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☆ Gun Injuries Among Children Surged During Pandemic, Study Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Dominique Mosbergen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The incidence of firearm injuries among children in the U.S. rose sharply in the early years of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new analysis of data from 49 children’s hospitals. The analysis, published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, showed that at least 2,759 children age 17 and younger were treated at hospitals for gun-related injuries between April 2020 and December 2021. That figure is more than 50% above the figure for the corresponding 21-month period in 2018 and 2019.

In one study, researchers reported a link between screen time and higher rates of obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnoses among preteens. The studies, published in separate journals on Monday, followed their young participants to observe the effects of screen time over months or years. Researchers logged how much time the kids spent on devices and found that 4.4% qualified for a new OCD diagnosis. The researchers noted that they found an association between OCD and streaming videos on devices but not with traditional television-watching. “Just because their kid is playing video games doesn’t mean they’re definitely going to develop OCD,” he said.

☆ Tantrums: Screens hurt kids' emotional regulation, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Frequently using digital devices to distract from unpleasant and disruptive behavior like tantrums was associated with more emotional dysregulation in kids — particularly boys and children who were already struggling with emotional regulation, according to the study. It can be helpful for caregivers to help kids name their emotions and offer solutions when they are responding inappropriately to those feelings, she said. To reinforce it, adults can talk about their own emotions in terms of colors in front of their kids, Radesky said. And there is some content that can help teach emotional regulation when your tank is empty. The study isn’t saying to never distract a child with media, but rather to keep your go-to tools ones that encourage emotional regulation, Radesky said.

☆ A new wave of companies is making testosterone easily available online. The authors of a recent study say there could be risks to patients.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Sarah Braner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A recent study reviewed seven companies that prescribe testosterone therapy online. These companies say that they make treatment more accessible for people who already suspect they have low testosterone. A new study shows that DTC companies do not all follow medical guidelinesThe new study encourages patients looking to get testosterone therapy online to educate themselves before taking the leap. The study found that six out of seven of the companies tested offered testosterone therapy to the shopper. The study was not meant to evaluate companies prescribing testosterone for gender affirming hormone therapy, which is a different process than testosterone replacement therapy.

☆ Here's what health insurance providers are doing to lower the cost of prescription drugs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Unitedhealthcare | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Americans pay up to three times more for prescription drugs than people in other countries. In the US, people pay up to three times more for prescription drugs than people in other countries, and one in four Americans who take prescription drugs have trouble affording their medications. Because of the high cost of the drug, many diabetes patients cannot afford to pay for the treatment they need. Fast Facts: In the US, people pay 3X more for prescription drugs than people in other countries. The company is eliminating out-of-pocket costs for insulin and four other commonly used prescription drugs: epinephrine, glucagon, naloxone, and albuterol.

An experimental treatment for advanced melanoma is poised to be the next major advance in cancer treatment, experts say. Those who got TIL therapy had a 50% reduction in disease progression and death, compared to those who were treated with ipilimumab, the study found. Bruce Hawley and his wife, Laurie, celebrated their third wedding anniversary in 2021 in Vancouver, several years after his TIL therapy. "The chemotherapy knocks down the immune cells to make space for the TIL cells going in," Hwu said. The hope is that TIL therapy will also be used for other solid cancers, not just melanoma, Rosenberg said.

The number of pregnant women and new mothers dying from drug overdoses grew dramatically as the pandemic took hold, reaching a record high in 2020, a new study finds. "It goes to an ever higher level of stigma among pregnant women." She does not work with pregnant women or those with substance use disorder, but did crunch the numbers for the new research. "Overdose deaths in general have increased, and pregnant women aren't immune to the effects of addiction," Wright said. A Biden administration report, released in October, called for broader access to opioid treatment medication among pregnant women and de-stigmatize addiction treatment during pregnancy.

Participants who were offered cash incentives for either pounds lost or for completing certain activities were more likely to lose weight compared with those who were simply offered tools, such as diet books, fitness trackers and access to a weight loss program, the study found. On average, participants in the goal-directed group earned $440.44, as compared to $303.56 in the outcome-based group. “Even if less weight is lost, adopting lifelong physical activity or better eating habits may be more important,” she said. Kushner, who was not involved with the new study, agreed that low-income people face extra challenges when it comes to weight loss. What’s not clear, however, is how the strategy of offering cash for weight loss could be implemented in a real-world setting, outside of academia.

☆ Myocarditis after Covid vaccine low among teens and young adults, large study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Berkeley-Lovelace-Jr.Jpg | Berkeley Lovelace Jr. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis after Covid vaccination is low and most patients make a full recovery, a large international study from Nationwide Children’s Hospital found. The findings confirm earlier studies that found myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, an inflammation of the outer lining of the heart, following Covid vaccination are rare. The review included more than 800 teens and young adults who developed myocarditis and pericarditis following Covid vaccination. The heart-related conditions usually occurred within four days after the second dose of a Covid vaccine, the study found. Daniel Salmon, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins University, said he would still like to see estimates of myocarditis risk by age, gender, vaccine type and spacing between doses.

