Epidemiology News and Research

RSS

Europe wide study to examine causes of asthma

The GABRIEL project, funded through an EC Framework 6 grant, involves over 150 scientists from 14 European countries and Russia, using the latest research across a variety of disciplines, including genetics, epidemiology and immunology, to identify key factors in the development of asthma bronchiale.

9 May 2006

Cardiovascular disease impact varies according to age, gender, other factors

Cardiovascular disease deaths have declined in the last 25 years, but the effect of America's No. 1 killer varies greatly based on gender, age, location and type, according to a study reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

9 May 2006

Heart risks from Vioxx happen much earlier than believed

A new study led by Queen's University researcher Linda Livesque shows that heart attacks related to the use of Vioxx - a drug once popular for the treatment of pain and inflammation - can occur within the first two weeks of use.

3 May 2006

Current US drug safety system is moving toward a delay in drug approval

In the May 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Brian L. Strom, MD, MPH, Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, analyzes the limitations of the current system of drug-safety monitoring and proposes a solution that addresses overly aggressive early marketing practices

3 May 2006

Completion of therapy by Medicare patients with stage III colon cance

Physical frailty, treatment complications, and lack of social and psychological support may explain why elderly stage III colon cancer patients do not complete a course of chemotherapy after surgery

3 May 2006

The 30-year natural history of type 1 diabetes complications

...while cases of premature death and a few other complications have declined, rates of other serious diabetes-related disorders such as heart and eye disease have not improved over the past 25 to 30 years.

3 May 2006

Risk of secondary malignancies in testicular cancer

While in the United States the preferred treatment for stage I mixed germ cell tumors has been retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy, adjuvant chemotherapy has been more commonly used in Europe.

2 May 2006

British healthier than Americans in middle-age

According to a large international study middle-aged Americans are not as healthy as their British cousins.

2 May 2006

Ability to complete quarter-mile walk a powerful predictor of health outcomes in elderly

Walking fitness makes a significant difference in predicting the likelihood of future disability in the elderly, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

2 May 2006

Genetic and environmental factors impact chronic fatigue syndrome patients

People who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have a genetic make up that affects the body's ability to adapt to change, according to a series of papers released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

2 May 2006

Breast implants safer than first thought when it comes to breast cancer

According to a new study silicone breast implants do not affect the risk of breast cancer in women who have cosmetic surgery.

19 Apr 2006

Study shows results of tight glucose control

Here's what we know about controlling blood glucose (blood sugar) in people with diabetes: It's not easy, but it can be done. It requires vigilance and resolve. And it can save your life.

19 Apr 2006

Treating populations infected with both HIV and latent TB could speed the emergence of drug-resistant TB

In 2005, 46 regional Ministers of Health in Africa declared that a dramatic rise in tuberculosis (TB) cases was cause for emergency.

19 Apr 2006

Commercial fishermen do not face significant health risks from routine occupational exposure to Pfiesteria in estuaries

According to a study recently accepted for publication by Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers found no correlation between specific human health effects in "watermen" (commercial fishermen) and low-level exposure to the dinoflagellate Pfiesteria in areas of the Chesapeake Bay.

19 Apr 2006

Breast implants shown to be associated with a decreased breast cancer risk

The longest follow-up study to date of cancer incidence among women with silicone breast implants shows having implants does not put women at an increased risk for cancer, in fact, breast implants were actually shown to be associated with a decreased breast cancer risk.

19 Apr 2006

Breast implants not associated with an increased risk of cancer

Implants were associated with a decrease in breast cancer risk and an increased lung cancer risk, but these results likely reflect the lifestyles and smoking habits of the women in the study rather than an effect of the implants themselves, the authors conclude.

18 Apr 2006

In a bird flu pandemic 40% will take a sickie

According to new research in the U.S. in the event the world is subjected to a bird flu pandemic, four in every ten health professionals will stay away from work.

18 Apr 2006

Smoking causes far more cancer deaths in Asian-Americans than previously thought

Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese American males living in California die of cancer at three times the rate of South Asian females in California, whose cancer mortality rate is one of the lowest in the world.

18 Apr 2006

Significant differences in the patterns of mammography by race and ethnicity

Inadequate use of screening mammography may be an important reason that African-American women are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer than members of other ethnic groups, according to a new study led by a University of California, San Francisco imaging specialist.

18 Apr 2006

New method to estimate cancer survival

Cancer survival estimates are important to patients, physicians, clinical trials planning and resource allocation. Predictions by present statistical methods tend to lag behind current outcomes.

17 Apr 2006