Tag Archives: opioids

January 1, 2020 · 12:26 am

Deaths in middle-aged adults drive decrease in U.S. life expectancy – Study

Americans in the prime of life, age 25 to 64, are dying at a greater rate than in years past, lowering overall U.S. life expectancy, according to a new study published Nov. 26 in JAMA.

Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels.com

Life expectancy — the average number of years a newborn can expect to live — increased in the U.S. by almost 10 years between 1959 and 2016, from 69.9 years to 78.9 years. However, it declined for three consecutive years after 2014, driven largely by a higher mortality rate in middle-aged people of all racial groups.

In the NIA-supported study, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University analyzed data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the U.S. Mortality Database, and CDC Wonder. They found that from 1999 to 2010, the number of deaths per 100,000 people decreased for all age groups. This decline is attributable to reduced death rates from several specific causes, including heart attacks, motor vehicle injuries, HIV infection and cancer.

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under aging, aging myths, longevity, obesity, successful aging

Tagged as aging, aging myths, longevity, obesity, opioids, smoking, successful aging

November 13, 2019 · 12:50 am

Study finds negative effects from popular herb

The herb kratom is increasingly being used to manage pain and treat opioid addiction, but it’s not safe to use as an herbal supplement, according to new research led by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

The drug is available in smoke shops and online. Using low doses, it is a stimulant. At high doses, it has an opioid-like effect.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

William Eggleston, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Binghamton University, had been seeing more and more patients presenting with toxicity or withdrawal from kratom use. Kratom is an herbal supplement derived from a plant that grows throughout southeast Asia. It is well-reported that the active chemicals in the plant act on opioid receptors in the body. Patients report using the supplement to treat/prevent withdrawal, treat opioid use disorder, or treat pain. Continue reading →

Our interest in CBD eclipses nearly all other health products or topics – Study

A new study published in JAMA Network Open led by UC San Diego health scientists finds that every month as many as 6.4 million Americans turn to Google to learn about or buy Cannabidiol (CBD), eclipsing or rivaling interest in most other health products or topics . Source: Elevated Science Communications

Touted as a “cure all,” researchers have documented unfounded claims that CBD treats acne, anxiety, opioid addiction, pain, and menstrual problems. You can buy CBD droplets, massage oils, gummies, or even CBD ice cream. But public health leaders have been mostly silent on the subject because they lacked data that demonstrates just how popular CBD is.

In the interest of full disclosure, I use and have posted on, CBD oil for arthritis relief in my hands.

cbd-health-information-news-neurosciencenews-public

To further appreciate CBD’s exploding popularity the team contrasted search query volumes for CBD against those for other trending health topics, products, or alternative medicines. The image is in the public domain.

Continue reading →

7 questions to ask when you’re given a prescription for an opioid – Harvard

I really have to confess ignorance on the subject of opioids. I make it a point to keep my drug use at a bare minimum. Naturally, I have heard of opioid abuse. Who didn’t see those shocking pictures of golf great Tiger Woods the night he tried driving under the influence of opioids?

I recently suffered some severe back pain from hanging my bike on the rack carelessly. I went to the hospital for rehab work, but didn’t take any drugs.

I wanted to report what Harvard has to say on the subject because it offers a lot of information on asking questions of your doctor.

Opioid misuse is now one of most important health problems in the United States, rivaling smoking as a cause of death. Although news reports tend to focus on an opioid crisis among the young, the opioid epidemic is increasingly affecting older people as well. In fact, the rates of hospitalization for opioid overdoses among Medicare recipients quintupled from 1993 through 2012. Although older people are still less likely than younger ones to become addicted or succumb to opioid overdoses, they are more likely to suffer side effects from extended opioid use, including memory and cognition problems and falls.

Continue reading →