Mortality News and Research

RSS

Stroke falls from third to fourth leading cause of death

A new report, "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2008," released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says that for the first time in 50 years, stroke has fallen from the third to the fourth leading cause of death.

10 Dec 2010

COPD becomes third leading cause of death in the U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released a report today, "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2008," confirming that Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) became the third leading cause of death in the U.S. for 2008.

10 Dec 2010

Low phosphate diets may increase dialysis patients' risk of premature death

Doctors often ask kidney disease patients on dialysis to limit the amount of phosphate they consume in their diets, but this does not help prolong their lives, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

10 Dec 2010

Older people living in racially segregated neighborhoods have higher chance of developing cancer: Study

Older people who live in racially segregated neighborhoods with high crime rates have a much higher chance of developing cancer than do older people with similar health histories and income levels who live in safer, less segregated neighborhoods.

10 Dec 2010

Aromatase inhibitors raise risk of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal breast cancer patients

Postmenopausal women who take aromatase inhibitors as a treatment for breast cancer may be at an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease, according to the results of a meta-analysis.

10 Dec 2010

Mortality is higher in for-profit than non-profit dialysis centers, says study

If you need dialysis for advanced kidney disease, where you get it could make a big difference. A large study found that patients in certain large chain facilities are significantly more likely to die than those treated elsewhere. Mortality was also higher in for-profit than non-profit dialysis centers.

9 Dec 2010

Conference examining family planning integration with national health strategies in Asia-Pacific countries begins

Representatives from 24 countries in Asia and the Pacific came together in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday for the start of a three-day conference about population and family planning, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports (12/8).

9 Dec 2010

Report examines African government funding for child development

Tanzania, Mozambique and Niger spend the most on child wellbeing in Africa - with Sudan, Angola and Burundi at the bottom of the table," according to an African Child Policy Forum report, which was launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday at the opening of the Fourth International Policy Conference on the African Child, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports (12/7).

9 Dec 2010

Annual survey ranks states on health, health care

An annual survey ranks state's overall health and gives snap shots of specific measures including crime, air pollution and smoking rates.

9 Dec 2010

Low and high vitamin D levels may increase frailty in older women

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that lower and higher vitamin D levels were associated with an increased likelihood of frailty in older women. Women with vitamin D levels between 20.0 and 29.9 ng/ml were at the lowest risk of frailty.

8 Dec 2010

TOS, OAC call on FDA to address urgent need for obesity treatments

The Obesity Society (TOS) and the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) today called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider the urgent need for more tools to address the obesity epidemic facing more than 93 million Americans as they convene an advisory panel to review a new treatment for obesity.

8 Dec 2010

AMGA, AMGF announce grantees in COPD Best Practices Learning Collaborative

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) and the American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF) today announced recipients of grants for quality improvement initiatives focusing on care management for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Recipients are medical groups, IPAs, academic practices, and integrated delivery systems that responded to a request for proposals distributed in August 2010.

8 Dec 2010

OPRN collects samples from infants, mothers and fathers to reduce preterm birth complications

Every year, more than 50,000 babies are born premature in the United States. Despite the notable advances in neonatal care, these premature infants often suffer from preterm birth complications - the single largest cause of infant mortality. In order to better understand preterm birth, Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University Medical Center (OSUMC) have partnered to form the Ohio Perinatal Research Network (OPRN).

8 Dec 2010

Detection of blood biomarker cTnT associated with structural heart disease

With the use of a highly sensitive test, detection of the blood biomarker cardiac troponin T, a cardiac-specific protein, is associated with structural heart disease and an increased risk of all-cause death, according to a study in the December 8 issue of JAMA.

8 Dec 2010

Integrating smoking cessation treatment with mental health care improves abstinence rates in PTSD veterans

Among smokers with military-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), integrating smoking cessation treatment with mental health care for PTSD resulted in higher rates of prolonged smoking abstinence, compared to referral for assistance with quitting smoking, according to a study in the December 8 issue of JAMA.

8 Dec 2010

Low-dose aspirin enhances fecal occult blood test performance for detecting colorectal cancer

Use of low-dose aspirin prior to a newer type of fecal occult blood test is associated with a higher sensitivity for detecting advanced colorectal tumors, compared to no aspirin use, according to a study in the December 8 issue of JAMA.

8 Dec 2010

Health professionals discuss on reducing maternal, newborn mortality, morbidity

On Tuesday 7 December 2010, maternal health professionals from Africa and Asia will be attending a workshop in Liverpool to discuss the effects of 'Making It Happen', a programme with a life-saving training package for health care providers at its heart. Participants will share successes and lessons learned from this maternal and newborn health intervention, to better determine how the programme can be scaled-up.

8 Dec 2010

Positive data from Celator's CPX-351 Phase 2 study in newly-diagnosed AML presented at 52nd ASH

Celator Pharmaceuticals today announced positive clinical data in elderly patients with newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with CPX-351 (Cytarabine:Daunorubicin) Liposome Injection. Data were presented from the podium at the 52nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

8 Dec 2010

Microsurgical technique effective in removing acoustic tumors

Surgery to remove tumors under the brain known as acoustic neuromas produces favorable outcomes in the "vast majority" of patients, according to one of the largest studies of its kind.

8 Dec 2010

Smoking is more prevalent in French women than male counterparts

The prevalence of smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke among men in France has fallen by more than 15 per cent since the mid 1980s, but over the same 20-year period has increased among women.

8 Dec 2010