Public Health News

August 25, 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 11:04pm EDT

Number of Tuberculosis Cases in India Is Double Current Estimates, Says New Study

Aug. 25, 2016 — The number of cases of tuberculosis (TB) in India may be up to two to three times higher than current estimates, suggests a new study. TB is a ... read more

Study Examines Reasons for High Cost of Prescriptions Drugs in US, Approaches to Reduce Costs

Aug. 23, 2016 — High prescription drug prices are attributable to several causes, including the approach the US has taken to granting government-protected monopolies ... read more

Prescriptions More Affordable After U.S. Policy Changes

Aug. 23, 2016 — Researchers have seen significant increases in the number of Americans who can afford to fill prescriptions following implementation of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act and the 2010 Affordable ... read more

Shortfalls in Laboratory Services May Limit Attainment of Worldwide Targets for HIV

Aug. 23, 2016 — Insufficient capacity to perform laboratory tests used in monitoring HIV infection, and underutilization of existing testing capacity, are limiting ... read more

Health-Care Consumer Advocates Chose Moderation, Won Some Successes in Medicaid Debate

Aug. 22, 2016 — Even though most consumer advocate groups were likely opposed to Medicaid reform, advocates tended to frame the problem of reform in terms of ... read more

Watching a Lot of TV Makes You More Susceptible to Everyday Myths

Aug. 22, 2016 — People who watch a lot of television are more likely to be susceptible to everyday myths -- irrespective of their age, education or gender. This is the basic finding of a media study. In the recent ... read more

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

This Program May Reduce Childbirth Deaths In Areas That Need It Most

Rates Of Pregnancy-Related Deaths Have Doubled In Texas

NATO Pilots Train to Escape from Underwater Cage

Mexico City Raises Green Awareness With Vertical Gardens

Neuroscientists Stand Up for Basic Cell Biology Research

Aug. 25, 2016 — Clinical trials and translational medicine have certainly given people hope and rapid pathways to cures for some of humankind's most troublesome diseases, but now is not the time to overlook the ... read more

Risk of Adolescents Being Overweight Impacted by Neighborhood Education, Income Levels

Aug. 25, 2016 — A new study found an increased risk for becoming overweight or obese among normal-weight 18-year-olds who lived in neighborhoods with lower education or income levels. The study found that over a ... read more

Conflicts Subverting Improved Health Conditions in Eastern Mediterranean Region

Aug. 24, 2016 — Improved health conditions and life expectancy over the past 20 years in the Eastern Mediterranean Region are being subverted by wars and civil unrest, according to a new scientific ... read more

Simplify, Standardize Health Insurance Plans, Advise Behavioral Economists

Aug. 23, 2016 — Behavioral economists argue that the best way to address the problems caused by health plan complexity is to simplify and standardize the plans, a new report ... read more

Integrated Team-Based Care Shows Potential for Improving Health Care Quality, Use and Costs

Aug. 23, 2016 — Among adults enrolled in an integrated health care system, receipt of primary care at integrated team-based care practices compared with traditional practice management practices was associated with ... read more

Protecting Plain Tobacco Packaging Against Industry Influence

Aug. 22, 2016 — Canada's public consultation on plain packaging for tobacco requires strict guidelines to protect against interference by the tobacco industry, and media must also be wary, according to a new ... read more

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

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 later went on to develop lung cancer within the ... 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

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 control and have prompted calls for researchers to ... 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

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 whether vaccinating children and adolescents with the ... 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

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 largest studies of heart health among African ... read more

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Wednesday, August 24, 2016