Investigators say failing to follow arm support guidelines during BP screening could have significant clinical impact
Tag: EPIDEMIOLOGY
Despite medical advances, life expectancy gains are slowing
After nearly doubling over the 20th century, the rate of increase in life expectancy has slowed considerably in the last three decades, according to a new study led by the University of Illinois Chicago.
Is comprehensive genetic testing worth it for patients with cancer?
Comprehensive gene panel testing, one of the exciting new tools in cancer diagnostics, warrants greater scrutiny — as does a federal program aimed at speeding up the review process for proposed new medical technologies. Those are conclusions of Yale medical experts who studied both and published a report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute on Sept.
Large-Scale Study Will Seek to Unearth Causes of Persistent Symptoms of Lyme Disease
Tufts University researchers have received a $20.7 million grant to lead the largest NIH-funded prospective study of patients with chronic Lyme disease to date, following patients from their earliest diagnosis to better identify why some people go on to develop debilitating symptoms later on.
AI-Enabled Ultrasound Revolutionizes Gestational Age Estimation in Low-Resource Settings
A study led by Jeffrey S. A. Stringer, MD, FACOG, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the UNC School of Medicine, has shown that an AI-enabled, low-cost handheld ultrasound device can estimate gestational age as accurately as expert sonographers, potentially revolutionizing pregnancy care in low-resource settings where healthcare personnel have little ultrasound training.
90,000 Australians go under the knife for hernia repair operations each year, with older men at highest risk
A new Australian study reveals who is most at risk of having hernia repair surgery, one of the most common medical conditions and surgical operations performed in hospitals worldwide.
Rutgers Names Nationally Recognized Clinician-Scientist in Obesity and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease as New Chair of Medicine
Jeanne M. Clark, a board-certified internal medicine physician with extensive research experience and a nationally renowned expert in the epidemiology and treatment of obesity, will join Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School as the Henry Rutgers Professor and chair of the Department of Medicine.
FDA Warns of Contaminated Oysters and Clams
The Food and Drug Administration says shellfish from a number of states could be contaminated with toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. Paralytic shellfish poisoning is caused by eating shellfish contaminated with saxitoxin which causes gastrointestinal distress. According to the…
Bird Flu Basics: Safety, Symptoms and Risks
The highly infectious bird flu, also known as avian influenza H5N1, primarily spreads among birds. However, there have been rare cases of infection to humans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two human cases of H5N1 have…
Recent Increase in Measles Cases Threatens Elimination Status in the US, CDC says
Jose Lucar is an associate professor of infectious diseases at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Maria Elena Ruiz is an associate professor of medicine and an infectious disease expert at the GW School of Medicine and Health…
Measles: How to Spot it, When to Seek Care and Importance of Vaccination
As the Measles outbreak continues to grow in Florida, Francesca Torriani, MD, infectious disease specialist with UC San Diego Health is available to discuss symptoms to look out for, when to seek medical care, and the importance of vaccination. Biography…
Climate change drived the emergence of West Nile virus in Europe
West Nile virus is an emerging pathogen in Europe and represents a public health threat in previously non-affected European countries
Distance education during pandemic led to less care for mental ill health
Upper secondary school students were less likely to seek help for mental ill health when they were forced to study at home during the pandemic.
From Hidden History to Robot Surgery
The annual conference brought together hundreds of scientists interested in finding ways to harness big data to answer previously unsolvable questions.
Pedestrian injuries from falls versus motor vehicle collisions: are we lacking critical policy and interventions?
Using Emergency Medical Services (EMS) data, researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health compared the national burden of pedestrian injuries from motor vehicles to that of pedestrian falls occurring on streets and sidewalks and found that the probability of a pedestrian suffering a severe injury is higher for motor vehicle collisions as compared to falls.
High biological age may increase the risk of dementia and stroke
People who have a higher biological age than their actual chronological age have an increased risk of stroke and dementia. The findings suggest that by slowing down the body’s aging processes, it may be possible to reduce or delay the onset of disease.
Long COVID most prevalent in the most seriously ill
Severe physical symptoms persist for up to two years in people who had a severe COVID-19 infection, highlighting the importance of long-term monitoring.
