Flu vaccination impact on elderly deaths may be over-estimated
...fluenza vaccination of the elderly in the U.S. has increased from 15 to 20 percent before 1980 to 65 percent in 2001, the authors could find no correlation between this increasing vaccination coverage after 1980 and declining deaths rates in any age group. Observational studies may introduce a systematic bias ...NHLBI study shows smoking cessation programs improve survival
...rove that "smoking is causally responsible for the increased risk for death in smokers." He asserts, "No one can make a serious claim to the contrary in light of this randomized trial evidence." Smoking is the single most avoidable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. According to the ...Wine keeps women's hearts beating healthily
... Decreased variability has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease and death. HRV was highest in women who drank 5 or more grams of alcohol a day, equivalent to more than half a standard unit, and lowest in those who drank no alcohol at all. But further analysis showed that the type of alcohol...14-year study finds that quitting smoking adds years to life
...nt. These new findings "prove that smoking causes increased risk for death in smokers," Dr. Samet said in the editorial. "No one can make a serious claim to the contrary in light of this randomized trial evidence." A surprising finding, according to Dr. Connett, was that the reduction in death rate was more ...Promising treatments for Huntington's disease identified in UCI study
...ical trials. When combined, these compounds showed increased suppression qualities with no toxic side effects. "That's what's important to note," Marsh said. "Every drug is also a potential poison. Thus, we sought to find several drugs, each of which impacts a different point in the disease process, so that we...Clot-busting drugs may help detect potentially deadly leg clots
...roke or heart attack treatment and d-dimer levels increased within 30 minutes of each dose, with significant changes at the highest two doses. "There are some groups of people, especially those with deep-vein thrombosis in their lower limbs, who don't show positive with the standard d-dimer test. How can we ...Morbidly obese pay nearly twice as much for health care
...en 1990 and 2000, the prevalence of morbid obesity increased from 0.78 percent to 2.2 percent, representing a t... Morbid obesity is associated with a substantially increased risk of sickness and death from chronic health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovasc...Induction at 32 weeks possible action for expectant moms with premature membrane rupture
...y as close as possible to term, while avoiding the increased risk of infection. Mothers in this situation are at risk for infection of the membranes surrounding the baby, and such infection can prompt premature delivery or infection of the uterus after delivery. Unborn babies are at risk for a host of infectio...Alcohol drinkers three times as likely to die from injury
...r that drinking is associated with a significantly increased risk of all types of fatal injury. Falls may be an...Our most notable finding was that current drinking increased the risk more for drowning than for other fatal injuries," said co-author Susan P. Baker, MPH, profe...British conservatives should beware of Australian health service reforms
...rs. "They show, however, that such policies create increased fiscal burdens for government, increase in equality in funding care, and have no observable effects on efficiency." They conclude: "British and continental European conservatives should beware of the simple solutions used by their Antipodean colleagu...Study casts doubt on increased mobility among US population
...ut 1950, and interstate mobility has generally not increased during the same period. The data supporting this is reported in the February 2005 issue of The Gerontologist (Vol. 45, No. 1). Authors Douglas A. Wolf of Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and Charles F. Longino,...Routine HIV screening should be expanded, study finds
...lly undetectable levels. Not only has this therapy increased the life expectancies of infected patients, but researchers believe that HAART also reduces their infectivity. The results of the cost-effectiveness analysis were published Feb. 10, 2005, in the New England Journal of Medicine. "While the Centers for...NYU psychology researchers show how attention enhances visual perception
... It also showed the magnitude of the cueing effect increased from the earliest to later areas of visual processing [see graph]. Liu, who earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Science and Technology of China, received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and currently is a postdoctoral researche...Physicians call for increased funding for federal infectious disease programs
...amm. "We urge policymakers to become advocates for increased funding for infectious diseases."...Simpler blood thinning medication effective for preventing blood clots and stroke
...ment. The mechanism and clinical importance of the increased liver enzyme levels in ximelagatran-treated patients requires further evaluation. Prospective assessment of coronary events in future studies is warranted," the authors write. (JAMA. 2005;293:681-689. Available post-embargo at JAMA.com ) Editor's N...Elderly people cared for by spouse are at greater risk for abuse, Pitt researchers find
...hone. The researchers found that the risk of abuse increased when caregivers were married to the care recipients, especially when the caregivers were at risk for clinical depression, were cognitively impaired, had reported physical symptoms in the previous week, or were taking care of more needy recipients. In...Certain gun storage practices can reduce risk of youth firearm injuries, suicide
...sence of a household firearm is associated with an increased risk of suicide among adults and adolescents. In a study of suicide attempters and completers, investigators found that 75 percent of the guns were stored in the residence of the victim, friend, or relative. Another study found that 35 percent of hom...Patients with cancer have highly increased risk for blood clots
Patients with cancer have a 7-fold increased risk for blood clots in the legs or lungs (venous ... study to identify individuals with cancer with an increased thrombotic risk, evaluated different tumor sites, the presence of distant metastases, and carrier st...Contrary to previous findings, smoking is detrimental to patients with Alzheimer's
...e researchers found that chronic nicotine exposure increased the tangles while having no significant effect on the plaques. "In contrast to previous reports that nicotine has some marginally positive effects, our latest findings suggest that chronic nicotine exposure may actually be detrimental, enhancing cert......and 2001, larger birth size was associated with an increased risk of certain adult cancers. A standard deviatio...pothesis that larger birth size is associated with increased risk of certain adult cancers," the authors report. "However, our findings suggest that positive ass...