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16Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

Type 2 Diabetes Drug Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) Aids Weight Loss in People With Obesity

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A once-weekly injectable recently approved to treat type 2 diabetes may hold major potential as a weight loss medication for people with obesity, too, a study suggests.Overweight or obese participants without type 2 diabetes who took the drug, called tirzepatide (sold as the diabetes drug Mounjaro), lost an average of nearly 21 percent of their body weight at the highest dose studied. Scientists presented their findings at the American Diabetes Association (ADA)’s annual meeting in New Orleans and published the study in The New England Journal of Medicine.“Definitely, the weight loss in this study is far more what we had ever seen with other FDA-approved medications in term of the absolute amount of weight lost or percentage of weight lost,” says Osama Hamdy, MD, PhD, an associate professor at Harvard…

15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

Pulse Oximetry Readings Are Less Accurate for Black, Hispanic, and Asian People With COVID-19

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Pulse oximeter devices, a common tool used to guide medical decision-making in COVID-19 patients, overestimated the blood oxygen levels in nonwhite patients with COVID-19 and made them appear healthier than they actually were, according to a new study published May 31 in JAMA Internal Medicine.These findings add to the growing body of evidence about pulse oximetry inaccuracies in people of color, says the study's co-lead author Ashraf Fawzy, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. “Our research is the first to show that the overestimation of oxygen saturation among Black and Hispanic patients led to a delayed recognition of the need for COVID-19 therapy compared with white patients,” says Dr. Fawzy.That’s because oxygen saturation levels are often used to determine…

15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

The Mental Health Toll of Mass Shootings

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Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, joined a club no one wants to be in: the ever-growing list of schools, places of worship, and communities torn apart by a mass shooting.On May 24, an 18-year-old gunman entered the elementary school and murdered 19 children and two teachers in a fourth-grade classroom before being shot and killed by authorities responding to the shooting, AP News reports. The shooting in the heavily Latino town happened on the heels of another mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. Only 10 days earlier, an 18-year-old gunman targeting Black people killed 10 people in a Tops Friendly Market.Those who weren’t directly affected by these shootings don’t escape unscathed, either.Many have even changed how they live their lives because they fear being a victim of a shooting.…

15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

As Trauma Surgeons, We See Gun Violence for What It Is: A Public Health Crisis

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As Trauma Surgeons, We See Gun Violence for What It Is: A Public Health Crisis Source link

15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

Frequent Use of Antibiotics Tied to Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Older Adults

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Older people who frequently take antibiotics are at greater risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2022. The study has not been peer-reviewed or published.Previous research, published in 2020, found a link between antibiotic use and the onset of IBD in young adults. Research led by Adam Faye, MD, an assistant professor of medicine and population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, looked at whether the same link could be found in older adults. Using the Danish National Prescription Register, researchers identified 2.3 million people ages 60 and older from 2000 to 2018 and assessed the number of antibiotics prescribed, the timing of antibiotics, and the impact of specific antibiotic classes on the development of IBD…

15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

Jif Peanut Butter Recalled Due to Potential Salmonella

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Editor’s Note: This story was updated May 27, 2022, with additional products involved in the recall.The J.M. Smucker Company has added more items to its voluntary recall of multiple sizes and types of Jif peanut butter products due to concerns that the products are potentiality contaminated with salmonella. The multistate outbreak includes 14 illnesses, including two hospitalizations, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Find the expanded list of products here.Salmonella is a type of bacteria that can grow in food, and if it’s consumed, it can make people sick with an illness called salmonellosis; symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. Most people recover in four to seven days without treatment with antibiotics. The main concern in healthy adults is dehydration due to the diarrhea, and so it’s recommended that…

15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

‘Broken Heart’ Killed Husband of Slain Uvalde Teacher, Family Says

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The shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 students and two teachers dead has claimed another life: Joe Garcia, the husband of slain teacher Irma Garcia, has died of what relatives described as a “broken heart.”“I truly believe Joe died of a broken heart and losing the love of his life of more than 25 years was too much to bear,” wrote Debra Austin, Irma Garcia’s cousin, on a GoFundMe page created to raise funds for the family. The couple is survived by their four children.Joe Garcia died on May 26 after a “medical emergency,” according to Austin’s fundraising page.Dying from what’s known as broken heart syndrome, also called stress cardiomyopathy, while rare, has been previously documented in people who are grieving a sudden loss of…

15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

How to Talk to Your Children After a School Shooting: Expert Q&A

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In the wake of the mass shooting in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, trauma extends to every parent and child. What the grieving families are going through is an unimaginable pain. The horrific, senseless loss of life is also triggering fears in all of us — especially parents and their children. We spoke with Katie Hurley, LCSW, child and adolescent psychotherapist, parenting educator, and Everyday Health contributor, about how to address children’s fears and cope yourself as an adult.Everyday Health: How do you talk to your kids about such a horrific incident that they've probably heard about from others or on TV?Katie Hurley: The key to talking kids through this is communicating relational safety by listening to their fears and co-regulating their responses. This means that parents need to…

15Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

Daily Coffee Associated With Lower Risk of Early Death

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There might be something about coffee that helps people live longer. A new study suggests that people who drink moderate amounts of coffee — about 1.5 to 3.5 cups a day — are less likely to wind up in an early grave.This goes for both black coffee and coffee sweetened with sugar, according to the study, published May 31 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.For the study, researchers followed 172,000 adults without any history of heart disease or cancer for an average of seven years. All of the participants were part of the U.K. Biobank, and provided extensive medical information including details about their diet and lifestyle.People who regularly drank black coffee were 16 percent to 21 percent less likely to die during the study period, while coffee drinkers who added…

14Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

The FDA Is Investigating Hepatitis A Cases Tied to Fresh Strawberries

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating a multistate outbreak of hepatitis A infections potentially linked to fresh organic strawberries.Several hepatitis A cases have been identified in California, Minnesota, and Canada involving patients who purchased fresh organic strawberries branded as FreshKampo or HEB prior to becoming ill, the FDA said in a statement. These purchases occurred between March 5, 2022, and April 25, 2022.While this investigation is ongoing, the FDA said that these strawberries, “are a likely cause of illness in this outbreak.”The affected strawberries are now past their shelf life and should be thrown away, not eaten, the FDA said. People who froze the berries for future use should also throw them away.Strawberries Were Sold at Several Food ChainsSeveral retailers sold these strawberries, including Aldi, HEB, Kroger,…