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U.S. trails 16 other affluent countries in life expectancy, health status

It's no news that the U.S. has lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality than most high-income countries. But a magisterial new report says Americans are actually less healthy across their entire life spans than citizens of 16 other wealthy nations.

11 Jan 2013

Marriage could reduce risk of premature death during midlife

Could marriage, and associated companionship, be one key to a longer life? According to new research, not having a permanent partner, or spouse, during midlife is linked to a higher risk of premature death during those midlife years.

11 Jan 2013

CSIS talks with Malawi President Banda about women's health, empowerment

The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) "wanted to learn more about how women leaders in Africa are bringing new attention to women's health and empowerment in their own countries, and to bring those voices into the discussion about U.S. policy priorities for women's global health," so a small CSIS team traveled to Malawi and Zambia in December 2012, Janet Fleischman and Julia Nagel of CSIS write in the group's Smart Global Health blog.

11 Jan 2013

Lower liver quality from donation after cardiac death linked to drop in transplants

A new study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Health Resources and Services Administration, and published in the January 2013 issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), found that the non-use of donor livers climbed through 2010 due to a worsening of donor liver quality, primarily from donation following cardiac death. Diabetes, donor age, and body mass index (BMI) were also linked to a decrease in use of organs.

11 Jan 2013

UCSF teams to study new ways to reduce childhood mortality and disease in developing nations

Two UCSF teams have received a total of $16 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study new ways to significantly reduce childhood mortality and disease in developing nations.

11 Jan 2013

Roundup: Advocates watching Calif. budget for Medi-Cal cuts; Mich. AG to appeal same-sex health benefits ruling; Kansas city seeks to extend health care tax

Brown's proposed budget will outline his plans for expanding health coverage under the new federal health care law, which is set to require increased coverage beginning in January 2014. The law will put hundreds of thousands of new enrollees into California's public insurance program, but the governor has raised concerns about what that will cost.

11 Jan 2013

Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than others

On average, Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than people in other high-income countries, says a new report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. The report finds that this health disadvantage exists at all ages from birth to age 75 and that even advantaged Americans -- those who have health insurance, college educations, higher incomes, and healthy behaviors -- appear to be sicker than their peers in other rich nations.

11 Jan 2013

Co-infection itself a very important risk factor among school-aged children in Tanzania

The new study analyses data from school aged children in Tanzania infected with the most common forms of worms. It was found that infection by one parasitic species actually changes the risk of catching another, over and above other risk factors.

11 Jan 2013

H. pylori may protect against stroke and some cancers

A new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers reveals that an especially virulent strain of the gut bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) isn't implicated in the overall death rate of the U.S. population, and may even protect against stroke and some cancers.

10 Jan 2013

Oxaliplatin and bevacizumab disappoint for rectal cancer

The addition of bevacizumab and oxaliplatin to standard neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy does not enhance clinical response rates in rectal cancer, show phase II study results.

9 Jan 2013

Reducing air pollution from wood stoves may increase life expectancy

Reducing a person’s exposure to wood or biomass smoke can help increase their life expectancy, suggest findings from a study published in the BMJ.

9 Jan 2013

Immigrants from Italy live longer than Swiss people

Although immigrants from Italy and their offspring form one of the largest demographic groups in Switzerland, there are hardly any studies on their state of health and risk of mortality. In a first for Switzerland, Silvan Tarnutzer and Matthias Bopp from the University of Zurich's Institute of Social and Preventative Medicine calculated unbiased mortality risks for people with an Italian migrant background.

9 Jan 2013

Overall cancer death rates continue to decline in the U.S.: Report

The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2009, shows that overall cancer death rates continued to decline in the United States among both men and women, among all major racial and ethnic groups, and for all of the most common cancer sites, including lung, colon and rectum, female breast, and prostate.

9 Jan 2013

UNICEF Executive Director discusses need for commodities market for life-saving medicines

In this Forbes interview, Rahim Kanani of the Skoll World Forum speaks with UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake about reducing child mortality and the need for a commodities market to improve access to medicines and health care.

9 Jan 2013

Nutrisystem reduces arterial stiffness associated with menopause and obesity

Arturo Figueroa, a researcher in the Florida State University College of Human Sciences, has confirmed with a team of researchers that Nutrisystem, with or without low intense resistance exercise, improves arterial function in obese, postmenopausal women.

9 Jan 2013