The ranks of obese Americans are expected to swell even further in the coming years, rising from 36% of the adult population today to 42% by 2030, experts said Monday. Kicking off a government-led conference on the public health ramifications of all those expanding waistlines, the authors of a new report estimated that the cost of treating those additional obese people for diabetes, heart disease and... (read more)
Pregnant women might now have one more good reason to watch their diet and exercise: A new study links autism and developmental delays in young children to metabolic conditions, like obesity and diabetes, in their mothers. The findings, published in Monday's edition of the journal Pediatrics, found that women who had diabetes or hypertension or were obese were 1.61 times as likely as healthy wo... (read more)
Twenty million Americans get sick from norovirus each year according to data released last week by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Often called vomiting illness, it can spread rapidly on cruise ships, and in dormitories and hospitals. Recent data from the CDC shows deaths from gastrointestinal infections have more than doubled and have become a particular threat to the elderly. The virus is she... (read more)
Prescription drugs to treat some of the most common chronic diseases, such as high cholesterol and diabetes, may become available over the counter under a plan being considered by U.S. regulators. In what would be a major shift in policy if finalized, the Food and Drug Administration is seeking public comment until Friday on a way to make these medications more readily available. It will also have a meet... (read more)
States that allow raw milk sales have more than twice as many dairy-related disease outbreaks as states with prohibitions on such unpasteurized products, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showed. The rate of incidents caused by raw milk, cheese and yogurt was 150 times greater than outbreaks linked to pasteurized milk, according to the Atlanta-based CDC’s study, published today i... (read more)
Though researchers are becoming increasingly aware of the long-term effects of head injury, few studies have looked at the prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in all age groups, including males and females, taking into account both mild and serious events. In a recent study published in Epidemiology, Mayo Clinic researchers applied a new, refined system for classifying injuries c... (read more)
There has been a large drop in the rate of leg and foot amputations among Americans aged 40 and over with diagnosed diabetes, according to a new study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in the February issue of Diabetes Care. The study reports that between 1996 and 2008 the rate of such amputations fell by 65%. The authors suggest the most likely reason for... (read more)
Morgellons disease - a creepy illness that leaves patients with painful lesions, gives them a feeling that bugs are crawling all over their body, and has them seeing colorful, threadlike fibers poking through their skin - isn't infectious and probably isn't caused by anything in the environment, according to the first government study of the condition. Rather, Morgellons is likely to be a mental illness and... (read more)
Bone loss and osteoporosis develop so slowly in most women whose bones test normal at age 65 that many can safely wait as long as 15 years before having a second bone density test, researchers report in a new study. The study, published in today’s issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, is part of a broad rethinking of how to diagnose and treat the potentially debilitating bone disease that can lead to broken h... (read more)
The use of statin therapy was associated with a reduced risk for mortality among patients hospitalized with influenza during the 2007-2008 influenza season, according to new findings published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Seventy-six percent of patients reported use of statins before and during hospitalization; were more likely to be older white males; have CV, metabolic, ... (read more)
The investigation of a 2009 multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), an important cause of bacterial gastrointestinal illness, led to a new culprit: ready-to-bake commercial prepackaged cookie dough. Published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online a new report describing the outbreak offers recommendations for prevention, including a strong... (read more)
A study involving 84 volunteers showed that an experimental norovirus vaccine provided considerable protection against infection and symptoms of gastroenteritis, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine reported in NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine). The authors added that theirs is the first study to show protection from norovirus illness due to a vaccine. To date, the only treatment for norovirus il... (read more)
More than two-thirds of American smokers say they want to quit but only a fraction actually do, according to a government report released Thursday, suggesting people would benefit from more help in kicking the habit. Of the nearly 69% of adult smokers who wanted to quit in 2010, more than half tried but only 6.2% succeeded, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those who try can d... (read more)
