ALL ABOUT HEALTH -

05Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

New Vaccination Guidance Released for People With Rheumatic Diseases

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Get ready to roll up your sleeve and get jabbed. People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), lupus, and other rheumatic diseases may find that they are eligible for more vaccinations now that the guidance has been updated.Earlier this month, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) released a summary of new vaccination recommendations for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD). The new guidelines do not address COVID-19 vaccination, which was the focus of the last ACR update, in 2021. Instead, the new guidelines are focused on risk reduction for flu, pneumonia, and other potentially serious diseases.What’s New About ACR’s 2022 Vaccine Guidance There are expanded indications for some vaccines, tweaks about vaccination timing around other treatments and other vaccines, and more recommendations for live or adjuvanted vaccines.Adjuvanted means that an extra ingredient…

05Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

Black and Latino Seniors Commonly Experience Healthcare Discrimination, Report Says

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According to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund, Black and Latino seniors report commonly experiencing racial discrimination and bias in the U.S. healthcare system. The findings highlight the dual challenges of racism and ageism these individuals face in getting the medical attention they need.For this investigation, which was conducted over several months in 2021 by the public opinion research firm PerryUndem with support from the Commonwealth Fund, interviewers posed questions to focus groups of Black and Hispanic adults ages 65 and older. In order to get a range of perspectives, the focus groups included individuals from various income brackets and with a range of health statuses.Focus group participants discussed experiencing discrimination and bias that they perceived as due to their income level, gender, race, language, age, and insurance status.Some…

04Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

Climate Change Is Making the Majority of Infectious Diseases Worse

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More than half of known pathogenic diseases, including hepatitis, pneumonia, dengue, malaria, and Zika, can be exacerbated by climate change, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.Their findings, published on August 8 in Nature Climate Change, reviewed more than 77,000 scientific papers in relation to 10 different climatic events to learn more about how greenhouse gas levels impact currently known infections and diseases.“Given the extensive and pervasive consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was truly scary to discover the massive health vulnerability resulting as a consequence of greenhouse gas emissions,” said lead author Camilo Mora, PhD, professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, in a release. “There are just too many diseases, and pathways of transmission, for us to think that we…

04Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

FDA Approves Myfembree for Endometriosis Pain in Premenopausal Women

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Endometriosis causes symptoms such as painful menstrual periods and chronic pelvic pain, but many women with the condition don’t get relief from the commonly prescribed medicines, including ibuprofen and hormonal contraceptives. Now, they have a new option for managing endometriosis pain: Myfembree, a once-daily pill.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Myfembree to manage moderate to severe pain associated with endometriosis in premenopausal women, the drugmakers Myovant Sciences and Pfizer announced in an August 5 statement.“Endometriosis is a painful, chronic disease with limited therapies to manage symptoms,” Juan Camilo Arjona Ferreira, MD, chief medical officer of Myovant Sciences, said in the statement.Up to 1 in 10 U.S. women ages 25 to 40 have endometriosis, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The condition causes the tissue that grows on the uterine…

04Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

Discrimination Raised the Risk of Depression for Latino and Asian Americans in the Early Days of COVID-19

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Regularly experiencing discrimination increases the risk of depression and having suicidal thoughts, according to a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry. Health data and survey results from more than 60,000 people in the United States revealed an association between discrimination and depression, especially among Black, Latino, and Asian Americans, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.It’s well established that the drastic changes wrought by the pandemic, such as physical distancing and isolation, dealt a blow to our collective mental health. During this same time period, hate crimes and racist rhetoric against Asians spiked, and the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor inspired a mass social movement for racial justice. It was a time when the pandemic and the salience of racism converged.That convergence had a pronounced effect on…

04Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

As BA.5 Spreads, Is Now the Time for a Second COVID-19 Booster Shot?

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The new and highly transmissible BA.5 subvariant of omicron has become the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the United States, accounting for just over 80 percent of all new cases as of July 26, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The mutation is driving a recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Tracking by The New York Times on July 25 shows the average number of infections in the United States rose by an average of 10 percent over the previous two weeks, while hospitalizations climbed by 12 percent and new deaths jumped by 34 percent.A study published June 17 in the journal Nature found that BA.5 and its sister subvariant, BA.4, not only exhibit higher transmissibility than previous omicron versions, but are also better able to evade protections from…

04Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

French Agency Confirms Much-Beloved Charcuterie Linked to Colon Cancer

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It could be the coup de grâce for charcuterie — or at least time to cut back, according to French authorities, who have confirmed that processed meats can increase the risk of colorectal cancer.The French Agency for Food, Environmental, and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) issued a statement advising consumers to limit their intake of foods containing nitrates and nitrites like the processed meats popular in hors d’oeuvres and on sandwiches. It’s well established that eating foods containing nitrates can lead to higher risk for colorectal cancer if consumed in excess.“The higher the exposure to these compounds, the greater the risk of colorectal cancer in the population,” the statement reports. ANSES recommends eating no more than 150 grams of processed meat per week — the equivalent of about five slices…

04Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

Drinking Alone as a Young Person Linked to Later Alcohol Use Disorder

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Drinking alone during adolescence and young adulthood is associated with a higher risk of alcohol use disorder (AUD) later in life, and this risk is especially high for women, according to a new study published on July 11 in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. “When young people drink alone, it’s a red flag that predicts future alcohol problems,” says the study's lead author, Kasey Creswell, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.“Most young people who drink alcohol only do so with others in social settings — with friends and at parties. Drinking alone as a young person may signify a problematic relationship with alcohol, in which drinking is used as way to cope with negative emotions,” says Dr. Creswell.About 3 in 10 High School Students Report Drinking AlcoholUnderage…

04Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

Opioid Prescription Rates Higher Among Some People With Disabilities

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When adults with spina bifida and cerebral palsy get prescribed opioids, they’re given much higher doses on average than people without these pediatric-onset neurodevelopmental disorders, a new study suggests.Chronic pain is a common symptom of both cerebral palsy and spina bifida, and adults with these conditions often take multiple daily medications. One previous study, for example, found individuals with cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities were 2.4 times more likely to take at least five daily medicines than people without these conditions.When one or more of these medications is an opioid such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, or tramadol, patients can be at increased risk for addiction, overdose, psychiatric issues, and breathing problems, says lead study author Mark Peterson, PhD, an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of…

03Mar 2023 by Janice Holland

Surprising a Friend With a Text or Note Could Make Their Day

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For many of us, pandemic social distancing has gradually morphed into a different (and less healthy) kind of “social distance” — one in which we have little or no contact with many people we once considered close friends. If you’re ready to reconnect but not quite sure how your text or phone call will be received, a new study has some good news for you: It’s probably going to make your friend happier than you might imagine.The research, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (PDF) and discussed in an article from the American Psychological Association (APA) on July 11, found that people consistently underestimated how much others in their social circle might appreciate an unexpected phone call, text, or email just to say hello — and the more…