- ALLERGY, RESPIRATORY
- Molecule in Skin May Link Eczema and Asthma
- Asthmatics Who Quit Smoking May Reverse Lung Damage
- Folic Acid Might Offer Allergy Relief
- ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
- Music Therapy For Prehistoric Man?
- U.S. Spends Billions On Alternative Medicine
- Acupuncture May Help Restore Lost Sense of Smell
- BONES & JOINTS
- Heart Failure Raises Risk of Fractures
- B Cells Can Act Alone in Autoimmune Diseases
- Pain More a Cause of Arthritis Than a Symptom
- CANCER
- Spice Compounds May Stem Tumor Growth
- Strenuous Daily Workout May Keep Cancer at Bay
- Bitter Melon Extract May Slow, Stop Breast Cancer
- CAREGIVING
- Depression, PTSD Common Among Lung Transplant Patient Caregivers
- Caring for Aging Loved Ones Can Be a Catch-22
- Moms Who Breast-Feed Less Likely to Neglect Child
- CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
- Mercury in Fish Linked to High Blood Pressure
- Firefighters Have Narrower-Than-Normal Arteries, Study Finds
- Common Antioxidant Might Slow Parkinson's
- COSMETIC
- What to Do If You Have Unsightly Veins
- New Genetic Links to Baldness Discovered
- With Psoriasis, the Internet May Offer Hope
- DENTAL, ORAL
- Most Insured Adults Worry About Health Care Costs: Poll
- An Oral Approach to Heart Disease
- Toothbrushing May Stave Off Heart Woes
- DIABETES
- Strict Blood Sugar Lowering Won't Ease Diabetes Heart Risk
- Exercise Protects Black Women From Type 2 Diabetes
- Findings Challenge Tight Glucose Control for Critically Ill Patients
- DIET, NUTRITION
- Decline of Underweight Children in U.S. Continue to Fall
- Eating in America Still Unhealthy
- Functional Foods Uncovered
- DISABILITIES
- Review Finds Marijuana May Help MS Patients
- Could Your Cell Phone Help Shield You From Alzheimer's?
- ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
- Ozone Pollution Taking Toll on American Lives
- Arsenic in Drinking Water Raises Diabetes Risk
- Exhaust From Railroad Diesel Linked to Lung Ailments
- EYE CARE, VISION
- Hybrid Cars Pose Risk to Blind, Visually Impaired
- Thyroid Problems Boost Glaucoma Risk
- Retinal Gene Is Linked to Childhood Blindness
- FITNESS
- Daily Exercise at School Yields Rewards
- Weak Muscles May Cause 'Runner's Knee'
- Being Active an Hour a Day Puts Brakes on Weight Gain
- GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
- Peppermint Oil, Fiber Can Fight Irritable Bowel
- Bowel Prep Harder on Women Than Men
- Intestinal Bacteria Trigger Immune Response
- GENERAL HEALTH
- Why Am I So Tired? Could It Be Low Thyroid?
- 8 Drugs Doctors Would Never Take
- Most Fast-Food French Fries Cooked in Unhealthiest Oil
- HEAD & NECK
- Ski Helmets Encouraged for All
- Zen May Thicken Brain, Thwart Pain
- Many Children Will Outgrow Headaches
- HEALTH & TECHNOLOGY
- Using Light Therapy to Silence Harmful Brain Activity
- Airport Full Body Scanners Pose No Health Threat: Experts
- The Internet Is Becoming One-Stop Shopping for Health Help
- HEART & CARDIOVASCULAR
- Psychiatric Drugs Might Raise Cardiac Death Risk
- Brown Rice Tied to Better Heart Health in Study
- Western Diet Linked To Heart Disease, Metabolic Syndrome
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- Older Adults May Have Some Immunity to Swine Flu
- Grapefruit Compound Inhibits Hepatitis C Virus
- The HPV Vaccine: Preventative Medicine or Human Sacrifice?
- KID'S HEALTH
- Heart Defects in Newborns Linked to Antidepressants
- Stomach Germ May Protect Against Asthma
- Help Your Kids Stay Active
- MEN'S HEALTH
- Whole Grains, Bran May Fight Hypertension in Men
- Could Chinese Herb Be a Natural Viagra?