Deaths from overdoses of prescription painkillers have more than tripled over a decade, according to a new report from the CDC. In 2008, drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin and methadone claimed almost 5,000 lives, including that of actor Heath Ledger. That's more than three times the 4,000 deaths from narcotics in 1999. The painkillers "are meant to help people who have severe pain," said CDC admin... (read more)
As Americans line up for flu shots, they should consider that the vaccines may be far less effective than thought, according to a new study. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Minnesota, and his colleagues found that the most common flu vaccine in the United States is effective for 59 percent of healthy adults, well below the 70 percent to 90 percent level previously repor... (read more)
No matter how you slice it a lot of people consume too much sodium in the US. But the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) disagree about just how bad the salt problem really is. US guidelines currently recommend that everyone keep their daily sodium intake below 2,300 mg, but a large subpopulation, including people over 51 years of age, blacks, and peop... (read more)
More than 8 million Americans thought seriously about suicide in the previous year, according to a new government survey. More adults who considered suicide lived in the Midwest and West than in other parts of the country. The findings were reported on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its first state-by-state look at suicide contemplation. Unlike previous research ... (read more)
Antidepressant drug use has soared nearly 400 since 1988, making the medication the most frequently used by people ages 18-44, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eleven percent of Americans ages 12 years and older took antidepressants during the 2005-2008 study period, the authors write. They add that while the majority of antidepressants were taken to treat ... (read more)
A Reuters health report found that children, as young as four years old, are showing signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at earlier ages. The American Academy of Pediatrics changed their guidelines for diagnosing ADHD in children, which led to broadening the spectrum of ages diagnosed. Initially, the ages of six years old to 12 years old were focused upon for ADHD diagnosis, but recent... (read more)
Safe sex may be catching on with teens. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday that condom use by teenagers is on the rise even though overall teen sexual activity remains unchanged. The CDC said that eight in 10 teen males ages 15-19 surveyed as part of its National Survey of Family Growth reported they had used condoms during their first sexual experience. To continue reading, click the link below.
In 2006–2010, about 4.4 million never-married female teenagers (43%), and about 4.5 million never-married male teenagers (42%) had had sexual intercourse at least once, which is not significantly different from statistics collected in 2002. 78% of females and 85% of males used a method of contraception at first sex according to the same data, with the condom remaining the most popular method. Teen... (read more)
Looking for a drink worthy of a man's man? Don't cue that Dos Equis commercial just yet -- the maker of Dr Pepper is rolling out Dr Pepper Ten, a 10-calorie soda with an ad campaign that asserts that the soft drink is "not for women." A gunmetal-garbed can of the drink (which holds 12 fluid ounces) would contain 3 grams of sugar and 15 calories, compared to a standard Dr Pepper, with 150 calories and 40.5 grams of sugar. To continue reading, click the link below.
Fifteen people have now died after consuming cantaloupe contaminated with the listeria monocytogenes bacteria, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. At least 84 people in 19 states have become ill with the bacteria, the agency said. And the number of illnesses could still grow, added the CDC, citing reporting lags and how the disease can develop slowly in some people. To continue reading, follow the link below.
Workers in blue- and pink-collar jobs are far more likely to smoke cigarettes than those in white-collar occupations, CDC researchers said. Data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 2004 to 2010 showed that people working in mining, manufacturing, construction, warehousing, and transportation had age-adjusted smoking prevalence rates far above the 19.6 percent national average. To continue reading, follow the link below.
The bacteria at the center of the nation's listeria outbreak from tainted cantaloupe are stealthy bugs. They won't make you immediately clutch your gut or break out in a fever — it could take weeks or as long as two months to become ill with listeriosis. The contamination already ranks as the nation's deadliest outbreak of food-borne disease in more than a decade. So far, tainted cantalou... (read more)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC) are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta. It works to protect public health and safety by providing information to enhance health decisions, and it promotes health through partnerships with state health departments and other organizations. The CDC focus national attention on developing and applying disease prevention and control (especially infectious diseases and foodborne pathogens and other microbial infections), environmental health, occupational safety and health, health promotion, injury prevention and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.
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