Public Health Moment

Ductal carcinoma in situ — or DCIS — is defined as an abnormal collection of cells in the milk ducts of the breast. Today, DCIS accounts for about a fourth of all positive breast cancer screenings. But DCIS is not itself considered breast cancer.

As a result, it remains unclear how aggressively to treat the condition. In addition, treatments for DCIS can often result in complications and side effects. That's according to University of Minnesota health policy professor Beth Virnig.

In a report last week for the National Cancer Institute, she and her colleagues called for more research.

• Listen to Virnig on Public Health Moment

More than one in 10 U.S. health care workers lacks health insurance for themselves.

That's according to research by a team of University of Minnesota health policy researchers, led by Associate Professor Lynn Blewett.

Blewett's team examined the rates of uninsurance among U.S. health care workers by health care industry subtype and work force category, using 2004-2006 National Health Interview Survey data.

They found that overall 11 percent of the U.S. health care work force is uninsured. Furthermore, ambulatory care workers were 3.1 times as likely as hospital workers to be uninsured and residential care workers were 4.3 times as likely to be uninsured.

The findings raise concerns about safety and quality of health care in different settings, the researchers said. They add that previous research shows that uninsurance leads to delays in seeking care, fewer prevention visits, and poorer health status.

Other University of Minnesota researchers on the team were Chiu-Fang, Pamela Johnson, and Andy Ward.

Listen to Blewett on Public Health Moment

Motor vehicle accidents is the No. 1 cause of death for American teenagers.

In an effort to reduce this rate many states have adopted graduated driver's licensing standards — or GDL — for these young drivers.

But has GDL been effective? That's what University of Minnesota researcher Pinar Karaca-Mandic is trying to find out.

Listen to Karaca-Mandic on Public Health Moment

Whether or not Congress votes to include the hotly debated Public Option plan in its health reform legislation this year, the overall bill will fall short of comprehensive reform, says Lynn Blewett, an associate professor of health policy at the University of Minnesota.

For example, she says, the bill will fall short of providing health insurance for all of the nation's 46 million uninsured.

Blewett believes a bill will definitely pass this year, but it will be the start of ongoing, incremental reform.

Listen to Blewett on Public Health Moment

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, aside from skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed among women in the United States this year. And about 40,170 women are expected to die from the disease in 2009 alone.

Surgical Treatments

For women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, surgery is the typical treatment.

But that surgery can take one of two forms, says University of Minnesota professor Beth Virnig, who studies treatments for breast cancer.

She says it can be either mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery, otherwise known as lumpectomy.

Beginning the early 1990s, a major effort was made by oncologists to reduce the rate of mastectomy by favoring lumpectomy and radiation therapy. The thought was that lumpectomy was less invasive and had equivalent survival results.

Since then, mastectomy rates have dropped, Virnig says.

Rates for double mastectomy rise

But she and other researchers have noticed a recent increase in the number of double mastectomies.

Virnig encourages more research to learn why but also offers advice to women, in this installment of Public Health Moment.

Listen to Virnig on Public Health Moment

Oct. 8 through 12 is National School Lunch Week, a time to recognize this program that serves 31 million U.S. students each day.

In this installment of Public Health Moment, Jamie Stang, a University of Minnesota assistant professor and nutrition expert, talks about the program's origins.

She also discusses the relatively new Farm-to-Schools movement, under which many schools are starting to buy foods locally. Stang says that Minnesota is a leader in this area.

Listen to Stang on Public Health Moment

Overweight youth with certain socio-environmental, psychological, and behavioral tendencies are more likely to suffer from eating disorders.

These tendencies include reading magazine articles about dieting, reporting a lack of family connectedness, and placing a high importance on weight.

That's according to research led by Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, a University of Minnesota professor of epidemiology.

Listen to Neumark-Sztainer on Public Health Moment

State health officials report that the flu is now widespread in Minnesota. While not all of the cases are the swine flu, or H1N1, officials believe it's playing a big role in the upsurge.

So, what are the symptoms? We asked John Finnegan, dean of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

He says the symptoms are similar to those of seasonal influenza - they include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting.

Finnegan also explains when someone should seek medical care.

Listen to Finnegan on Public Health Moment

For many Midwesterners, the tanning bed is a necessity of life. Now, it's also officially a cancer-causing agent, according to the World Health Organization.

In a recent report, the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer states that there is a causal link between ultraviolet radiation produced by tanning beds and cancer.

DeAnn Lazovich a University of Minnesota cancer epidemiologist, explains.

Based on this report and her own research, Lazovich offers advice.

Listen to Lazovich on Public Health Moment

Middle-age individuals who smoke, have high blood pressure, or have diabetes run a high risk of being hospitalized for dementia later in life.

That's according to a research study of more than 11,000 people, led by Alvaro Alonso, a University of Minnesota epidemiologist.

Alonso adds that this research provides one more reason why people should quit smoking and concentrate on improving their cardiovascular health.

Listen to Alonso on Public Health Moment