Insurance makes a difference

When older adults who have been uninsured turn 65 and gain the benefits of Medicare coverage, their health improves so much so that by the time they are 70, the differences between them and people who have always been insured is cut in half. That change holds true especially if they have diabetes or cardiovascular disease, according to a Harvard study in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

More than 7,000 people age 55 to 72 answered questions about their health and well-being over a 12-year period. Those who always had insurance said their health didn't change when they switched to Medicare. But those who weren't consistently covered reported dramatic improvements in their health when they become eligible for the government plan.

"This study provides strong evidence about how health improves when people gain insurance coverage," senior author Dr. John Ayanian said in a statement about the study.

In a letter in the current New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Anthony V. D'Amico and Dr. Philip W. Kantoff of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Ming-Hui Chen of the University of Connecticut report that the use of low-dose aspirin can cause abnormal liver function tests in men receiving hormones for prostate cancer. That meant an early end to part of their hormone therapy and more than triple the risk of death compared with men who completed full hormone therapy, the researchers' analysis showed.

"It is important for the public to be aware that commonly used medications can interfere with the delivery of full-dose cancer therapy that may compromise curability," D'Amico said in a statement about the findings. "Therefore, patients should inform their doctors about all of the medications [including nonprescription over-the-counter drugs such as baby aspirin] that they are taking."

The Annals of Improbable Research, known for its annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremonies, is moving online after 13 years on paper.

The magazine, whose 50 editors - including 10 Nobel laureates - scour scientific journals for unusual studies and also publish original articles and satire, will be free. A high-resolution downloadable version will cost $5. The print version of the magazine will continue to be sold for $35 to subscribers.

ELIZABETH COONEY