Fatal Exposure to Methylene Chloride Among Bathtub Refinishers — United States, 2000–2011
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Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among Pregnant Women — 29 States and New York City, 2009–10 Season
Pets, people and illness
Having a pet can help someone who has an illness, and researcher Allison Webel of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, has ideas about how it works. Webel held 12 focus groups with 48 women, with an average age of 42, who had HIV.
UPDATED: Vaccine Selection for the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 Influenza Seasons
Helping Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions Get Needed Care
PCIP is making a difference in many people’s lives. A new report out today shows that while many PCIP enrollees have serious and expensive illnesses, they were likely to delay receiving needed care due to lack of insurance. PCIP has worked quickly to help connect Americans with the health insurance and medical care they need. Unlike many existing high risk pools, which have waiting periods before coverage of pre-existing conditions begin, PCIP enrollees can receive needed care right away.
Slow carbs, fast carbs
All carbs are not the same, and a study indicates the difference could affect a blood chemical associated with chronic conditions such as heart disease.
At Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Marian Neuhouser examined carbohydrate foods that digest more slowly, or slow carbs, and those that turn quickly into simple sugars, or fast carbs. She was looking at C-reactive protein, which is a marker of inflammation. It was lower among about 40 overweight or obese people when they were on a slow carb eating pattern.
Screening, early and often
If you screen regularly for certain cancers, doctors will be able to better detect and treat cancer. But many people don’t get the screenings, according to new data from the National Health Interview Survey.
Mary White is at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Oversalted America
Researchers say 9 in 10 Americans eat too much sodium – notably in salt, and mostly from processed or restaurant food. Sodium raises blood pressure, which can contribute to heart disease and other illnesses.
Sleeping and shift work
Crime never sleeps, so police can’t, either. And with night and overnight shifts, officers can have sleep disorders.
Dr. Charles Czeisler of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital looked at data on about 5,000 officers over two years. About 40 percent had signs of sleep disorders. The most common was obstructive sleep apnea, in which there can be abnormal pauses in breathing while sleeping.
New Health Care Law Helps Expand Primary Care Physician Workforce
The National Health Service Corps’ Students to Service Loan Repayment Program, made possible by the new health care law, the Affordable Care Act, provides financial support to fourth year medical students who are committed to a career in primary care in exchange for their service in communities with limited access to care. This program provides loan repayment assistance of up to $120,000 to medical students (MDs and DOs) in their last year of education. In return, they commit to serve in a health professional shortage area upon completion of a primary care residency program.
Working off the soda
How much exercise do you need to burn off the calories in a typical soda? Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health wanted to see what inner-city teenagers would do when they found the answer to that question. The researchers had posters put in convenience stores, which told teens the amount of jogging they would have to do. The study found teens then bought fewer sugar-sweetened sodas, and more water.
Fighting stressful eating
Eating as a way to deal with stress can make people put on weight. But a small study indicates a way to reduce stress-eating.
At the University of California, San Francisco, obese women learned meditation for stress-reduction. And they learned the practice of mindful eating – how to tell the body’s real need for food from other cues to eat, such as stress.
The State of Latino Health Twitter Chat
We want to talk to you about the law’s impact on the Latino community. On Tuesday, February 21st, at 3:00pm EST Mayra Alvarez, Director of Public Health Policy at HHS, will be available on Twitter at @HHSgov to answer questions about how the law helps the Latino community get a fair shot at better care and lower costs. We’ll also be teaming up with National Council of La Raza, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, and Families USA. We will be accepting and responding to questions in English and Spanish, depending on what language the question is asked.
Activity and amyloid
A study indicates that people who are physically inactive and who have a higher genetic risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease may have more of a protein that’s associated with the development of Alzheimer’s.
At Washington University in St. Louis, researcher Denise Head looked at people with a form of the APOE gene, AP0E-e4, which has been linked to greater buildup of amyloid protein in the brain.