Cardiac Arrest: Hispanics, Latinos With Kidney Disease at High Risk
Hispanics and Latinos with chronic kidney disease are at significant risk for suffering from sudden cardiac arrest, according to a new study from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai.
U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths More Than Quadrupled from 1999 to 2020
Regardless of race, age, geography or urbanization, drug overdose deaths in the U.S. more than quadrupled from 1999 to 2020, causing 1,013,852 deaths. The rates increased 4.4 times from 6.9 per 100,000 in 1999 to 30 per 100,000 in 2020.
Infectious Disease Physician Available to Comment on Leprosy Cases in Florida
Board-certified infectious disease physician Carl Abraham, M.D., assistant professor at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM), is available to comment on leprosy cases in Florida. Abraham, who is both a faculty member at NYITCOM’s Arkansas location (in…
COVID-19 cases are on the rise. Could we be seeing a new phase of the pandemic?
Jennifer Horney, professor and founding director of the University of Delaware’s epidemiology program, can talk about the recent wave of COVID-19 cases that hit Japan and the Dominican Republic and an uptick in cases here in the United States. Horney, core…
Gender, race and socioeconomic status are associated with comorbidity in people with HIV who smoke
High rates of smoking among people with HIV are associated with high rates of comorbid health problems – which are associated with characteristics including gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, according to a study in the July issue of The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (JANAC). The official journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, JANAC is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
New guidance: Bridging the gap between what we know and what we do
Five medical societies have published a set of recommendations for operationalizing strategies for infection prevention in acute care settings that account for conditions within the facility, including the culture and communications style of teams, hospital policies, resources available, leadership support and staff buy-in.
New IIASA online tool to visualize global migration patterns
IIASA researchers have developed a new tool – the Global Migration Data Explorer – to help address the lack of data on global migration flows and provide a visual method for exploring migration patterns worldwide.
NHS policies on patient’s weight and access to hip replacement surgery are inappropriate, study finds
Weight and body mass index (BMI) policies introduced by NHS commissioning groups in England are inappropriate and worsening health inequalities, according to a new study published in BMC Medicine today [13 June] that analysed nearly 490,000 hip surgeries. With one in ten people likely to need a joint replacement in their lifetime, many thousands of patients are directly affected by these policies.
Exposure to “forever chemicals” during pregnancy linked to increased risk of obesity in kids
The risks of exposure to “forever chemicals” start even before birth, a new study confirms, potentially setting up children for future health issues.
Durability of bivalent boosters against Omicron subvariants
New research led by the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health shows that bivalent COVID-19 boosters are still providing effective protection from hospitalization and death, even against the most recent omicron subvariants.
Contaminated drinking water alerts cause up to 10% school absence rates in Jackson, Mississippi
When a team led by researchers from Brown University’s School of Public Health tried to gather data about the health effects of the longstanding water contamination crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, little was available, even on the toxicity of the water supply.
UNLV, SNWA Study Makes Case for Candida Auris Wastewater Surveillance
A rapid spike in cases of a potentially deadly, drug-resistant fungus has concerned public health officials across the nation. But a team of Southern Nevada researchers hope their new study applying wastewater surveillance can help health officials get a step ahead of this emerging global public health threat.
Autism Rates Continue to Rise in California
Autism rates are on the rise in the United States, and especially in California. UC San Diego researchers link changing rates and demographics to increased early-detection.
Remote blood pressure management program enhanced care during pandemic
New research has found that a remote hypertension program, operated by Mass General Brigham since 2019, successfully supported patients through the pandemic in achieving their blood pressure goals, with patients who enrolled during the pandemic reaching and maintaining their goal blood pressures an average of two months earlier than in the pre-pandemic period.
Bite this! Mosquito feeding chamber uses fake skin, real blood
If watching animals feast on human blood for 30-plus hours isn’t your idea of fun, don’t worry. The robot can do it.
Microbiome disturbances reported as signature of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis
New research reveals differences in the gut microbiomes of people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) compared to those of healthy controls.