☆ Ultraprocessed food may contribute to dementia, study says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —We all eat them — ultraprocessed foods such as frozen pizza and ready-to-eat meals make our busy lives much easier. If more than 20% of your daily calorie intake is ultraprocessed foods, however, you may be raising your risk for cognitive decline, a new study found. While short of proof, this is robust enough that we should conclude ultraprocessed foods are probably bad for our brains.”There was an interesting twist, however. “Ultraprocessed foods drag diet quality down, and thus their concentration in the diet is an indicator of poor diet quality in most cases,” Katz said. One easy way to ensure diet quality is to cook and prepare your food from scratch, Suemoto said.

☆ Hearing aids may lower your risk for cognitive decline and dementia, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Hearing aids might be an important tool in the effort to prevent cognitive decline and dementia, according to a new study. The new study published Monday in JAMA Neurology offers evidence that managing hearing loss may potentially help reduce or delay cognitive decline, Loh said. The use of hearing aids was associated with a 19% reduction in long-term cognitive decline, the study found. “Get screened for hearing loss, and if you do have hearing loss, speak with your audiologist or physician ENT to ensure appropriate and optimal correction to help stave off the potential dementia risk and cognitive decline,” Holland said. But in the meantime, people with hearing loss should talk with their doctor about whether it is appropriate to use hearing aids, Tan said.

The authors noted that “social forces” may have played a part in the accelerated brain aging seen among their Black subjects. A lot of things contribute to dementia and Alzheimer’s, like high blood pressure and diabetes. Pete Comparoni“Elevated blood pressure is a very strong risk factor for worsening cerebrovascular disease,” King said. One option is through activities like restorative yoga, which Grant said can help address stress and regulate blood pressure and brain function. You have to go to your primary care doctor and check your blood pressure and blood sugar level.

☆ Pain relief from marijuana may come from believing it helps, study says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A 2020 study, for example, found using marijuana before entering the hospital for a surgical procedure made pain during recovery significantly worse. In fact, the optimistic attitude generated by a placebo can be powerful enough to affect study results dramatically. A unique part of the study looked at the role of news and social media for the placebo effect in cannabis clinical trials, Jensen said. Researchers found positive media coverage after each of the cannabis clinical trials, even when the study results were less than spectacular, she said. “I don’t think you can explain the placebo effect or blame it on social media.

☆ Organ donations rise during major motorcycle rallies due to crashes, study says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Raenu Charles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Organ donations and transplantations increase during major US motorcycle rallies due to crashes, according to a new study, signaling a need for increased safety measures. In regions near where motorcycle rallies were held, there were 21% more organ donors and 26% more transplant recipients per day during rallies than in the four weeks before and after. In nearby areas without a motorcycle rally on those same dates, there were 11% fewer organ donors and 10% fewer transplant recipients. Large motorcycle rallies often come with a surge in trauma volume at local hospitals, the study says. Safer ridingThe Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, held each August, is the largest and most popular in the country.

The words some doctors use are often misunderstood by patients and their families, leaving them feeling confused and vulnerable, according to researchers. "You could be the smartest doctor in the world, yet you're useless if your patients don't understand what you are saying," Pitt said. An 'impressive' chest X-rayTake the word "impressive." But when doctors say a patient's chest X-ray is "impressive," they really mean, "This worries me." "If somebody is using medical jargon, a phrase that you don't understand, feel free to say, 'Excuse me, I don't understand what you're trying to say.

☆ Drug and alcohol deaths increasing among US adults 65 and older, CDC data shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

In 2020, more than 5,000 adults 65 and older in the United States died of a drug overdose. Though drug overdose death rates for older adults tend to be lower than for other age groups – and made up just 0.2% of total deaths among adults 65 and older in 2020 – such deaths have been climbing. Between 2000 and 2020, the rates rose from 2.4 to 8.8 deaths per 100,000 people among adults 65 and older. Between 2000 and 2020, drug overdose deaths increased more among men than women, rising from 2.7 to 12.3 deaths per 100,000 men compared with 2.3 to 5.8 per 100,000 women. “Because of ageism, we typically do not think of older adults as having a substance use disorder nor do we think of older adults for being at-risk for a drug overdose.

☆ Gun Death Rate Nears Three-Decade High, With Men at Most Risk
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Dominique Mosbergen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A record 48,953 deaths in the U.S. were caused by guns last year, a new study says. The rate of gun deaths in the U.S. reached a 28-year high in 2021 after sharp increases in homicides of Black men and suicides among white men, an analysis of federal data showed. A record 48,953 deaths in the U.S., or about 15 fatalities per 100,000 people, were caused by guns last year, said the analysis published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open. Gun deaths declined in the 1990s, but have been rising steadily over the past decade and skyrocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic, said researchers who conducted the analysis.

