Latest Health News

2Mar
2023

Racism Brings Worse Heart Health for Black Women

Racism Brings Worse Heart Health for Black WomenTHURSDAY, March 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Black women who are exposed to certain forms of racism may be more likely to develop heart disease, researchers say.Specifically, Black women who said they faced discrimination in employment, housing and in their interactions with the police were 26% more likely to develop heart disease than their counterparts who had not experienced such structural racism.Structural racism refers to the ways that a society fosters racial discrimination through housing, education, employment, health care and criminal justice systems.The new study wasn’t designed to determine how perceived racism increases heart disease risk, but researchers have their theories. “Chronic psychosocial stressors such as racism increase levels of inflammation, blood pressure...

Could the Mediterranean Diet Help People With MS?

2 March 2023
Could the Mediterranean Diet Help People With MS?THURSDAY, March 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- A Mediterranean diet may help multiple sclerosis (MS) patients ward off damage to their thinking skills.New research finds that a diet rich in veggies, fruit, fish and healthy fat reduced their risk of developing memory loss as well as losing the ability to concentrate, learn new things or make decisions.A loss of such key mental skills, or “cognitive impairment,” is a common feature of MS, a neurological disease that short circuits critical communication between the brain and body.But the new analysis of diet and mental status among 563 people with MS linked the Mediterranean diet to a 20% lower risk for cognitive difficulties.“Mediterranean diet is a broad term and there are geographical variations," said lead author Dr. Ilana Katz...

Cancer Screenings Rise in States With Mandatory Paid...

2 March 2023
Cancer Screenings Rise in States With Mandatory Paid Sick LeaveTHURSDAY, March 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Many Americans are not getting recommended cancer screenings, and a new study hints at one way to push the needle: paid sick leave from work.Researchers found that in areas of the United States that passed mandates on paid sick leave, cancer screening rates inched up in the years afterward. Breast cancer screening rose by roughly 3%, while colon cancer screening increased by 6% to 8%.When it comes to Americans' access to health care, the focus is often on health insurance -- whether people have it, and what it covers.But people can face other kinds of barriers, said lead researcher Kevin Callison, an assistant professor at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans.Taking time off from work, and losing...

FDA Panel Backs Second RSV Vaccine for Older Americans

2 March 2023
FDA Panel Backs Second RSV Vaccine for Older AmericansTHURSDAY, March 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Following hours of discussion over safety concerns, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Wednesday recommended approval of a second RSV vaccine, this one made by GlaxoSmithKline, for use in Americans ages 60 and older.The panel's recommendation was based largely on the results of a trial that tested the GlaxoSmithKline vaccine in the same age group. Those findings, published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that the shot lowered the risk of symptomatic illness by 83% and of severe illness by 94% in people ages 60 and up.In a two-part vote, the panel voted 10 to 2 in favor of the vaccine’s safety and unanimously on the shot’s effectiveness, the New York Times reported.Meanwhile, the same panel on...

Smoking Plus Mental Illness Can Send Caffeine Intake Soaring

2 March 2023
Smoking Plus Mental Illness Can Send Caffeine Intake SoaringTHURSDAY, March 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- One group of Americans drinks more caffeinated beverages than all others. That’s people who smoke cigarettes and also have serious mental illness, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, according to new research. While Americans overall are drinking more caffeinated beverages than ever, this group consumes the highest amount and also has the highest risk of negative health consequences, said researcher Dr. Jill Williams, director of addiction psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, and colleagues.“Caffeine is generally considered safe and even has some health benefits,” Williams said in a Rutgers news release. “But we just don't understand the cognitive and psychiatric effects of high caffeine...

High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy Tied to Thinking Problems Later

2 March 2023
High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy Tied to Thinking Problems LaterTHURSDAY, March 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- A new study links high blood pressure during pregnancy with cognitive issues later in life, adding to known risks such as stroke and heart disease.Women with preeclampsia -- high blood pressure during pregnancy that may be accompanied by kidney or other organ damage -- may have even more cognitive decline later compared to those with gestational high blood pressure, which does not affect kidneys or other organs, according to the study. The findings were published March 1 in the online issue of Neurology.“More research is needed to confirm our findings. However, these results suggest that managing and monitoring blood pressure during and after pregnancy is an important factor for brain health later in life,” study author Michelle Mielke...

Spinal Cord Stimulation May Ease Diabetic Neuropathy

1 March 2023
Spinal Cord Stimulation May Ease Diabetic NeuropathyWEDNESDAY, March 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Electrical stimulation from a spinal cord implant can provide long-lasting relief for people with diabetic neuropathy, updated clinical trial results show.“Two years after starting with using that stimulator device, they're still having the same quality of improvement as what we first saw,” said lead researcher Dr. Erika Petersen. She is director of functional and restorative neurosurgery at UAMS (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) in Little Rock, Ark.Approximately 37 million Americans have diabetes, and about one-quarter develop painful diabetic neuropathy, researchers explained in background notes.Their diabetes does damage to small nerves, typically in their hands and feet, Petersen said. This causes a variety of painful...

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Takes Big Toll on Mental Health

1 March 2023
Irritable Bowel Syndrome Takes Big Toll on Mental HealthWEDNESDAY, March 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- When Dr. Yezaz Ghouri sees patients with the cramping, abdominal pain and diarrhea that are hallmark symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), he’ll typically ask how life’s going. More often than not, his patients say they are experiencing stress in their lives.Now, Ghouri's team has established a link between IBS and anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation in patients who have been admitted to the hospital for their IBS. IBS is a chronic disorder of the gastrointestinal (GI) system that strikes up to 15 percent of the population.Ghouri, an assistant professor of clinical medicine and gastroenterology at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, thinks that stress may be expressed through both the mind and body.“I think it...

Colon Cancer Is Being Spotted in Younger People, and at...

WEDNESDAY, March 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Colon cancer continues to rise among younger U.S. adults, with the American Cancer Society reporting a doubling of cases in people younger than 55 in...

Eli Lilly to Slash Insulin Prices, Cap Monthly...

WEDNESDAY, March 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- More Americans will soon be paying less for their insulin.Eli Lilly, one of the three insulin manufacturers, plans to cut its list prices of the drug...
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