Public Health News

August 20, 2016

Fluoride Consumption Linked to Diabetes?

Underreporting of Zika Rife; Epidemic Projected

Repeated Racism Most Damaging to Mental Health

Zika Threatens 1.6 Million Childbearing Women

Latest Headlines

updated 11:33am EDT

Majority of Parents Support HPV Vaccination Requirements for School, but With Opt-Outs

Aug. 19, 2016 — Parents were more likely to agree that laws requiring students to be vaccinated against HPV for school entry are a 'good idea' when there is an ... read more

Rates of Early Prostate Cancer Continue Decline After USPSTF Recommendation

Aug. 18, 2016 — Rates of early prostate cancer have continued to drop since the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in all men, according to an ... read more

How Norovirus Gets Inside Cells: New Clues

Aug. 18, 2016 — Researchers have identified the protein that norovirus uses to invade cells. Norovirus is the most common viral cause of diarrhea worldwide, but scientists still know little ... read more

Ethnic Differences in Mental Illness Severity When Hospitalized

Aug. 17, 2016 — Chinese and South Asian patients in Ontario experience more severe mental illness at the time of hospital admission than other patients, according to a new study that examined the association between ... read more

New Report Presents Bundled Payment Model for Breast Cancer Screening

Aug. 18, 2016 — Mammography may present an opportunity for the expanded use of bundled payments in radiology, suggests new research. The study reports that breast cancer screening provides a framework for ... read more

Study Highlights Importance of Regular Lung Cancer Screenings for Those at High Risk

Aug. 18, 2016 — A new study has found patients who tested negative for lung cancer by a detailed X-ray screening called low-dose helical computed tomography but ... read more

Data Sharing Should Become Routine for Best Reponse to Public Health Emergencies

Aug. 16, 2016 — The recent outbreaks caused by Ebola and Zika viruses have highlighted the importance of medical and public health research in accelerating outbreak ... read more

Stubborn Inequities in Heart Health Persist for Some African Americans in the South

Aug. 15, 2016 — Researchers examined data on ideal cardiovascular health in over 4,700 participants of the Jackson Heart Study in Jackson, Mississippi, one of the ... read more

US Female Physicians Reimbursed Significantly Less Than Male Colleagues

Aug. 15, 2016 — Female physicians are reimbursed significantly less than their male counterparts, even adjusting for how hard a physician works, their productivity and years of experience, finds a new study, one of ... read more

Flu Nasal Spray Provides Similar Protection Against Influenza as Flu Shot: Study

Aug. 15, 2016 — A three-year trial in a Hutterite colony, where people live communally and are relatively isolated from cities and towns, was set to determine ... read more

Mexico City Raises Green Awareness With Vertical Gardens

UN Bungles Africas Yellow Fever Outbreak

Zika Vaccine Trials Have Begun, But Funding Is About To Run Out

Breastfeeding Is Really Good For Babies, But Millions Can't Do It

Study Finds Better Definition of Homelessness May Help Minimize HIV Risk

Aug. 19, 2016 — Being homeless puts people at greater risk of HIV infection than those with stable housing, but targeting services to reduce risk behaviors is often complicated by fuzzy definitions of homelessness, ... read more

Researcher Provides Recommendations to Stop Violence Against Clinicians in China

Aug. 19, 2016 — Responding to the number of violent attacks on physicians in China, researchers organized an initiative to rebuild patient-physician trust with recommendations published in a new ... read more

Low-Income Kids Less Likely to Receive Strabismus Diagnoses

Aug. 17, 2016 — Back to school eye exams may not be the norm for all kids. A large study shows strabismus is diagnosed much less in poor communities which puts kids at risk for permanent vision ... read more

LGBT Persons Get Limited Educational Info for Assisted Reproductive Technology, Study Finds

Aug. 16, 2016 — With the recent one-year anniversary of Obergefell vs. Hodges -- the landmark US Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage -- researchers have published a report that identifies unequal ... read more

