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Research roundup: The costs of obesity; Patients' post-hospital medicine; Women and heart failure

Association of ICU or Hospital Admission With Unintentional Discontinuation of Medications for Chronic Diseases -- Researchers examined records of older people admitted to a hospital in Ontario, Canada from 1997-2009 who were already taking medicines for chronic health problems. They measured "failure to renew the prescription within 90 days after hospital discharge," and found that patients "prescribed medications for chronic diseases were at risk for potentially unintentional discontinuation after hospital admission.

26 Aug 2011

Seniors issues: Long-term care costs, financial and social responsibilities

According to the 2010 census, the nation's median age has increased to 37.2, up from 35.3 in 2000. The aging trend held up in every state ... Older states, such as Maine, Vermont, West Virginia and New Hampshire, may have less time than others to prepare for challenges such as providing long-term care for a growing elderly population.

26 Aug 2011

States putting more kids into CHIP programs, but some Medicaid programs squeezed

Thirty states increased the number of children under the program, Stateline reports. Also, Medicaid advocates are urging federal officials to deny California's request to cut the program, and in Georgia, officials are looking for more funding.

26 Aug 2011

Roundup: Virginia's abortion rules; Calif. rate regulation bill; Georgia's spending plans for disabled

Virginia health officials are planning to release draft emergency regulations for abortion clinics as soon as Friday that reproductive-health activists say could impose strict physical, staffing and equipment requirements and could force many of the state's clinics to close.

26 Aug 2011

Perry takes on Romney's Massachusetts health reforms

GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry criticized the Massachusetts health overhaul that became law while fellow candidate Mitt Romney was governor. Meanwhile, news outlets are fact-checking statements about related reform initiatives - such as Texas' tort reform law, and members of Congress appear to be taking a less-is-more approach to August town hall meetings.

26 Aug 2011

IOM report: Vaccines generally safe, no link to autism

Vaccines can cause certain side effects but serious ones appear very rare - and there's no link with autism and Type 1 diabetes, the Institute of Medicine says in the first comprehensive safety review in 17 years. The report released Thursday isn't aimed at nervous parents. And the side effects it lists as proven are some that doctors long have known about, such as fever-caused seizures and occasional brain inflammation.

26 Aug 2011

Improving global health, food security among top 10 things to know about State Department, USAID

In this Huffington Post editorial piece, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Thomas Nides writes about "10 things you should know about the State Department and USAID" and what the department does "on behalf of the American people."

26 Aug 2011

Global obesity rates doubled over last 30 years, researchers say

"Obesity rates worldwide have doubled in the last three decades, even as blood pressure and cholesterol levels have dropped," according to a series of papers published Friday in the Lancet, the Associated Press/New York Times reports (8/25).

26 Aug 2011

Asia-pacific region making gains against HIV/AIDS, but more needs to be done, UNAIDS report says

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26 Aug 2011

ABC News features six videos on global health issues

ABC News on Thursday posted six videos in its "World In 3" health series. The three-minute videos examine malaria in Uganda, neglected tropical diseases in Niger, pneumonia in the Philippines, sleeping sickness in the Democratic Republic of Congo, tuberculosis in South Africa and parasitic worms in Brazil.

26 Aug 2011

A.U. pledges $46M for Horn of Africa; USAID official discusses U.S. response

At a meeting of the African Union (A.U.) in Ethiopia on Thursday, "African governments ... pledged $46 million for the crisis in the Horn of Africa amid warnings that the emergency stretches far beyond hunger to encompass health, security and livelihood," the Guardian reports.

26 Aug 2011

Hospitals, health care facilities feeling effects of economic downturn

The July jobless rate dipped one-tenth of a point from June to 10.4 percent. That was unchanged from a year earlier. So too, were the number of jobs at hospitals, nursing homes, residential care facilities and clinics across Georgia.

26 Aug 2011

Concrete regulations on health data protection needed

What happens if the seropositive condition of a patient is leaked? What social and work consequences might this involve? This is just one example that illustrates the importance of regulating health data protection. Mr Unai Aberasturi, a jurist at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), has made a study of what the Spanish Statute Law on Data Protection (LOPD in its Spanish acronym) says about this, drawing the conclusion that, normally, this is left open to interpretation.

26 Aug 2011

Hensarling says 'everything is on the table' for 'super committee'

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, co-chairman of a joint committee charged with suggesting ways to reduce the nation's deficit, said Thursday that "everything is on the table," including tax increases.

26 Aug 2011

HHS awards $137M to fund key state and local public health programs

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today awarded up to $137 million, partly supported by the Affordable Care Act, to states to strengthen the public health infrastructure and provide jobs in core areas of public health.

26 Aug 2011

Health law funding creates dilemma for GOP governors

Even as many Republican state executives oppose the health law, many are moving forward in creating state-run exchanges. Meanwhile, the availability of public health funding as a result of the law also is a politically challenging windfall.

26 Aug 2011

Risk of coronary heart disease is transferred via genes, not via unhealthy family lifestyle

It has long been known that hereditary factors play a role in coronary heart disease. However, it has been unclear whether the increased risk is transferred through the genes or through an unhealthy lifestyle in the family. A new study from the Center for Primary Health Care Research in Sweden, published in the American Heart Journal, shows that genes appear to be most important.

26 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 26, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about presidential politics and health reform -- most notably, Rick Perry's assault on Mitt Romney's Massachusetts record.

26 Aug 2011

CBO's latest budget projections assume end of 'doc fixes'

The Congressional Budget Office projects that rebounding revenue, combined with the force of the debt-reduction deal that became law earlier this month, will reduce the deficit by an estimated $3.3 trillion.

26 Aug 2011

Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges Explorations taking proposals

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced this week "that it is accepting proposals for Round 8 of its Grand Challenges Explorations, a $100 million grant initiative to encourage innovation in global health and development research," according to a Gates Foundation press release.

26 Aug 2011