Health

CDC: Flu epidemic may be winding down

The flu has killed at least 93 young Americans this winter - about double the count as of last month - but there are indications the epidemic might have peaked, federal health officials said Thursday.

Although experts remain concerned the toll of sickness and death could continue to mount, the number of states reporting widespread flu dropped to 38, down from 42 a week earlier.

"We are cautiously optimistic that in at least some parts of the country influenza may have peaked," said Julie Gerberding, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But Gerberding cautioned "there's still plenty of flu out there," that the number of people getting sick could remain high for some time and there is a chance of a second wave this season.

This year's flu season began earlier than usual and appeared to be severe, particularly in the western United States. That, along with the fact the season has been dominated by strain of the virus never seen before, prompted federal health officials to warn this could be one of the worst flu seasons in years. The level of concern increased when Colorado health officials reported a number of children had died.

As a result, the CDC began collecting information about pediatric deaths, and it had previously reported receiving data about 42 deaths. The agency then took the unprecedented step of asking all states to report flu deaths among people younger than 18.

Thursday, the agency released preliminary data from 31 states. As of Tuesday, at least 93 flu deaths had occurred among Americans younger than 18, the CDC reported.

"That's a very, very sad and sobering figure," Gerberding said.

Gerberding stressed, however, that because flu deaths are not routinely tallied, it remains unclear whether this year's flu season has been unusually deadly for children.

WASHINGTON - For the second straight year, U.S. health care spending increased at twice the pace of the economy, according to a new government report.

Economists at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Thursday that, on average, $5,440 was spent on health care for every man, woman and child in 2002. That added up to $1.6-trillion, almost equaling one-sixth of the gross domestic product.

Although increased hospital spending was the biggest contributor to the rise - it was up by 9.5 percent, to $486.5-billion - prescription drugs continued to lead the rise in personal health spending.

Pharmaceutical spending rose by 15.3 percent, to $162.4-billion, but this was slightly slower than the 15.9 percent increase in 2001.

The report was published in the journal Health Affairs.

Low-tar cigarettes do not carry a lower risk of lung cancer, according to the first study comparing lung cancer deaths among smokers of ultra-light, mild and medium filtered cigarettes. The finding, published this week in the British Medical Journal, proves what experts long suspected.

Previous research has found smokers of "lighter" cigarettes compensate by taking deeper drags, holding the smoke longer and smoking more cigarettes. Scientists suspected they would probably be just as vulnerable to lung cancer and other diseases as those who smoke harsher varieties.

Tobacco industry representatives said manufacturers never claimed light or mild cigarettes were safer and don't dispute the study's findings.

WASHINGTON - Disability rates rose sharply in the past two decades among those younger than 60, and obesity appears to be the main reason, according to a study released Thursday.

The Rand Corp. study, published in the journal Health Affairs, said the health of young Americans is getting worse. It found the number of people ages 30 to 49 who could not care for themselves or do other routine tasks increased by more than half from 1984 to 2000. Meanwhile, the elderly have become less likely to suffer such disabilities.

"We've always had the assumption that medical science is advancing and that people are getting healthier, but that is not the case," said Darius Lakdawalla, lead author of the study.

The Rand Corp., a nonprofit research group, studied people between the ages of 18 and 69 using data from the National Health Interview Survey, which gathers information from about 36,000 households annually. The data covered the years 1984 to 2000.

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