More Men Die From Heat-Related Deaths

By JOANNA SCHAFFHAUSEN
July 28, 2006

MEN MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM HEAT The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a review of heat-related deaths in the United States from 1999 to 2003, finding that an average of 688 people die from heat-related illnesses each year. Men are much more likely to die from the heat than women — for every three heat deaths, two are male. Many people who died also had underlying heart disease. States with the highest death rates were Arizona, Nevada and Missouri.

MEN HAVE HIGHER CLOT RISK? A review of 15 studies published in Lancet this week suggests that men are more likely than women to suffer a second blood clot after a first episode. Australian researchers included information on more than 5,400 patients in their analysis. Overall, risk of a second blood clot is high, about a one in four chance of suffering a second clot over a five-year period. Of the people who suffered a second clot, 64 percent were men and 36 percent were women.

WATCHING TV TAKES AWAY FROM EXERCISE? Harvard School of Public Health researchers examining people living predominantly in low-income/minority-group housing found that TV watching appeared to reduce a person's amount of exercise. For each additional hour a person spent in front of the TV, he or she walked an average of 144 fewer steps during the day. Also, researchers are always quick to blame TV or video games, but other studies show that people who like watching TV will just find other ways to sit around if the TV is off, such as reading, board games and crafts. Turning off the TV to get exercise only works if you go exercise. These findings were published this week in the American Journal of Public Health.


STAT is a brief look at the latest medical research and is compiled by Joanna Schaffhausen, who holds a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience. She works in the ABC News Medical Unit, evaluating medical studies, abstracts and news releases.