- Physical Activity May Prolong Survival After Colon Cancer
- MENTAL HEALTH
- Meditation May Boost College Students' Learning
- Worries About Weight Are Tied to Teen Suicide Tries
- The 3LS Wellness Program for Reversing Chronic Symptoms and Creating Lasting Health
- PREGNANCY
- Pregnant Women Exposed To Certain Pollutants Could Lower Childs IQ
- Pre-Pregnancy Weight Linked to Babies' Heart Problems
- Yoga's Benefits Outweigh Risks for Pregnant Women
- SENIORS
- 15-Point Test Gauges Alzheimer's Risk
- Boost In Elderly Population Will Be Felt Worldwide
- The Healthy Habits of Centenarians
The Internet Is Becoming One-Stop Shopping for Health Help
By eHolistic.com Published: 08/17/2009
(HealthDay News) -- People regularly turn to the Internet for games and gossip, news and entertainment, essential information and high weirdness.
And now, apparently, for their health as well.
A number of successful online medical interventions have been reported in recent months, helping folks quit smoking, lower their blood pressure and deal with any number of ailments.
New York City cardiologist Dr. Nieca Goldberg figures it's a great trend, as long as people are going to reliable and trusted sources for help.
"I think it is the wave of the future and, theoretically, it seems like a great idea," said Goldberg, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, a clinical associate professor of medicine and medical director of the Women's Heart Program at New York University Langone Medical Center and author of Dr. Nieca Goldberg's Complete Guide to Women's Health. "There could be multiple interactions with patients that are brief and effective."
Online interventions have spanned a variety of medical issues. One program, for instance, used Internet and telephone interactions with heart attack survivors and cardiac patients to help improve their heart health. A study found that participants' blood pressure and cholesterol levels fell, more of them quit smoking and they were one-third less likely to die than cardiac patients who did not receive the attention.
Several programs have popped up to help smokers quit. An analysis of 22 clinical trials found that Internet- and computer-based smoking cessation programs gave smokers nearly twice the chance of successfully quitting than if they had tried to quit without help.
Those successes have led the University of Illinois at Chicago to spearhead a $2.9 million federal effort to encourage young adults to use proven online smoking cessation programs.
Alcoholics also can find online support. A Dutch study found that one in five excessive drinkers who used an online self-help Web site to help them with their problem reported that they had lowered their alcohol intake to levels less likely to cause health problems.
And chronic conditions such as psoriasis also have been shown to be helped by online interventions. One study in Boston found that half of the users of online psoriasis support groups believed that the quality of their lives had improved, and two in five reported improvement in the severity of their psoriasis.
In some instances, the Internet also provides "nudges" to help push people into healthy habits. One worksite e-mail health program developed by Kaiser Permanente, for instance, provided participants with weekly e-mails and mid-week reminders that set personalized health goals for them based on an earlier survey they had filled out. They were encouraged to eat more fruits and vegetables, lower their intake of fats and sugars, and exercise more.
A study of the program found significant health improvements among people who received the e-mails. They were, in fact, eating better and exercising more.
Even those with advanced fitness goals can receive online assistance. The magazine Runner's World currently offers online training programs featuring personal advice from world-class runner Bart Yasso.
Dr. Robert Mallin, an associate professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, said such online programs could appeal to people who don't like going to doctors, therapists or support groups for help with their problems.
"There's certainly an advantage to having face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball contact, but I think also people who would never step into a doctor's office or a room with a support group will explore those things online," said Mallin, a spokesman for the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Online support groups, for example, allow people to gather information and communicate with others who have a similar problem while retaining their anonymity. "You don't have to participate," Mallin said. "People don't even have to know you're there."
However, both Goldberg and Mallin voiced concerns, too.
Goldberg wants to see large-scale studies of the effectiveness of these online programs before they are pursued to such an extent that they supplant regular modes of health care.
"When there's a concern about cost containment, we have to make sure the cost containment occurs within the context of quality care," she said. "This is a great idea, but I don't think we're 100 percent there yet."
Mallin worries about people getting bad information from Web sites.
"The biggest worry everyone has about health information on the Web is how accurate it is," he said. "I always ask my patients to run something by me they've read on the Internet or on one of those chat sites."
SOURCES: Nieca Goldberg, M.D., clinical associate professor of medicine and medical director, Women's Heart Program, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York City; Robert Mallin, M.D., professor, Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C.
