Feature Channels: Public Health

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The institute will involve five schools within GW and will be based at Milken Institute School of Public Health

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Marijuana use among American high school students is significantly lower today than it was 15 years ago, despite the legalization in many states of marijuana for medical purposes, a move toward decriminalization of the drug and the approval of its recreational use in a handful of places, new research suggests.

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Drugs commonly used to treat high blood pressure, and prevent heart attacks and strokes, are associated with significantly worse cardiovascular outcomes in hypertensive African Americans compared to whites, according to a new comparative effectiveness research study led by researchers in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Medical Center, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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This is the first study reporting on use of a variety of new drugs in a nationally representative U.S. sample. Researchers are confident that use was severely underreported, as the subjects were not asked about most of these new drugs specifically. The researchers advocate for health surveys to ask about use of new drugs, in addition to traditional drugs such as marijuana and cocaine, in order to quickly pick up on potential drug epidemics.

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Video games are not adequately rated for tobacco content, according to a new UC San Francisco study that found video gamers are being widely exposed to tobacco imagery.

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Three antibiotics that, individually, are not effective against a drug-resistant staph infection can kill the deadly pathogen when combined as a trio, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They have killed the bug — methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) — in test tubes and laboratory mice, and believe the same strategy may work in people.

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Virginia Tech researchers have discovered a new group of antibiotics that may provide relief to some of the more than 2 million people in the United States affected by antibiotic resistance.

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Significant differences in attitudes toward smoking cessation are reported between two generations of smokers in Northern Appalachia in new research from Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI). The qualitative study about beliefs, attitudes and experiences of current and former smokers in Northern Appalachian communities, published online ahead of print in the Journal of Community Health, contributes novel information about smoking cessation.

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Researchers at NYU have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies characterizing the incidence of the sexual transmission of HCV among HIV-positive MSM. The high reinfection rates and the attributable risk analysis suggest the existence of a subset of HIV-positive MSM with recurring sexual exposure to HCV. Approaches to HCV control in this population will need to consider the changing epidemiology of HCV infection in MSM.

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In a study with 18 adults who had never smoked, scientists at Johns Hopkins report they have demonstrated one of the earliest steps — nicotine “reinforcement” — in the process of addiction, and shown that some people are far more vulnerable to nicotine addiction than others.

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In a consensus paper, a global panel of leading aging experts suggests physicians routinely screen everyone older than 70 annually for cognitive problems.

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Effort highlights health benefits of walking while addressing barriers to access

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Less than a quarter of car seat and booster checks analyzed were conducted in children ages four and older.

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New research led by NYU Langone Medical Center has uncovered why a particular strain of Staphylococcus aureus -- known as HA-MRSA -- becomes more deadly than other variations. These new findings open up possible new pathways to vaccine development against this bacterium, which the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions says accounts for over 10,000 deaths annually, mostly among hospital patients.

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Switzerland is the best place in the world for older people to live, closely followed by Norway and Sweden, according to a new report from HelpAge International, working in partnership with the University of Southampton, UK.

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Banning smoking in the workplace and increasing taxes on cigarettes have discouraged teens and young adults from taking up smoking, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco and UC Merced.

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Multi-institutional, multidisciplinary study looks past antibiotics and sanitation to a third strategy to control infectious disease: Adjusting the landscape of the human body to remove the mechanism that allows pathogens to cause disease.

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Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers say they have discovered a new way that the most prevalent disease-causing fungus can thwart immune system attacks.

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For decades, the tobacco and alcohol industries have been accused of advertising their products to kids. Tremendous public pressure has prompted the implementation of strict guidelines. Today, tobacco and alcohol advertising are among the most highly regulated forms of marketing in existence. But, are all of the rules having any effect on the adolescents we seek to protect?

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Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have documented the accuracies of three new tests for more rapidly diagnosing drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis (TB), which are much harder and more expensive to treat and which, experts say, represent a major threat to global public health.

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Blood in the urine can be a scary sight, yet it’s a symptom many people ignore until it is bad enough to land them in a hospital emergency department.

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The bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease has been found in the water system of a South Bronx apartment building.

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The incidence of bicycle accidents has increased significantly in the U.S. in recent years, with many serious injuries occurring among riders older than 45, according to a new study led by UC San Francisco.

