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Roundup: 11% of Calif. children lack insurance; Conn. Medicaid overruns drive budget problems

Children in California are more likely to be uninsured than children nationwide, with 1.1 million lacking health coverage in 2011, according to a new study by the Keck School of Medicine of USC. About 11 percent of children lacked insurance last year -- and they were less likely to seek medical care than those with coverage, the authors reported. The study, released Wednesday by the California HealthCare Foundation, detailed children's insurance trends over a 10-year period.

16 Nov 2012

No link between asthma and poor educational performance

Research led by Queen Mary, University of London has found that having asthma is not linked to poorer scores in national school examinations. In contrast, ethnicity and social deprivation were associated with poorer educational outcomes in the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE.

16 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: Obama must tell allies that entitlements can't be excluded from fiscal deal; Medical device tax will thwart innovation

As bipartisan negotiations over avoiding the "fiscal cliff" draw nearer, many of President Obama's core Democratic supporters are urging him to fix the debt through defense cuts and tax increases rather than by tackling Social Security, Medicare and other federal entitlement programs. It's a reprise of progressive resistance to the entitlement trims Mr. Obama contemplated during the abortive debt-reduction negotiations with House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) last year.

15 Nov 2012

Colon cancer risk: Supplements no substitute for dietary fiber

Dietary supplementation with resistant starch does not reduce long-term colorectal cancer risk in patients with Lynch syndrome, shows the CAPP2 study.

15 Nov 2012

Triclosan exposure linked to allergies in children

Norwegian children with high levels of urinary triclosan are more likely to have allergies than children with lower levels, report researchers in Allergy.

15 Nov 2012

Objections from India bar experts calling for global treaty against fake drug trade from WHO meeting

"A group of experts calling for a global treaty to stop the lethal trade in fake medicines has been barred from attending a World Health Organization meeting, highlighting deep divisions that are blocking progress on the subject," Reuters reports (Hirschler, 11/13).

15 Nov 2012

Money spent on presidential campaigns could go far in fighting NTDs

Noting that an estimated $2 billion was spent on the U.S. presidential campaigns, Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, writes in the Huffington Post "Healthy Living" blog, "Many of us in the global health community can only look upon that $2 billion figure in awe because of the potential for those dollars to be repurposed to immediately and dramatically improve the lives of the poorest people who suffer from disease."

15 Nov 2012

AKT1 genotype influences risk of psychotic disorders in cannabis users

The ability of cannabis to produce psychosis has long been an important public health concern. This concern is growing in importance as there is emerging data that cannabis exposure during adolescence may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, a serious psychotic disorder. Further, with the advent of medical marijuana, a new group of people with uncertain psychosis risk may be exposed to cannabis.

15 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: Voters want Medicare protected in 'grand bargain;' Increases in taxes can't cover the 'fiscal cliff'; Kids' health needs more attention

As the ranking member on the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology, let me simply state the hard truth. To avoid the fiscal cliff and to get our budget deficit and the national debt under control, we need to do three things simultaneously: cut spending, increase revenue and have the courage to put everything on the table in a responsible, bipartisan manner.

15 Nov 2012

Greece faces return of malaria, other public health issues since 2009 economic crash

The Wall Street Journal examines how "Greece has seen decades of advances in public health rolled back, as a flood of illegal immigrants, a dysfunctional government and budget cuts ravage a once proud health-care system."

15 Nov 2012

Triclosan can contribute to increased risk of allergies in children

Triclosan - an antibacterial chemical found in toothpaste and other products - can contribute to an increased risk of allergy development in children. This comes from the Norwegian Environment and Childhood Asthma Study, in which the Norwegian Institute of Public Health is involved. Similar results are reported in the USA.

15 Nov 2012

New motivations to serve vegetables to kids

Parents may have some new motivations to serve their kids vegetables. A new study, funded by Pinnacle Foods' Birds Eye brand and published in Public Health Nutrition, found that adding vegetables to the plate led to more positive evaluations of both the main entr-e and the cook. By simply serving vegetables with dinner, participants believed the main course would taste better and thought the server was more thoughtful and attentive.

15 Nov 2012

Despite modest improvement, premature birth rates cause concern

A new report from the March of Dimes gives the U.S. a 'C' in preterm birth rate reductions.

15 Nov 2012

Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses must be designated as emerging diagnoses

The Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses are commonly referred to as emerging diseases, but leading scientists say these life-threatening viruses have been around for centuries.

15 Nov 2012

Study finds lower uptake of HPV vaccination among racial/ethnic minorities

A new Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) study has found that improving Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates in black women may require culturally sensitive approaches that address ethnic-specific barriers.

14 Nov 2012

GW Hospital, The Wireless Foundation announce new initiative to improve cardiac care

Today, the George Washington University Heart and Vascular Institute and The Wireless Foundation, in partnership with the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services, announced their innovative public health initiative, which will improve cardiac care in the nation's capital.

14 Nov 2012

CSIS video discusses global health and national security

A recent video from the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) on global health and national security discusses the importance of military and non-military health partnerships with middle- and low-income countries, the American Public Health Association's "IH-Blog" reports.

14 Nov 2012

EU Tobacco Products Directive: an interview with Professor John Britton

The EU Products Directive is intended to regulate tobacco products to protect consumers and reduce harms to health that come from using tobacco.

14 Nov 2012

U.N. has 'moral responsibility' to address cholera outbreak in Haiti

Sometimes "[w]hen the international aid community descends on a vulnerable place ... good intentions make a bad situation even worse," a Boston Globe editorial states, adding that is "what happened two years ago, when United Nations peacekeepers arrived in Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake, bringing the deadly disease cholera with them."

14 Nov 2012

Certain UTI-causing bacteria become more difficult to treat with current antibiotics

Certain types of bacteria responsible for causing urinary tract infections (UTIs), the second-most-common infection in the United States, are becoming more difficult to treat with current antibiotics, according to new research from Extending the Cure (ETC), a project of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy.

14 Nov 2012

Public Health News and Research

Roundup: 11% of Calif. children lack insurance; Conn. Medicaid overruns drive budget problems

No link between asthma and poor educational performance

Viewpoints: Obama must tell allies that entitlements can't be excluded from fiscal deal; Medical device tax will thwart innovation

Colon cancer risk: Supplements no substitute for dietary fiber

Triclosan exposure linked to allergies in children

Objections from India bar experts calling for global treaty against fake drug trade from WHO meeting

Money spent on presidential campaigns could go far in fighting NTDs

AKT1 genotype influences risk of psychotic disorders in cannabis users

Viewpoints: Voters want Medicare protected in 'grand bargain;' Increases in taxes can't cover the 'fiscal cliff'; Kids' health needs more attention

Greece faces return of malaria, other public health issues since 2009 economic crash

Triclosan can contribute to increased risk of allergies in children

New motivations to serve vegetables to kids

Despite modest improvement, premature birth rates cause concern

Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses must be designated as emerging diagnoses

Study finds lower uptake of HPV vaccination among racial/ethnic minorities

GW Hospital, The Wireless Foundation announce new initiative to improve cardiac care

CSIS video discusses global health and national security

EU Tobacco Products Directive: an interview with Professor John Britton

U.N. has 'moral responsibility' to address cholera outbreak in Haiti

Certain UTI-causing bacteria become more difficult to treat with current antibiotics

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