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Link between processed meat and cardiovascular disease and cancer

In a huge study of half a million men and women, research in Biomed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine demonstrates an association between processed meat and cardiovascular disease and cancer.

7 Mar 2013

Indian researchers use plants for herbal defluoridation of drinking water

Researchers in India have developed a filter system based on a medicinal herb, which they say can quickly and easily remove "fluoride" from drinking water.

7 Mar 2013

Fukushima report sheds light on future health risks

A detailed report carried out by the World Health Organization estimates that the risk to the general public inside and outside Japan from the Fukushima nuclear accident is minimal with no anticipated increases in cancer rates.

6 Mar 2013

UK’s health performance declining compared with 14 EU countries over past 20 years

Six decades of universal free health care, the introduction of widespread public health initiatives (eg, tobacco control, cancer screening, and immunisation), and substantial increases in health expenditure have failed to improve the UK’s health outcomes or longevity ranking against the average of 14 other original members of the European Union, Australia, Canada, Norway, and the USA (EU15+) over the past 20 years.

6 Mar 2013

Air pollution and heart attacks: an interview with Dr Cathryn Tonne, LSHTM

Air is polluted when it contains any extraneous entity in sufficient quantities to adversely affect the environment or the health of people exposed to it.

6 Mar 2013

Media examine reaction to, potential implications of 'functional cure' of infant born with HIV

"The remarkable case of a baby being cured of HIV infection in the United States using readily available drugs has raised new hope for eradicating the infection in infants worldwide, but scientists say it will take a lot more research and much more sensitive diagnostics before this hope becomes a reality," Reuters reports.

6 Mar 2013

Activists, lawmakers wrestle with Medicaid expansion

This aspect of the health law is a hot topic in Texas, Florida, California and Missouri -- among other places.

6 Mar 2013

Study: Hospital cesarean rates vary widely across U.S. hospitals

Cesarean delivery is the most common surgery in the United States, performed on 1.67 million American women annually. Yet hospital cesarean rates vary widely according to new research from the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health.

6 Mar 2013

Researchers look at how parental coping and religious behaviors influence drinking outcomes

Religious college students report less alcohol use than their classmates - and the reason may have to do with how their parents handle stress, according to new research by a Michigan State University scholar.

6 Mar 2013

New report focuses on strengthening U.S. response to illness outbreaks

The Center for Biosecurity of UPMC today released online ahead of print a new report, When Good Food Goes Bad: Strengthening the US Response to Foodborne Disease Outbreaks. The authors analyzed existing data and studies on foodborne illness outbreak response, identified emerging trends, and interviewed dozens of federal and state-level officials and experts from industry, professional organizations, academia, and relevant international organizations.

6 Mar 2013

Automatic cuts to take toll on community health centers

Estimates suggest these centers will serve about 900,000 fewer patients in 2013 because of the sequester.

6 Mar 2013

Case of immigrant with XDR-TB shows global vulnerability to infectious diseases, Wall Street Journal reports

The Wall Street Journal profiles the case of a man infected with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) who is being detained in South Texas after a "three-month odyssey through 13 countries -- from his homeland of Nepal through South Asia, Brazil, Mexico, and finally into Texas -- show[ing] the way in which dangerous new strains of the disease can migrate across the world unchecked."

6 Mar 2013

Study shows community-based HIV-prevention efforts increase testing rates, reduce HIV incidence

In Africa and Thailand, communities that worked together on HIV-prevention efforts saw not only a rise in HIV screening but a drop in new infections, according to a new study presented this week at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

6 Mar 2013

Screening healthy adults could potentially prevent rare genetic disorders

Millions of people unknowingly carry rare gene mutations that put them at high risk of developing preventable diseases such as colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and several catastrophic blood vessel disorders.

6 Mar 2013

Women's low adherence to daily-dose products in HIV prevention trial suggest different approach needed, researchers say

"Results of a major HIV prevention trial suggest that daily use of a product -- whether a vaginal gel or an oral tablet -- does not appear to be the right approach for preventing HIV in young, unmarried African women," a press release from the Microbicide Trials Network reports.

6 Mar 2013

Women with pre-pregnancy BMI of 40 have increased risk of C-section

Researchers from Norway found that women with a pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) of 40 had an increased risk of vacuum extraction delivery or Cesarean section (C-section).

6 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: Disappointing 'surprises' in health law; Cuts in graduate medical training threatens physician supply; Va. can afford Medicaid expansion

The proposed 2.3 percent reduction in (Medicare Advantage plan) payments, which comes on top of cuts already scheduled under the Affordable Care Act, pays no mind to the potential impact on quality of care throughout the program. These cuts will apply to all plans no matter the value they bring in providing quality care to beneficiaries or offering innovative solutions that could ultimately be scaled and applied to the broader program.

5 Mar 2013

Commission urges big changes in Medicare doctor pay, including the elimination of fee-for-service approach

The panel, the National Commission on Physician Payment Reform, released a dozen recommendations to ultimately change how physicians are paid.

5 Mar 2013

HIV might promote aging and disease progression in people with HCV, study results suggest

Infectious disease experts at Johns Hopkins have found that among people infected with the hepatitis C virus, co-infection with HIV, speeds damage and scarring of liver tissue by almost a decade.

5 Mar 2013

Tobacco use poses major health and human development threat

If the word's nations are going to prevent tobacco smoking from causing one projected billion deaths by the end of this century, they must: Make tobacco control part of the agendas of United Nation's and other development agencies worldwide; Assure every sector of a nation including health, trade and finance officials work collectively to protect not only health but the harm tobacco places on their economy by passing laws to reduce use; Place health as the centerpiece of any decision on a trade treaty that includes tobacco; Diligently work toward a goal of reducing the prevalence rate of smoking to less than five percent world-wide by 2048, basically ending its use.

5 Mar 2013

Public Health News and Research

Link between processed meat and cardiovascular disease and cancer

Indian researchers use plants for herbal defluoridation of drinking water

Fukushima report sheds light on future health risks

UK’s health performance declining compared with 14 EU countries over past 20 years

Air pollution and heart attacks: an interview with Dr Cathryn Tonne, LSHTM

Media examine reaction to, potential implications of 'functional cure' of infant born with HIV

Activists, lawmakers wrestle with Medicaid expansion

Study: Hospital cesarean rates vary widely across U.S. hospitals

Researchers look at how parental coping and religious behaviors influence drinking outcomes

New report focuses on strengthening U.S. response to illness outbreaks

Automatic cuts to take toll on community health centers

Case of immigrant with XDR-TB shows global vulnerability to infectious diseases, Wall Street Journal reports

Study shows community-based HIV-prevention efforts increase testing rates, reduce HIV incidence

Screening healthy adults could potentially prevent rare genetic disorders

Women's low adherence to daily-dose products in HIV prevention trial suggest different approach needed, researchers say

Women with pre-pregnancy BMI of 40 have increased risk of C-section

Viewpoints: Disappointing 'surprises' in health law; Cuts in graduate medical training threatens physician supply; Va. can afford Medicaid expansion

Commission urges big changes in Medicare doctor pay, including the elimination of fee-for-service approach

HIV might promote aging and disease progression in people with HCV, study results suggest

Tobacco use poses major health and human development threat

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