Feature Channels: Public Health

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Quit and Stay Quit Monday (QSQM) and The Great American Smokeout are combating the number one cause of preventable deaths in the United States. On Thursday, November 19th the 39th annual Great American Smokeout celebrates smokers kicking the habit. Research shows smokers are most successful when they have continued support. Using weekly words of encouragement and accessible free materials, QSQM helps guide clients to success throughout the quitting process.

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More than three fourths of both teens and adults say e-cigarettes should be restricted in public spaces, come with health warnings and be taxed like conventional cigarettes.

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In a study published in the journal of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, Cornelia Ulrich from Huntsman Cancer Institute and her collaborators used a new technique, metabolite profiling, to identify a biochemical pathway previously unknown to be regulated by aspirin. Specifically, the researchers found that aspirin substantially decreases the level of a chemical called 2-hydroxyglutarate in the blood of healthy volunteers and in two colorectal cancer cell lines. This chemical, 2-hydroxyglutarate, is considered a driver of cancer development (known as an oncometabolite) because elevated levels have been found in certain cancers of the blood and brain and several groups are currently studying it as a molecule that promotes tumor formation.

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Johns Hopkins Children’s Center specialists report they have successfully treated and put in remission a 2-year-old, now age 5, with a highly virulent form of tuberculosis known as XDR TB, or extensively drug-resistant TB.

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University of Oregon scientists have found that strength in numbers doesn't hold true for microbes in the intestines. A minority population of the right type might hold the key to regulating good health.

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Children under age two may be at heightened risk for abuse and neglect during the six months immediately following a parent’s return from deployment in the U.S. Army, and the risk may rise among Army families with soldiers who are deployed more than once.

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In this month’s release, find new embargoed research about the risk of maltreatment for children of U.S. Army soldiers; Medicaid coverage and its link to outpatient physician care and chronic disease; and health profiles of refugee children in the U.S.

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A new study of adults ages 85 or older has found that rural residents have significantly higher levels of chronic disease, take more medications, and die several years earlier than their urban counterparts.

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It's no secret that a high-fat, high-cholesterol "junk food" diet has been linked to major health problems, including high blood cholesterol and the buildup of plaques in the arteries, known as atherosclerosis.

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Use of electronic cigarettes – or e-cigs, for short – has increased among adolescents, but the jury is still out on how many young people are becoming addicted, and how harmful they are for both young people and adults, relative to cigarettes.

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Manchester researchers have shown that the introduction of the HPV vaccination programme for girls has increased uptake for cervical cancer screening by their mothers.

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Backed by a growing body of research, investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are calling for all hospitals to establish bereavement programs for families of deceased patients.

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People feeding white ibises at public parks are turning the normally independent birds into beggars, and now researchers at the University of Georgia say it might also be helping spread disease.

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CSU Professor Ian Orme recently conducted a study that provides new clues to what went wrong with a landmark TB vaccine trial in South Africa.

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A new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives would improve the quality of America’s health care infrastructure by further integrating doctors of chiropractic (DCs) into the nation’s official delivery and research networks. H.R. 3851, introduced by Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas), calls for the appointment of chiropractic physicians as officers in the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps.

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If you want to keep away blood-sucking insects, DEET products are your best bet according to a recent study from New Mexico State University. Researchers also discovered a certain perfume performed better at protecting against mosquitoes than some commercial insect repellents.

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Strategies to combat the rising problem need to reflect these factors, suggests new research from Concordia University.

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New research from the University of Southampton has found that copper can effectively help to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, which are linked to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

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Principal Investigator Takes Questions and Demonstrates Procedure with Video and Animation via Virtual Press Conference Tuesday, November 10th at 1:00 p.m. ET

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In a new look at the groundbreaking iPrEx trial for people at high risk of HIV infection, UCSF researchers have identified strong evidence of efficacy for transgender women when PrEP, a two-drug antiretroviral used to prevent HIV, is used consistently.

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Researchers have identified a protein measured by an inexpensive blood test can predict a person’s chances of developing chronic kidney disease up to five years before kidney damage begins. In findings published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), researchers led by Rush University Medical Center Chairman of Medicine Jochen Reiser, MD, PhD, showed that High levels of the suPAR protein indicate future kidney disease much like cholesterol and blood pressure levels help predict heart disease. “SuPAR promises to do for kidney disease what cholesterol has done for cardiovascular disease,” predicts Reiser.

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Gilda Cardenosa, M.D., is the director of breast imaging at Massey This month, the American Cancer Society (ACS) issued new recommendations regarding breast cancer screening.

