Epidemiology News and Research

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Harm minimization approach for smoking cessation with e-cigarettes

Quitting smoking is among the top New Year's resolutions, but is notoriously difficult to do and often requires multiple attempts and strategies.

12 Jan 2018

Study suggests shared genetic susceptibility to epilepsy and mood disorders

Mood disorders, including depression, are the most common comorbid conditions in individuals with epilepsy, but the cause remains unclear, according to a latest study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Rutgers University.

12 Jan 2018

Novel polygenic hazard score captures age variations of aggressive prostate cancer

An international team, led by researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, has developed and validated a genetic tool for predicting age of onset of aggressive prostate cancer, a disease that kills more than 26,000 American men annually.

12 Jan 2018

SHEA releases new guidance on contact precautions for drug-resistant infections

New expert guidance released today by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America advises hospitals on determining when they can safely discontinue contact precautions for patients with multi-drug resistant bacteria.

11 Jan 2018

For elder health, trips to the ER are often a tipping point

Twice a day, the 86-year-old man went for long walks and visited with neighbors along the way. Then, one afternoon he fell while mowing his lawn. In the emergency room, doctors diagnosed a break in his upper arm and put him in a sling.

11 Jan 2018

Study identifies enzyme that regulates inflammation and metabolism in fat tissue

The human body has two primary kinds of fat--white fat, which stores excess calories and is associated with obesity, and brown fat, which burns calories in order to produce heat and has garnered interest as a potential means of combating obesity.

11 Jan 2018

Men who follow Mediterranean diet have lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer, study finds

In a new study published in The Journal of Urology, researchers determined that men who followed a Mediterranean diet, rich in fish, boiled potatoes, whole fruits, vegetables, legumes, and olive oil, and low consumption of juices had lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer than those who followed other dietary patterns like Prudent or Western diets.

10 Jan 2018

Efforts to reverse opioid epidemic remain beset by stigma

Efforts to reverse the nation's opioid epidemic remain beset by the stigma associated with drug use, a group of OHSU researchers write in a year-end review.

10 Jan 2018

Study shows impact of wildfire smoke on air quality in the U.S.

Smoke plumes emanating from wildfires are swept high up into the air and spread over thousands of kilometers even days after a fire has been put out.

9 Jan 2018

Regeneron forms consortium to accelerate largest widely-available human sequencing resource

By the end of 2019, Regeneron plans to sequence the exomes of all 500,000 people within the UK Biobank resource, all with associated health records, creating an unprecedented resource linking human genetic variations to human biology and disease.

9 Jan 2018

Identical twins share additional level of molecular similarity

An international group of researchers has discovered a new phenomenon that occurs in identical twins: independent of their identical genes, they share an additional level of molecular similarity that influences their biological characteristics.

9 Jan 2018

Neighborhood factors may play role in influencing heart failure risk

Neighborhood-level socioeconomic factors in low-income areas may significantly predict heart failure risk beyond individual health factors and socioeconomic status, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

9 Jan 2018

Cedars-Sinai expert discusses ways to keep healthy as flu activity surges

Jonathan Grein, MD, Cedars-Sinai medical director of Hospital Epidemiology, is available to discuss ways to keep healthy as flu activity surges dramatically.

8 Jan 2018

Study reveals increased risk of common cancers among female night shift workers

A new study published in the journal of American Association for Cancer Research, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, has revealed the increased risk of breast, skin, and gastrointestinal cancers among women who work night shifts.

8 Jan 2018

Polygenic risk score predicts early-onset heart disease risk

A risk score based on multiple genetic differences, or polygenic risk score, predicted significantly more cases of early-onset heart disease than standard tests for single genetic defects, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine.

8 Jan 2018

Study finds nearly 170% increase in eye injuries associated with non-powder guns

A new study conducted by researchers in the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital investigated sports- and recreation-related eye injuries during a 23-year period and found a slight decrease in eye injuries overall; however, the rate of eye injury associated with non-powder guns (including BB, pellet and paintball guns) increased by almost 170%.

8 Jan 2018

Long-term night shift work among women may increase risk of cancers

Night shift work was associated with women having an increased risk of breast, skin, and gastrointestinal cancer, according to a meta-analysis.

8 Jan 2018

Researchers use genomic technologies to better understand risk factor for stomach cancer

A research team led by National University Health System and Duke-NUS Medical School has used genomic technologies to better understand intestinal metaplasia, a known risk factor for gastric (stomach) cancer.

5 Jan 2018

$Past falls linked to increased risk of new bone fractures$

Past falls linked to increased risk of new bone fractures

Results from a new study in Journal of Bone and Mineral Research indicate that an individual's history of past falls can help predict their risk of bone fractures, independent of bone mineral density and other clinical factors.

3 Jan 2018

Women undergoing hysterectomy have risk of long-term disease, study shows

Mayo Clinic researchers show that hysterectomy with ovarian conservation is associated with a significantly increased risk of several cardiovascular diseases and metabolic conditions. The findings are published in Menopause.

3 Jan 2018