Latest Health News

10Jun
2021

Did People Smoke More or Less During the Pandemic?

Did People Smoke More or Less During the Pandemic?THURSDAY, June 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The coronavirus pandemic has affected American smokers in different ways, a new study finds.While some smoked more to help them cope with the crisis, others quit to reduce their COVID-19 infection risk."Even before the pandemic, tobacco smoking was the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. COVID-19 has given smokers yet another good reason to stop smoking," said study author Dr. Nancy Rigotti. She is director of the Tobacco Research and Treatment Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston.Between May and July 2020, the researchers surveyed 694 current and former daily smokers, average age 53, who had been hospitalized before the COVID-19 pandemic and previously participated in a smoking cessation clinical trial. Of...

COVID Vaccines Appear Safe for People With IBD

10 June 2021
COVID Vaccines Appear Safe for People With IBD THURSDAY, June 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines appear to be safe for people with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), a new study finds. IBDs -- which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis -- are chronic conditions caused by an overreactive intestinal immune system, resulting in chronic diarrhea and other digestive symptoms.In this study, researchers looked at 246 adult IBD patients in a U.S. COVID-19 vaccine registry. As in the general population, the most common side effects of the two COVID-19 vaccines in IBD patients included: pain and swelling at the injection site, followed by fatigue, headache and dizziness, fever and chills, and gastrointestinal symptoms. Most of the side effects were mild and lasted only a few days. Just a few of...

Pandemic Boosted Drinking Among Americans Over 50: Poll

10 June 2021
Pandemic Boosted Drinking Among Americans Over 50: PollTHURSDAY, June 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Drinking rose among older Americans during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that could put their health at risk, claim researchers behind a new poll."As we all toast the end of the worst part of the pandemic in our country, it's important to address or prevent problematic drinking of all kinds," said one of the pollsters, Anne Fernandez, a University of Michigan psychologist who specializes in studying alcohol use.More than 2,000 adults ages 50 to 80 were questioned in late January, when COVID-19 case rates were high nationwide and vaccination of older adults had just begun.About 14% of respondents who drink alcohol said their drinking increased during the first 10 months of the pandemic. But the rate was much higher among the minority...

Gene Editing Technique Corrects Sickle Cell Disease in Mice

10 June 2021
Gene Editing Technique Corrects Sickle Cell Disease in MiceTHURSDAY, June 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers are using mice to study a potential new treatment that could help patients who have sickle cell disease, without some of the risks and side effects of existing therapies. The investigators reported using genetic-based editing on mice to convert a disease-causing hemoglobin gene to a benign variant that would enable healthy blood cell production.Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common deadly genetic disorder. It affects more than 300,000 newborns worldwide each year, leading to chronic pain, organ failure and early death in patients, the researchers noted. The root of SCD is two mutated copies of the hemoglobin gene, HBB, which cause red blood cells to transform from a circular disc into a sickle shape. Scientists from the...

Rideshare Apps Could Be Saving Lives, Study Shows

9 June 2021
Rideshare Apps Could Be Saving Lives, Study ShowsWEDNESDAY, June 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) – You've heard it often: Don't get behind the wheel of a car after a night of drinking. Now, a new study confirms that rideshare services like Uber and Lyft are making it easier for people to follow that advice and get home unharmed and alive.Texas researchers saw a marked change in motor vehicle collision traumas from before Uber entered the Houston marketplace in 2014 and after.Once ridesharing was available, motor vehicle crash traumas decreased by nearly 24% on Friday and Saturday nights in Houston, according to the study. For drivers under 30 -- the age group most likely to book rides -- the data was even more dramatic, showing a roughly 40% decrease in crash traumas during those peak periods. Drunk driving convictions also dropped...

Medicare's Penalties for Poor-Quality Dialysis Centers Aren't Helping: Study

9 June 2021
Medicare`s Penalties for Poor-Quality Dialysis Centers Aren`t Helping: StudyWEDNESDAY, June 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Dialysis centers hit with financial penalties for poor performance don't tend to improve afterward, calling into question a set of U.S. federal programs intended to improve health care nationwide, a new report says.Dialysis centers face up to a 2% reduction in their annual Medicare reimbursements if they get a low score on a set of quality measures designed by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.The measures aren't just bureaucratic box-checking: Kidney patients treated at low-scoring programs tend to have a higher risk of death in their first year of dialysis, researchers said in background notes.About 1 in 5 U.S. dialysis centers received such financial penalties in 2017, based on their performance two years earlier, said...

'Plant-Based' or Low-Fat Diet: Which Is Better for Your Heart?

9 June 2021
`Plant-Based` or Low-Fat Diet: Which Is Better for Your Heart?WEDNESDAY, June 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Hoping to eat your way to a healthier heart?Diets rich in plant foods may beat low-fat eating regimens for cutting the risk of heart disease and stroke, a new study finds.Saturated fat, the kind largely found in animal products, has long been viewed as the enemy of the heart, since it can raise "bad" LDL cholesterol.In the new study, which tracked more than 5,100 Americans, researchers found that people with diets low in saturated fat did indeed have better LDL levels.But that did not translate into a lower risk of heart disease or stroke, the study found.On the other hand, people who consumed plenty of plant foods -- vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans and nuts -- did have lower risks of cardiovascular trouble.Experts said the findings...

Why a COVID Diagnosis Could Cost You Way More Money in 2021

9 June 2021
Why a COVID Diagnosis Could Cost You Way More Money in 2021WEDNESDAY, June 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19 could be a much more expensive experience for folks who fall ill this year, thanks to the return of deductibles and copays, new research suggests.Most folks who became gravely ill with COVID last year didn't face crushing medical bills because nearly all insurance companies agreed to waive cost-sharing for coronavirus care during the height of the pandemic, explained Dr. Kao-Ping Chua, a health policy researcher and pediatrician at the University of Michigan.But some people did get a big bill because their insurer refused to waive cost-sharing, and their debts provide a good idea of what many hospitalized COVID patients will have to pay this year, Chua said."We've had some really big insurers abandon their cost-sharing waivers this...

AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine Tied to Rare Cases of Low...

WEDNESDAY, June 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine may be linked with rare cases of low blood platelet levels, a new study suggests.Platelets are blood cells that help...

Heavy Drinking Could Lower a Woman's Odds of Conception

WEDNESDAY, June 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Heavy drinking reduces a woman's chances of getting pregnant, and even moderate drinking during the second half of the menstrual cycle is associated...
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