Latest Health News

5Oct
2021

Two Meds Better Than One for Many With High Blood Pressure: Study

Two Meds Better Than One for Many With High Blood Pressure: StudyTUESDAY, Oct. 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly half of Americans have high blood pressure and only 24% have it under control, but what's the best way to treat it -- one high-dose pill or two at a lower dose?A large new study suggests that two medications may be better than one for many older patients. Lowering elevated blood pressure to a sustainable level is important because it reduces a patient's risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney failure."In geriatrics, we typically try to limit the number of medications," said study author Dr. Lillian Min, associate professor of geriatric and palliative medicine at the University of Michigan. "The traditional method of practicing medicine is to start low, go slow, is the mantra."That means that doctors typically prescribe one blood pressure...

Pfizer Vaccine 90% Effective Against Severe COVID-19 for...

5 October 2021
Pfizer Vaccine 90% Effective Against Severe COVID-19 for at Least 6 Months: StudyTUESDAY, Oct. 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Full vaccination with the two-dose Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has been 90% effective in protecting against hospitalization for at least six months, a new study shows. That includes the time during which the highly contagious Delta variant has been circulating in the United States. For the study, researchers analyzed Kaiser Permanente Southern California data on more than 3.4 million people who received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Their average time since being fully vaccinated was three to four months. During the study period — from Dec. 4, 2020 to Aug. 8, 2021 — 5.4% of those people were infected with the coronavirus. Of those, 6.6% were hospitalized. Overall, vaccine effectiveness against all SARS-CoV-2 infections fell from 88%...

First Year of Pandemic Saw Depression Rates Triple

5 October 2021
First Year of Pandemic Saw Depression Rates TripleTUESDAY, Oct. 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Depression rates rose three-fold among U.S. adults during the first year of the COVID pandemic, new research shows.Surveys of more than 6,500 adults found that about 33% have had more intense symptoms of depression this year, compared to 28% in the pandemic's early months in spring of 2020 and 9% before it began."The sustained and increasing prevalence of elevated depressive symptoms suggests that the burden of the pandemic on mental health has been ongoing -- and that it has been unequal," lead author Catherine Ettman said in a Boston University news release. She is chief of staff and director of strategic initiatives in the Office of the Dean at BU's School of Public Health.Rates were highest among those who were unmarried, had low incomes...

Medical Mistrust Fuels Vaccine Hesitancy Among Hispanics

5 October 2021
Medical Mistrust Fuels Vaccine Hesitancy Among HispanicsTUESDAY, Oct. 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Misinformation and medical mistrust are major drivers of vaccine hesitancy among U.S. Hispanics, new research shows.The researchers also found that protecting other family members is an important factor in convincing Hispanics to get vaccinated.The small study included 22 Hispanic mothers in Oregon and 24 of their children who were in grades 9 to 12. At the time of the study, Hispanics accounted for 27% of coronavirus infections in Oregon, even though they made up only about 13% of the state's population.A major concern among the study participants was the myth that COVID-19 vaccination causes sterility, the Oregon State University researchers found.That fear has a historical basis due to previous forced sterilization programs by the U.S....

Minorities Bore the Brunt of U.S. COVID Deaths: Study

5 October 2021
Minorities Bore the Brunt of U.S. COVID Deaths: StudyTUESDAY, Oct. 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has hit minority groups in the United States hard, with significantly more deaths among Black and Hispanic Americans compared with white and Asian Americans, a new study finds.According to the report, these disparities highlight the need to address ongoing inequities influencing health and longevity in the United States.What's more, "focusing on COVID-19 deaths alone without examining total excess deaths — that is, deaths due to non-COVID-19 causes as well as to COVID-19 — may underestimate the true impact of the pandemic," added study author Meredith Shiels. She's a senior investigator at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.For the study, the researchers compared excess deaths by race/ethnicity, sex, age...

EU Drug Regulator OKs Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots

4 October 2021
EU Drug Regulator OKs Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Booster ShotsMONDAY, Oct. 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for people aged 18 and older have been given the green light by the European Medicines Agency.They "may be considered at least six months after the second dose for people aged 18 years and older," the European Union's drug regulator said Monday, the Associated Press reported.The advice is based on data showing that a booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine about six months after the second dose increases antibody levels in all people aged 18 to 55.The agency also gave its backing to an additional dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to people with severely weakened immune systems at least 28 days after their second dose of the vaccines. A third dose is not considered a booster shot in...

Pandemic Stress Altered Many Women's Menstrual Cycles

4 October 2021
Pandemic Stress Altered Many Women`s Menstrual CyclesMONDAY, Oct. 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- From the fear of getting sick to lockdown isolation, the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased stress levels, and for many women, the uptick led to changes in their monthly periods.More than half of respondents to an online survey reported changes in their menstrual cycles during the pandemic, including differences in premenstrual symptoms and in the time between cycles and the duration of their bleeding."It is well-known that stress can cause changes in menstrual cycles, and these changes range from shorter or longer periods to heavier or lighter bleeding, and may cause women and people who menstruate to skip or miss a period altogether," said study author Nicole Woitowich. She's a research assistant professor of medical social sciences at...

Scientists Share Nobel Prize for Discoveries That Changed Pain Research

4 October 2021
Scientists Share Nobel Prize for Discoveries That Changed Pain ResearchMONDAY, Oct. 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Two American researchers have been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries that could help ease chronic and acute pain.The prize was given jointly on Monday to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian, the New York Times reported. Julius, a professor of physiology at the University of California, San Francisco, turned to hot chili peppers to identify a protein on nerve cells that responds to uncomfortably hot temperatures.Patapoutian, a molecular biologist at Scripps Research in La Jolla, Calif., led a team that prodded individual cells with a tiny pipette, identifying a receptor that responds to pressure, touch and the positioning of body parts."This knowledge is being used to develop treatments for a wide range of...

'Personalized' Brain Zaps May Ease Tough-to-Treat Depression

MONDAY, Oct. 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Imagine battling debilitating depression for years, trying everything but finding little or no relief.That's what Sarah, 36, lived with most of her adult...

AHA News: How You Feel About Your Place on the Social...

MONDAY, Oct. 4, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- How do you feel about yourself and your place in society? The answer could affect not just your state of mind, but your actual...
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