Section A·Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, June 16, 1999
Health
Electromagnetic threat not cleared
Report findings support reducing human exposure
WASHINGTON — Six years of research have produced little hard evidence that the magnetic fields around electric power lines cause cancer, yet some lingering concerns remain, a National Institutes of Health division reported yesterday.
The Associated Press
Virtually all of the laboratory evidence in animals and humans and most mechanistic studies in cells fail to support a causal relationship between the electromagnetic fields and cancer, the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences said in the report to Congress.
However, it said there have been some statistical associations between the fields and childhood leukemia as well as chronic lymphocytic leukemia in adults who are exposed to the fields through their work, such as electric utility workers, machinists and welders.
Research is continuing on these concerns and efforts to reduce human exposure to electromagnetic fields should continue, the report said.
"The lack of consistent, positive findings in animal or mechanistic studies weakens the belief that this association is actually due to EMF, but it cannot completely discount the epidemiological findings," Kenneth Olden, NIEHS director, said in a statement.
Therefore, since virtually everyone in the country is routinely exposed to electromagnetic fields, efforts to reduce such exposure should continue, he said.
For example, the electrical industry should continue efforts to reduce the electromagnetic fields around large transmission lines and communities should enforce electrical codes to avoid wiring errors that can increase electromagnetic fields.
The focus on a possible link to cancer stemmed from a 1979 Denver study that tied leukemia to electromagnetic fields. However, the researchers also concluded that there was no connection between electromagnetic fields and other problems including Alzheimer's disease, depression and birth defects.
Just a year ago, a panel of scientists studying this issue concluded, in a 19-9 vote, that electromagnetic fields should be considered possible cancer-causing agents though the risk was probably quite small.
that was at odds with a 1996 report by a National Research Council panel of scientists. Those scientists evaluated about 500 studies on the health effects of high-voltage power lines and found no conclusive evidence that electric and magnetic fields cause any human disease.
Though the link between electricity and disease has long been controversial, some consumer groups have sued power companies or forced utility firms to move power lines or install shielding.
Midwestern women making it to 100
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Women living in the Midwest have the best chance of living to 100, according to a Census report that finds the nation's centenarian population overwhelmingly female and doubling this decade.
And reaching the century mark doesn't necessarily mean slowing down.
Ella May Stumpe, 103, taught herself Microsoft software five years ago so she could write books on her computer, including one titled "My Life at 100."
"More than anything else, the reason I have survived to this age is a moderate way of life," said Stumpe, who grew up in North Dakota, which had the 11th highest percentage of centenarians among its population in 1990. She now lives in Frederick, Md.
Stumpe, who changed her diet to nonacidic foods after suffering an ulcer at age 30, offers advice for those yearning to live long: I do not go for the modern teen-age diet of burgers and stuff that "
The Census Bureau reported yesterday that its analysis of 1990 data found that four out of five U.S. centenarians are women. Iowa had the highest percentage of residents in their 100s, followed by South Dakota. Three other Midwest states — Nebraska, Kansas and Minnesota — also finished in the top 10. The others in the top 10
were Connecticut, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana and the District of Columbia.
The 1990 Census counted 37,306 people age 100 or over, but bureau analysts believe that inaccurate birth and death records inflated that number and that the figure was actually closer to 28,000.
"A lot of people don't know how old they are, and if you don't have a record and you're old you may want to be one hundred plus. It's kind of a magical age," Victoria Velkoff, co-author of the Census report, said.
Nonetheless, the Census estimates there are now nearly 70,000 people age 100 or older, almost double the 1990 total.
California, New York and Florida had the most residents past the century mark. But when measured as a percentage of population, these big states trailed those in the Midwest.
Tom Perls, a principal investigator for the New England Centenarian Study that researches aging, said genetics is probably the primary reason for the regional cluster of centenarians frequently referred to as the longevity belt. It stretches from Minnesota to Nova Scotia, he said.
"There were genes passed down through the generations that have inhabited these regions that are probably excellent for getting to extreme old age. That's what we call a founder effect," Perls said.
Florida, with the largest senior population.
ranked 23rd in the percentage of centenarians in its population. The Census speculates that it's because the healthier "young old" may be flocking to Florida, while the "older old" return to their home states for family care, the report said.
Alaska ranked last for centenarians as a percentage and for total numbers.
The report also echoes findings that women outnumber men among the very old.
Women age more slowly than men, Perls said, and among women, the onset of cancer, stroke and Alzheimer's may be delayed by 10 years. Elderly women also survive illnesses and chronic conditions like heart disease more often than men, he added.
Anna Groupe, 104, of Sherburne, Minn., spends her days reading the local papers and her copy of "Portals of Prayer."
Born in 1895 when Grover Cleveland was president, Groupe doesn't know why she has lived so long. But she remembers an active youth of horseback riding and farm work with her German immigrant parents.
"I drove a horse and buggy four miles to high school to get a high school education. I was never late because my dad always had the horse hitched," Groupe said.
