Chronic Disease News and Research

RSS

Chronic disease management: Does it improve health and save money?

A study published in the May/June issue of Health Affairs reports on the first randomized trial providing a scientifically valid look at what one might expect from chronic disease management programs that serve low-income individuals. The study result provides good news for state Medicaid leaders struggling to meet the needs of individuals with chronic conditions and also suggests that some disease management efforts, even among relatively low-risk patients, may be an effective strategy.

13 May 2008

Former Surgeon General Carmona outlines preventive methods for chronic diseases in opinion piece

"The issue of health care reform in the United States is extraordinarily complex," but the "good news is that we can take steps now to improve the health and well-being of our people by addressing our nation's single greatest threat to public health and our health care system: chronic disease," former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona writes in a Philadelphia Inquirer opinion piece.

13 May 2008

New guidelines for treatment of tobacco dependence released

The U.S. Public Health Service today released an updated version of the clinical guidelines for treating tobacco dependence. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update contains strategies and recommendations designed to guide doctors and other medical professionals to help smokers quit.

9 May 2008

Study finds arthritis can be a barrier for adults seeking to manage diabetes through exercise

More than half of adults with diagnosed diabetes also have arthritis, a painful condition that can be a barrier to physical activity -- an important health strategy for managing diabetes, according to a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in today's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

8 May 2008

Short arms and legs could mean greater dementia risk

People with shorter arms and legs may be at a higher risk for developing dementia later in life compared to people with longer arms and legs, according to a study published in the May 6, 2008, bonus issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

5 May 2008

Pralatrexate for T-cell lymphoma

The fifth leading cause of cancer in the United States, lymphoma is made up of more than 40 rare and highly diverse diseases that target the body's lymphatic system. Lymphomas include both one of the fastest growing cancers -- Burkitt's lymphoma, which can double in size in as little as a day -- and one of the slowest, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

24 Apr 2008

Teenage health in Europe

After three years of work, the EU funded research programme HELENA has revealed its initial results. It concludes that amongst European adolescents, approximately 27% of males and 20% of females are either overweight or obese. It also reveals for the first time at European level, food intake and physical activity patterns for adolescents.

23 Apr 2008

Trouble at mill will keep you awake at night

Workers who suspect that it is long hours, night shifts and job insecurity which makes them lose sleep could it seems be wrong.

20 Apr 2008

Common hassles at work hamper sleep

Common hassles at work are more likely than long hours, night shifts or job insecurity to follow workers home and interfere with their sleep.

17 Apr 2008

Pregnant teens don't get no smoking message

According to a new study pregnant teenagers don't get the no smoking message and almost half of all Australian teenage prospective mothers continue to smoke during pregnancy.

7 Apr 2008

Lyme disease - a tough nut to crack!

The bacteria that cause Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness in the United States, can linger in mouse tissues long after a full round of antibiotic treatment is completed, report researchers from the University of California, Davis.

2 Apr 2008

Childhood leukemia survivors struggle with long-term comorbidities

Survival rates of childhood cancers, especially leukemia, have improved greatly in the past three decades, but survivors of this disease still seem to face many health and lifestyle challenges as young adults.

1 Apr 2008

First comprehensive database of microorganisms known to live in the mouth

Scientists know more today than ever before about the microbes that inhabit our mouths.

26 Mar 2008

Asthma medicines often not prescribed as guidelines recommend

More than a decade after national guidelines were issued for asthma treatment, some patients still don't receive prescriptions for the inhalers that experts say offer the safest and most effective long-term control of the disease, a new study suggests.

20 Mar 2008

HRT users and non-HRT users benefited equally from the exercise

Aerobic exercise significantly decreased the chemical imbalances that can lead to heart disease and stroke in postmenopausal women according to a study in the spring issue of the Journal of Women and Aging.

19 Mar 2008

Increased hepcidin expression: A novel oncogenic signalling mechanism

Historically anaemia, which is associated with colorectal cancer, has been attributed to blood loss.

19 Mar 2008

World-first screening program for lifestyle diseases for workers in Victoria

Millions of Victorian workers will have the benefit of a world-first screening program for lifestyle diseases.

17 Mar 2008

Glaucoma associated with increased risk of cardiovascular death in black patients

In a population of African origin, persons with diagnosed and treated glaucoma appeared to have an increased risk of death from cardiovascular causes, according to a study by Suh-Yuh Wu, and colleagues in the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Ophthalmology at Stony Brook University, the University of the West Indies, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

12 Mar 2008

Glaucoma associated with increased risk of cardiovascular death in black patients

Black patients with diagnosed and treated glaucoma and those with high pressure in their eyes appear to have an increased risk of death from cardiovascular causes, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 Mar 2008

Efficient response in primary care would reduce the use of hospitals by seniors

Researchers from the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health from the University of Granada have carried out a study with patients over 60.

10 Mar 2008