International policy adviser, epidemiologist Dr. Saad Omer selected inaugural dean for UT Southwestern’s O’Donnell School of Public Health
Internationally recognized epidemiologist Saad B. Omer, M.B.B.S, Ph.D., who currently directs the Yale Institute for Global Health, has been appointed the inaugural Dean of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
More obesity in three- and four-year-olds during pandemic
The study, published in the European Journal of Public Health, is based on data concerning 25,049 children aged three to five who have undergone regular health checks at child health centers.
COVID-19 booster increases durability of antibody response, research shows
New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine speaks to the benefits of a COVID-19 booster.
Stroke Death Rates Are Decreasing, But Race and Sex Disparities Remain
Stroke is a leading cause of death in the United States. This study examined 20-year stroke mortality rate disparities and trends among racial and ethnic groups (White, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic) and between men and women, particularly with regard…
Tobias Gerhard Named President of International Society of Pharmacoepidemiology
Tobias Gerhard, interim director of Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research and founding director of Rutgers Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science, has been named president of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE).
UC San Diego Researchers Add Monkeypox to Wastewater Surveillance
A UC San Diego-led program that monitors wastewater for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and which has effectively predicted subsequent surges in COVID-19 cases in San Diego has been expanded to detect the presence of monkeypox.
Biological Age, Not Birthdate May Reveal Healthy Longevity
UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Study reports that epigenetic age acceleration is associated with lower odds of living to be 90 years old and could be used as a biomarker for healthy longevity and to estimate functional and cognitive aging.
Awash in Potential: Wastewater Provides Early Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Virus
Scientists and physicians at UC San Diego and Scripps Research describe how wastewater sequencing provided dramatic new insights into levels and variants of SARS-CoV-2 on campus and in the broader community — a key step to public health interventions in advance of COVID-19 case surges.
Community Transmission of Monkeypox
Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease, i.e. it can be transmitted between animals and humans via direct or indirect contacts. Following the eradication of smallpox and the end of universal smallpox vaccination, monkeypox is currently the most prevalent orthopoxvirus infection in humans [1].
What Do We Know – and Need to Know – About Monkeypox?
Q&A about monkeypox with Dr. Anne Rimoin, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health professor of epidemiology and the Gordon-Levin Endowed Chair in Infectious Diseases and Public Health, has been studying monkeypox for two decades.
COVID long-haulers: Study shows who is most at risk, impact on local communities
A Japanese research team looking at COVID-19’s lingering impacts on survivors and local communities found that having a mild case of COVID-19, smoking status, comorbidities, or your sex aren’t significant predictors to tell if you are less likely to develop long-term symptoms but age is.
The US reaches 1 Million Deaths from COVID-19: GW Experts Available to Comment
The United States has reached 1 million reported deaths from COVID-19 and that number is likely an undercount, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The George Washington University has a number of experts to comment on the…
New WHO report: Europe can reverse its obesity “epidemic”
The new WHO European Regional Obesity Report 2022, published on 3 May by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, reveals that overweight and obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions across the Region and are still escalating, with none of the 53 Member States of the Region currently on track to meet the WHO Global Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) target of halting the rise of obesity by 2025.
Symptom data help predict COVID-19 admissions
Researchers at Lund University and Uppsala University are conducting one of the largest citizen science projects in Sweden to date.
Dr. Anne Rimoin Named to new Gordon–Levin Chair in Infectious Diseases and Public Health at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Dr. Anne Rimoin, an internationally recognized expert on emerging infections, global health, infectious disease surveillance systems and vaccinations who has been engaged in pandemic preparedness and response work for more than two decades, has been appointed to the newly established Gordon–Levin Endowed Chair in Infectious Diseases and Public Health at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
Are there DBPs in that cup of tea?
Researchers reporting in Environmental Science & Technology measured 60 DBPs in three types of tea, unexpectedly finding lower levels in brewed tea than in tap water. However, they also detected many unknown DBPs with uncertain health effects.
FIELDING FOCUS | Covid-19 Conversation: Navigating Variants, Vaccines & Boosters
In this session, panelists Dr. Robert Kim-Farley (professor, departments of Epidemiology & Community Health Sciences) and Dr. Anne Rimoin (professor, Department of Epidemiology & director, Center for Global and Immigrant Health) will discuss the latest news on the pandemic in a conversation moderated by Dr. Ron Brookmeyer, dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health & distinguished professor, Department of Biostatistics.