National Public Radio reported this morning on a growing trend of injuries due to cell phone distraction: a young weight lifter texting while working out drops a weight on himself; a cyclist texting while riding falls and scrapes up his face. In January, the New York Times covered the same subject—highlighting data showing that the
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Despite the widely held belief—promoted by the World Health Organization and U.S. public health organizations for two decades—that eating more fruit and veggies can diminish cancer risk, a large scale study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute finds that getting a daily five servings of apples, tomatoes and leafy
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Adding to previous research suggesting that doctors who sit when consulting with patients tend to build a better rapport and build patient confidence, a new study from researchers at the University of Kansas suggests that, when doctors sit during consultations, patients perceive them as being present longer and also express greater
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After steadily growing from 2003 to 2006 and reaching an all-time high in 2007, the U.S. birth rate declined in 2008, coinciding with the economic downturn, according to a new analysis from the Pew Research Center. Utilizing 2008 birth and economic data available for 25 states, researchers noticed that in most states the birth rate
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Despite concerns about stigma faced by obese patients—and research suggesting an inverse relationship between physicians’ respect for patients and patients’ weight—a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that obese patients receive the same quality of care as their slimmer peers. A team of
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Antipsychotic drugs, which are often prescribed to treat aggression in patients with dementia, may significantly increase risk for potentially fatal pneumonia in the elderly, according to a new study highlighted by the BBC from researchers at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands. The study, published in the Annals of
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Between 1999 and 2006 the number of people hospitalized for poisoning from prescription drugs including opioids (such as OxyContin and Vicodin) and tranquilizers and sedatives (depressants such as Valium, Xanax and Ambien) has increased by 65%—representing nearly twice the increase in hospitalizations due to overdose with other
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Adding to their previous research examining the impact of social contagion on everything from smoking to generosity, Harvard sociologist Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis and University of California, San Diego, political scientist …
Physical therapy may offer some new mothers protection against postpartum depression, a small study from researchers at the University of Melbourne’s Physiotherapy Department suggests. The study included 161 women who had recently given birth and had no previous history of depression. Roughly half of participants were assigned to an …
For cancer patients, sexual dysfunction is often a long-term side effect of treatment, and can have a significant impact on quality of life. To better understand long-term sexual dysfunction in cancer patients, and develop therapies tailored to their needs, researchers from Duke University argue that there is a “need for a flexible,
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Earlier this year, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, that included more than 7,000 patients from eight hospitals around the world, found that implementing the use of surgical checklists reduced patient mortality rates by half, and patient injuries by nearly a third. Now, a new study published online in the British
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Small scale increases in the cost of soda likely have little impact on childhood obesity, according to a study published in the journal Health Affairs. Soda taxes have been proposed as a means for fighting obesity by several prominent health researchers, and some public health officials have sparked controversy by advocating for steep
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A four-year study of more than 8,000 men between the ages of 50 to 75 who had an elevated risk for developing prostate cancer found that those who took the drug dutasteride (sold as Avodart) were less likely to develop prostate cancer than those taking a placebo. What’s more, study participants taking dutasteride were significantly less
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