Lack of Fresh Food Choices Linked to Signs of Early Heart Disease

Aug. 15, 2016 — A lack of access to nearby stores selling fresh food may increase residents' risk of developing the signs of early heart disease, according to new ... read more

China Facing Epidemic of Heart Disease, Stroke

Aug. 15, 2016 — A 20-year rise in cardiovascular disease (CVD) in China appears to have been spurred largely by increases in high blood pressure, according to a new study. Increasing body mass index (BMI), ... read more

Many Life-Saving Defibrillators Behind Locked Doors During Off-Hours

Aug. 15, 2016 — There's just a 1 in 5 chance that a potentially life-saving automated external defibrillator will be nearby when someone experiences cardiac arrest and a 20 to 30 percent chance that the nearby ... read more

Physician Incentive Program to Improve Care for Complex Patients Did Not Result in Improvements

Aug. 15, 2016 — Incentive payments to primary care physicians for the provision of care for patients with complex health conditions did not improve primary care or decrease hospitalizations in British Columbia, ... read more

Indoor Tanning: Women Say No to Total Ban, Yes to Stricter Policies

Aug. 15, 2016 — Most young adult women who regularly visit indoor tanning salons support the introduction of policies to make it safer, but are against a total ban, a new study concludes. The findings are good news ... read more

Racial Inequity, Violence Climb List of Child Health Concerns for Black Adults

Aug. 15, 2016 — Black adults rate school violence and racial inequities higher on their list of children's health concerns than other groups, a new national poll ... read more

Cancer in Context: 37 Years of Painstakingly Collected Data

Aug. 15, 2016 — A new report includes every cancer diagnosis in the Los Angeles region over the past 37 years -- more than 1.3 million. With easy-to-read charts, the book divides L.A.'s population into 11 ... read more

Black, Hispanic Children, Youth Rarely Get Help for Mental Health Problems

Aug. 12, 2016 — Black youth are about half as likely as their white counterparts to get mental health care despite having similar rates of mental health problems, and Hispanic youth also get only half as much mental ... read more

Gastrointestinal Illnesses Cost the Swiss Health Care Sector Up to EUR 45 Million Per Year

Aug. 12, 2016 — Acute diarrhea entails annual health care costs of EUR 29 to EUR 45 million in Switzerland. Thereof, around a quarter is due to infections of the diarrhea-causing pathogen Campylobacter, say ... read more

Hispanic Men in California Need More Screening for Colorectal Cancer, Study Finds

Aug. 12, 2016 — Colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates in California have decreased markedly for men and women in all major racial-ethnic groups since 1990, except for Hispanic men -- a disparity that can ... read more

Visitors Concerned About Zika but Still Plan to Travel to Florida, Study Shows

Aug. 11, 2016 — With more than 20 cases of non-travel related Zika reported in South Florida, tourists express more concern with travel to the state but still plan to come, a new study ... read more

Long-Term Health Effects of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombs Not as Dire as Perceived

Aug. 11, 2016 — The detonation of atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 resulted in horrific casualties. The long-term effects of radiation exposure also increased cancer rates in the survivors. ... read more

Adding Milk, Meat to Diet Dramatically Improves Nutrition for Poor in Zambia

Aug. 10, 2016 — Adding livestock to poor households in developing countries such as Zambia is shown to improve their financial status, but how the addition of milk and meat to their diet effects their nutrition has ... read more

New Map Details Threat of Zika Across Europe, US

Aug. 10, 2016 — A team of researchers has mapped Zika risk around the world with unprecedented resolution while considering more factors than previous ... read more

US Maternal Mortality Rates Higher Than Reported, Study Finds

Aug. 10, 2016 — Despite the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of a 75 percent reduction in maternal deaths by 2015, the estimated maternal mortality rate for 48 US states and the District of Columbia ... read more

Researchers Develop Tool to Counter Public Health IT Challenges

Aug. 9, 2016 — Front-line protection of US communities against disease epidemics relies on seamless information sharing between public health officials and doctors, plus the wherewithal to act on that ... read more

Friday, August 19, 2016

Wednesday, August 17, 2016