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Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers say a new candidate vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) made with a weakened version of the virus shows great promise at fighting the disease, the leading cause of hospitalization for children under the age of one in the U.S.

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The Spiritual Care Department at MedStar Washington Hospital Center has launched the Not Alone Transition Companion program, to provide critically ill or dying patients with a companion when family members or friends are not available.

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Health campaigns that target teens based their social groups and subcultures, such as hip hop, preppy or alternative, can be an effective tool in dissuading adolescents from engaging in risky behaviors such as smoking and drinking, suggests a survey of the literature and a case study.

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An analysis of country-to-country aid for health over a 20-year period suggests wide variations among donor countries’ giving that do not always reflect recipient countries’ health needs.

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A content analysis of nearly 500 anti-vaccination websites found that over two-thirds used what they represented as scientific evidence to support the idea that vaccines are dangerous and nearly one-third contained anecdotes that reinforced the perception.

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According to a surprising new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, a decades-long decline in the death rate of middle-aged white Americans (age 45 to 54) has reversed in recent years. The causes are not the big killers such as heart disease and diabetes but an epidemic of suicides and substance abuse. The study was done by Nobel-winning researchers Angus Deaton and Anne Case of Princeton University.

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Federal food policy changes led to increased availability of healthy foods at smaller urban corner stores in Baltimore, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests. Increases in healthy food were greatest in corner stores and in neighborhoods with a majority of black residents.

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Some six years out from New York City’s attempt to curb the obesity epidemic by mandating calorie counts in chain restaurants, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have found that calorie labels, on their own, have not reduced the overall number of calories that consumers of fast food order and presumably eat.

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To determine whether healthy food could help low-income people better control their diabetes, a pilot study by UC San Francisco and Feeding America tracked nearly 700 people at food banks in California, Texas and Ohio over two years.

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Large U.S.-based chain restaurants that voluntarily list calorie counts on their menus average nearly 140 fewer calories per item than those that do not post the information, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health-led research suggests.

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A former principal deputy commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing a solution to the current gridlock over the regulation of dietary supplements: Focus less on whether these vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts actually do what they claim and instead take important steps to improve their safety.

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After peaking in 2007, AIDS mortality in South Africa has decreased with the widespread introduction of effective antiretroviral therapy, according to updated estimates published in AIDS, official journal of the International AIDS Society. AIDS is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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According to a study led by MIT, Volkswagen's emissions cheat on their diesel vehicles will cause 60 people in the U.S. To die 10 to 20 years prematurely.

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Drug abusers are not completely abandoning prescription opioids for heroin, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Instead, many use the two concurrently based on their availability. The findings also reveal regional variations in the use of heroin and prescription painkillers.

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The American Thoracic Society applauds the World Health Organization (WHO) on today’s release of its Global Tuberculosis Report 2015, which finds that the number of TB deaths is now virtually equal to the number of HIV/AIDS deaths globally. The data shows that TB threatens to undo the tremendous progress made by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund Against AIDS, TB and Malaria. The ATS joins the WHO in calling for increased funding to halt the global TB pandemic.

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Alcohol and nicotine use have long been known to go hand in hand. Previous research shows that more than 85 percent of U.S. adults who are alcohol-dependent also are nicotine-dependent. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have found that nicotine cancels out the sleep-inducing effects of alcohol. It’s a finding that sheds light on the reason alcohol and nicotine usage are so closely linked.

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An analysis of deaths in the United States between 1969 and 2013 finds an overall decreasing trend in the age-standardized death rate for all causes combined and for heart disease, cancer, stroke, unintentional injuries, and diabetes, although the rate of decrease appears to have slowed for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, according to a study in the October 27 issue of JAMA.

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MedStar Washington Hospital Center’s Ebola Response Team has been honored with the 2015 Patient Safety Award from the District of Columbia Hospital Association (DCHA). The award recognizes the team’s outstanding efforts in its Ebola-related plans and training to care for potential or confirmed patients with the Ebola virus.

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Anyone who takes medicine to get their blood sugar or blood pressure down – or both – knows their doctor prescribed it to help them. But what if stopping, or at least cutting back on, such drugs could help even more? Two new studies suggest doctors should be doing that more.

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The American Heart Association (AHA) and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) convened representatives from 41 national philanthropic organizations last week in Minneapolis. Participants focused on the grave problem of Native American nutritional health and agreed on key steps and planning to develop solutions.

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“Decision aids” in the form of informational brochures help get patients talking about their anesthesia and pain relief options, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2015 annual meeting. Shared decision making is critical to a more patient-centered process, as well as helping patients take an active role in their medical decisions.

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The AAPM joins the Obama Administration’s efforts to address the growing crisis of opioid abuse.