Your Health: National health census in the area

A different censusThat person knocking on your door might not be looking for your census form. Another set of questioners is taking to area streets for a survey on health. The annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey started Saturday and continues through June 18 in 350 households, including some in Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines and Schaumburg.Surveyors visit randomly selected households, which have been notified by mail.If residents choose to participate, the surveyors will ask for some brief demographic information and then ask some residents to take part in an hourlong survey about family medical history, environmental exposure, diet and more.Some participants also will be asked to undergo a later health exam in Chicago, which would include checking blood pressure, a bone scan, and a blood draw for 120 lab tests.Participants can remain anonymous, will be reimbursed up to $125 plus transportation, and will get their personal results.The survey has helped establish health standards such as for blood pressure, and led to steps to get lead out of gasoline and paint.For information, see www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm or call the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (800) 232-4636.Anti-cancer optionsWomen at higher risk for breast cancer now have their choice of two good drugs for helping prevent the disease.Tamoxifen, the standard treatment, is more effective and longer lasting, a major study shows, but a new drug - raloxifene, sold as Evista - is safer.Tamoxifen is widely used to treat breast cancer, and Evista to treat osteoporosis.But for women at higher risk because of gene mutations, family history, or other factors, tamoxifen cut in half the chances of the most serious forms of breast cancer.Evista reduced the cancer risk by 38 percent, with fewer serious side effects such as uterine cancer.Researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center said women will have to weigh the trade-offs with their doctors.Both drugs block estrogen, a hormone that fuels most breast cancer tumors after menopause.Early ear surgery Deaf children who receive a cochlear implant before age 18 months dramatically improve their ability to hear, understand and, eventually, speak, according to a new study.The study, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is believed to be the first nationwide look at timing in the success rate of the ear implants, which transmits electrical signals to the brain.Researchers led by Johns Hopkins followed 188 children with profound hearing loss, ages 6 months to 5 years, for three years.Each year of delay, the investigators say, can put a child a year behind in language development.They say all infants with suspected hearing loss, and those with a family history of deafness, should be monitored closely.Mental health fairLinden Oaks at Edward Hospital will hold a mental health provider fair from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 30, at 801 S. Washington St., Naperville.Those attending can meet local mental-health professionals and learn about treatments to help individuals and families decide what kind of care to seek.For information, call (630) 646-8060.