Study: Muscle problems top injuries of soldiers

Study: Muscle problems top injuries of soldiers

LONDON — American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were more likely to be medically evacuated for health problems such as a bad back than for combat injuries, a new study says.

Researchers also found psychiatric disorders rose during the period studied — 2004 to 2007 — despite an increased focus on treating mental-health problems.

The research was published today in the British medical journal Lancet.

In previous wars, including World War II and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, combat injuries also were not the top cause of soldier hospitalizations; illnesses such as respiratory and infectious diseases were.

Twenty-four percent of the evacuations from Afghanistan and Iraq in 2004 to 2007 were due to muscular problems such as back pain, tendinitis and repetitive-stress injuries.

Combat wounds came in second at about 14 percent.

Pakistan says it needs 6 months for offensive

ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani army said Thursday it cannot expand its offensive against militants for at least six months, and the United States backed off public pressure on an ally considered vital in the war next door in Afghanistan.

Remarks from the Army’s chief spokesman during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates did not rule out the offensive the United States would like to see against militants who target U.S. forces in Afghanistan from hideouts in Pakistan.

“We are not talking years,” Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told reporters traveling with Gates. “Six months to a year” would be needed before Pakistan could consolidate the gains it has made against militants in other parts of the country and then consider going further, he said.

Journal: Survival rates jump by quitting smoking

LONDON — People with early lung cancer who quit smoking could double their chances of surviving, a new study says.

Until now, there has been little proof that quitting smoking after developing lung cancer makes any difference to survival.

British researchers analyzed previous data from 10 studies examining how long smokers survived after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

People with lung cancer who continued smoking had a 29 percent to 33 percent chance of surviving five years. But those who kicked the habit had a 63 percent to 70 percent chance of being alive after five years. The research was published today in the BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal.

US tries to restart Mideast peace talks

JERUSALEM — Washington’s Middle East envoy launched a new effort Thursday aimed at restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, just as President Barack Obama expressed pessimism about the prospects.

Already complicating envoy George Mitchell’s mission was a new demand by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for an Israeli military presence in the West Bank to stop weapons smuggling, even after formation of a Palestinian state.

20% of US teens have high cholesterol levels

WASHINGTON — At least one out of every five U.S. teenagers has abnormal cholesterol levels, boosting the risk of heart disease, federal health officials reported Thursday.

A national survey of blood- cholesterol levels in American teenagers found that more than 20 percent of those age 12 to 19 had at least one abnormal blood-fat level, and the rate jumped to 43 percent among those adolescents who are obese.

Although previous studies had indicated the abnormal cholesterol levels had become a problem among the young, the new data document the problem on a national level.

Ex-socialite denied parole

CHINO, Calif. — One-time San Diego socialite Betty Broderick has been denied parole for fatally shooting her ex-husband and his new wife more than 20 years ago.

The two-person parole panel said Thursday that the 62-year-old Broderick was unrepentant, had no insight into what she had done and would be a danger to society if she were released.

Broderick was convicted in 1991 of second-degree murder and sentenced to 32 years to life in prison for the slayings.

Broderick’s story became the subject of a book and two TV movies. She has maintained she was driven to kill by a bitter divorce and custody battle.

Combined dispatches