Health Highlights: Jan. 30, 2006

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

Health Indicators Decline for Older Americans

Five of seven health care indicators for Americans 50 and older declined over a one-year period at the same time that the age group saw a drop in family income, according to the annual "State of 50+ America" report released Monday by AARP.

"The AARP report found health care costs are staggering for more Americans. The percentage of 50+ households which can not even afford medical care they need today is growing," John Rother, AARP director of policy and strategy, said in a prepared statement.

"Economists are reporting a growing economy. But AARP has found that real family income has not increased since the late 1990s for mid-life and older Americans, and over the last year family income for the age group has declined," Rother said.

Real median family income for 50+ households decreased 1.5 percent over the most recent one-year period. The report also said that 50.1 percent of Americans age 62 and older received more than half their 2004 income from sources other than Social Security. That''s a slight increase over the previous year.

The report also said that 47 percent of Americans 50 and older reported their health as excellent or very good in 2004, a slight decline from 47.5 percent in 2003. The number of people 50 and older who said they weren''t overweight or obese declined from 39.7 percent in 1998 to 35 percent in 2004.

More than half (55 percent) of Americans 50 and older said their housing costs accounted for a larger share of their budget in 2004 than five years ago.

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Single Gene Determines Earwax Type

A single gene called ABCC11 determines whether a person has wet or dry earwax and earwax type could even be related to attractiveness, says an international study in the journal Nature Genetics.

Researchers analyzed the genes of people from 33 populations across the world and concluded that ethnicity determines which form of the ABCC11 gene a person has, BBC News reported.

Up to 95 percent of East Asians have dry earwax, compared with no more than 3 percent of people of African or European origin.

The study also noted that earwax type could related to attractiveness due to a link with body odor glands. Wet earwax has been linked to armpit odor, BBC News reported.

While the scientists identified the gene responsible for determining the type of earwax, they said the exact purpose of earwax is unclear.

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COX-2 Inhibitors Reduce Breast Cancer Risk: Study

Controversial COX-2 inhibitors, used mainly as arthritis drugs, may reduce the risk of breast cancer, says an Ohio State University study in the journal BMC Cancer.

The study of 323 breast cancer patients and 649 healthy women found that those who took COX-2 inhibitors for at least two years had a 71 percent reduced risk of breast cancer, The Times of London reported.

Ibuprofen and naproxen were also effective. Women who took those drugs had a 63 percent lower risk of breast cancer.

The COX-2 inhibitors in this study included Vioxx and Celebrex. The study was partly funded by drug company Pfizer, which makes Celebrex. The remainder of the funding came from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, The Times reported.

Vioxx was withdrawn from the U.S. market because it was linked with heart disease. Celebrex is still on the market.

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First Iraqi Bird Flu Case Confirmed

The H5N1 strain of bird flu caused the death of a 15-year-old girl in northern Iraq earlier this month, Iraqi Kurdistan and United Nations officials said Monday. It''s the first known human bird flu case in the country, the Associated Press reported.

Blood samples from the girl, who died January 17 after contracting a severe lung infection, were tested at the U.S. Navy Medical Research Unit in Cairo, Egypt. Thirty other samples from northern Iraq are being tested at the unit.

The girl''s uncle died January 27. Both lived in the same house near Ranya, located near a reservoir that''s a stopover for migratory birds from Turkey, which is currently trying to halt a bird flu outbreak.

In other news, Turkish Cypriot authorities said they''ve quarantined a 10-kilometer area around a village where H5N1 was found in a dead bird. A large number of birds in the quarantine area have been slaughtered, the Voice of America reported.

Greek Cypriot officials said they''ve taken steps to prevent the bird flu virus from spreading into their area of Cyprus.

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Analytical Couples Linked to Autistic Children

Highly analytical couples such as scientists, engineers and mathematicians may be more likely than other couples to have autistic children, says a University of Cambridge researcher.

In a paper in the journal Archives of Disease of Childhood, Prof. Simon Baron-Cohen said the gene that makes some people analytical may also impair their social and communication skills, BBC News reported.

Autism is characterized by social and communication difficulties.

Baron-Cohen noted that scientists and other "systemizers" are skilled at analyzing systems to figure out how they function but tend to be less interested in social skills and can exhibit obsession with detail and other behaviors associated with autism.

Since systemizers tend to be attracted to each other, they''re more likely to pass "autism" genes and behaviors onto their children, Baron-Cohen suggested.

Some experts argue that the rise in autism in linked to increased awareness of the condition, BBC News reported.

Last Updated: Jan. 30, 2006