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Older adults with diabetes in managed care networks have higher rates of untreated eye disease

Medicare beneficiaries at high risk for eye disease due to diabetes are more likely to have unrecognized and untreated eye disease if they are enrolled in managed care than if they have fee-for-service (FFS) health insurance, according to an article in the May issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

9 May 2005

As science gets wiser, so do the bugs

As science gets wiser, so do the bugs. The rates of drug-resistant bacteria infecting patients in the community and in the hospital have been increasing steadily in recent years, according to two new studies in the June 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

9 May 2005

Obese workers' pay lower due to health costs

Studies have consistently shown that obese employees are paid less than normal-weight employees doing similar jobs, leading many people to attribute the gap to prejudice against workers based on their appearance.

9 May 2005

American women focus on their own health more

According to "Women Talk," the first annual national women's health survey from the National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC), being healthy to women means both physical and emotional wellness and having a healthy family and suggests that women place a greater priority on the health of their family than their own personal health.

8 May 2005

Men with HIV combat stigma, stress with Mom's love

Despite fears of shame and stigma, most HIV-positive men choose to confide their health status to their mothers, according to a new University of Florida study. When deciding whether to tell, the men’s need for their mothers’ emotional and socioeconomic support outweighed those fears, researchers found.

8 May 2005

Health care resources distributed unevenly in Kansas

At least a third of the state of Kansas resembles an inner city when it comes to local availability of doctors, hospitals, medical personnel and nursing homes. Basically, there's not a lot of medical help to be had in either south Chicago, for example, or Sharon Springs, Kan.

8 May 2005

Physician assisted suicide and why patients are motivated to seek death

Patients motivated to seek a doctor for their death wish did so after a deliberative and thoughtful process rather than on impulse, according to a research study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine .

5 May 2005

National survey reveals critical barriers to improving women's health

For American women, being healthy is far more than getting a good checkup or being disease-free. According to "Women Talk," the first annual national women's health survey from the National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC), being healthy means both physical and emotional wellness and having a healthy family.

4 May 2005

Pregnancy, no insurance don't mix, midwives say

Being uninsured and pregnant in this country should be recognized as a risk factor for the health of the mother and baby, said the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) as the organization marked Cover The Uninsured Week (May 1-8, 2005). ACNM is troubled by how this condition – uninsured and pregnant – is severely impacting the financial well-being of taxpayer-financed health care programs, while solutions such as broader access to midwifery care are left unexplored.

4 May 2005

Specific variants of genes predict bleeding after heart surgery

Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that the presence of specific variants of genes that control clotting and the contractility, or "tone," of blood vessels can double the ability of physicians to predict those heart surgery patients at greatest risk of bleeding after surgery.

4 May 2005

Psychological treatment most effective treatment for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder

Psychological treatment that teaches children to face their fears is the most effective treatment for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), according to a new Mayo Clinic analysis of previously published research.

4 May 2005

Scalpel-free surgery could reduce risk of HIV and Hepatitis exposure for health care workers in city hospitals

While the incidence of disease from HIV and hepatitis is increasing in the United States, little is known about their prevalence in patients undergoing surgery. Now, researchers have shown that nearly 40 percent of surgeries at The Johns Hopkins Hospital occur in patients who tested positive for a bloodborne germ.

4 May 2005

More than 70 percent could better manage asthma triggers, EPA survey finds

In the first national awareness survey on environmental asthma triggers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that fewer than 30 percent of people with asthma are taking simple steps to reduce exposure to asthma triggers. Exposure to asthma triggers such as secondhand smoke, cockroaches, dust mites, mold, and ozone can cause asthma in young children or set off asthma attacks.

4 May 2005

Abnormal heart scans predict higher risks for African-Americans and Hispanics

SPECT imaging scans show that abnormalities in blood flow to the muscle of the heart indicate higher cardiovascular disease risk in African-Americans and Hispanics than similar abnormalities in white patients, according to a new study (PDF) in the May 3, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

4 May 2005

Research suggests potential new strategies for fighting age-related vascular disease

Declining function of cells that help repair the inner lining of blood vessels, known as endothelial progenitor cells, rather than a dwindling supply of the cells, may underlie the increased risk of atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases as people grow older, according to a new study (PDF) in the May 3, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

4 May 2005

Diabetes appears to rob women of usual advantage in heart disease risk

For men, a heart attack increases the risk of dying from coronary heart disease more than diabetes does, but for women, diabetes is sometimes the greater threat, according to a new study (PDF) in the May 3, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

4 May 2005

Toronto hospitals implement new ethics strategy

Health care ethics gained the limelight during the recent battle over Terry Schiavo's fate, but ethical decision-making is already a growing part of the corporate culture at a number of Toronto hospitals, thanks to a "hub and spokes" strategy pioneered by the University of Toronto's Joint Centre for Bioethics.

2 May 2005

3 questions identify children at risk of passive smoking

Pediatricians can reliably identify children at risk for environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure (secondhand smoke) by asking parents just three questions, according to an article in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 May 2005

Concern that vaccines might cause harm most common reason why parents don't immunize

Concern that vaccines might cause harm was the most common reason given by parents who choose not to have their children vaccinated for preventable diseases, according to an article in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 May 2005

FDA to change regulations regarding side-effect information in drug ads

The Food and Drug Administration is about to make it easier for you to understand both the benefits and risks of a prescription medication, it was revealed at the Second Annual Medical Liaison Seminar sponsored here by Scientific Advantage LLC.

2 May 2005