Prevalence: 60 to 70 million people affected by all digestive diseases Ambulatory care visits: 104.7 million (2004) Hospitalizations: 13.5 million (2004) Mortality: 236,164 deaths (2004) Diagnostic and therapeutic inpatient procedures: 5.5 million—12 percent of all inpatient procedures (2006) Ambulatory surgical procedures: 20 million—31 percent of all ambulatory procedures (2006) Costs: $141.8 billion (2004) $97.8 billion direct medical costs (2004)
$44 billion indirect costs (e.g., disability and mortality) (2004)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) officially launched Healthy
People 2020 on December 2, 2010, at the
George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
The event marked the formal release of the decade’s
national health promotion and disease prevention
objectives.
Each decade since 1980, the HHS has released
a comprehensive set of national public health
objectives. Known as Healthy People, the initiative
has been grounded in the notion that setting
objectives and providing benchmarks to track
and monitor progress can motivate, guide, and
focus action.
The HHS convened the Secretary’s Advisory
Committee on National Health Promotion and
Disease Prevention Objectives for 2020 to aid
in the process of developing the next decade’s
guidelines. The Advisory Committee was
charged with providing advice and consultation
to the Secretary: 1) to facilitate the development
and implementation of national health promotion
and disease prevention goals and objectives,
and 2) to inform the development of initiatives
that will occur during initial implementation of
the goals and objectives.
The December 2 launch program included
remarks by HHS Assistant Secretary for Health
Howard K. Koh, M.D., and members of the
Advisory Committee; an introduction and orientation
to the Healthy People 2020 website and
objectives; and a panel discussion about the uses
of Healthy People 2020.
Researchers investigating a link between restless
legs syndrome (RLS) and Crohn’s disease
(CD) uncovered results that demonstrate RLS
occurs frequently in people with CD and appears to be a possible extraintestinal
manifestation of CD. This research appeared in the February 2010 issue of
Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
CD is an ongoing disorder that causes inflammation
of the digestive tract, also referred to as the
gastrointestinal (GI) tract. CD can affect any
area of the GI tract, from the mouth to the anus,
but it most commonly affects the lower part of
the small intestine, called the ileum.
CD has a variety of possible extraintestinal
manifestations: arthritis, skin problems, kidney
stones, gallstones, and liver diseases. This study
is the first to show central nervous system (CNS)
manifestations of CD.
A total of 272 patients with CD participated
in the study, and researchers found a 43 percent
incidence rate and 30 percent prevalence rate
of RLS in patients with CD, compared with a
9 percent prevalence rate in the control group.
RLS symptoms occurred during or after the
onset of CD symptoms in the majority of
patients, suggesting a link between CD and RLS.
We have found an interesting story on http://stop-hepatitis-c.info
Disclaimer
The following case studies are from people whose lives have been touched by HCV. These people generously allow us to use their words because they believe that sharing their experiences might help others who are HCV infected. These stories may or may not be representative of the total HCV population and they do not necessarily represent the opinion of Tibotec. We hope that you find the case studies informative. Names have been changed to ensure privacy.
I was diagnosed with hepatitis C somewhere around 1992, although I had probably actually contracted it some thirty years previously. At first it was a bit of a shock - as it is for most people - and I found I consciously ignored it until my subconscious got used to the idea. After that I decided to take a proactive approach and started to learn as much as I could about the disease, altering my lifestyle in the process.
This culminated with finally managing to give up alcohol and cigarettes, in that order though several years apart, as I knew they could be harmful and might exacerbate any liver damage.
Conventional treatment was non-existent back when I was first diagnosed and, when the first treatment was identified, it was a lot less effective than today – consisting of monotherapy with non-pegylated interferon and no ribavirin. It was new and untested territory at that time, so I opted for a watch and wait stance.
I have monitored myself carefully since diagnosis, and everything has been comparatively stable. I have been very lucky so far, having had four biopsies over the years since diagnosis which continue to show no fibrosis. My ALT/ASTs are consistently only just above the normal range although my viral load has been very high for the last few years. However, this being a systemic disease, I had been experiencing other symptoms that I believe are connected to my hep C, including irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, headaches for days at a time, bouts of fatigue, cognitive impairment, brain-fog, mood swings, and declining eyesight. It is interesting how the attitude of doctors has changed towards symptoms.
For instance, there was a time when they told you “upper-right-quadrant pain” in the liver area was imaginary and that any “extra-hepatic” symptoms were psychosomatic! Unfortunately there are still some doctors out there telling their patients that, but in general things have improved.
Although I am symptomatic, there is no guarantee that treatment would get rid of any of these symptoms, so I remain undecided. In fact, when pegylated interferon became available, NICE’s initial guidelines meant I was ineligible for treatment even if I wanted it, as I had no signs of fibrosis. When that changed in 2006 to recommend treatment for everyone regardless of the amount of liver damage they have, I still held off.
Over the years I have seen a lot of changes and major advances in the treatment available. But right now I don’t feel the need to do treatment. Of course, I realise that things may change – my liver might start deteriorating or my symptoms might worsen – and that could change how I feel about it.
Finding out about my “dis-ease” helped me enormously on a number of levels and I want to pass that on to others out there who perhaps feel isolated or lonely and hopefully encourage them to accumulate more knowledge about their virus, so they can take appropriate action and make informed decisions regarding their treatment plan and lifestyle choices.
The information is not intended to serve as a substitute for professional medical advice and we recommend that all decisions about your treatment or products you wish to use should be discussed thoroughly and frankly with your doctor.
Over 85,000 new cases of hepatitis are diagnosed yearly in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC defines hepatitis as a family of viral diseases that impact the liver. Five of the six types of hepatitis are defined by letter distinctions. According to the Mayo Clinic, hepatitis A is a mild infection that generally causes flu-like symptoms.
The Mayo Clinic states hepatitis C often causes a life-long illness that can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. According to the World Health Organization, hepatitis D and E are rarely found within the United State, but are common in developing countries. The Mayo Clinic describes alcoholic hepatitis as generally tied to long-term alcohol abuse.
The basic treatment for all forms of hepatitis is rest, a diet filled with fresh fruits and vegetables and avoidance of items that could cause further liver damage according to the Mayo Clinic. Avoiding alcohol, herbal supplements and all drugs not prescribed by a physician is advised by the Mayo Clinic.
Treatments for hepatitis A, B and E generally take the "wait and see approach" as there are no specific treatment plans for these infections according to the World Health Organization. Medical oversight may be needed to help control symptoms and the Mayo Clinic states antiviral medications may be prescribed based on your condition and length of illness.
As much as ten to twenty percent of Asian Americans carry a virus that can cause devastating liver damage. The virus is Hepatitis B, and there are ways to slow or stop its steady attack on the liver. Yet only a fraction of those who know they are infected get the treatment they need. In this edition of Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, we look at whats keeping patients from seeking treatment and why it truly is a matter of life or death.
