News and Updates for the Patient and Family

New data from the Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) suggest that a daily multivitamin may help protect the aging brain. However, at least one expert has concerns about the study’s methodology and, as a result, the interpretation of its findings.

Life’s Essential 8 are the key measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health, as defined by the American Heart Association. Better cardiovascular health helps lower the risk for heart disease, stroke and other major health problems.

Almost 500 million people will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes or other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) attributable to physical inactivity, between 2020 and 2030, costing US$ 27 billion annually, if governments don’t take urgent action to encourage more physical activity among their populations.

The Global status report on physical activity 2022, published today by the World Health Organization, measures the extent to which governments are implementing recommendations to increase physical activity across all ages and abilities.

March is National Nutrition Month, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is shining a spotlight on the importance of good nutrition and the big impact it has on improving people’s lives and lowering the enormous costs of diet-related chronic diseases. Each year, more than a million Americans die from diet-related diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain forms of cancers. In 2020 alone, an estimated 800,000 people died from cardiovascular disease, an even greater number than the horrific toll of COVID-19 during that same year. And obesity, which is both a disease and a condition that increases the risk for other diet-related chronic diseases, has increased to historic levels in children and adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Roger C. Lipitz Center for Integrated Health Care is pleased to share the newly released ENGAGING AND SUPPORTING FAMILY CAREGIVERS IN CARE DELIVERY issue brief in this Winter 2022 Lipitz Quarterly Newsletter. Explore how faculty are leading initiatives to better understand the needs and strengthen support afforded to individuals with complex medical needs and their caregivers. These initiatives involve contributing new knowledge, collaborating with decision makers, and developing and testing models of care to better support individuals with complex health needs and their care partners and caregivers.

Prediabetes is a serious health condition affecting 88 million Americans—more than 1 in 3 people—and most are unaware they have it. People with prediabetes have higher-than-normal blood sugar levels that aren’t yet high enough to be considered diabetes, and data shows that people with prediabetes have a 50% chance of developing type 2 diabetes within 5 to 10 years.

If you have prediabetes, the good news is that by working with your doctor or health care provider, you can make healthy changes to manage and even reverse this condition. So, take charge of your health: even small adjustments can help manage prediabetes and improve your general well-being.

ODPHP has launched our updated toolkit for health professionals, with consumer-friendly fact sheets based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – “Kidney transplant patients, based on the lifetime immunosuppressive medications they must take to stay alive, remain at severe risk of catastrophic illness and death due to COVID-19. The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) thanks the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for incorporating the unique insights of America’s kidney transplant recipients and the medical professionals who care for them in their authorization of a third vaccine dose. Kidney transplant patients dutifully fulfilled their societal responsibility to get vaccinated, yet as science has demonstrated, initial vaccines generated few or no antibodies or protections. Hopefully, today’s FDA action will help move these highly vulnerable patients closer to a greater level of protection as we await even greater innovations in vaccines and further protections from COVID-19. We honor the ongoing efforts of all first responders, healthcare professionals, civil servants, and employees of the pharmaceutical industry working to protect every American from this deadly disease.

For the past eighteen months, kidney transplant patients, like millions of other highly vulnerable immunocompromised patients, have lived in fear of infection, severe illness, and death. We have also witnessed the senseless loss of many of our dearest friends and fellow patients. During this pandemic, through either ignorance or a conscious and reckless disregard of human life, we have also seen the diminishment of our legitimate concerns for our own lives, the security of our families, and the gift of life afforded to us by brave organ donors. We respectfully remind elected and appointed leaders, as well as opinion influencers, across the nation that the American Ethos has historically been defined by both rugged individualism and a deep empathy for the most vulnerable in our society. In the midst of this ongoing pandemic, if we fail to recover our empathy for the most vulnerable and unprotected, we will have lost an essential part of our national identity and a key virtue that has always elevated America above nations who reject the inherent rights and dignity of every person.

America will prevail over the challenge of COVID-19 if we stand united as a people, demonstrate our inherent concern for one another as fellow Americans, and demand clarity, accuracy, and full transparency from leaders in whom we invest our trust.”

Learn about heart disease and women and what you can do to keep a healthy heart.

Can you remember the last time you got a good night’s sleep? One where you slept for at least 7 hours and didn’t wake up a few times? If that seems like a distant memory, you’re not alone. One in three US adults isn’t getting enough sleep. Over time, too little sleep can increase the risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and depression. It can also make it harder to manage diabetes.

Using quit-smoking medicines can help people who want to go smokefree in 2021—even if they have tried them before! A new feature article from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlights how using these safe, FDA-approved medicines can increase the likelihood of quitting. In fact, using medicines together with counseling can just about double the chances of quitting successfully.

Nausea, heartburn, and bloating can have many causes, but for people with diabetes, these common digestion issues shouldn’t be ignored. That’s because high blood sugar can lead to gastroparesis, a condition that affects how you digest your food. Diabetes is the most common known cause of gastroparesis.

Managing your diabetes can help you manage gastroparesis. It can also help delay or prevent other serious health problems. Keeping your blood sugar as close to your target range as possible will keep you feeling better today and down the road.

Read our latest feature on how diabetes affects your digestion and how you can keep it from getting worse.

Managing your blood sugar levels is an important part of diabetes care. Keeping your blood sugar as close to your target range as possible can give you the energy you need to feel your best! It can also help prevent serious diabetes complications, such as diabetic neuropathy, or nerve damage.

Someone with nerve damage can feel anything from numbness to severe pain in the affected area. Nerve damage can happen all over the body, but it’s most common in the feet, legs, and arms.

Most nerve damage is preventable with consistent diabetes care. Read more about the symptoms and how to keep your nerves healthy.

Cellulitis is a common infection of the deep layers of the skin, commonly caused by bacteria called Staphylococcus or Streptococcus.

Normally, skin acts as a barrier to protect our bodies from bacteria. When there is damage to this skin barrier, such as with a cut, eczema, or a bug bite, bacteria can enter through microscopic cracks in the skin and cause cellulitis.

Insomnia affects millions of people. In fact, studies show as many as one in four Americans experience insomnia each year. By definition, insomnia is a sleep disorder that makes it hard to fall asleep, stay asleep or fall back asleep after waking up. As a result, those affected are unable to get an adequate amount of sleep each night.

Your body undergoes many changes with aging. Although there are some normal age-related changes, including in a person’s memory and thinking, dementia, or severe memory loss that interferes with daily life, is not part of the normal aging process. Learn what’s healthy aging and what’s not.

The short answer from a heart specialist

Each year, heart disease kills more people in the United States than all types of cancer combined. Most of these deaths result from heart attack in people with coronary artery disease.

You can prevent or delay this serious, chronic condition when you join CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) lifestyle change program. While lowering your risk for type 2 diabetes, you will also improve your health and build healthy habits that last a lifetime.

The best part of joining the National DPP? You won’t be on your own to make these changes. You’ll receive a full year of support from a lifestyle coach and a group of people with similar goals and challenges.

Virtual classes are available for extra convenience! Receive the same support as in-person classes from the comfort of your home.

Read our latest feature to learn how the National DPP lifestyle change program can support you while you make lasting changes in your life.