Tag: public health

News (72)

November 30, 2012 2:07 pm

Women's Health in Juvenile Detention: How a System Designed for Boys Is Failing Girls (The Atlantic)

Sexual assault, pregnancy, and other unique needs are often overlooked by a cursory and underfunded system. Poor physical health also increases girls’ risk of recidivism.

November 29, 2012 6:39 pm

Technician Is Indicted on New Charges in Hepatitis C Infections (New York Times)

A traveling medical technician who is believed to have infected at least 39 people with hepatitis C through his use of stolen hospital drugs and syringes was indicted late Wednesday in New Hampshire on 14 new charges.

November 19, 2012 7:14 pm

Unemployment May Increase Chances of Heart Attacks (ABC News)

According to a study linking joblessness with heart attacks in older workers.  The increased odds weren’t huge, although multiple job losses posed as big a threat as smoking, high blood pressure and other conditions that are bad for the heart.

November 16, 2012 1:39 pm

Family Planning Must be Development Priority, Says UNFPA Report (The Guardian)

Access to family planning is a human right and a sound economic investment at a time when the number of young people in developing countries has reached an all-time high, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

November 16, 2012 1:34 pm

Big Rise in Americans With Diabetes, Especially in South (Reuters)

A breakdown of U.S. diabetes cases shows dramatic increases in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes overall between 1995 and 2010, with especially sharp increases among people in the South and in Appalachian states.

November 15, 2012 6:29 pm

President's Bioethics Commission Posts Study Guide (Science Codex)

The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues today released an ethics study guide based on the Commission’s investigation into the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) experiments conducted in Guatemala in the 1940s.  It is free and available at www.bioethics.gov.

 

November 6, 2012 4:52 pm

Heart Risks Still Higher in Blacks Than Whites (Reuters)

Black men and women are more likely to die of a heart attack or heart failure than whites in the United States, according to a new study.  Researchers said those disparities could be explained by black adults’ higher rates of smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure, and the finding that they tend to be heavier than whites.

 

November 6, 2012 4:46 pm

Even Slightly High Blood Pressure May Age Your Brain - And Even If You're Under 40 (Forbes)

Researchers at the University of California at Davis released a study today that should give anyone with even mildly elevated blood pressure pause. It seems that having blood pressure higher than the optimal 120/80 may be aging your brain, putting you at risk for memory problems and eventually for dementia and Alzheimer’s.

November 5, 2012 4:12 pm

One in Five Smokers Lights Up While Hospitalized (Reuters)

The number of smokers lighting up on hospital grounds has fallen about seven percentage points since 1995, according to a new study which surveyed patients who smoked and were referred to the hospital’s tobacco treatment program between 2007 to 2010.

October 24, 2012 3:45 pm

HPV Vaccine Doesn’t Alter Sexual Behavior, Study Finds (The New York Times)

Since public health officials began recommending in 2006 that young women be routinely vaccinated against HPV, many parents have hesitated over fears that doing so might give their children license to have sex. But research published on Monday in the journal Pediatrics may help ease those fears.  Looking at a sample of nearly 1,400 girls, the researchers found no evidence that those who were vaccinated beginning around age 11 went on to engage in more sexual activity than girls who were not vaccinated.