European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 16, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                How much medical data is too much by Susan Baer the Baltimore Sun Hen Earl k. Long then governor of Louisiana was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment in 1959 after a nervous breakdown his wife Blanche joked that upon his release he d be the Only politician who d be Able to wave a certificate of health and actually prove he was sane. Today he would t be alone. More and More the Public is asking for detailed medical histories from candidates for High Public office to prove they Are not Only sane but Hearty healthy and Happy As Well. In 1976, both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter released their medical records to a medical publication. President Reagan has said he has issued reports on his health Ever since he entered politics. But As the Call for such information grows louder As it did when unsubstantiated rumours about Michael s. Dukakis medical history prompted requests for the release of All past doctors records so do questions about the relevance of such data the degree of disclosure necessary and the concern about the candidate s right to privacy and dignity. Do you want to give out a Complete blood workup do you want a rays published asks Leonard Goodstein executive vice president of the american psychological association. All that Basic data enters into a judgment about someone s health. How far do you go does a candidate have any right to any privacy at All although there is no Clear consensus in the political and medical communities about How much information should be released or How that information should be gathered and published most agree these Days that politicians give up some of their privacy rights when they run for office especially High office. A lbs new York times poll from january for instance showed that 74 percent of registered voters Felt they were entitled to know if a candidate had sought psychological treatment while 22 percent Felt it was not their business. When the individual is running for office the Public s right to know is greater than the individual s right to confidentiality says Robert a. Dietrich president of the medical society of . Unsubstantiated rumours about Michael s. Dukakis medical history prompted requests for the release of All past doctors records. Dietrich believes candidates need make Public Only any chronic debilitating illness anything that might Lead to a Lack of time and attention to the Job As Well As anything that might Point to mental instability. He further believes the data need Only refer to the candidate s current state of health As opposed to any past illnesses or operations. Similarly Many physicians believe raw medical records without any expert interpretation or explanation would be meaningless and possibly misleading for the Public. You hear Why not full disclosure what s there to hide anyway " says Goodstein. But a record might show that one time Rny platelet count was Down. What Are you going to make of that you need the full knowledge of the patient and his or her background. When governor Dukakis s personal physician says the dealt with this person for 17 years and he s absolutely healthy that has to be  Bruce Jennings an associate at the Hastings Center a research Center for medical ethics and Public policy says when we Are Given the medical facts the kind of information we want to know and feel uncomfortable when it seems to be hidden from us it s not at All Clear what we should do with that information. Franklin Roosevelt was not a Well Man when he was elected and i think everyone would agree he turned out to be one of the greatest presidents in our  clearly says Jennings the last decade has been a transition period. We re at a Point where we demand  but he adds we re not sophisticated enough to handle medical information in a reasonable Way particularly when it comes to psychiatric and psychological  some medical experts including Dietrich believe an Independent physician or panel of physicians should be set up to give the candidate a  Dietrich believes such a system would prevent any medical problem from being concealed by a candidate or his or her personal physician. He Points to Grover Cleveland s secret surgery for cancer of the jaw performed quietly aboard a yacht. But others believe the Independent panel idea is fraught with problems. Who would choose the physicians by what standards would they report to the Public asks Jennings. He believes that unlike other personal facts and figures candidates Are asked to disclose health matters Are rarely kept secret these Days. While few people knew about president Cleveland s cancer or that James Madison had epilepsy it was generally known that John f. Kennedy took medication for Back pain As Well As cortisone for . But it was t until sen. Thomas f. Eagleton was forced to step Down As the vice presidential nominee in 1972, after the Media reported that he had been hospitalized and received electroshock treatment for depression that a candidate s medical history became As Fertile a ground for digging As his or her financial records. In 1976, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter both healthy men released detailed accounts of their medical histories. President Ford s Only past problems were cartilage damage in his Knees both of which were operated on in 1980, president Carter released More records and Ronald Reagan and George Bush both released partial medical histories. The link Between loneliness and illness by Daniel Goleman new York times eing Cut off from friendships and family doubles a person s chances of sickness or death a new report indicates. Although social scientists have Long known that there was a Strong association Between loneliness and illness it was unclear until recent studies which was the cause and which the effect. But the new studies summarized in the current Issue of science Magazine show that a Lack of social relationships in and of itself heightens people s susceptibility to illness. The data shows that people who Are isolated but healthy Are twice As Likely to die Over the period of a decade or so As Are others in the same health said James House a sociologist at the Institute of social research at the University of Michigan a co author of the report. The report said social isolation is As significant to mortality rates As smoking High blood pressure High cholesterol obesity and Lack of physical  in fact when age is adjusted for social isolation is As great or greater a mortality risk than smoking it added. Smoking makes a person about 1.6 times More Likely to develop illnesses of All kinds but social isolation makes a person twice As Likely to become sick the researchers said. Of course Many people who live on their own or see few friends Are Content and healthy House said. Living alone or being somewhat reclusive is not enough by itself to make a person so isolated that his or her health is Likely to suffer. The Adverse health effects of isolation show up at the extremes. It s the 10 to 20 percent of people who say they have nobody with whom they can share their private feelings or who have close Contact with others less than once a week who Are at most risk House said. The report co written by two other researchers Karl Landis and Debra Umberson summarizes studies in the United states Finland and Sweden of the effects of isolation on health that have been done in the last two decades. In these studies More than 37,000 people were assessed Over periods of up to 12 years. The finding comes at a time when the trend toward social isolation is strengthening. In the United states people Are increasingly less Likely to live with others to be married to belong to social clubs or to visit with friends than they were 20 or 30 years ago the report said quoting Federal statistics. House said after controlling for the effects of physical health socioeconomic status smoking alcohol exercise obesity race life satisfaction and health care the studies found that those with few or weak social ties were twice As Likely to die As were those with Strong ties. Until now sceptics could argue that people who Are sick crazy or have bad health habits were just More Likely to alienate people or just lacked the Energy to gel together with  isolation is More devastating to men than to women the research shows. In a study by University of Michigan researchers of 2,754 men and women isolated men were two to three times More Likely to die As were men with close social ties. For isolated women the risk was Only 1 Viz times As great As for women with close ties. One theory of Why the presence of another Peison might help suggests that there is an effect in the brain from social Contact. The theory holds that social Contact inhibits activity in the posterior hypothalamic zone of the brain lowering the rate of secretion of acetylcholine cortisol and Catechol amines chemicals that trigger More rapid breathing a quickened heartbeat and other physiological signs of stress. The report cited recent Laboratory experiments with rats mice and goats showing that the Mere presence of a familiar member of the same species can Lessen the physiological Impact of stress in producing ulcers hypertension and  tuesday August 16, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 17