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Causes and consequences of increased adiposity and decreased muscle and bone mass

Increased adiposity and decreased muscle mass contribute substantially to age-dependent disease and disability. In particular age-related increase in adiposity is quickly becoming a major threat to public health throughout the world. Although the hypothesis that age-related changes in body composition are due to lifestyle choices alone is well accepted, it is a vast oversimplification.

20 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 20, 2010

Today's headlines include articles on health insurance for college students, new plans to overhaul the government's bioterror and flu preparations, changes in store for health care for the homeless and a look at the new high risk insurance plans.

20 Aug 2010

Obama Administration struggles to soothe health reform concerns; Insurance Commissioners issue rules

The Associated Press reports that the new health reform law "hasn't helped Americans feel any more secure about their own medical care." That's according to a survey, to be released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which says "consumer confidence spiked in April after Obama signed landmark legislation to expand coverage and start trying to control costs.

20 Aug 2010

Study links obesity rates with walking and cycling rates

A study authored by Professor David Bassett Jr. from the Department of Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and three other researchers was published in the American Journal of Public Health, concluding that communities with more walkers and cyclists are healthier than those where people must rely on cars to get around.

20 Aug 2010

Chicago-based pasteurized eggs producer increases production following recall of salmonella-infected eggs

Chicago-based National Pasteurized Eggs today ramped up production of its industry-leading salmonella-free Davidson's Safest Choice Pasteurized Shell Eggs as federal health officials expanded the recall of eggs linked to salmonella enteritidis to 380 million.

20 Aug 2010

FDA releases statement on urgent nationwide egg recall

Working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state public health partners, the FDA reviewed epidemiologic and environmental investigation documents and identified 3 best-case clusters of Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses. Tracebacks revealed Wright County Egg in Iowa as the common shell egg supplier in these clusters.

20 Aug 2010

University of California, Irvine launches new Clinical Research Certificate Program

University of California, Irvine today announced the launch of its new Clinical Research Certificate Program. In order to close the widening gap between the rapid expansion of biomedical discoveries and the application of those discoveries in a clinical environment, UC Irvine School of Medicine developed the program in partnership with UC Irvine Extension to equip medical industry professionals with the academic knowledge, technical skill and critical thinking ability necessary to understand and evaluate clinical studies...

20 Aug 2010

Moderate alcohol in family setting can prevent young people from binge drinking: Study

Italian youths whose parents allowed them to have alcohol with meals while they were growing up are less likely to develop harmful drinking patterns in the future, according to a new study led by a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researcher.

20 Aug 2010

Schwarzenegger announces Calif. health IT network plan

Los Angeles Times: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a high-tech vision for his state Tuesday, including an unprecedentedly broad computer network. "Schwarzenegger joined U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra at the UC Davis Cancer Center on Tuesday to announce the launch of the country's largest 'telehealth' system, which organizers say will one day connect patients to hundreds of hospitals and clinics statewide using broadband technology." The broadband network will be devoted entirely to the health care sector (Hennessy-Fiske, 8/18).

20 Aug 2010

Study reports uneven decline of colorectal cancer mortality rate

Black patients die from colorectal cancer at much higher rates than whites do and new research points to unequal health care as the cause. While deaths from colorectal cancer have declined over the past 40 years, the declines have been uneven, said lead author Samir Soneji, Ph.D., of the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

20 Aug 2010

Scientists suggest combination vaccine prevents pertussis

If you think you shouldn't be worried about your child's—or your—lingering, nagging cough, think again. Pertussis has reemerged on the scene. In what some public health officials are calling the worst outbreak in 50 years, pertussis, better known by its unique sound—whooping cough, has been found in six states with 1,500 cases reported, six of them fatal.

19 Aug 2010

Scientists produce atlas of worm infection prevalence, distribution throughout Africa

On Tuesday at the 12th International Congress of Parasitology, a group of scientists, led by researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, launched an online series of maps showing the distribution and prevalence of worm infections across Africa, Tropika.net reports (Chinnock, 8/17).

