Tough love 'is good for children'
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/8348938.stm

Children brought up according to "tough love" principles are more successful in life, according to a study.

The think tank Demos says a balance of warmth and discipline improved social skills more than a laissez-faire, authoritarian or disengaged upbringing.It says children aged five with "tough love" parents were twice as likely to show good character capabilities. Report author Jen Lexmond said: "It is confidence, warmth and consistent discipline that matter most."

According to the report, qualities such as application, self-regulation and empathy were more likely to be developed in children whose parents employed a "tough love" approach. It found that these qualities made "a vital contribution to life chances, mobility and opportunity".

The report said these characteristics were profoundly shaped in pre-school years.

The Building Character report analysed data from more than 9,000 households in the UK. It found that children from the richest backgrounds were more than twice as likely to develop the key characteristics compared to those with the poorest origins. Additionally, children whose parents were married were twice as likely to show such traits than children from lone parent or step-parented families, the report said. But it added that when parental style and confidence were factored in, the difference in child character development between richer and poorer families disappeared.

The report concluded that this indicated that parenting was the most important influence - and the same result occurred when the family structure factor was analysed. The report said that other positive influences included the main carer's level of education, and breast-feeding. Girls were more likely to develop character capabilities by age five, while no connection was found between paid employment of either parent and children's characteristics. The authors urged more support and information for families, and for children with disengaged or low-income parents to be given particular focus.

They recommended that the government's Sure Start programme should be refocused as a tool for early intervention, with less emphasis on childcare and more on development; improved pilots for the Family Nurse Partnership; and for health visitors to be given an early years role to help with parenting.

'Ambitious agenda'

"There is some evidence that lower-income households face more difficulty in incubating these character capabilities," the report said. "But the most important influence is the quality of parenting. "Confident, skilful parents adopting a 'tough love' approach to parenting, balancing warmth with discipline, seem to be most effective in terms of generating these key character capabilities.

"An ambitious agenda for equality of opportunity will need to take the development of these capabilities seriously."

Ms Lexmond added: "Far from a 'soft' skill, character is integral to our future success and wellbeing."

Parentline Plus chief executive Jeremy Todd said the charity also supported the call for increased help for families.

But he said different children reacted differently to parenting styles.

"If we are to reduce the strangle-hold of cycles of deprivation, the issue of how we support families to raise children must be grasped," Mr Todd added.

"We welcome this report and hope that it stimulates debate among policy makers around how best to support families to transform our society into one where we top the league tables for outcomes for children and well-being."

Retiring 'is new lease of life'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8352220.stm

Most people feel younger and healthier soon after retiring, a study of French workers has found.

Researchers looked at 15,000 employees over the best part of a decade, and found they felt up to 10 years younger within months of retirement. The greatest improvements in perceived health were among those who came from a poor working environment.

Those who were in high-status, high-satisfaction jobs showed the least change, The Lancet study reports. The researchers asked employees from the French national gas and electricity company to rate their own health up to seven years before retirement and up to seven years after. The team, from Stockholm University and University College London, found that the number reporting their health as below par fell from 19% in the year before retirement to 14% in the year after.

This, they calculated, corresponded to a gain in health of eight to 10 years.

Keep on working

The authors suggest that improving people's working conditions is essential if the burden of perceived ill-health is to be minimised at a time when societies are moving towards keeping people in the workforce for longer.

"Arguably the best option is to redesign working life for older workers to make it healthier and more satisfying than at present," said lead researcher Dr Hugo Westerlund, of the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University.

This, he said, would "hopefully achieve improved occupational health and quality of life, increased productivity, and a larger proportion of the population in work". Other research has found that the actual health gap between the lowest and highest paid occupation groups widens on retirement.

A study of thousands of British civil service workers found the average physical health of a 70-year-old who had been a high earner was similar to the physical health of a low earner around eight years younger. But US research has also highlighted health benefits of staying on in work in some capacity, be it on a temporary or part-time basis. Dr Johannes Siegrist from the University of Dusseldorf wrote in an accompanying editorial that the implications for policy of the French study were convincing.

