Health briefs, June 5

Lisa Ryckman, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 5, 2007 at midnight

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Groups call for annual chlamydia screenings

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease in America, but young women aren't being screened for it.

Doctors with The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say an estimated 2 million cases of chlamydia go undiagnosed and untreated each year, leading to serious health consequences for women.

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection passed between people during sex, and teen girls have the highest reported rates. But about 75 percent of chlamydial infections produce vague symptoms or none at all, causing treatment delays and problems such as pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility.

ACOG, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend annual screening for chlamydia of all sexually active women ages 25 and younger, as well as other asymptomatic women at high risk for infection. Testing and treatment for STDs can be provided to adolescents without parental consent or knowledge in all 50 states.

Saliva test for cancer

People who have never smoked can still get lung cancer.

Now researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center are trying to determine if saliva can help screen for the disease even in people who have never taken a puff. They say that about 10 percent of all lung cancer cases, or up to 17,000 cases per year in the United States, are in people who have never smoked.

There is no standard screening test for lung cancer, which is why it often goes undiagnosed until the last stages. The CU research is looking at saliva from 48 people with varied smoking histories - both healthy people and those who have been diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer - to see if there are genetic differences that might indicate lung cancer.

The study began in November and is expected to have results this fall.

Stealth veggies for kids

Call it the "Attack of the Sneaky Vegetables."

A Penn State study shows that feeding kids pasta with veggies hidden in the sauce can lead to reduced calorie intake and better overall nutrition. The researchers served two different pasta dishes to 61 pre-schoolers. One dish had more calories and the other had fewer calories and a sauce with broccoli and cauliflower blended into it.

The study found that the kids liked both dishes about equally, but the children served the lower-calorie pasta ate 17 percent fewer calories and more veggies. The researchers say that while stealth veggies have their place, parents should still actively promote vegetable consumption by serving them regularly and eating them with their children.

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