Her husband, Arthur, died at age 87 in 1982. She now lives with her 78-year-old daughter, Mildred Johnson, on the same farm where she grew up. "I take care of her and she takes care of me," Johnson said.
Estrogen-replacement drug might decrease breast cancer possibilities
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — An estrogen substitute used to prevent brittle bones in women who were past menopause reduced the risk of breast cancer dramatically, a study found.
The three-year study of 7,705 women found a 76 percent lower risk of breast cancer among those taking raloxifene compared with those given a placebo.
Raloxifene is marketed under the name Evista by Ell Lilly and Co., which paid for the study.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was led by Dr. Steven R. Cummings, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of California at San Francisco.
"It's a very exciting beginning," Cummings said. "But we've only had 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years of experience with this. I think women should be cautious about any medications used for prevention."
Raloxifene is part of a new generation of drugs scientists hope will manifest the good effects of estrogen stronger bones and a lower risk of heart disease - while inhibiting the possible harmful effects, which may include promoting breast and uterine cancer.
Raloxifene, the first designer estrogen, was approved in 1997 by the Food and Drug Administration for preventing osteoporosis. It has not been shown to affect heart disease.
Many women are afraid to use estrogen because of conflicting evidence on whether it promotes breast cancer. However, a study released
last week on 37,000 women suggested that hormones did not increase the risk of breast cancer, except for some uncommon and highly curable forms of the disease.
Raloxifene isn't risk-free. It increases the chances of serious blood clots.
In Cummings' study, 5,129 post-menopausal women younger than 81 received raloxifene daily, while 2,576 got a dummy pill. Thirteen cases of breast cancer were diagnosed among the women on raloxifene; 27 cases were found among those taking the placebo.
Women taking raloxifen had a 90 percent lower risk of a type of cancer called estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer.
However, raloxifene had almost no effect on estrogen-receptor negative breast cancer, one of the hardest forms of the disease to treat. It is most commonly developed by younger women and those with a genetic predisposition to the disease.
Janet Wolter, a doctor at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, said she was encouraged by the findings and hoped more research would determine whether the breast cancer drug tamoxifen or raloxifene was more effective and produced fewer side effects.
An accompanying editorial called the findings encouraging but cautioned that raloxifene could not yet be considered suitable for most women.
"Its contributions to knowledge intensify the anticipation of finding something even better on this new frontier," Drs. Adele L. Franks and Karen K. Steinberg said.
Patient privacy debate bogged down by partisan partition
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Sen. James Jeffords, trying to avoid the partisan fighting that surrounded debate about health maintenance organizations and patient rights, again postponed committee action today on another troublesome issue: the privacy of medical records.
While there is a broad agreement on the overall privacy issue, major disagreements remain about the details, despite months of searching for compromise.
Action had been scheduled yesterday in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Com
mittee, but Jeffords, the panel's chairman, announced postponement for a third time, trying to find compromise.
"It would be much more fruitful if we wait and come back tomorrow morning," said Jeffords, R-Vt. We're very, very close to consen
We're very, very close to consensus, he added.
Like the HMO debate, the right of patients to sue is at the center of the issue. In the privacy case, the question is how easy it will be for patients to sue those who improperly disclose personal health information. Also, Democrats and Republicans were divided about the rights of children to keep their medical records secret — even
from their parents.
Legislation written by Jeffords sets out to establish the first federal right to privacy regarding medical records. While many states have privacy laws, no federal law prohibits the free distribution of someone's medical records.
Jeffords has been trying to walk a thin line between the views of Democrats, who generally want to make privacy rights as broad as possible, and Republican, who fear hampering business by expanding such privacy rights.
The privacy debate is being driven by an August deadline. If Congress does not act by then, a 1996 law requires the Clinton
administration to write its own regulations.
Advocates on both sides of the issue dislike different aspects of the administration's approach, and both prefer that Congress resolve the matter.
But Democrats will not support the bill as written, said Jim Manley, spokesman for Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, the committee's top Democrat.
On the right to sue about unauthorized release of patient information, Jeffords originally included language more acceptable to Democrats. But then conservative Republicans balked, led by Sen. Jeff sessions, R-Ala. So Jef.
fords tightened the provision to cap damages for pain and suffering at $50,000.
But negotiators, trying to win Democratic support, are considering changing a provision that would require plaintiffs to prove in court that their records were released willfully and intentionally. The bill now sets the standard at knowingly or intentionally.
Democrats are also angry at a provision that they believe would give parents the right to see their children's medical records, even if the child sought medical attention independently.
Some states require doctors to give these records to parents. Democrats will let *otctors* in other states withhold them if the see fit.
There are differences on other issues, but those were not serious enough for either side to oppose the bill. Senate aides said.
On other issues of contention, Jeffords' legislation would:
—Allow existing, tougher state privacy laws to stand, but prohibit most future action.
—Enable law enforcement officers to seize medical records without the patient's permission if they have a warrant or other court action ordering it.
Give medical researchers access to records without getting permission first.
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