"If poor quality of work reduces health and wellbeing of aged workers and reduces the participation of this age group in the labour force, efforts need to be directed towards improving healthy work at the level of single organisations and companies, and at the level of national labour and social policies."

Andrew Harrop of Age Concern and Help the Aged said: "While many people can't wait to retire, others want to continue working in later life, whether it's because they enjoy their jobs or to boost their retirement income. "Working into later life will bring many benefits to our economy and to the individual, but this will only be achieved if employers are willing to adapt to older workers' changing needs.

"More flexible working, particularly to take account of more chronic health conditions that are suffered in later life would also give employees the confidence to continue working into later years."
Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/8352220.stm

Published: 2009/11/10 12:02:27 GMT
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Watchful waiting for prostate cancer is safe: study
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091116/wachfulTopStoriesV2
Mon. Nov. 16 2009

Taking a watch and wait approach to prostate cancer, rather than attempting to remove the cancer, is a safe approach and doesn't lead to more deaths, concludes a new analysis.

The study, in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, finds that patients with early-stage, slow-growing prostate cancers are not taking a risk if they choose to let their doctors simply "keep an eye" on their disease, rather than treat it right away. For the study, researchers at the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, reviewed the medical records of more than 450 prostate patients who were considered of "favourable risk" - meaning their cancer was not considered aggressive or fast-growing. All were being managed with the watchful waiting approach called "active surveillance."

The men were followed for up to 13 years, with the median followup time being 6.8 years.

The researchers found that the rate of prostate cancer survival among the group was 97.2 per cent. Of the patients who did die during the study period, most died of causes other than prostate cancer. In fact, at 10 years, the likelihood of death from something other than prostate cancer was 18.6 times greater than death from prostate cancer. In other words, patients in the study were more likely to die with prostate cancer than to die of prostate cancer.

"We hope this mature data will help quell resistance to the approach of active surveillance, which is aimed at reducing over treatment and radical treatment side effects in men with low-grade prostate cancer," said Dr. Laurence Klotz, the lead author of the study and the head of the Genitourinary Cancer Care team at Odette. Many doctors prefer to take a "watchful waiting" approach to low-risk forms of prostate cancer because years of research has shown that the risks of many cancer treatments outweigh the benefits the treatments might provide. For example, surgery and radiation have high likelihoods of leaving patients incontinent, impotent, or both.

Active surveillance, meanwhile, means having patients go for regular PSA (prostate specific antigen) testing and watching the PSA doubling time, as well as periodically having the patient undergo biopsies. Doctors then treat only those patients whose cancer is reclassified over time as higher risk. In this study, 30 per cent of the patients were reclassified during the study period. Klotz noted that earlier this year, a large, landmark study out of Europe found that there are benefits of using universal PSA screening to reduce death from prostate cancer. But the study also found a significant risk of over treatment.

"This dilemma is the rationale for a more individualized approach through active surveillance with selectively delayed intervention based on predefined criteria of disease progression for favorable risk patients," says Klotz.

Screening for Breast Cancer

Release Date: November 2009
Summary of Recommendations / Supporting Documents
From U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspsbrca.htm 

Summary of Recommendations

• The USPSTF recommends against routine screening mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years. The decision to start regular, biennial screening mammography before the age of 50 years should be an individual one and take patient context into account, including the patient's values regarding specific benefits and harms.
  Grade: C recommendation.

• The USPSTF recommends biennial screening mammography for women aged 50 to 74 years.
  Grade: B recommendation.

• The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of screening mammography in women 75 years or older.
  Grade: I Statement.

• The USPSTF recommends against teaching breast self-examination (BSE).
  Grade: D recommendation.

• The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of clinical breast examination (CBE) beyond screening mammography in women 40 years or older.
  Grade: I Statement.