19 Aug 2010

General Physics to provide AAR/IP to gauge overall response to H1N1 outbreak

Global performance improvement solutions provider General Physics Corporation, a subsidiary of GP Strategies Corporation, has been selected by the Maryland Department of Public Health and Mental Hygiene to provide an After Action Report/Improvement Plan for the 2009 response to the H1N1 virus. GP will collect data from public health entities in order to gauge the overall response to the H1N1 outbreak and lessons learned, for DHMH to evaluate and consider for future pandemic response.

19 Aug 2010

Study quantifies risk for gastrointestinal illness due to E. coli bacteria at inland beach

New research shows a clear link between increasing levels of E. coli bacteria in an inland Ohio lake and a greater risk that swimmers in the water will suffer a gastrointestinal illness.

19 Aug 2010

Asian Americans still face barriers to quality healthcare, say researchers

Two University at Buffalo researchers are challenging the "myth of the well-adjusted Asian American," detailing how members of one of the country's fastest-growing ethnic groups face crucial disadvantages preventing them from receiving quality health care taken for granted by other, more culturally assimilated Americans.

19 Aug 2010

Hospitals grapple with increasing ER visits; LA officials order changes to boost patient safety; Mass. nurse fired after reporting problem

"Hartford Hospital opened an expanded emergency department this month, with new rooms and triage areas meant to keep up with an increase in patient visits. Across town, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center is preparing to double its emergency department space as part of a new 10-story tower set to open next spring. UConn's John Dempsey Hospital expanded its emergency department earlier this year in response to rising patient volume, but there are still days when patients wait in the hallways because the rooms are full. Emergency department visits are increasing in Connecticut and across the country, and doctors say they are likely to become even busier as health reform rolls out."

19 Aug 2010

Dr. Hartung receives Agilent Thought Leader Award for developmental neurotoxicity research

Agilent Technologies Inc. and the Agilent Foundation today announced that Dr. Thomas Hartung has received an Agilent Thought Leader Award in support of his research for the use of toxicity pathways to predict developmental neurotoxicity. This work could help identify possible contributions of chemicals to disorders such as autism and attention hyperactivity disorders.

19 Aug 2010

State insurance regulators approve guidelines for health plans' spending

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a guideline for what insurers can count as medical costs - as opposed to administrative expenses - under new health law rules, Politico reports. The health law requires large group insurance plans to spend at least 85 percent of premiums on medical expenses. Small group plans must spend 80 percent.

19 Aug 2010

Experts debate government's decision to ring fence NHS funding

Is the government's decision to ring fence NHS funding fair? Two experts debate the issue on bmj.com today.

19 Aug 2010

Prenatal pesticide exposure increases susceptibility to ADHD in children

Exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides before birth can increase susceptibility to attention disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to new research published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). The new study is part of a growing body of research indicating that exposure to OP pesticides can adversely affect brain development.

19 Aug 2010

Public Health News and Research

Causes and consequences of increased adiposity and decreased muscle and bone mass

First Edition: August 20, 2010

Obama Administration struggles to soothe health reform concerns; Insurance Commissioners issue rules

Study links obesity rates with walking and cycling rates

Chicago-based pasteurized eggs producer increases production following recall of salmonella-infected eggs

FDA releases statement on urgent nationwide egg recall

University of California, Irvine launches new Clinical Research Certificate Program

Moderate alcohol in family setting can prevent young people from binge drinking: Study

Schwarzenegger announces Calif. health IT network plan

Study reports uneven decline of colorectal cancer mortality rate

Scientists suggest combination vaccine prevents pertussis

Scientists produce atlas of worm infection prevalence, distribution throughout Africa

General Physics to provide AAR/IP to gauge overall response to H1N1 outbreak

Study quantifies risk for gastrointestinal illness due to E. coli bacteria at inland beach

Asian Americans still face barriers to quality healthcare, say researchers

Hospitals grapple with increasing ER visits; LA officials order changes to boost patient safety; Mass. nurse fired after reporting problem

Dr. Hartung receives Agilent Thought Leader Award for developmental neurotoxicity research

State insurance regulators approve guidelines for health plans' spending

Experts debate government's decision to ring fence NHS funding

Prenatal pesticide exposure increases susceptibility to ADHD in children

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