Education, 2002, Daniel J. Losen & Gary Orfield, Editors, Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. • AutismConcepts.com is a large collection of basic information of vital interest to families to help empower, support, network and inform.

Ear tube surgery doesn't harm kids' hearing

(HealthDay News) — Fourteen years after their surgeries, babies who had special ventilation tubes placed in their ears to treat serious or recurrent ear infections showed no signs of hearing loss, according to a new study. The research also found that children with more serious ear disease may require repeat ear tube placement procedures or other ear surgery. Researchers in Finland assessed the hearing of 237 children 14 years after they had tubes inserted to treat problem ear infections. The children were 5 to 16 months old at the time of their surgeries. Besides testing their hearing

ability, the team also checked the children for quality of ear healing, history of repeat procedures, any abnormal outcomes, or whether or not they required more extensive ear surgery. The researchers reported that, 14 years after surgery, hearing in the children’s healed ears was comparable to that of normal ears in age-matched children. Nearly three-quarters (74.7 percent) of the children’s ears had healed completely, up from 65.8 percent at five years following surgery. The number of abnormal outcomes at 14 years was 25.3 percent compared with 34.2 percent at the five-year followup. Abnormal outcomes were

more common among children whose ear infections involved accumulated fluid or those who required three or more tube insertions. Repeated tube insertion and the need for more extensive ear surgery was more common in children with more serious ear problems, the researchers noted. Based on the findings, they concluded that early life tube insertion, even if done repeatedly, “is a safe and useful treatment method.” But they said doctors should inform parents that follow-up care may be needed, especially within the first five years following surgery.

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