Candy Sagon

Biography: Candy Sagon writes about health topics for AARP. She previously was a reporter with the Washington Post and has written numerous articles on food, health and nutrition for national magazines.

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Candy Sagon 'sPosts

Prostate Gene Test Could Save Men From Surgery

Posted on 05/9/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthFor men who undergo a biopsy for a prostate tumor, the big question has been whether to wait and see if the cancer grows slowly, or to treat it immediately with a regimen that could cause incontinence or impotence. What made the decision difficult is that there’s been no good way to tell which kind of cancer a man might have — slow-growing or aggressive — but a new gene-analysis test introduced this week may make the decision clearer. The …

No, Really, This Video Game Is Making Me Smarter

Posted on 05/7/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthWhich do you think keeps your brain sharper — completing a leisurely crossword puzzle on the computer or playing a fast-paced computer video game that requires you to match fleeting images? Sorry, crossword puzzlers, but the quick-thinking skills needed to play a video game could help slow age-related cognitive decline, a new study finds. Researchers from the University of Iowa tested 681 healthy adults over age 50 who were assigned to play either a video game called “Road Tour” (since …

Look Into My Eyes: Dilation Exam Can Spot 7 Diseases

Posted on 05/6/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthDo you really need to have your eyes dilated with eyedrops at your annual eye exam? Short answer: Yes, you should — especially as you get older or if you are at risk for eye problems. May is Healthy Vision Month, and the National Eye Institute is encouraging Americans to take the necessary steps to protect their vision. According to the institute, about 38 million Americans over age 40 have glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration or cataracts. And that number is …

Boomer Suicides Soar: Is the Economy to Blame?

Posted on 05/3/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthWas it because of the devastating economic recession of the past decade, or the widespread mortgage crisis? Or maybe it was due to the abuse of prescription painkillers like OxyContin, or the pressure of being the “sandwich generation”? There are plenty of theories for why new government figures show the suicide rate for middle-aged Americans — adults ages 35 to 64 — jumped nearly 30 percent between 1999 and 2010. The increase was even higher — a 40 percent rise …

ER Visits Soar for Older Adults Taking Ambien

Posted on 05/1/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthThe number of emergency room visits by people taking the sleep medication zolpidem (the active ingredient in Ambien and other drugs) more than tripled between 2005 and 2010, with nearly three out of four visits from adults age 45 or older, according to a new federal report. Adverse reactions to the sleep drug that required emergency assistance rose from 6,111 ER visits in 2005 to 19,487 in 2010, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found. In 2010, …

Ground-Turkey Test Finds 90 Percent With Bacteria

Posted on 05/1/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthA Consumer Reports lab analysis of ground-turkey products purchased nationwide found that 90 percent had potentially disease-causing bacteria, some of which were antibiotic-resistant. The consumer watchdog organization said its first investigation of this kind on ground turkey also showed that turkeys raised without antibiotics had much less antibiotic-resistant bacteria than did turkeys raised with antibiotics. The new report follows a February analysis of store-bought meat by Food and Drug Administration scientists that found antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 81 percent of raw …