Culture

(Boston)--A recent analysis conducted by investigators from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University has found that frequent experiences of racism were associated with a higher risk of obesity among African American women. The findings, which currently appear online in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found the relationship between racism and obesity was strongest among women who reported consistently high experiences of racism over a 12-year period.

HUNTSVILLE, TX (3/4/14) -- Two studies at Sam Houston State University examined issues of sexual orientation and intimate partner violence, including its impact on substance abuse and physical and mental health as well as the effects of child abuse on its victims.

• Sexual aggression has become a common experience in bars.
• New findings show that approximately 90 percent of the incidents involve male initiators and female targets.
• The initiators' level of invasiveness was related to intoxication of the targets but not their own intoxication.
• This suggests that intoxicated women were being targeted, perhaps perceived as easier or more blameworthy.

WASHINGTON, DC (March 3, 2014)—Under the Affordable Care Act, an estimated 4 million people who have spent time in jail will have better access to health coverage for conditions that might—if left untreated—result in higher health care costs and an increased risk of recidivism. That's the conclusion of an analysis by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS).

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Many Americans are confused about the best ways to conserve water and have a slippery grasp on how much water different activities use, according to a national online survey conducted by an Indiana University researcher.

A new study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Illinois at Chicago finds that Medicare Part D prescription coverage significantly reduced hospital admissions and program expenditures totaling $1.5 billion annually.

To be published online Monday, March 3, a special issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR®) focuses on improving the safety of computed tomography (CT) exams through careful radiation dose optimization. The issue was guest edited by Rebecca Smith-Bindman, M.D., from the University of California San Francisco, and John M. Boone, Ph.D., from the University of California Davis.

Articles include:

Patients with rheumatic conditions are in need of symptom relief and some are turning to herbal cannabis as a treatment option. However, the effectiveness and safety of medical marijuana to treat symptoms of rheumatic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or fibromyalgia is not supported by medical evidence.

Some children who outgrow one type of food allergy may then develop another type of allergy, more severe and more persistent, to the same food. A new study by pediatric allergy experts suggests that health care providers and caregivers carefully monitor children with food allergies to recognize early signs of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a severe and often painful type of allergy that has been increasing in recent years.

(Phoenix , Ariz. Feb 28, 2014) -- "The results of this study are counter to most expectations," said Dr. Brachman, Director of Radiation Oncology at Barrow and St. Joseph's. "Bevacizuman had been shown in earlier studies to be an effective drug in the treatment of patients with recurrent disease. But, on newly diagnosed patients, it did not, in fact, prolong survival."

STANFORD, Calif. — An asthma drug accelerates the process of desensitizing patients with food allergies to several foods at the same time, a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford shows.

Philadelphia, Pa. (February 28, 2014) – Psychiatric advanced practice nurses (APNs) played a critical role in supporting psychological recovery after the Boston Marathon bombing—not only for injured patients, but also for family members and hospital staff, according to an article in Clinical Nurse Specialist, official journal of the the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For people whose hands shake uncontrollably due to a medical condition, just eating can be a frustrating and embarrassing ordeal – enough to keep them from sharing a meal with others.

But a small new study conducted at the University of Michigan Health System suggests that a new handheld electronic device can help such patients overcome the hand shakes caused by essential tremor, the most common movement disorder.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 27, 2014 – The control and elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is one of the most cost-effective ways Indonesia can sustain economic growth and reduce inequality, said scientists today in an analysis published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. While Indonesia is poised to defeat NTDs by 2020, it has an opportunity to scale up national programs, integrate NTDs with other development efforts, strengthen coordination and enhance collaboration among key partners.

Living in a socioeconomically deprived region is a risk factor for being affected by diabetes mellitus and obesity. This holds true regardless of the individual social status of the inhabitants. This is the conclusion reached by scientists from the Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management (IGM) at the Helmholtz Zentrum München (HMGU) and the Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Berlin.