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THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2021 (HealthDay News) - - With rising obesity rates, more young women American women are developing type 2 diabetes, putting them at hugely increased risk for heart disease, new research shows.In fact, the study found that women under 55 with type 2 diabetes had a tenfold greater risk of having heart disease over the next two decades compared to their non-diabetic peers. Even just having high blood sugar appeared to increase the risk for premature heart disease by 600%, according to researchers at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital.All of this means that "we're going to see, unfortunately, younger and younger people having heart attacks," said researcher Dr. Samia Mora, of Brigham's Center for Lipid Metabolomics. "When a younger individual has a cardiovascular...

THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Despite scattered media reports of severe allergic reactions to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, a detailed analysis shows that such incidents are very rare, striking just 11 people for every million doses given.The study, compiled by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also found that episodes of severe allergic reaction -- called anaphylaxis -- typically occurred within minutes of receiving the shot and were also quickly resolved using a shot of epinephrine (such as the EpiPen). None of the episodes proved fatal, said researchers reporting Jan. 21 in the journal JAMA Insights.The bottom line, according to one expert unconnected to the study, is that people have far more to fear from COVID-19 than they do from the...

THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The arthritis drug tocilizumab doesn't help hospital patients with severe COVID-19, according to a new study that contradicts earlier research suggesting that it might aid recovery.In fact, patients receiving tocilizumab had a higher risk of death, so the trial was halted early.Tocilizumab blocks a part of the immune system (interleukin 6) that can become overactive in some COVID-19 patients, and it was thought that the drug might help reduce inflammatory responses in patients.That theory was tested in this study, which included 129 adult COVID-19 patients, average age 57, at nine hospitals in Brazil. They had abnormal levels of at least two inflammation-related compounds in their blood and were receiving supplemental oxygen or mechanical...

THURSDAY, Jan. 21, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Just over 200,000 Americans have the autoimmune disorder lupus, and minority women are at highest risk, according to a new study.It's the first estimate of how widespread the disease is in the United States. The number comes close to reclassifying lupus as a rare disease, defined as an illness affecting 200,000 Americans or fewer, the researchers said."Our study potentially redefines systemic lupus erythematosus as a rare disease in the United States and lays the groundwork for where we need to focus our efforts to reduce the burden of this disease on Americans," lead investigator Dr. Peter Izmirly said in a news release from NYU Langone Health in New York City. He's a rheumatologist and associate professor of medicine at the health system.In...