As part of the analysis 465 students at Colorado State University completed online surveys. Findings showed that “a 25% increase in the odds of annual low back pain for each 4-kg increase in the estimated usual backpack weight was observed after adjusting for sex, smoking, reporting frequently feeling overwhelmed, and body mass index … .”

However, “there was no evidence of an increased association of annual low back pain with carrying a backpack weight greater than 10% of the students’ body weight compared with those carrying less … .”

“The results of this study suggest that increasing reported backpack weight is associated with increased prevalence of annual low back pain,” conclude the study’s authors. “However, these results do not provide evidence to support the recommendation that the backpack weight necessarily be less than 10% of body weight.”

JMPT – July, 2010;33:432-37.
www.jmptonline.org

The study followed 14 patients waiting to undergo hip arthroplasty. Half of the group received chiropractic care, while the other half received no additional treatment. The intervention lasted three weeks. On overage, those receiving chiropractic had 4.4 treatments.

Chiropractic patients showed a significantly significant improvement in hip pain. They also showed clinically important (but not statistically significant) improvement in function and hip-related quality of life. On the other hand, the control group did not show any improvements.

“Chiropractic care may provide a short-term benefit in decreasing hip pain for patients with hip osteoarthritis waiting for hip arthroplasty. The pilot findings warrant larger scale randomized controlled trials with longer-term follow-ups.

JMPT – July, 2010;33:438-444.
www.jmptonline.org

The study included individuals with depression who had failed to recover with medication. One group of 39 patients took 1600 milligrams of SAMe a day. Another group of 34 patients took a placebo pill. All of the study participants also continued taking the antidepressants they were already prescribed.

After six weeks, compared with patients taking placebo, those taking SAMe showed significantly more improvement as measured by standard depression assessments.

American Journal of Psychiatry – August 2010;167:942-48.
ajp.psychiatryonline.org

“This study has identified that the reported use of acetaminophen in 13- and 14-year-old adolescent children was associated with an exposure-dependent increased risk of asthma symptoms,” notes lead author Richard Beasley, MD.

As part of the analysis, two written questionnaires and one video questionnaire were administered to more than 300,000 13- and 14 year old children in 113 centers throughout 50 countries, asking them to quantify their use of acetaminophen and their asthma, eczema and allergy symptoms.

There was a significant association between acetaminophen use and risk of asthma and eczema. For medium users the risk of asthma 43% higher than non-users; high users had 2.51 times the risk of non-users. Similarly, the risk of rhinoconjunctivitis (allergic nasal congestion) was 38% higher for medium users and 2.39 times as great for high users. For eczema, the relative risks were 31% for medium users and 99% for high users.

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine – August 12, 2010;Epub.
ajrccm.atsjournals.org

In Sweden, children attend compulsory school from ages 7 to 16. As part of the study, researchers looked at the PE grades of students who graduated from a compulsory school during 1974 to 1976.

In 2003 to 2007, the researchers looked at the former students’ healthcare records. After adjusting for education and occupation, the investigators found that, in girls, poor PE grades predicted a musculoskeletal diagnosis three decades later. Most of these conditions involved chronic pain and soft tissue disorders. On the other hand, boys with good PE grades were less likely to endure future soft tissue disorders.

“This study indicates that adolescent girls with a low PE grade could be an important group to target with early interventions to reduce future musculoskeletal illness,” conclude the study’s authors.

Pain – September 2010;150:414-19.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03043959

According to the analysis, in 2007 about 27 million people, or nearly 12% of adults age 18 and older, reported having back problems. Of those, more than 19 million sought treatment.

In 2007, two-thirds of the total spent for treatment of back problems went to pay medical physicians, chiropractors and physical therapists for ambulatory care and for prescription drugs ($18 billion and $4.5 billion, respectively). This is up from $9.3 billion spent on office-based care and $1.2 billion on prescription drugs in 1997 (in 2007 dollars).

The remaining expenses were for hospital care, emergency room visits, and home health services.

Overall, the average expenditures for treatment of back problems were $1,589 per adult in 2007($1,146 for ambulatory care and $446 for prescription drugs).

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – July 2010.
www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st289/stat289.pdf

The analysis followed 1,041 teens between the ages of 13 and 18 years for nine months. None of the subjects had depression or another psychological condition at the start of the study.

“Results suggested that young people who are initially free of mental health problems but use the Internet pathologically could develop depression as a consequence,” conclude the study’s authors. “These results have direct implications for the prevention of mental illness in young people, particularly in developing countries.”

The study’s authors defined “excessive” or “pathological” Internet use as more than five hours a day.

Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine – August 2, 2010;Epub.
archpedi.ama-assn.org

As part of the experiment, 164 male military recruits were divided into two groups. For six months, (October to March), one group took 400 IU of vitamin D a day. The other group took a placebo pill.

Men taking vitamin D were more likely to have missed no days from work during the study period, compared with men in the placebo group. Specifically, 51% of those in the vitamin D group remained healthy, compared with 36% of those in the placebo group.

Journal of Infectious Diseases – July 15, 2010;Epub.
www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/jid/current

Study author Donald Murphy explains that, “in the beginning the relationship was seen as simple cause-effect, in which CMT was seen to cause VADS in certain susceptible individuals. This was perceived as extremely rare by chiropractic physicians, but as far more common by neurologists and others. Recent evidence has clarified the relationship considerably, and suggests that the relationship is not causal, but that patients with VADS often have initial symptoms which cause them to seek care from a chiropractic physician and have a stroke some time after, independent of the chiropractic visit.”

“This new understanding has shifted the focus for the chiropractic physician from one of attempting to ‘screen’ for ‘risk of complication to manipulation’ to one of recognizing the patient who may be having VADS so that early diagnosis and intervention can be pursued. In addition, this new understanding presents the chiropractic profession with an opportunity to change the conversation about CMT and VADS by taking a proactive, public health approach to this uncommon but potentially devastating disorder.”

Chiropractic & Osteopathy – August 3, 2010;18:Epub.
www.chiroandosteo.com

The analysis of 59,334 Danish women found that those reporting at least one serving of artificially sweetened soft drinks were 38% more likely to deliver preterm, compared with mothers who do not drink diet beverages. And, those who drank at least four diet sodas were 80% more likely to deliver preterm.

AJCN – July 23;Epub.
www.ajcn.org