August 29, 2007 (Insidermedicine)

From New York City - The health ramifications from 9/11 continue. A study of the health records of the more than 25,000 rescue workers shows that they have a 12-fold risk for asthma over the general population. Those who used respirators on Sept 11 and 12 had their risk halved when compared to those who did use theirs.

From Portland - Gestational diabetes- or high sugars during pregnancy- has been linked to a raised risk of having a child that is overweight later in life. In a study of over 9000 children, children born to mothers who had high blood sugars during pregnancy were nearly twice as likely to be overweight at age 5 years. But the good news is that if mum got her sugars under control during pregnancy the obesity risk was no longer present.

Back to NYC - Hypnosis could help women who need surgery for breast cancer. Women who used hypnosis before surgery needed less anesthesia, reported less pain after their surgery and had shorter surgeries - efficiency that saved the healthcare system $773 on average.

And finally from Maryland - According to new data released from the Census Bureau, the number of those without healthcare insurance has risen by 5% last year- and now sits at 47 million. And, unfortunately, over 1 in 10 children in the US remain uninsured.

For Insidermedicine in 60, I’m Dr. Susan Sharma.