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Research roundup: Talking to patients about end-of-life care

Each week, KHN reporter Alvin Tran compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

17 Nov 2012

Opinion pieces, blog address preterm birth

The following opinion pieces and blog posts address actions to prevent preterm birth, after the publication of a Lancet analysis that examines preterm birth in 39 developed countries.

17 Nov 2012

Study shows boost in access to screening for breast and cervical cancer

A study by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services indicates that full implementation of the Affordable Care Act would expand health insurance coverage for more low-income women, enabling more than a million women to obtain potentially life-saving screening for breast and cervical cancer.

16 Nov 2012

Experts call for global treaty on drug quality

Professionals from the world of health, including health charities, legal and medical academia, and former or current government health officials, have called for the creation of an internationally binding treaty to tackle illegitimate drugs.

16 Nov 2012

Potential to reduce preterm births ‘shockingly small’

If developed countries were to successfully implement five preventive interventions, only a 5% relative reduction in the preterm birth rate could be achieved by 2015, shows a study published by The Lancet.

16 Nov 2012

Study examines public health impact of tamper resistant extended-release oxycodone

This is the first epidemiological study to examine the public health impact of a tamper resistant extended-release oxycodone (ORF). ER oxycodone was reformulated with physicochemical barriers to crushing and dissolving intended to reduce abuse through non-oral routes of administration.

16 Nov 2012

Drinking milk during childhood can lead to lifelong benefits

Starting a milk drinking habit as a child can lead to lifelong benefits, even improving physical ability and balance in older age, according to new research. A new study published in Age & Aging found an increase of about one glass of milk a day as a child was linked to a 5% faster walking time and 25% lesser chance of poor balance in older age.

16 Nov 2012

New South Dakota alcohol monitoring program helps reduce DUI and domestic violence arrests

An innovative alcohol monitoring program imposed upon thousands of alcohol-involved offenders in South Dakota helps reduce repeat DUI arrests and domestic violence arrests, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

16 Nov 2012

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

Public Health News and Research

Research roundup: Talking to patients about end-of-life care

Opinion pieces, blog address preterm birth

Study shows boost in access to screening for breast and cervical cancer

Experts call for global treaty on drug quality

Potential to reduce preterm births ‘shockingly small’

Study examines public health impact of tamper resistant extended-release oxycodone

Drinking milk during childhood can lead to lifelong benefits

New South Dakota alcohol monitoring program helps reduce DUI and domestic violence arrests

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

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