Discrimination May Lead to Smoking in Boys

FRIDAY, Jan. 22 (HealthDay News) — Minority teen boys smoke more when they suffer discrimination, but that’s not the case for minority teen girls, a U.S. study finds.

Perceived discrimination had no effect on smoking rates among minority girls aged 12 to 15 and was associated with lower rates of smoking among minority teen girls aged 16 to 19.

“Our findings in girls, especially in the older girls, really surprised us,” study first author Dr. Sarah Wiehe, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, said in a news release from the school. “We do not know why older girls who perceived discrimination were less likely to smoke, but there may be a possibility that they perceived discrimination because they were pregnant and also that they did not smoke due to pregnancy.”

The study included 2,561 black and Hispanic teens, aged 12 to 19, living in low-income households in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. About 25% of the teens reported discrimination within the previous six months, and 12% said they’d smoked within the previous 30 days.

Increased smoking by boys who suffer higher levels of discrimination may be caused by increased stress from male-specific targeting by police and business, the study concluded.

“Boys and girls may experience discrimination differently due to where they spend their time and that may account for the differences in whether discrimination was associated with smoking,” Wiehe said. “In other words, the context of discrimination matters. We need to be aware that discrimination is a public health problem for adolescents — one related to major health issues like smoking — and need to actively work to reduce these occurrences.”

The study appears online and in the March print issue of the American Journal of Public Health

Generic Drug for Enlarged Prostate Approved

By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News

Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

March 2, 2010 — The first generic version of Flomax, a medication to treat the signs and symptoms of an enlarged prostate gland, has won the approval of the FDA.

The generic version of Flomax, known as tamsulosin, will be made by IMPAX Laboratories of Haywood, Calif. Under FDA regulations, the generic versions must meet the same standards as the brand name drug, says Gary Buehler, director of the FDA Office of Generic Drugs, in a news release.

Enlargement of the prostate gland, a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), is common among men as they age. More than half of men 60 and older and more than 90% of those 70 and older have BPH symptoms, including a weak urine stream, leaking or dribbling, frequent need to urinate at night, and urinary urgency.

The condition is not cancerous.

The prostate is a walnut-shaped gland located just below the bladder. It produces fluid for semen. But when it grows too big, the prostate puts pressure on the urine-carrying canal or urethra, which passes through the prostate, and this can result in the urinary symptoms.

According to information on the Flomax web site, the drug works by relaxing muscles in the prostate and in the neck of the bladder. Somewhat like releasing a pinched straw, it is then easier for urine to pass out of the body.

Those taking the drug are cautioned to avoid hazardous tasks or driving until they know how the drug affects them. Commonly reported side effects include a runny nose, dizziness, and a decrease in semen, although the drug is not linked with a decrease in sex drive nor impotence.

ED, Heart Disease May Be Deadly Duo

By Bill Hendrick
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD
Latest Mens Health News

* ED, Heart Disease May Be Deadly Duo
* Drug for Enlarged Prostate Approved
* Discrimination May Lead to Smoking in Boys
* Men in Europe Trace Roots to Near East Migrants
* Women’s Scent Triggers Hormone Surge in Men
* Want More News? Sign Up for MedicineNet Newsletters!

March 15, 2010 — Erectile dysfunction is a major warning sign for cardiovascular disease and early death.

The finding comes from placebo-controlled studies comparing randomly selected men with ED and cardiovascular disease and men without ED.

The men with ED and cardiovascular disease were:

* 1.9 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease
* Twice as likely to have a heart attack
* 1.2 times more likely to be hospitalized for heart failure
* 1.1 times more likely to have a stroke

The researchers say they found that medications like ramipril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure, can reduce cardiovascular events but don’t seem to influence the course or development of ED.

“Erectile dysfunction is something that regularly should be addressed in the medical history of patients,” Michael Bohm, MD, lead author of the study and chairman of internal medicine at the University of Saarland in Germany, says in a news release. “It might be a symptom of early atherosclerosis.”

The study included 1,549 male cardiovascular patients in 13 countries. Each was asked if he had ED, and men who answered in the affirmative were then categorized as having mild, mild-to-moderate, moderate, or severe ED. The average follow-up was five years.

Patients in one trial involving 400 men were randomly assigned to take ramipril, telmisartan — an angiotensin II receptor antagonist used to treat hypertension and heart failure — or a combination.

In another, ACE inhibitor-intolerant patients were randomly assigned to take a placebo or telmisartan.

Patients with ED were older and had a higher prevalence of hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and lower urinary track surgery than men without ED. And 55% of men had ED when they entered the trials.

Researchers say deaths from all causes occurred in 11.3% of patients who had ED at the start, but in only 5.6% of people with no ED or only mild problems at baseline.

They report that 16.2% of ED patients died from cardiovascular problems, suffered heart attacks or strokes, or were hospitalized for heart failure. Only 10.3% of men with no or mild ED had similar outcomes.

As ED worsened, risk of death from all causes increased, suggesting that ED identifies men whose cardiovascular disease might be dangerously advanced.

Bohm says that ED is closely associated with conditions that occur in atherosclerosis and vascular problems, such as plaque buildup, which often precedes heart attacks and strokes.

“Men with ED going to a general practitioner or a urologist need to be referred for a cardiology workup to determine existing cardiovascular disease and proper treatment,” Bohm says. “ED is an early predictor of cardiovascular disease.”

Men with ED are often treated for impotence but not underlying cardiovascular disease, he says, thus placing “a whole segment of men” at increased risk of death.

Therefore, men and their doctors need to view ED as a risk factor, just as they do high blood pressure and cholesterol, he says.

The study is published in the March 15 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.