Latest Health News

16Jun
2022

Obamacare May Have Helped Lower Suicide Rates

Obamacare May Have Helped Lower Suicide RatesTHURSDAY, June 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Suicide rates are rising more slowly in states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a new study finds.“Suicide is a public health problem, and our findings indicate that increasing access to health care -- including mental health care -- by expanding Medicaid eligibility can play an important role in addressing and reducing the distressing rise of suicide deaths in our country," said senior investigator Dr. Laura Bierut, a professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis."Increased access to insurance and to health care providers is crucial, and expanding such access nationwide may help change the direction of these continually rising numbers," Bierut said in a university news...

Flu Shots Lag in States With Low COVID Vaccine Uptake

16 June 2022
Flu Shots Lag in States With Low COVID Vaccine UptakeTHURSDAY, June 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Adult flu shots have slumped in states with low COVID-19 vaccination rates, suggesting that COVID-19 vaccination behavior may have spilled over to flu-vaccine behavior, new research indicates.University of California, Los Angeles researchers point to declining trust in public health agencies caused by controversy over COVID-19 vaccines as a possible reason for the falloff in flu vaccination. "It is alarming that controversy surrounding COVID-19 vaccination may be undermining separate public health efforts that save thousands of lives each year," said study lead author Dr. Richard Leuchter. He's a resident physician at UCLA Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine.The analysis of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data...

New Approach Cuts Odds for Anal Cancer in People With HIV

16 June 2022
New Approach Cuts Odds for Anal Cancer in People With HIV THURSDAY, June 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Treating precancerous anal growths in people with HIV slashes their risk of anal cancer by more than half, according to a new study.Researchers found that treating these growths — called high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) — is a safe and effective way to reduce the risk of anal cancer."We've now shown for the first time that treating anal HSIL is effective at reducing the incidence of anal cancer in a very high-risk group of people — people living with HIV," study leader Dr. Joel Palefsky said in a U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) news release. Palefsky is with the University of California, San Francisco.The trial included nearly 4,500 people with HIV across the United States who were diagnosed with these...

Youth Drinking, Pot Use Went Down During Pandemic

16 June 2022
Youth Drinking, Pot Use Went Down During PandemicTHURSDAY, June 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The COVID-19 pandemic changed kids' lives in many respects, and sometimes for the better. Pot use, drinking, smoking and vaping all fell among U.S. youth, likely because they had to spend more time at home and less time with their friends, researchers say.The findings are based on an analysis of 49 studies. "One of the driving factors for youth substance use is access to substances," said study co-author Hannah Layman, a social and behavioral sciences doctoral student at West Virginia University. "With stay-at-home orders, virtual schooling and social distancing, children have been spending more time with family and are more socially isolated from peers than before. Although social isolation from peers may have a negative impact on their...

Scientists Pinpoint Origins of the Black Death

15 June 2022
Scientists Pinpoint Origins of the Black DeathWEDNESDAY, June 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A centuries-old mystery as to the origins of the Black Death has been solved, according to an international team of scientists.They said the plague pandemic that killed up to 60% of people in Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa in the mid-1300s originated in central Asia in what is now Kyrgyzstan.Plague first entered the Mediterranean in 1347 on trade ships from the East. The source of the Black Death has been unclear, but one popular theory is that it first appeared in China.However, the authors of this new study say they've traced it to an area around Lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan. An epidemic devastated a local trading community there between 1338 and 1339, and tombstones from the time indicate that people died of an unknown...

Feds Warn of 14 Infant Deaths in Rockers From Fisher-Price, Kids2

15 June 2022
Feds Warn of 14 Infant Deaths in Rockers From Fisher-Price, Kids2WEDNESDAY, June 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- At least 13 infant deaths have been reported in Fisher-Price's Infant-to-Toddler Rockers and Newborn-to-Toddler Rockers since 2009, while there has been one death reported with a Kids2 Bright Starts Rocker, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and both companies warned in new alerts issued Tuesday.Rockers should never be used for sleep, and infants should never be unsupervised or unrestrained in the rockers, CPSC and the companies stressed.Fisher-Price has sold more than 17 million rockers worldwide since the 1990s and recommends consumers visit its Safe Start website for safety videos, tips and additional safety information, as well as the latest safety warnings. Consumers are asked to report incidents to Fisher-Price at...

High Hopes: Optimism Helps Women Live Longer

15 June 2022
High Hopes: Optimism Helps Women Live LongerWEDNESDAY, June 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The key to a long life may be your attitude.Researchers at Harvard studied the impact of optimism on women's lifespans, finding that optimism was associated with greater longevity, such as living past age 90.Lead study author Hayami Koga, a PhD candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, decided instead of studying risk factors, she wanted to look at positive assets and their impact on health and death. "To begin to get at this, we wanted to consider the benefits of psychological resources, such as optimism, as possible new targets for promoting healthy aging," Koga said. "In a previous study, our research group found that optimism was linked to longevity, but we had looked in mostly white populations. We wanted to...

AHA News: Can the Groan-Up Humor of 'Dad Jokes' Possibly Be Good for Health?

15 June 2022
AHA News: Can the Groan-Up Humor of `Dad Jokes` Possibly Be Good for Health?WEDNESDAY, June 15, 2022 (American Heart Association News) -- In honor of Father's Day, here's a health quiz:If asked whether you just got a haircut, have you ever said, "No, I got them all cut."If your son said, "I'm hungry!" Would you reply, "Hello, Hungry – I'm Dad."If your daughter asked you to make her a milkshake, would you tell her, "Poof! You're a milkshake."If you answered yes to any of those, you've committed a dad joke.That's not to be confused with a bad joke – although by definition, yeah, they probably are. And you don't have to be a dad to tell one. But for those of us with a certain type of dad, the threat level may be as high as a unique squirrel in a tree. (Know how to catch a unique squirrel? Unique up on it.)But here's a surprise: This least-surprising form of...

Want Reliable Diet Advice? Don't Head to TikTok

WEDNESDAY, June 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A new study warns that the social media giant TikTok is filled with confusing and wrong information about the heart-healthy, plant-based approach to...

WHO Experts to Decide if Monkeypox Is a Global Emergency

WEDNESDAY, June 15, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- An emergency committee of independent experts will meet next week to determine whether the growing monkeypox outbreak that's spread to dozens of...
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