A new study of the nation’s drinking habits recently revealed that more Americans of legal age are drinking alcohol. This newest trend appears to be consistent across the board for all major ethnic groups and genders.

The study found that between 1992 and 2002, the percentages of men and women of Caucasian, Hispanic, and African American descent who drank alcohol increased. Despite increased rates of drinking, Americans don’t seem to be drinking more as evidenced by the consistency of drinks consumed per month.

“More people are drinking, but they seem to not be drinking heavily as frequently,” says Rhonda Jones-Webb, an epidemiologist and alcohol expert at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, in Minneapolis.

But one interesting exception remains; a slight increase in the number of people who binge drink at least once a month. In other words, more people are partaking in five or more drinks per day.

“We need to address this increase, which may be associated with alcohol abuse,” says Dr. Deborah Dawson, Ph.D., a staff scientist at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, in Bethesda, Maryland. “We may need to focus our attention on preventive measures that target binge drinking.”

Because the study doesn’t include data after 2002, the rates of binge drinking and drinking in general are probably even higher now. The past two years has been wrecked with economic troubles and unemployment, often associated with stress and alcohol use.

Jones-Webb addresses this possibility by confirming that “it could be the case” that Americans are drinking to alleviate financial stress.

“It would be good to replicate the same study over the last eight years and see if the findings are similar.” – Jones-Webb

While it remains unclear as to why there’s a rise in the proportion of drinkers and in binge drinking, it could be due to recent societal acceptance of alcohol consumption.

“There has been much emphasis on drug education and treatment but not as much emphasis on alcohol misuse, which could signal a change in norms and explain the increase in the prevalence of drinkers,” says Dr. Stephen Bahr, Ph.D., a professor of sociology at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah.

The study serves as a nice snapshot of the social climate regarding drinking in the United States.

Dengue virus is back in the U.S. showing up in the Florida Keys according to a study released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and the Florida Department of Health. The report details the exposure of about 5 percent or 1,000 Key West residents to dengue virus, followed by 12 confirmed cases of dengue in the area this year. This marks the first dengue outbreak in Florida since 1934.

“These people had not traveled outside of Florida, so we need to determine if these cases are an isolated occurrence or if dengue has once again become endemic in the continental United States,” said Harold Margolis, chief of the dengue branch of CDC in a press release.  “We are concerned that if dengue gains a foothold in Key West, it will travel to other Southern cities … like Miami.”

As the most common virus transmitted via mosquito, dengue causes up to 100 million infections, resulting in the death of up to 25,000 people every year. Dengue thrives in urban and semi-urban areas found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide.

Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, severe pain behind the eyes, joint pain, muscle and bone pain. No vaccine exists that will prevent infection with dengue, but early detection and treatment prevents mortality. Locally acquired dengue outbreaks in the United States are rare.  The only reported instances of dengue outbreaks in the U.S. have been scattered along the Texas-Mexico border.

Because research has shown that one in 10 adults under age 65 in the US are exposed to radiation during cardiac imaging over a three-year period, it becomes important to address the question of how much radiation is too much for your heart?

Researchers analyzed administrative claims from the major US insurer, United Healthcare, for more than 90,000 adults that had at least one cardiac imaging procedure. It was discovered that 89 per 1,000 patients received a dose of ionizing radiation greater than that of exposure to background radiation from natural sources. Dr. Jersey Chen of Yale University and colleagues report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that extrapolation of this data suggests that over a half million people would be at risk from considerable doses of ionizing radiation from cardiac imaging.

But what does this mean to each individual’s health? The clinical implications are vague considering that catching and treating heart problems may be balancing out the cancer risks associated with ionizing radiation.

Because cardiac imaging accounts for about 30% of total annual exposure to radiation from medical testing, these results should at least give cardiologists pause when selecting testing methods. However, it remains important to acknowledge that the correlation between radiation doses and cancer development remains hypothetical.

Regardless, in light of these recent findings, researchers suggest that alternative imaging modalities without ionizing radiation may be the better choice for diagnosing younger patients.

“For example, alternatives such as stress echocardiography or, in some cases, exercise testing alone without imaging could serve as alternatives to myocardial perfusion imaging scans,” they wrote in JACC.

The many benefits of taking fish oil range from keeping the heart healthy to treating arthritis and depression, but recent research suggests that they may also help women to lower their risk of developing breast cancer. The study showed that postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 76 who took fish oil were 32 percent less likely to develop certain forms of breast cancer in comparison to women who didn’t. This may be related to the fact that fish oil is full of omega-3 fatty acids commonly found in salmon, tuna, and other fish.

Despite these promising findings, the researchers say it may be premature to recommend that women start taking fish oil to avert breast cancer development.

“People should try to achieve nutrients through a healthy diet, so eating fish is a better recommendation than fish oil,” says the lead author of the study, Dr. Emily White Ph.D, an epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. “We think that fish oil is promising in terms of disease prevention, but it’s not proven.”

Fish oil consumption was measured using surveys, after which rates of breast cancer diagnosis amongst women taking the supplements versus those who did not were determined. Other factors such as age, family history, and past hormone therapy treatment were taken into consideration, but many other unknown factors could have affected the results.

“We tried to equalize the two groups in terms of other health behaviors, but only a randomized trial would offer more definitive information,” White says, referring to a study in which women would be randomly assigned to receive fish oil or a placebo to avoid psychosomatic symptoms.

This is not the first study finding an apparent link between supplements and reduced cancer risk. In fact, a number of studies similar to White’s have been done, but very few of them have been confirmed by more rigorous studies.

“This is an interesting study, but we’ve done a lot of [these] studies that have turned out not to be helpful in terms of prostate cancer prevention,” says Dr. Jay Brooks, M.D., an oncologist at Ochsner Health System, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Many Americans find grilling to be an exciting past time. People gather together outside and the host begins to put burgers and steaks on the grill while everyone begins to talk, play games, and gossip about this or that. However, the majority of Americans do not realize that grilled meat is adding to their chances to end up with cancer.

Grilled meat and fish create heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These two chemicals have been found to be possible cause of cancer in people across the country. Grilling isn’t the only way these chemicals are produced in food. Cooking meat at high temperatures in any way produces amounts of HCAs. The major issue with grilling is the charred meat at the edge of barbeque. These charred sections of meat contain one of the purest forms of HCAs, which are also found in cigarette smoke. PAHs are formed by the juices of grilled food hitting the coals and producing smoke which is absorbed in the meat being grilled.

There is no need to panic. There is currently no evidence to suggest Americans need to quit grilling. Simply grill smarter and healthier. Be sure to clean the grill of charred remains before grilling. Cut off the really charred edges of meat and fish that are created when grilled to cut down on HCAs. Pre cook food a bit to cut down on PAHs. This can be done by simply microwaving meat for a minute or two. Vegetables do not create HCAs or PAHs so grill vegetables more often to get the same great grilling taste without the possible cancer risk. Finally, keep in mind that the cancer risk is minimal; there is no reason to quit grilling altogether, just be safe about it.