Latest Health News

23Mar
2023

U.S. Tuberculosis Cases Rose in 2022: CDC

U.S. Tuberculosis Cases Rose in 2022: CDCTHURSDAY, March 23, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Tuberculosis cases climbed again in 2022, U.S. health officials announced Thursday.Still, the 5% increase, which amounted to 8,300 cases, didn't reach higher pre-pandemic numbers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The message is loud and clear — TB is still here. For the second year in a row, TB disease cases in the U.S. have continued to rise, with concerning increases among young children and other groups at increased risk for TB disease,” Dr. Philip LoBue, director of the CDC’s Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, said in an agency news release. “Communities, providers and public health partners must work together to make sure we are reaching the right people with testing and treatment, so we...

Weaker Bones, Weakening Brain? Study Makes the Connection

23 March 2023
Weaker Bones, Weakening Brain? Study Makes the ConnectionTHURSDAY, March 23, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For some older adults, thinning bones may be a harbinger of waning memory, a new study suggests.The study, of more than 3,600 older adults, found that those with relatively low bone density were at greater risk of being diagnosed with dementia within the next decade. The one-third of participants with the lowest bone mass at the hip faced double the risk of dementia as the third with the strongest hip bones.Researchers said the findings -- published March 22 in the journal Neurology -- do not mean that thinner bones help cause dementia.Instead, they suspect that declining bone mass is one part of the early dementia process -- before problems with memory and thinking skills become apparent.And that implies that doctors should pay attention to...

Drug Shortages Rose by 30% in 2022, U.S. Senate Report Shows

23 March 2023
Drug Shortages Rose by 30% in 2022, U.S. Senate Report ShowsTHURSDAY, March 23, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Americans are facing shortages of drugs critical for cancer treatment, breathing problems and more — shortages that increased nearly 30% between 2021 and 2022, a new report shows.The report, commissioned by the U.S. Senate and discussed during a Senate committee hearing on Wednesday, found a record five-year high of 295 active drug shortages. The problem isn’t likely to get better soon because of how the system is regulated and the fact that many drugs or their ingredients are made outside the United States, the report noted.“Since 2007, the FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] identified an average of over 100 separate drug shortages per year. In 2011, the FDA identified a whopping 267 drugs in short supply and despite possessing...

Warming Climate Could Bring Flesh-Eating Bacteria to...

23 March 2023
Warming Climate Could Bring Flesh-Eating Bacteria to More U.S. WatersTHURSDAY, March 23, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Global warming is fostering the spread of a deadly flesh-eating bacteria along the northeastern coast of the United States, researchers report. Vibrio vulnificus bacteria grow in warm shallow coastal waters and can infect a person via a cut or insect bite during contact with seawater. The bacteria is found as far north as Philadelphia and is spreading even further north as ocean waters warm. Between 2041 and 2060, infections may spread to waters around New York, the investigators said."Climate change is likely to lead to Vibrio vulnificus wound infections being found in more northern states along the U.S. East Coast. Case numbers of these serious and potentially fatal infections will increase," said lead researcher Elizabeth Archer, a...

Too Much Social Media Could Raise Risk for Eating Disorders

23 March 2023
Too Much Social Media Could Raise Risk for Eating DisordersTHURSDAY, March 23, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Curated images of perfect bodies -- often highly filtered and unrealistic -- are common on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.And a broad new review of 50 recent studies across 17 countries finds that relentless online exposure to largely unattainable physical ideals may be driving up the risk for eating disorders, particularly among young girls.This study, said co-author Komal Bhatia, is “significant because it tells us how social media can lead to body image concerns, through constant social comparison, internalization of thinness and self-objectification.”Girls and others with weight challenges and/or concerns about body image are among those most vulnerable to the “self-perpetuating cycle of risk” highlighted by the...

AHA News: Back From Deployment, Air Force Member Diagnosed With Congestive Heart Failure

23 March 2023
AHA News: Back From Deployment, Air Force Member Diagnosed With Congestive Heart FailureTHURSDAY, March 23, 2023 (American Heart Association News) -- As a logistics planner with the U.S. Air Force, Kassandra Benson deployed to Pakistan, where she worked long days and nights coordinating and troubleshooting special operations troops' equipment and travel needs.After a year abroad, she returned home. A post-deployment health check at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia showed that her blood pressure was slightly elevated. Otherwise, her health was good.Benson took a week of leave and flew to Minnesota to visit her family. During her leave, she felt exhausted.She noticed her calves were swelling, which had never happened before. She thought her body was acclimating to being back from deployment. Her fatigue was also odd for someone so active and fit.Two months later, at home...

Drink Up: Coffee Won't Affect Your Heart Rhythms

23 March 2023
Drink Up: Coffee Won`t Affect Your Heart RhythmsTHURSDAY, March 23, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- A new study has some heartening news for coffee lovers: That morning cup is unlikely to make your heart skip a beat.The study, published March 23 in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that drinking coffee does not seem to predispose healthy people to premature atrial contractions.PACs are a normal occurrence for a healthy heart, but some people sense them as a "skipped" or extra heartbeat -- which can be unsettling. And if they do arise frequently, that might foretell a more serious heart arrhythmia down the road.Experts said the new findings are in line with the body of research on coffee and heart health: Despite caffeine's bad reputation, many studies have found that coffee drinkers have lower risks of various diseases --...

Feds Propose Overhaul of U.S. Organ Transplant System

23 March 2023
Feds Propose Overhaul of U.S. Organ Transplant SystemTHURSDAY, March 23, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- A single nonprofit has what amounts to a monopoly over all organ transplants performed in the United States, but the federal government said Wednesday that it plans to change that. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which has contracted with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) to run the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network for 37 years, announced it will invite organizations to bid for contracts for different parts of the transplant system’s functions.“Every day, patients and families across the United States rely on the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network [OPTN] to save the lives of their loved ones who experience organ failure,” HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson said in a news...

Living Near Noisy Roads Can Raise Your Blood Pressure

THURSDAY, March 23, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- That road noise outside your window could be wreaking havoc on your blood pressure.A new study published March 22 in JACC: Advances found that the...

New Parasite Is Killing Sea Otters, and Might Pose...

THURSDAY, March 23, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- A rare strain of the parasite Toxoplasma has killed four sea otters along the California coast, raising concerns about a potential public health risk....
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