The impact of efforts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to notify the general public and health care providers about unanticipated risks from approved medications has been "varied and unpredictable," according to a systematic review of published studies about FDA warnings and alerts over the last 20 years.
Study: Communicating health risk is a risky task for FDA
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iHeal: A mobile device for preventing and treating drug use
Imagine a device combining sensors to measure physiological changes. Then imagine a smartphone with software applications designed to respond to your bodily changes in an attempt to change your behavior. That is the vision behind "iHeal," currently being developed by Edward Boyer from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the US, and his colleagues. The multimedia device is an innovative combination of 'enabling technologies' which can detect developing drug cravings and intervene as the cravings develop to prevent drug use. Boyer and team's preliminary data and key findings to date are published online in Springer's Journal of Medical Toxicology.
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Female cancer survivors have 'worse health behaviors' than women with no cancer history
A recent study conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has found that female cancer survivors receiving screening mammography have "worse health behaviors" than women receiving mammography screening and who had never had cancer.
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Quitting smoking results in minimal weight gain
The declining rate of smoking is unlikely to be a major contributor to the recent increases in the incidence of obesity. While quitting smoking might cause some people to gain weight, the amount gained will probably be small, reports a new study in Health Services Research.
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Being born in another country may protect against stroke for US Hispanics
New research finds foreign-born Hispanics now living in the United States appear to be less likely to have a stroke compared to non-Hispanic white people. The research was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012. The research is also being simultaneously published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Preventing and treating drug use with smartphones
Clinical researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) are combining an innovative constellation of technologies such as artificial intelligence, smartphone programming, biosensors and wireless connectivity to develop a device designed to detect physiological stressors associated with drug cravings and respond with user-tailored behavioral interventions that prevent substance use. Preliminary data about the multi-media device, called iHeal, was published online first in the Journal of Medical Toxicology.
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Bilingual immigrants are healthier, according to new study
Bilingual immigrants are healthier than immigrants who speak only one language, according to new research from sociologists at Rice University.
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Meeting greater number of recommended cardiovascular health factors linked with lower risk of death
In a study that included a nationally representative sample of nearly 45,000 adults, participants who met more of seven recommended cardiovascular health behaviors or factors (such as not smoking, having normal cholesterol levels, eating a healthy diet), had a lower risk of death compared to participants who met fewer factors, although only a low percentage of adults met all seven factors, according to a study appearing in JAMA. The study is being published early online to coincide with its presentation at a specialty meeting of the American Heart Association.
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Unhealthy behaviors more prevalent in survivors of multiple cancers, study shows
A study published by University of Kentucky researchers shows that survivors of multiple cancers report unhealthier behaviors post-diagnosis than control counterparts.
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When targeting obesity in sixth-graders, gender matters
Intervention programs aimed at curbing obesity in adolescents may be more effective if they are gender-specific, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field.
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Obesity accounts for 21 percent of medical care costs
(Medical Xpress) -- Obesity now accounts for almost 21 percent of U.S. health care costs -- more than twice the previous estimates, reports a new Cornell study.
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Geographic information systems demonstrate links between health and location
The neighborhoods in which children and adolescents live and spend their time play a role in whether or not they eat a healthy diet, get enough exercise or become obese, concludes a collection of studies in a special theme issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
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Positive feelings may help protect cardiovascular health
Over the last few decades numerous studies have shown negative states, such as depression, anger, anxiety, and hostility, to be detrimental to cardiovascular health. Less is known about how positive psychological characteristics are related to heart health. In the first and largest systematic review on this topic to date, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that positive psychological well-being appears to reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events.
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Healthy lifestyle choices could cut cancer rates: report
(HealthDay) -- Most people know what lifestyle choices will keep the chances of a cancer diagnosis low: Don't smoke, eat healthy, exercise and get the recommended screenings.
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Study examines use of mobile technology to improve diet, physical activity behavior
A new study, supported in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, suggests that a combination of mobile technology and remote coaching holds promise in encouraging healthier eating and physical activity behavior in adults. The study focused on the best way to change multiple health behaviors.
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Top risk of stroke for normal-weight adults: Getting under 6 hours of sleep
Habitually sleeping less than six hours a night significantly increases the risk of stroke symptoms among middle-age to older adults who are of normal weight and at low risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a study of 5,666 people followed for up to three years.
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Innovative, automated strategies to engage patients at home are key to improving health outcomes
In a Perspective piece published Online First this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, a group of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania propose a multi-pronged approach to the new practice of so-called "automated hovering" that aims to improve patients' compliance with medication and dietary regimens and other positive health behaviors. These approaches combine newly discovered principles of behavioral economics that offer better ways to motivate patients to improve and protect their own health, technologies such as cell phones and wireless devices, and new reimbursement strategies for health care providers that require them focus more closely on patients' health outside of office visits and hospitalizations.
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Researchers find abuse during childhood may contribute to obesity in adulthood
Investigators from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center report research findings that may shed light on influences on obesity during adulthood. Appearing in the journal Pediatrics, the study found an association of severity of sexual and physical abuse during childhood and adolescence with obesity during adulthood.
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Supporting patient autonomy is critical to improving health
Even as we spend more on healthcare every year, the number of people with chronic health problems continues to rise in developed countries like the United States. Most of these chronic health problems such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease can be addressed through lifestyle changes. But knowing that we should make a lifestyle change to improve our health and actually making that lifestyle change are two very different things.
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More white blood cells in cardiac patients with depression
(Medical Xpress)—Cardiac patients suffering from depression are at greater risk for new cardiac events or cardiac death than patients without depression. It is still unclear which underlying mechanisms play a role in this adverse relationship. Researchers from Tilburg University, the Veterans Affair Hospital in San Francisco, and VU University Medical Center in the Netherlands suggest that inflammatory processes could be involved (Psychoneuroendocrinology, August 2012).
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