Health Highlights: Sept. 7, 2005

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Post-Traumatic Stress Can Be Deadly: Study

U.S. Army veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had twice the death rate within 30 years of service as veterans who didn''t have PTSD, according to new study results from researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

Causes of death included cardiovascular disease, cancer, and "external causes" like suicide or traffic accidents, the researchers said in a statement. About half the 15,000 male veterans surveyed served in the Vietnam War, and the rest in wars in Europe or Korea.

PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can follow life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or violent personal assaults like rape, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. People who have PTSD often relive the experience through nightmares and flashbacks, have difficulty sleeping, and feel detached or estranged. Symptoms can be severe enough and last long enough to significantly impair the person''s daily life.

The researchers, whose results were published in the journal Annals of Epidemiology, said the study was relevant not only to veterans, but to others with PTSD, including victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Ways to minimize a PTSD sufferer''s risk of dying include getting treatment, following a good diet, exercising, quitting smoking, and avoiding substance abuse, the researchers said.

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Junk Food Competes With Nutritional Fare in Most Schools

Junk food, including candy, soda, and pizza, competes with nutritious meals in nine of 10 U.S. schools, a new government survey found.

"Parents should know that our schools are now one of the largest sources of unhealthy food for their kids," Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) told the Associated Press. Harkin, who asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct the study, is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee.

The less-healthy fare is often available in vending machines and in school stores, the AP said. It is largely unregulated, although many schools raise substantial funds from sales of these types of food.

Of 656 schools sampled, vending machines were available in almost all high schools and middle schools, but in fewer than half of elementary schools, the GAO found.

Three-quarters of high schools and 65 percent of middle schools had exclusive soft drink contacts, the GAO said. The figure in middle schools was up from 26 percent five years ago, the AP said.

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Ford Recalls 3.8 Million Vehicles for Fire Hazard

Ford is recalling 3.8 million pickup trucks and SUVs that may contain a faulty cruise-control switch, CNN reported Wednesday. The switch could cause an engine fire, even when the vehicle is parked and the engine off, the network said.

Affected models include 1994-2002 F-150 pickups, Ford Expeditions, Lincoln Navigators, and Ford Broncos.

Ford has already recalled more than 1 million vehicles from the model year 2000 to replace cruise-control switches, CNN said.

In March, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began an investigation into more than 600 complaints of spontaneous fires involving these vehicles, the network said.

Ford said it would notify affected customers by mail. Until sufficient parts become available, the company said, it advises owners to have the switches de-activated by the nearest Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealership, CNN reported.

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EPA to Ban Use of Pregnant Women, Kids in Pesticide Studies

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to prohibit the use of pregnant women and children in tests that expose humans to toxic pesticides.

Under the proposed rules, the first for regulating such tests, the agency would also create an independent oversight panel to make sure that pesticide studies submitted to the EPA follow accepted protocols for human testing, The New York Times reported.

"This is a landmark regulation on human studies," Jim Jones, director of the EPA''s Office of Pesticide Programs, said Tuesday. "We want to send the message clearly that certain kinds of human research can never be acceptable."

Critics of the new regulations said they would still allow researchers to observe pregnant women''s and children''s everyday exposure to toxins, the Washington Post reported. And the rules, which would take effect in January, still allow the EPA to rely on earlier study results that did not conform to the new guidelines, they said.

The use of humans in pesticide experiments had been allowed until President Bill Clinton imposed a moratorium in 1998. The Bush administration, which initially backed the moratorium, backed off in 2003 to satisfy a court ruling in favor of pesticide makers.

EPA officials now consider data from human experiments on a case-by-case basis when deciding whether to approve pesticides, the Post reported.

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FDA Panel Gives Nod to New Arthritis Drug

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on Tuesday recommended approval for a new drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

The drug, abatacept, is designed to be given intravenously and suppresses part of the immune system. Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb is recommending it as an alternative for those who don''t respond to existing treatments.

The FDA''s Arthritis Advisory Committee voted 7-0 that the benefits of the drug outweigh any risks, the Associated Press reported.

Abatacept will sell under the trade name Orencia if it wins approval. Rheumatoid arthritis is a sometimes disabling condition that affects an estimated 2.1 million Americans, most of them women.