Clinical Briefs
By Louis Kuritzky, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Florida, Gainesville. Dr. Kuritzky is an advisor for Endo, Kowa, Pricara, and Takeda.
Barrett's Esophagus: What's the Risk?
Source: Hvid-Jensen F, et al. Incidence of adenocarcinoma among patients with Barrett's esophagus. N Engl J Med 2011;365:1375-1383.
For unknown reasons, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus (E-ca) is experiencing the most rapid increase of any known cancer in the United States. Although the absolute incidence of E-ca pales next to lung, prostate, or breast cancer, the inexplicable proliferation of this cancer has spurred increased scrutiny of at-risk individuals. Barrett's esophagus, which is felt to represent an attempt at protective epithelial remodeling in response to the trauma of acid exposure, occurs in as many as 10% of individuals undergoing endoscopy for symptoms of GERD. Once Barrett's is identified, consensus group guidelines suggest ongoing surveillance, despite the absence of outcomes trials indicating that such surveillance improves survival.
The Danish Pathology Registry and Cancer Registry provide an opportunity to review data accrued for the entire population of Denmark. Follow-up of persons with Barrett's esophagus (n = 11,029) over a median of 5.2 years of observation identified 197 cases of E-ca, for an annual incidence of 0.12%. Likelihood of developing E-ca was increased in persons with higher degrees of dysplasia. Based on these data, the authors suggest that ongoing surveillance of Barrett's esophagus might wisely be limited to those with demonstrated dysplasia, since the incidence of E-ca in persons without dysplasia was so very low.
The Calcium/Cardiovascular Disease Link
Source: Sabanayagam C, Shankar A. Serum calcium levels and hypertension among U.S. adults. J Clin Hypertens 2011;13:716-721.
The relationship between calcium intake through diet and/or supplements and vascular health is complex. Some recent epidemiologic surveys have found a positive association between calcium supplements and adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes, as well as vascular calcification (i.e., more CV disease and calcification with calcium supplementation than without). Because hypertension (HTN) is the most common vascular antecedent to adverse CV events, investigation of the relationship of calcium to blood pressure (BP) is pertinent.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) has published cross-sectional data from diverse populations throughout the United States for more than 30 years. The authors obtained data from the NHANES population (n = 12,403) of adults over age 20 seeking to examine the relationship between serum calcium levels and BP.
Persons in the highest quartile of serum calcium were 1½ times more likely to have HTN than those in the lowest quartile. Even when adjusted for age, race, alcohol, body mass index, cholesterol, C-reactive protein, glomerular filtration rate, serum albumin, vitamin D, and phosphorus, the relationship between calcium and BP remained.
Several mechanisms through which calcium might incur increased risk of HTN have been offered, including a direct vascular effect, parathyroid activity, and renal vasoconstriction. Before concluding that calcium is simply a "bad guy," it is important to recognize that several reports have shown that dietary calcium is inversely related to HTN.
Life Expectancy: The Japanese Are #1
Source: Murray CJ. Why is Japanese life expectancy so high? Lancet 2011; 378:1124-1125.
Even though japan spends essentially half of what the United States spends on health care (8.5% of their gross domestic product vs 16.4% of ours), they have ranked No. 1 in life expectancy for 30 years. To what might we attribute their success?
That Japan provides universal health coverage can certainly be responsible for a portion of their favorable outcomes, but other factors are also at play. For instance, Japanese public health programs to reduce salt intake and become more aggressive about blood pressure control are credited with substantial reductions in stroke. Indeed, such Japanese hypertension programs have evoked a substantial decline in blood pressure among the population as a whole, especially in women (the gender in which successful blood pressure control is conspicuously less prominent in the United States).
Although it is difficult to measure the direct impact of one additional factor educational attainment on health, epidemiologic surveys do consistently indicate a linear relationship between education and positive health outcomes. The generally high educational attainment among Japanese may be a critically important factor.
Current health trends suggest that Japan may not stay in the No. 1 slot: Inadequate tobacco control and a rising BMI among the population, unless counteracted, may result in similar adverse health effects as have been seen in other nations.
For unknown reasons, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus (E-ca) is experiencing the most rapid increase of any known cancer in the United States.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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