☆ America’s gun epidemic is deadlier than ever, and there are vast disparities in who’s dying
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The researchers found that firearm mortality rates increased for most demographic groups in recent years – especially during the pandemic – and vast disparities persisted. With infant mortality in the United States, when you look at Black infants versus White infants, there’s over a two-fold (difference in) mortality rate. There are two key factors driving community gun violence, says Jonathan Jay, an assistant professor at Boston University School of Public Health: disadvantage at the neighborhood level and exposure to gun violence at the individual level. “Gun violence is most likely in spaces that show signs of physical disinvestment. The gun suicide rate increased 10% while the non-gun suicide rate decreased by 8%, and the gun homicide rate increased 45% while the non-gun homicide rate increased only 6%.

[1/3] An excavator clears out rocks into a dumper at the gold mine, operated by Endeavour Mining Corporation in Hounde, Burkina Faso February 11, 2020. Acquired by Burkina-based firm Néré Mining from Endeavour Mining (EDV.L) in March, Karma is one of at least four gold mines that halted production this year because of security risks. Gold is Burkina Faso's main export, accounting for 37% of total exports in 2020, and mining is a leading source of jobs. At current rates, Burkina Faso is set to produce 13% less gold this year than in 2021, in part because of mine closures, government statistics show. The Burkina Faso mines ministry did not respond to Reuters' questions.

☆ Daylight Saving Time debate sheds light on growing racial inequities in sleep health
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the Sleep Research Society and other medical groups have advocated for ending the practice, calling for the adoption of a permanent standard time that would not involve shifting forward each spring and falling back each autumn. She authored a paper, published in September in the journal Sleep, detailing the potential health benefits of adopting a permanent standard time. Now, some sleep researchers worry about the potential effects that continuing to change standard time twice each year may have on sleep health inequities. “Fortunately, sleep health is largely modifiable.”As for the inequities seen in sleep health, it’s not that White adults don’t also experience a lack of sleep and its health consequences – but people of color appear to disproportionately experience them more, and that’s believed to be largely due to social systems in the United States. Improving sleep health has been a national objective in the federal government’s past two Healthy People programs, noted Caraballo-Cordovez, who is not involved in the programs.

Of particular importance is information about how many seniors die, develop disabilities, can no longer live independently, or have a significantly worsened quality of life after major surgery. “What older patients want to know is, ‘What’s my life going to look like?’” Cooper said. Invasive procedures that take place in operating rooms with patients under general anesthesia were counted as major surgeries. Two years ago, Gill’s team conducted research that showed 1 in 3 older adults had not returned to their baseline level of functioning six months after major surgery. This includes assessing older patients three times a day for delirium (an acute change in mental status that often afflicts older hospital patients), getting patients moving as soon as possible, and using non-narcotic pain relievers.

☆ Fact Check-Graph of unverified data is not evidence of increased miscarriage risk with COVID vaccination
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The graph image has been circulated with remarks including, “THIS IS INSANE…4070% increase in VAERS miscarriage reports from 2019 to 2021. In contrast, VAERS shows 38 miscarriage reports in 2019 with 15 reported stillbirths, for a total of 53. VAERS data is unverified, and reporting rates are known to fluctuate, influenced by a variety of factors, including media attention to a particular illness or a new vaccine. Multiple studies around the world have found no increased risk of miscarriage or stillbirths associated with COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. Reuters has previously fact-checked claims that COVID-19 vaccination is associated with greater risk of pregnancy loss (here), (here), (here), (here), (here).

☆ Cancer diagnoses lag after screenings fall during pandemic, U.S. study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Shawana Alleyne-Morris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The decrease in diagnoses "does not mean these cancers are suddenly less common," said study leader Allison Oakes of data analytics company Trilliant Health in Brentwood, Tennessee. By the end of 2021, screening rates had rebounded but were still below pre-pandemic levels, researchers reported in JAMA Oncology. Ongoing analysis of 2022 data suggests screening rates in 2022 are unlikely to have improved dramatically, Oakes said. The issue appears to go beyond cancer testing, the study found. "Not only are people missing their annual cancer screenings, but they are using less primary care," Oakes said.

☆ These transformative leaders in healthcare are dealing with an unprecedented era of politics in the medical industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest healthcare news and analysis — delivered weekly to your inbox. But while the peak of the pandemic appears to be in the rearview, the healthcare industry has continued to be governed by political forces. This year, healthcare focused on transgender people and abortion rights has come under attack. Other healthcare professionals are using federal power to prevent the spread of infectious diseases other than COVID-19. Social stigma from the monkeypox outbreaks has mildly echoed the intense social and political stigma of HIV, which Daskalakis has focused on for the majority of his career.

☆ Mindfulness and medication work equally well to curb anxiety, a new study found
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Zoe Sottile | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A mindfulness meditation course may be as effective at reducing anxiety as a common medication, according to a new study. And starting meditation could also be a first step for people who have untreated anxiety and are wary of medication. Arpaia says that he has worked to find less time-intensive mindfulness methods to help patients manage their anxiety. How mindfulness worksThe patients assigned to the meditation group participated in a specific program called mindfulness-based stress reduction, first developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the 1970s. Patients shouldn’t expect meditation – or medication – to completely eliminate their anxiety, according to Hoge.

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