• The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of either digital mammography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instead of film mammography as screening modalities for breast cancer.
  Grade: I Statement.

Practicing Office Etiquette is Good for the Environment
November 13, 2009 @ 12:00PM

Toronto Hydro’s Peak Out Poll reveals common ways energy is wasted at the office

Who hasn’t shut the elevator door on someone to avoid the awkward conversation during the ride? Or madly pushed the ‘close door’ button to save time wasted by stopping on different floors? According to Toronto Hydro-Electric System’s (“Toronto Hydro”) 2009 Peak Out Poll, about 70 per cent of those surveyed say they’ve never closed the elevator door on someone but almost as many people say it’s been done to them. Six-in-ten surveyed say they’ve had the elevator door closed on them when the person saw them coming. An elevator can account for up to 10 per cent of a building’s energy consumption, so holding that door can help to cut electricity consumption.

In early or working late? Approximately 16 per cent of those surveyed say co-workers leave their lights on to make people think they’re in early or working late. And two-in-ten say their co-workers leave the computer on to make it look like they’re in the office. Thirty-four per cent of people surveyed confess to leaving the computer on overnight to save time. Even more (38 per cent) say their co-workers are guilty of this common energy-wasting offence.

Toronto Hydro is urging customers to mind their energy manners and to improve their daily habits. Toronto Hydro says the best place for workers to start shifting behaviour is at their desks. Daylight savings time means longer days and more time spent in the workplace to avoid the winter weather. Here are some tips for the darker, colder months:

1. As the days get shorter and you turn on your desk lamp more often for lighting, ensure it’s stocked with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), not an energy-guzzling incandescent. Turn it off when you’re not using it.

2. No matter how much time you think it saves you in the morning, turn off your computer before you leave for the day.

3. Turn off equipment that isn’t used regularly like fax machines, photocopiers and printers.

4. Lastly, hold the elevator for your colleagues to save unnecessary trips. Or better yet, take the stairs to work off that hot chocolate.

QUOTES

“When it comes to energy conservation, there are always ways to shift our behaviour for the better,” says Blair Peberdy, Chief Conservation Officer, Toronto Hydro Corporation.

“Often times, little actions at the office translate into huge electricity savings. We’re urging customers to take accountability for their conservation conduct at work.”

FACTS

• Turn off your monitor when not in use, even if it’s just for 15 minutes - the monitor uses up to 75 per cent of the energy powering your computer.****

• CFL bulbs use 75 per cent less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs.

• Turn off photocopiers during off-hours. Operating photocopy equipment efficiently will reduce energy use by 25% or more.****

• Printers and other office machines can idle as much as 90% of the workday and are often left running at night and on weekends. In many businesses, this simple change can achieve big savings.****

• The most energy-efficient computer/monitor combination is a laptop unit. Laptops use a maximum of 15 watts (compared with 80 to 160 watts for desktop PCs) and automatically power down (go into sleep mode) after several minutes of inactivity (figures from a 2002 study).**

• The Peak Out Poll was conducted online using Leger Marketing’s Web panel from May 7 to 14, 2009.***

• Seven-in-ten state they’ve never tried to close the elevator doors when they’ve seen someone coming.

• Six-in-ten have had someone close the elevator door on them; women are statistically more likely to have had someone close the elevator door on them.

• One-third admit to leaving their computer on overnight to save time in the morning.

• Sixteen per cent say co-workers leave their light on to make people think they’re in early or working late.

• Twenty per cent say their co-workers leave their computers on to make it look like they’re in the office.

• Thirty-eight per cent say their co-workers leave their computer on instead of shutting it down to save time in the morning.

LINKS

For conservation tips and information on Toronto Hydro programs for residential and business customers go www.torontohydro.com .

** Natural Resources Canada

*** A total of 1,077 interviews were conducted with Toronto-adults, aged 18 years or older; using a random sample of respondents, this method simulates a probability sample, which would yield a maximum margin of error of +-2.9%, 19 times out of 20.

**** BC Hydro