Latest Health News

5Apr
2022

CDC Director Walensky Announces Sweeping Review of Agency

CDC Director Walensky Announces Sweeping Review of AgencyTUESDAY, April 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- In an effort to modernize an agency that has come under fire for its handling of the pandemic, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that the agency would undergo a monthlong review of its inner workings.In an email sent to agency employees, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said she has hired a senior federal health official outside of the Atlanta-based agency to conduct the review to “kick off an evaluation of CDC’s structure, systems and processes,” the Washington Post reported.“Over the past year, I have heard from many of you that you would like to see CDC build on its rich history and modernize for the world around us,” she wrote in the email. “I am grateful for your efforts to lean into the hard...

Medicare Now Covers COVID Tests Bought at Drug Stores

5 April 2022
Medicare Now Covers COVID Tests Bought at Drug StoresTUESDAY, April 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) – Medicare announced Monday that seniors can now walk into most drug stores and get a free over-the-counter COVID test.“For the first time in its history, Medicare is paying for an over-the-counter test,” Deputy Administrator Dr. Meena Seshamani, director of the Center for Medicare, said in a news release on the announcement. “This is because COVID-19 testing is a critical part of our pandemic response. Combined with the free over-the-counter tests available through covidtests.gov, this initiative will significantly increase testing access for Americans most vulnerable to COVID-19.”Now the 59 million Americans covered by Medicare Part B can get up to eight free, at-home tests each month from any provider that offers them, the Centers...

A Rose Is a Rose: Worldwide, People Like the Same Smells

5 April 2022
A Rose Is a Rose: Worldwide, People Like the Same SmellsTUESDAY, April 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, wrote William Shakespeare.It appears he was correct.The smells that people like or loathe are determined not by cultural experiences but mostly by the structure of the odor molecule, according to a new international study. "We wanted to examine if people around the world have the same smell perception and like the same types of odor, or whether this is something that is culturally learned," said study co-author Artin Arshamian, a lecturer in clinical neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. "Traditionally it has been seen as cultural, but we can show that culture has very little to do with it," he said in an institute news release.Cultures around the world rank different odors in a...

As Pandemic Evolved, U.S. Hospitals Learned Quickly How...

5 April 2022
As Pandemic Evolved, U.S. Hospitals Learned Quickly How to Care for PatientsTUESDAY, April 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- While hospitals and clinics are known for being slow to turn new evidence into actual practice, they picked up the pace during the pandemic.A research team led by scientists from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and the University of California, San Francisco, collected data from more than 50 academic medical centers across the United States, finding that hospitals overcame barriers and quickly adapted patient care. This may have happened because of rapid information-sharing among hospitals and the constant release of multidisciplinary COVID-19 treatment guidelines. "The translation of evidence to practice in medicine is notoriously slow," said study co-lead author Dr. Alan Kubey, a specialist in hospital medicine at Jefferson...

What Pet Poop Reveals About Toxins in Your Home

5 April 2022
What Pet Poop Reveals About Toxins in Your HomeTUESDAY, April 5, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Your pet’s poop and pee may give you clues to how many cancer-causing toxins have taken up residence in your home."Our findings suggest that pets are coming into contact with aromatic amines that leach from products in their household environment," said study author Sridhar Chinthakindi, a postdoctoral fellow at NYU Langone Health in New York City. "As these substances have been tied to bladder, colorectal and other forms of cancer, our results may help explain why so many dogs and cats develop such diseases," he said in an NYU news release.Aromatic amines are the chemicals found in tobacco smoke and in dyes used in cosmetics, textiles and plastics. The study ruled out tobacco smoke as a major source of pet exposure in this study, but found...

99% of Planet's Population Breathes Dirty Air: WHO

4 April 2022
99% of Planet`s Population Breathes Dirty Air: WHOMONDAY, April 4, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Almost no one in the world is breathing good air, according to a new World Health Organization report, which issued a call for reducing the use of fossil fuels. Air quality is the worst in WHO's Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia regions, but 99% of the global population breathes air that exceeds air quality limits and contains disease-causing particles. Air quality is also especially poor in Africa."After surviving a pandemic, it is unacceptable to still have 7 million preventable deaths and countless preventable lost years of good health due to air pollution," said Dr. Maria Neira, head of WHO's Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health."Yet too many investments are still being sunk into a polluted environment, rather than in...

Half of Americans Now Think Playing Football 'Inappropriate' for Kids: Survey

4 April 2022
Half of Americans Now Think Playing Football `Inappropriate` for Kids: SurveyMONDAY, April 4, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- As sign-ups for youth football get underway this spring, a new study reveals that Americans may love their football, but half now believe that kids should not play the tackle version of the game.The researchers found that of nearly 4,000 U.S. adults surveyed, only 45% agreed that tackle football is an "appropriate sport for kids to play." Half disagreed, while the remaining 5% were unsure.The survey did not dig into the reasons behind those opinions. But it's likely that safety concerns were a big factor, said researcher Mariah Warner, a doctoral student in sociology at Ohio State University, in Columbus.The biggest worry with football, she noted, is concussion — and whether repeat knocks to the head could put young players at risk of...

Teens Who Misuse Drugs Rarely Shake the Issue as Adults: Study

4 April 2022
Teens Who Misuse Drugs Rarely Shake the Issue as Adults: StudyMONDAY, April 4, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Does youthful experimentation with drugs and alcohol always fade with age? Not necessarily, a long-term study warns.Researchers found that more than 60% of teens who report heavy use of alcohol, marijuana, and/or other drugs continue to have a drug problem as adults, often involving misuse of prescription medications.The findings follow decades tracking more than 5,300 high school seniors, up until age 50."There has been some work suggesting most people age out of substance-related problems, but these studies have not adequately accounted for the severity of the substance-related problems," said study lead author Sean Esteban McCabe. He is director of the Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health at the University of Michigan,...

Big Drop Seen in Kids Getting Opioids After Surgery

MONDAY, April 4, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Efforts to cut back on risky opioid use for pain after surgery are trickling down to kids.New research shows that fewer Americans under the age of 18 ...

AHA News: Stroke, Heart Failure Death Rates Accelerating...

MONDAY, April 4, 2022 (American Heart Association News) -- Scientists debate whether Hispanic adults, who have higher rates of certain risk factors for cardiovascular disease, are nonetheless less...
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