Health

By David Bjerklie

DOCTOR'S ORDERS

RISKS OF A LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER

Marathoners may have better cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure than sedentary folks, but a 10-year study found that long-distance runners are also more likely to develop atrial fibrillation, a heart-rhythm disorder.

$60K

Pudginess is no longer a plague of just the poor. Obesity is growing fastest among Americans who make $60,000 or more.

THE "POT OF GOLD" EFFECT

A review of 71 studies in Psychosomatics finds long-term symptoms of concussion tend to persist when patients are involved in a lawsuit. Most improve after their cases are settled.

--By David Bjerklie

THE FRESHMAN-FLU BLUES

A study in Health Psychology will give parents of college kids yet another reason to worry: lonely first-year students mounted a weaker immune response to the flu shot than did their less lonely peers.

PINS, PUNCTURES AND MIGRAINES

Can acupuncture cure a migraine? In a study of 300 patients, reported in J.A.M.A., the ancient remedy did bring some relief. But pins stuck at random did just as well.