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A new study examining changes in gun policy in two states finds that handgun purchaser licensing requirements influence suicide rates. Researchers estimate that Connecticut’s 1995 law requiring individuals to obtain a permit or license to purchase a handgun after passing a background check was associated with a 15.4 percent reduction in firearm suicide rates, while Missouri’s repeal of its handgun purchaser licensing law in 2007 was associated with a 16.1 percent increase in firearm suicide rates.

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Public shows “considerable lack of knowledge” about the risk associated with different types of tobacco products, UB researchers say.

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A bill to improve the nutritional value of fast food restaurant meals marketed to children—like McDonald’s Happy Meals—could have a wide enough impact to reduce calories, fat, and sodium, according to a new study led by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center.

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Despite the fact that previous research shows the Appalachian region of the United States as limited in access to health care services, researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have found that children with special health care needs in Appalachian areas face similar levels of health status as their metropolitan counterparts.

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Web-based survey finds "Bicyclists May Use Full Lane," more effective message for signs

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Licensed tobacco retailers throughout New York City are selling a substantial number of cigarette packs carrying either counterfeit or out-of-state tax stamps, finds an investigation by NYU public health researchers.

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Expert can discuss the need to address the issue of heroin and prescription opioid abuse by developing innovative medical treatments. Specifically, he can describe the features and benefits of an inside-the-cheek format of buprenorphine for the maintenance treatment of opioid addiction.

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Asian tiger mosquitoes can drive down yellow fever mosquito populations when the female chooses the wrong male with which to mate, UF/IFAS scientists say. Both insects transmit chikungunya and dengue, dangerous diseases affecting millions of people worldwide.

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In 2006 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that most doctors should automatically screen all their patients, including older adults, for HIV even if they don't exhibit any symptoms. New research finds that despite this recommendation, testing among older adults has largely fallen over time.

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Faculty in UNC Charlotte College of Health and Human Services have published a paper in the American Journal of Preventative medicine that outlines a novel approach to studying public health data.

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A new study shows that quitting smoking after a heart attack has immediate benefits, including less chest pain, better quality of daily life and improved mental health. Many of these improvements became apparent as little as one month after quitting and are more pronounced after one year, according to the research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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Many parents and guardians who use e-cigarettes are not aware of the dangers they pose to children, according to a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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An oral cholera vaccine that is in short supply could treat more people and save more lives in crisis situations, if one dose were dispensed instead of the recommended two, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

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Less than a month before Congress votes on whether to reauthorize a controversial program mandating healthier school lunches, a new study confirms the suspicions of school officials – many students are putting the fruits and vegetables they’re now required to take straight into the trash, consuming fewer than they did before the law took effect.

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As the Ebola virus disease pandemic unfolded in 2014, it may have seemed like a sudden and unprecedented event. But the disease has a long history, the epidemic is ongoing, and new outbreaks are certain to occur in the future, reports the September issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia.

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As e-cigarette usage among high school students continues to climb, a recent study from The Journal of the American Medical Association reveals an unsettling trend: that adolescent e-cigarette users are more likely than their non-vaping peers to initiate use of combustible tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars and hookahs.

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A group of epidemiologists and infection prevention specialists led by Daniel Morgan, MD, MS, an associate professor of Epidemiology & Public Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, reviewed current practice and existing literature on the use of contact precautions for MRSA and VRE to build a framework for decision-making based on all available evidence.

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There may be two new ways to fight AIDS -- using a heat shock protein or a small molecule – to attack fibrils in semen associated with HIV during the initial phases of infection. HIV is most commonly transmitted in semen, which contains amyloid fibrils. These can increase the transmission of HIV by helping the it attach to the membrane surrounding human cells.

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The introduction of a new prescription smoking-cessation aid, varenicline, in 2006 has had no significant impact on the rate at which Americans age 18 and older successfully quit smoking, according to a study led by researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

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A woman’s weight at birth, education level and marital status pre-pregnancy can have repercussions for two generations, putting her children and grandchildren at higher risk of low birth weight, according to a new study by Jennifer B. Kane, assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine. The findings are the first to tie social and biological factors together using population data in determining causes for low birth weight.

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Two Florida laws, enacted to combat prescription drug abuse and misuse in that state, led to a small but significant decrease in the amount of opioids prescribed the first year the laws were in place, a new study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers suggests.

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Medicare Part D provides help to beneficiaries struggling with the cost of prescriptions drugs, but the plan’s coverage gap hits some populations harder than others, particularly African-Americans age 65 and older.

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Electronic reminders at clinics helped boost rates of Tdap booster that protects against tetanus, diptheria, and whooping cough.