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Novel strategy for obesity prevention in young children

A novel approach to preventing overweight/obesity in young children by replacing traditional, individual well-child care with a series of group visits that emphasize nutrition-focused interventions during the first 18 months of life was associated with a significantly reduced obesity rate at 2 years of age.

20 Apr 2016

Health systems rely on design thinking for management and innovation

Current health system practices are not sufficient to address growing rates of obesity and diabetes, health and economic disparities and cost control. "A Design Thinking Framework for Healthcare Management and Innovation" argues that addressing these complex challenges will require leaders that can think, and act, more like designers.

19 Apr 2016

Researchers identify biological pathway that explains why current asthma therapies fail in many cases

Asthma is an enormous public health problem that continues to grow larger, in part because scientists don't fully understand how it is caused. Existing therapies don't cure the disease and often don't even significantly alleviate the symptoms. Now, scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University have identified a biological pathway that potentially explains why current asthma therapies don't work well in many cases—and might be targeted to help those patients.

19 Apr 2016

High dietary saturated fat intake may lead to prostate cancer aggressiveness

Eating a diet higher in saturated fat, a type of fat found commonly in foods such as fatty beef and cheese, was linked to more aggressive prostate cancer, a study by University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers and collaborators has found. The preliminary results were presented Monday, April 18 at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

19 Apr 2016

Researchers reveal how relatively unknown pathogen led to current Zika outbreak

An analysis comparing the individual differences between over 40 strains of Zika virus (30 isolated from humans, 10 from mosquitoes, and 1 from monkeys) has identified significant changes in both amino acid and nucleotide sequences during the past half-century.

18 Apr 2016

More than half of U.S. adults believe today's kids have diminished emotional and mental health

More than half of adults believe children today are more stressed, experience less quality family time and have worse mental and emotional health than children in past generations, according to the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.

18 Apr 2016

Reclaimed wastewater irrigated crops expose consumers to minute quantities of anti-epileptic drug

A new study by a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hadassah Medical Center shows that eating vegetables and fruits grown in soils irrigated with reclaimed wastewater exposes consumers to minute quantities of carbamazepine, an anti-epileptic drug commonly detected in wastewater effluents.

18 Apr 2016

Green vegetation near homes plays important role in reducing mortality

Women live longer in areas with more green vegetation, according to new research funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. Women with the highest levels of vegetation, or greenness, near their homes had a 12 percent lower death rate compared to women with the lowest levels of vegetation near their homes. The results were published Apr. 14, 2016 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

18 Apr 2016

Report highlights parlous state of British children's teeth

The Local Government Association has today published a report that states that around 100 children and teenagers a day are being admitted to hospital for surgery to remove rotten teeth.

18 Apr 2016

Study shows Americans live longer, but in poor health

Americans are living longer but in poorer health, according to a new study. The USC-led study examined life expectancy trends and disability rates in a 40-year period, from 1970 to 2010. The analysis of U.S. vital statistics found that the average total lifespan increased for men and women in those 40 years, but so did the proportion of time spent living with a disability.

18 Apr 2016

Older men receiving testosterone therapy less likely to return to hospital

A new large-scale population-based study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston showed for the first time that older men using testosterone therapy were less likely to have complications that require them to go back to the hospital within a month of being discharged than men not using this therapy. The study is currently available in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

16 Apr 2016

MicroRNAs circulating in blood could lead to first diagnostic test for asthma

People with asthma have telltale molecules circulating in their blood, say researchers at Penn State College of Medicine. The discovery could lead to the first diagnostic blood test for asthma, as well as more targeted treatments for the condition.

16 Apr 2016

Adolescent obesity linked to elevated risk of cardiovascular mortality in midlife

A nationwide study of 2.3 million Israeli adolescents, examined from 1967 through 2010, finds an association between elevated body-mass index in late adolescence, and subsequent cardiovascular mortality in midlife.

16 Apr 2016

Heavy marijuana use may lead to lower dopamine release in the brain

In a recent study, researchers found evidence of a compromised dopamine system in heavy users of marijuana. Lower dopamine release was found in the striatum - a region of the brain that is involved in working memory, impulsive behavior, and attention. Previous studies have shown that addiction to other drugs of abuse, such as cocaine and heroin, have similar effects on dopamine release, but such evidence for cannabis was missing until now.

16 Apr 2016

New study links high-volume lung transplant centers with lower costs, readmissions

High-volume lung transplant centers have lower transplantation costs and their patients are less likely to be readmitted within 30 days of leaving the hospital following surgery, according to a new study of more than 3,000 Medicare patients who received lung transplants.

16 Apr 2016

Study to test effectiveness of worksite exercise regimen to reduce low back injury risk in firefighters

The University of South Florida and Tampa Fire Rescue have launched a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a worksite exercise regimen targeted to reduce the risk of low back injury and disability in firefighters -- a physically demanding occupation particularly prone to back problems that can lead to chronic pain and early retirement.

15 Apr 2016

Interdisciplinary researchers to explore ethical issues of pregnant women during Zika crisis

The emerging Zika virus epidemic is bringing to light a longstanding ethical challenge in medical research: the inclusion of pregnant women. With new funding from the Wellcome Trust, an interdisciplinary team of scholars will focus on issues of ethics and research in pregnancy and women of reproductive age, beginning with the current Zika context and later expanding to general public health research.

15 Apr 2016

Unmet nursing care linked to higher risk of AMI readmissions for older black patients

Why are black older adults at higher risk of repeat hospital admission after a heart attack? Treatment at hospitals with higher rates of missed nursing care may be a contributing factor, reports a study in the May issue of Medical Care. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

15 Apr 2016

Sit-stand computer workstations could provide healthier, more comfortable work environment

Recent studies have suggested that sitting at the computer all day can negatively affect your health. Sit-stand computer workstations are intended to provide a healthier and more comfortable work environment. But how do you find the best setup of workstation components for a standing workstation? And should it be the same as the setup you use when you're sitting down?

14 Apr 2016

Coordinated efforts could prevent spread of CRE infection in health care facilities

A simulation of how the so-called "superbug" carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) might spread among health care facilities found that coordinated efforts prevented more than 75 percent of the often-severe infections that would have otherwise occurred over a five-year period.

13 Apr 2016

Public Health News and Research

Novel strategy for obesity prevention in young children

Health systems rely on design thinking for management and innovation

Researchers identify biological pathway that explains why current asthma therapies fail in many cases

High dietary saturated fat intake may lead to prostate cancer aggressiveness

Researchers reveal how relatively unknown pathogen led to current Zika outbreak

More than half of U.S. adults believe today's kids have diminished emotional and mental health

Reclaimed wastewater irrigated crops expose consumers to minute quantities of anti-epileptic drug

Green vegetation near homes plays important role in reducing mortality

Report highlights parlous state of British children's teeth

Study shows Americans live longer, but in poor health

Older men receiving testosterone therapy less likely to return to hospital

MicroRNAs circulating in blood could lead to first diagnostic test for asthma

Adolescent obesity linked to elevated risk of cardiovascular mortality in midlife

Heavy marijuana use may lead to lower dopamine release in the brain

New study links high-volume lung transplant centers with lower costs, readmissions

Study to test effectiveness of worksite exercise regimen to reduce low back injury risk in firefighters

Interdisciplinary researchers to explore ethical issues of pregnant women during Zika crisis

Unmet nursing care linked to higher risk of AMI readmissions for older black patients

Sit-stand computer workstations could provide healthier, more comfortable work environment

Coordinated efforts could prevent spread of CRE infection in health care facilities

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