Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Number of Uninsured Hispanics in U.S. Increases

Since the early 1990s, there's been a rise in the number of uninsured Hispanic people in the United States, says a study released Tuesday by researchers at Columbia University and Montefiore Medical Center.

The study found a steady increase in the number of uninsured Hispanics between 1993 and 2004, while the number of non-Hispanic whites without health insurance remained about the same. The findings appear in the November issue of the journal Health Affairs.

Between 1993 and 2004, the number of uninsured non-citizen Hispanics increased by 3 million and the number of U.S.-born Hispanics without health insurance increased by 2 million, the study said.

The researchers analyzed federal government data on health insurance coverage for Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Cubans, and Dominicans and found some "striking differences" in coverage trends among Hispanic sub-groups.

For example, the researchers concluded that welfare reform in the 1990s had a disproportionate effect on Puerto Ricans, whose rates of Medicaid coverage declined from 35 percent in 1993 to 21 percent in 1999. Among Mexicans, the rates decreased from 19 percent to 14 percent over that same period.

In 2004, one-third of all Mexicans and 25 percent of all Cubans and Dominicans living in the United States had no health insurance. Among immigrant Hispanics who weren't U.S. citizens, 57 percent did not have insurance.

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'Relatively' Little Tax Money Spent on Illegal Immigrants

Relatively little public money is spent on health care for illegal immigrants in the United States, says a RAND Corporation study in the November issue of the journal Health Affairs.

The study also found that, overall, immigrants to the United States use relatively few health services, primarily because they tend to be healthier than their U.S.-born counterparts.

The researchers estimated that about $1.1 billion of federal, state and local government money is spent each year on undocumented immigrants aged 18 to 64. That works out to an average of $11 in taxes for each U.S. household.

For comparison, the study authors noted that $88 billion in government money was spent on health care for all non-elderly adults in the United States in 2000. The researchers made their national estimates based on data collected in Los Angeles, which has the largest immigrant community in the country.

"Our findings show a relatively small amount of tax money is spent on health services provided to undocumented immigrants," James P. Smith, the RAND chair in Labor Market and Demographic Studies, said in a prepared statement.

"Costs will be much higher for educating children of undocumented immigrants, so that's where debate should center, not on these relatively small health-care costs," Smith said.

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New Rules for Children's Food and Beverage Ads

New moves to self-regulate food and beverage advertising that targets children younger than 12 were announced Tuesday by the Council of Better Business Bureaus and the National Advertising Review Council.

The changes include a voluntary initiative to shift the mix of advertising to encourage healthier dietary choices and lifestyles. This initiative includes 10 of the largest food and beverage companies as charter members. It's estimated that the 10 companies account for more than two-thirds of spending on food and beverage ads that target children.

The companies involved in the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative agree to:

Devote at least half their child-directed television, radio, print and Internet advertising to promote healthier dietary choices and/or to messages that encourage good nutrition or healthy lifestyles. Limit products shown in interactive games to healthier dietary choices, or incorporate healthy lifestyle messages into the games. Not advertise food or beverage products in elementary schools. Not engage in food and beverage product placement in editorial and entertainment content. Reduce the use of third-party licensed characters in advertising that doesn't meet the initiative's product or messaging criteria.

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Gum Disease May Raise Pancreatic Cancer Risk

Gum disease-related chronic inflammation may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, say Harvard School of Public Health researchers, who analyzed 16 years of health data about more than 52,000 men.

Men who reported having gum disease had a 63 percent greater risk of pancreatic cancer than men without gum disease, the researchers found. This held true even after the scientists adjusted for smoking, diabetes, age, physical activity, and diet.

Men who reported gum disease and tooth loss in the previous four years had a 2.5-fold increased risk of pancreatic cancer, compared to those who had no gum disease or tooth loss. However, tooth loss alone was not associated with increased risk for pancreatic cancer.

The study was presented Monday at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Gum disease can cause chronic inflammation, both in the mouth and the entire body, the researchers noted. Previous research has linked inflammation and cancer, including a strong association between inflammation of the pancreas and pancreatic cancer.

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Diabetes a Major Threat to Indigenous People

Unless something is done to halt an obesity-related diabetes epidemic, indigenous people around the world may become extinct this century, experts told the International Diabetes Federation meeting in Australia.

People with diabetes are at increased risk for stroke, heart disease, and kidney disease.

"Without urgent action there certainly is a real risk of a major wipe-out of indigenous communities, if not total extinction, within this century," said Professor Paul Zimmet, director of the International Diabetes Institute.

He said indigenous people are at particular risk of developing type 2 diabetes due to a rapid switch to Western diets and sedentary lifestyles, Agence France Presse reported.

Up to half the adult populations in some indigenous communities have diabetes, noted Canadian diabetes expert Professor Stewart Harris. For example, he said 45 percent of Sioux and Pima Indians in the United States have the disease, AFP reported.

Type 2 diabetes has replaced infectious diseases as the leading threat to the survival of indigenous people, Harris said.

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