Epidemiology News and Research

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Canadian healthcare policy under the microscope

Healthcare policies and programs come and go. Yet the professionals who design the medical services we use are rarely mentioned in the general healthcare debates. That's about to change.

23 May 2004

$1.5 billion annual cost of surgical site infections can be reduced

A research paper published in the American Journal of Infection Control says a systematic approach to preparing patients for surgery can reduce both secondary, hospital-acquired patient infections and related healthcare expenses nationwide.

19 May 2004

Drug-Drug Interaction Initiative to provide pharmacists with reliable drug interaction messaging

Whenever you pick up a prescription at your community pharmacy, the information is entered into a computer database, which immediately checks the new prescription against your current medications and alerts pharmacists about possible interactions between drugs.

18 May 2004

Inheriting the wrong version of a gene called CHEK2 doubles a woman's risk of developing breast cancer

Inheriting the wrong version of a gene called CHEK2 doubles a woman's risk of developing breast cancer, Cancer Research UK scientists confirm in a major new international study published in the June edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

17 May 2004

UK Government running out of excuses for not acting to implement a ban on smoking in public places

The Government is rapidly running out of excuses for not acting to implement a ban on smoking in public places. Despite widespread public support for smokefree policies in the UK the Government is still undecided on the issue.

14 May 2004

Americans spend more on health care but feel worse

Americans spend twice as much on health care as their European and Canadian counterparts, yet are more likely to rate their own quality of health as poor, says a new report, “Spending more, feeling worse: medical care expenditures and self-rated health,” forthcoming in the June 2004 edition of the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

14 May 2004

A mother-to-be who eats fish during the later stages of pregnancy is less likely to have a very small baby

However the latest research from the Children of the 90s project has shown no link between fish consumption and average birthweight once other factors have been taken into account. There was also no evidence of increased frequency of premature birth in mothers not eating fish.

13 May 2004

African American children in Los Angeles County more likely to have asthma compared to whites, Asians/Pacific Islanders, or Latinos

African American children in Los Angeles County are more likely to have asthma (16%) compared to whites (9%), Asians/Pacific Islanders (9%), or Latinos (6%), according to a recent survey sponsored by the County's Department of Health Services (DHS).

10 May 2004

90's saw significant increase in blood pressure among children

That children are heavier on average today than children were a decade ago may now be common knowledge. The rise in weight appears to be accompanied by a significant increase in blood pressure among children between the ages of 8 and 17, say Tulane University epidemiologists in the May 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

9 May 2004

Childhood asthma study reveals parental age anomaly

A study of children with asthma conducted by the University's Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and the Children's Hospital at Westmead has found that the age of the children's parents is a key factor in the early diagnosis of the disease.

8 May 2004

Belarus to collaborate with GenoMed on West Nile virus encephalitis

GenoMed, Inc. has announced that the leading experts in West Nile virus encephalitis in Belarus will collaborate with the Company in treating cases of suspected West Nile virus encephalitis this summer. Belarus, formerly part of the USSR, is now a democratic country of 10.5 million people lying between Poland and Russia; its capital is Minsk.

7 May 2004

Afro-Americans with high blood pressure have double the risk of enlarged heart

American blacks with high blood pressure have nearly double the risk for left ventricular hypertrophy (enlarged heart) compared to hypertensive whites, researchers report in today’s rapid access issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

6 May 2004

Varying degree of care shown across UK hospitals for cases of self harm

The way hospitals care for patients who have deliberately harmed themselves varies widely across England, according to new research from the University of Bristol published in the BMJ today.

6 May 2004

Cervical Dysplasia treatment linked to water breaking too early

Two treatments for removing precancerous tissue from the cervix are associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery (delivery before 37 weeks gestation) caused by the pregnancy complication known as preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM).

5 May 2004

Virginia prepares for mosquito borne diseases

The Virginia Department of Health reminds residents that mosquito season has arrived, and with it the risk of mosquito-transmitted viral diseases that can cause brain inflammation/encephalitis in humans.

4 May 2004

Blood pressure levels on rise among American children and teenagers

Systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels for children and teenagers have risen substantially since 1988, according to a new study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study links part of the rise to a concurrent increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity.

4 May 2004

New license agreement for rotavirus diarrhea vaccine

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced today a new license agreement aimed at helping to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths annually from rotavirus diarrhea in children living in developing countries.

4 May 2004