Rogue Valley Health Bytes

Oregon Health Insurance Statistics:

Did you know that 94% of Oregonians had health insurance coverage while 6% did not in 2019 according to the Oregon Health Insurance Survey? (https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HPA/ANALYTICS/InsuranceData/2019-OHIS-Early-Release-Results.pdf) This means that 3.9 million individuals were covered while 248,000 remained uninsured. How does that compare to national averages? According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 9.4% (30.4 million) of all aged individuals in the United States were uninsured (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/insur201905.pdf) in 2018. The report for 2019 will be available in early 2020.

Getting Help in Oregon Is a Call Away:

The State of Oregon has five crisis lines for those who need to speak to someone about a variety of important issues and concerns:

Alcohol and Drug Help Line 1-800-923-4357
Mental Health Crisis/Suicide 1-800-273-8255
Problem Gambling 1-877-695-4648
Military Helpline 1-888-457-4838
Youthline 1-877-968-8491

Turmeric: Healthy Spice Or Not?

Turmeric is a spice that is proposed to have anti-inflammatory properties and is used in many South Asian cuisine and many medicinal and traditional practices. According to the Oregon Health Authority, “Lead powder is sometimes added to turmeric root or powder to make the product more vibrant and to cover insect damage. People are then exposed to the lead when that spice is eaten. Health officials are primarily concerned about the spice hand-carried into the United States from India or Bangladesh, rather than products sold in major U.S. supermarkets. One recent sample brought from India contained 1,240 parts per million of lead. There is no FDA regulatory limit or recommendation for lead in spice, but for reference, the FDA has set a limit of 0.1 parts per million for candy likely to be consumed frequently by children.” To read more, go to https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ERD/Pages/Alarming-levels-lead-traditional-cosmetics-turmeric.aspx

Vaping-Related Lung Illnesses:

According to the Wall Street Journal, vaping-related illnesses are decreasing in the past several weeks as measured by the rate of hospital admissions. They attribute the decline to consumer awareness and caution. To read the article, go here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/vaping-related-lung-illnesses-appear-to-have-peaked-11575660144?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=80482847&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8OIV9pLCxLxB1KFXbvXsV_sugrenoJoj6FgjOW0WIcJ98QzX6lBxPtv9QWchBovdTljV1TtGT45EFcT2m9IzFiWK3uUA&_hsmi=80482847. In Oregon, there have been 20 cases of vaping illness in 2019, two of which were fatal. The Oregon Health Authority is tracking cases and outcomes here: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/DISEASESCONDITIONS/COMMUNICABLEDISEASE/Pages/vaping-illness.aspx.

Parkinson’s Disease:

Some people are surprised to learn that Parkinson’s disease is 40% more likely to affect men. It is also the second most common neurodegenerative disorder according to the Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon (PRO). This donor supported non-profit strives to increase the quality of life for those affected by Parkinson’s whether they are diagnosed with the disease or helping to care for someone who is. To learn more about this local organization to help others or receive support yourself, go to: https://www.parkinsonsresources.org/.

Recently, the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe released a report (https://www.culturehealthandwellbeing.org.uk/sites/default/files/9789289054553-eng.pdf) on the role the arts had on improving the health and well-being of those affected by Parkinson’s. The report features Dance for PD (https://danceforparkinsons.org/) as a case study for effective practice. In Ashland Oregon, there is one “Let’s Dance for Parkinson’s” class happening on Fridays at 10:30 am at 905 Skylark Place.
For more information, send an e-mail to: csmashland@gmail.com.

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