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Minority and multiracial children experience many disparities in medical and oral health status

Minority and multiracial children experience many disparities in medical and oral health status, access to care, and use of services, according to a new national study by researchers at the Center for Advancement of Underserved Children at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

3 May 2006

Link between colicky babies and postpartum depression

A compelling connection exists between colicky babies and postpartum depression, according to a study conducted by a Brown Medical School professor and Rhode Island Department of Health family health experts.

3 May 2006

Preconception health care should be part of routine medical visits

Every visit to the doctor for women of childbearing age should be considered an opportunity to discuss reproductive health- especially since more than half of all pregnancies are unintended, according to a report published today in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Recommendations and Reports.

26 Apr 2006

Preconception health care should be part of routine medical visits

26 Apr 2006

Breast cancer survivors turning their backs on recommended mammograms

A new study finds use of annual mammography among breast cancer survivors, who are at increased risk of a recurrence or a new malignancy in the other breast, dropped off after a few years. During the five year study period, only one in three women in this high-risk population had received regular annual mammograms.

24 Apr 2006

Steep decline in competition in the nation's health insurance markets

In addition, the study found that in 95 percent of markets, a single insurer had a market share of 30 percent or greater, and in 56 percent of the markets, a single insurer had a market share of 50 percent or greater.

19 Apr 2006

Teenagers and young adults more likely to survive cancer in Australia than in the USA

Countries that have national health services easily accessible to people of all ages are more likely to have better survival rates for their teenagers and young adults (TYAs) with cancer, than are countries where individuals have to pay for their own medical insurance.

4 Apr 2006

HAART is very cost-effective

New research shows that highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is very cost-effective, despite the high price tag. However, the study also shows that reimbursement to physicians treating patients with HIV is critically low, threatening patients' access to care.

1 Mar 2006

Surgery for obesity now covered by Medicare

The U.S. government says obese elderly or disabled patients are now eligible for a range of surgical weight-loss procedures under the U.S. Medicare health insurance plan.

23 Feb 2006

External counterpulsation not effective as a treatment for heart failure

A new review of studies supports the government's opinion that too little evidence exists to support a device that uses balloon-like pants as a treatment for heart failure.

23 Feb 2006

Americans prefer to leave child's sex to chance

Most people would not choose the sex of their child if given the option, according to a new nationwide survey. The study is the first to examine the demand and preferences for sex selection among the U.S. general population.

14 Feb 2006

Many at-risk people aren't getting adequate cholesterol treatment

Even though treatment for cholesterol disorders can reduce the risk of heart and blood vessel disease by about 30 percent over five years, many at-risk people aren't getting adequate treatment, according to researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues reporting in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

7 Feb 2006

Children's asthma highlights need for the State Children's Health Insurance Program

Not surprisingly -- but definitely significantly -- children with asthma had fewer asthma-related attacks and medical visits after enrolling in the state children's health insurance program (SCHIP), according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study in Pediatrics this month.

7 Feb 2006

FDA wants asthma drug withdrawn

An FDA advisory panel has advised that an over-the-conter (OTC) asthma drug should be withdrawn.

26 Jan 2006

Ontario challenges opening of private health clinics

The announcement by Copeman Healthcare Inc. that it intends to open private health clinics in some parts of Canada is being challenged by the Ontario Health Coalition.

16 Jan 2006

Reduced rates of lung function decline in cystic fibrosis clinical study patients

Although cystic fibrosis patients in clinical trials had more severe illness, worse lung function, a lower weight level and more respiratory infection than non-participants, their involvement in research studies resulted in less lung function decline over a 7-year period.

2 Jan 2006

Impact of Medicare drug law on retiree health benefits

Four in five businesses (79%) that now provide retiree health benefits will accept government subsidies for continuing to provide retiree drug coverage at least as good as Medicare’s coverage when the new drug benefit starts in 2006, according to a new survey of 300 of the nation’s largest private-sector employers conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates.

15 Dec 2005

First study to demonstrate the elimination of a racial/ethnic disparity in health and healthcare

Community-based case managers are much more effective than traditional government outreach and enrollment programs in obtaining insurance coverage for uninsured Latino children, according to a study authored by a physician at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

5 Dec 2005

Distance to radiation facilities has an inverse relationship with breast-conserving surgery with radiation use

The farther away a woman lives from a radiation therapy facility, the less likely she is to get lumpectomy with adjuvant radiation therapy for early stage breast cancer, and may instead get mastectomy, according to a new study.

28 Nov 2005