National News American kids have become increasingly unhealthy over nearly two decades. Associated Press
The health of U.S. children has deteriorated over the past 17 years, with kids today more likely to have obesity, chronic diseases and mental health problems like depression, a new study says. Much of what researchers found was already known, but the study paints a comprehensive picture by examining various aspects of children’s physical and […]
Health Insider Flu deaths among US children reach 15-year high, CDC reports Scripps News Group
More U.S. children have died as a result of the flu this season than in the past 15 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC reported 12 pediatric flu deaths for the week ending April 26, bringing the total number to 216. The last time so many children died […]
What’s Happening With the Medicare Drug-Price Negotiation Lawsuits?
Over the past year, drugmakers and lobbyists have filed 10 different lawsuits against the federal government’s efforts to lower prescription drug costs via the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. It’s still early days for these cases, but so far the government has won “every substantive motion,” Zachary Baron, JD, of the O’Neill Institute for National […]
Alcohol consumption may have positive and negative effects on cardiovascular disease risk
While past research has indicated that moderate alcohol consumption can lower one’s risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), more recent studiessuggest that moderate levels of drinking may be hazardous to heart health. A new analysis led by Boston University School of Public Health and Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University (Friedman School) […]
ACS: Millions More Should Get Lung Cancer Screening
The American Cancer Society (ACS) widened the pool of past and current smokers eligible for lung cancer screening in its new guideline recommendations, potentially opening the door to 5 million more U.S. adults. Annual lung cancer screening with low‐dose CT is strongly recommended for asymptomatic patients ages 50 to 80 years who either currently smoke, […]
Study Pinpoints Growing Use of Cannabis to Manage Menopause Symptoms
PHILADELPHIA — One in 10 midlife women said they used cannabis in the past month, some of which was to manage menopausal symptoms, a researcher reported here. In a nationally representative sample of U.S. women, ages 45 to 64, 42% said they had ever used cannabis either recreationally or for medical purposes in their lifetime, […]
I Kept My Schizophrenia A Secret For 20 Years. Everything Changed When I Told A Friend.
The author today. Photo Courtesy of Rebecca Chamaa On a Thursday this past July, my husband and I drove to our county’s police academy training facility. A uniformed officer let us in. We were escorted through several hallways and into a conference room, where I was scheduled to speak representing our local National Alliance on […]
What Are Clinician Groups Doing About Climate Change?
With climate change being such a big story in the news this past week, it was a good time to check in with Lisa Patel, MD, MESc, who became the new executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health in January. MedPage Today (MPT) Washington Editor Joyce Frieden spoke with Patel about […]
More Than 1 Million People Dropped From Medicaid As States Start Post-Pandemic Purge
More than 1 million people have been dropped from Medicaid in the past couple months as some states moved swiftly to halt health care coverage following the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Most got dropped for not filling out paperwork. Though the eligibility review is required by the federal government, President’s Joe Biden’s administration isn’t […]
Opinion | ‘This Is a Good News Story’: What We Heard This Week
“This is a good news story.” — Carol Mangione, MD, immediate past chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, on new draft guidance from the influential panel recommending biennial mammography screening starting at age 40 for women at average risk for breast cancer. “They’re just charging these exorbitant rates to a very small population […]