At Risk for Breast Cancer? Your Race Matters

FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Black women at risk of breast cancer may face a disadvantage because of racial disparities in health care, a small new study suggests.

Ohio State University researchers interviewed 30 white and 20 black women at high risk for breast cancer due to family history and other factors.

The ...

Virtual Doctor Visits Get High Marks in New Survey

FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- The quality of your care won't suffer if you choose video visits with your doctor, a new study suggests.

It included 254 patients and 61 health care providers who participated in virtual video visits offered by Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The appointments are conducted online, usi...

Big Pharma's Marketing to Docs Helped Trigger Opioid Crisis: Study

FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Aggressive direct marketing to doctors by pharmaceutical companies is tied to spurring the ongoing epidemic of opioid abuse in the United States, a new study claims.

A county-by-county analysis showed that opioid use increased in places where drug makers focused their marketing efforts, explain...

Movie Violence Doesn't Make Kids Violent, Study Finds

FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Parents often worry that violent movies can trigger violence in their kids, but a new study suggests PG-13-rated movies won't turn your kids into criminals.

Researchers found that as PG-13 movies became more violent between 1985 and 2015, overall rates of murder and violence actually fell.

AHA: Taking Medicine for a Cold? Be Mindful of Your Heart

FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (American Heart Association) -- Flu has so far infected more than 6 million Americans this season, and winter colds are making their rounds. If you've been hit by either, you may be thinking about heading to your local pharmacy to relieve your aches, pains and congestion.

But before you do, you need to consider h...

Are You a Risk-Taker? It Might Lie in Your Genes

FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Do you shy away from risky business or cast caution aside and go for it?

Either way, your answer could come from your DNA.

Scientists have identified more than 100 genetic variants linked with risk-taking, according to a groundbreaking new study.

"Genetic variants that are...

Disrupted Sleep Plagues Hospital Patients, But New Program Might Help

FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Anyone who has cared for a hospitalized loved one knows that frequent nighttime sleep interruptions -- caused by noise or nursing checks -- are a big concern.

But in a new study, a Chicago hospital adopted sleep-friendly measures for patients that led to fewer nighttime awakenings without compr...

Frailty a Risk Factor for Dementia

FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Frailty is associated with a higher risk of both Alzheimer's disease and its crippling symptoms, a new study shows.

"By reducing an individual's physiological reserve, frailty could trigger the clinical expression of dementia when it might remain asymptomatic in someone who is not frail," said ...

Many Oncologists in the Dark About LGBTQ Health Needs

FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Most cancer specialists are comfortable treating LGBTQ patients, but many aren't confident in their knowledge about these patients' specific health needs, a new survey finds.

"Cancer care within the LGBTQ community is a largely ignored public health issue," said Gwendolyn Quinn, a professor in ...

Study Examines Link Between Type 1 Diabetes, Broken Bones

FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Poor blood sugar control puts people with type 1 diabetes at increased risk for fragility fractures, a new study shows.

A fragility fracture is a broken bone caused by a fall from standing height or less.

For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 3,300 people with type 1 d...

Ditch Your Leisure To-Do List

FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- If the fun is often missing from your social activities or play feels like work, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have an explanation: You're probably overplanning.

With so many demands on your time, precise scheduling might be the only way to accomplish everything you w...

Protecting Seniors From Scammers

FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- It seems as though every day brings warnings about phone and internet scammers, with older Americans being particularly vulnerable.

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 7.3 percent of adults between the ages of 65 and 74, and 6.5 percent of those aged 75 and older, are victims of financi...

Still Too Many Highway Deaths Tied to Speeding

THURSDAY, Jan. 17, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Speeding is a factor in nearly one-third of U.S. traffic deaths, but doesn't get enough attention as a traffic safety issue, a new Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) report says.

"If we want to get to zero deaths on our roads, we need to address speeding on a much deeper and more com...

Opioid Use in Pregnancy Tied to Severe Birth Defects

THURSDAY, Jan. 17, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- More American infants are being born with their intestines outside of their bodies, and the disturbing trend might be linked to the opioid crisis, health officials reported Thursday.

The condition, called gastroschisis, is caused by a hole beside the belly button. The hole can be small or la...

Antibiotics Still Misused in Babies With Viral Lung Infections

THURSDAY, Jan. 17, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. emergency rooms routinely prescribe antibiotics to babies with the common viral lung infection bronchiolitis, counter to recommendations issued more than a decade ago, a new study finds.

Bronchiolitis is the leading cause of hospitalization for U.S. babies in their first year of life. I...

Opioid Prescriptions Almost Twice as Likely for Rural vs. Urban Americans

THURSDAY, Jan. 17, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- As the United States battles an epidemic of opioid abuse, people living in rural areas have nearly two times the odds of being prescribed the painkillers when compared to their urban peers.

That's the finding from a new study that suggests more must be done to curb opioid prescribing by docto...

Experimental Drug Could Be New Option for Type 2 Diabetes

THURSDAY, Jan. 17, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental drug may help people with type 2 diabetes curb their blood sugar without causing it to drop to dangerously low levels.

Researchers found that the compound -- dubbed TTP399 for now -- improved patients' blood sugar control when it was added to the standard medication metformin ...

AHA: Are Some Breads Getting a Bad Rap?

THURSDAY, Jan. 17, 2019 (American Heart Association) -- There may be no dietary staple more in need of a public relations makeover than bread. Concerns over carbs, sodium and gluten sometime overshadow what can be a simple, tasty way to add important vitamins and minerals as well as fiber to daily meals.

But some breads are better for...

Stem Cell Therapy Shows Early Promise Against Macular Degeneration

THURSDAY, Jan. 17, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in seniors, and existing treatments are few.

But now, experiments in pigs and rats suggest that stem cell therapy might help curb at least one form of the disease.

The results could soon lead to the first human tri...

1 in 4 Antibiotic Prescriptions Isn't Needed: Study

THURSDAY, Jan. 17, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly 25 percent of antibiotics prescribed in the United States are given for conditions they aren't meant to treat, a new study finds.

Antibiotics are miracle drugs that can cure deadly bacterial infections. But too often they are given to treat viral infections, such as colds and flu, for...