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FRIDAY, July 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Opioid overdose-related visits to U.S. emergency departments rose by nearly one-third during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.That's the key finding in a new analysis of data from 25 emergency departments in Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, North Carolina, Massachusetts and Rhode Island."COVID-19, and the disruptions in every part of our social and work lives, made this situation even harder by increasing the risk of opioid misuse and relapse because people were separated from their social support and normal routines," said senior study author Molly Jeffery, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.The study revealed that opioid overdose-related emergency department visits rose 28.5% last year, compared to 2018 and 2019. The raw numbers...

FRIDAY, July 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Plenty of seniors may struggle with problem drinking, but a new study shows that less than half of them discuss their alcohol use with their health care providers."Older adults are at high risk for the harms of alcohol use, especially for those with existing chronic disease and who take prescribed medications," said lead study author Pia Mauro. That makes "discussions about alcohol with providers particularly important in this population," she said. Mauro is assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University in New York City.For the study, Mauro's team analyzed 2015 to 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data on more than 9,600 U.S. adults aged 65 and older (51% females, 49% males) who reported alcohol use and a past-year...

FRIDAY, July 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Having a genetic heart condition often means the end of sports for young athletes, but new research could be a game changer. A 20-year study by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., suggests that for kids with most genetic heart conditions, the risks of playing sports can be managed through a shared decision-making process.The study is a continuation of research on return to play that genetic cardiologist Dr. Michael Ackerman, director of Mayo's Windland Smith Rice Genetic Heart Rhythm Clinic, first published in Journal of the American Medical Association in 2012."When I joined Mayo Clinic's staff in 2000, we rejected the prevailing approach to athletes with genetic heart diseases that was embraced throughout the world: 'If in doubt, kick them...

THURSDAY, July 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Children diagnosed with type 2 diabetes face a high likelihood of developing complications before age 30, a new study suggests.Researchers found that among 500 children and teenagers with type 2 diabetes, 60% developed at least one complication over the next 15 years — including nerve damage, eye disease and kidney disease.Type 2 diabetes, which is often associated with older age and obesity, was once seen almost exclusively in adults. But as childhood obesity has climbed in recent decades, more kids are being diagnosed with the condition.Type 2 diabetes arises when the body can no longer properly use the hormone insulin, which regulates blood sugar levels. As a result, those sugar levels can soar, and that can damage blood vessels and...