Latest Health News

15Dec
2021

Converting Hotels to Rooms for Homeless People Curbed COVID's Spread

Converting Hotels to Rooms for Homeless People Curbed COVID`s Spread WEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Here's a social distancing strategy that really worked in the early days of the pandemic: New research shows that providing hotel rooms to homeless people at high risk for severe COVID-19 significantly lowered their chance of infection. In early April 2020, the city of Chicago made 200 rooms at a hotel available to homeless people in shelters who were considered at high risk because they were: at least 60; at least 55 with any underlying health condition; or younger than 55 years with HIV/AIDS or any other health condition known to substantially increase COVID-19 risk. The participants also received extensive health and social support services, and could stay as long as desired during the five months that the rooms were available. "We saw...

Stress May Be Stronger Trigger for Problem Drinking in...

15 December 2021
Stress May Be Stronger Trigger for Problem Drinking in Women Than MenWEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- When someone says "I need a drink," it's usually because they've had a rough day. Now, new research suggests that stress is more likely to trigger heavy drinking in women than in men."Some people can intend to have one or two alcoholic beverages and stop drinking, but other people just keep going," said study leader Julie Patock-Peckham. She's head of the Social Addictions Impulse Lab at Arizona State University, in Tempe. "The role of stress in impaired control over drinking is understudied, especially in women," Patock-Peckham said in a university news release.The new study, which included 105 women and 105 men, was conducted in a setting meant to mimic a bar, complete with bartender, bar stools and lively conversations.Participants were...

Across the U.S., Black Americans Breathe in Dirtier Air

15 December 2021
Across the U.S., Black Americans Breathe in Dirtier Air WEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Is air pollution a bigger health threat to minorities?Apparently so, claims a new U.S. study that finds while air pollution levels have fallen in recent decades, people of color still have more exposure to dirty air than white Americans do. Air pollution is linked to a range of health conditions, including heart disease, cancer and mental decline.In the study, University of Washington (UW) researchers analyzed nationwide exposure in 1990, 2000 and 2010 to six major air pollutants: nitrogen dioxide (NO2); carbon monoxide (CO); ozone (O3); sulfur dioxide (SO2); and large (PM10) and small (PM2.5) particulate matter.Overall, levels of the six pollutants have decreased since 1990, but people of color were still more likely to be exposed to all...

COVID Vaccines Offer Only Some Protection for People...

15 December 2021
COVID Vaccines Offer Only Some Protection for People Battling MyelomaWEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19 vaccination provides far less protection to people with multiple myeloma than to survivors of other types of cancer, new research shows.The findings highlight the need for multiple myeloma patients “to be especially careful -- to take social distancing seriously and utilize masking -- even if they’ve been vaccinated,” said study senior author Dr. Nikhil Munshi, from the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.The new findings come from a follow-up to research recently published in JAMA Oncology, where COVID infection rates were assessed in nearly 60,000 vaccinated and unvaccinated cancer survivors who had not received a systemic cancer treatment such as chemotherapy or immunotherapy in...

U.S. Fentanyl Deaths Soaring, Especially in West

14 December 2021
U.S. Fentanyl Deaths Soaring, Especially in WestTUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Synthetic forms of the potentially lethal opioid fentanyl are flooding the illicit drug market, leaving a soaring number of fatal overdoses in their wake, a new U.S. report finds.The latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that between May 2020 and April 2021, nearly two-thirds (64%) of the more 100,000 drug overdose deaths in the country were tied to illicitly manufactured fentanyl or its chemical cousins. The trend began months before that, however: New data released Tuesday by the CDC found rising rates of fentanyl-linked fatal overdoses across the nation between 2019 and 2020.These deaths "increased sharply in Midwestern states (33.1%), Southern (64.7%) and Western (93.9%) jurisdictions," according to a...

Online Programs, Phone Apps Can Help Treat Depression

14 December 2021
Online Programs, Phone Apps Can Help Treat DepressionTUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- People with depression symptoms might find some help from online programs or smartphone apps — but the human component remains key, a new research review suggests.Not everyone with depression can readily get to face-to-face therapy — whether due to time, distance, money or stigma. But smartphones are nearly universal, and thousands of apps promise to help people manage mental health issues.But whether they work, and for whom, are among the looming questions.In the new study, researchers analyzed 83 past trials that tested the effects of digital interventions for depression. The large majority evaluated online programs, with a few testing smartphone apps.On average, the researchers found, digital help was better than nothing, and even...

Logic's Hit '1-800-273-8255' May Have Saved American Lives

14 December 2021
Logic`s Hit `1-800-273-8255` May Have Saved American LivesTUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- "I been on a low; I been taking my time; I feel like I'm out of my mind; I feel like my life ain't mine; who can relate?"New research suggests many Americans did relate to the opening lyrics of "1-800-273-8255," a 2017 hit song from U.S. hip hop artist Logic. The data finds a significant rise in calls to the national suicide hotline soon after the chart-topping single's release.The song's subject is suicide, with the title referencing the actual number for the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Hotline (NSPH). It was a big hit, gaining lots of traction via a video and live performances at award ceremonies.Now, new data reveals that over the course of one month in 2017 -- when attention on the song reached its peak -- calls to the national...

Omicron Resists Pfizer Vaccine But Causes Less Severe Disease: Study

14 December 2021
Omicron Resists Pfizer Vaccine But Causes Less Severe Disease: StudyTUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Compared to previous coronavirus variants, Omicron appears to cause less severe illness, but is more resistant to the Pfizer vaccine, researchers at South Africa's largest health insurer report.The team at Discovery Health analyzed 211,000 positive coronavirus cases during the country's fourth wave, including 78,000 attributed to Omicron. It's the first major private study since the variant was first detected last month, the Washington Post reported.The researchers found that during the latest wave, the risk of hospital admission among adults with COVID-19 was 29% lower than in the first pandemic wave that began in March 2020.However, the Pfizer vaccine provided just 33% protection against infection with Omicron, a much lower rate than against...

AHA News: Stroke Survivor's Friend Took All the Right...

TUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- A few days after her 42nd birthday, Elizabeth Hindinger woke up with a searing headache. A doctor gave her a prescription to treat...

AHA News: The Risks and Rewards of Caregiving for Loved...

TUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- Every night before bed, Pat and John Sullivan list at least three things for which they are grateful that day. Their 40 years together,...
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