http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health Obese men were more likely to have precancerous lesions detected in their benign prostate biopsies compared with non-obese men, and were at a greater risk for subsequently developing prostate cancer, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The findings will be published online in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-obese-men-high-prostate-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:46:34 EST news285943587 HIV-infected women in sub-Saharan Africa who fed their babies exclusively with breast milk for more than the first four months of life had the lowest risk of transmitting the virus to their babies through breast milk, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Women who stopped breast feeding earlier than four months had the highest concentrations of HIV in their breast milk, and those who continued to breastfeed, but not exclusively, had concentration levels in-between the two practices. The findings are online in the journal Science Translational Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-hiv-infected-moms-breastfeed-exclusively-virus.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:00:02 EST news285423153 Research has long linked high socioeconomic status with better health and lower mortality. But what's remained unclear is whether this association has more to do with access to resources (education, wealth, career opportunity, etc.) or the glow of high social status relative to others. Scholars call the latter "relative deprivation." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-explores-link-status-health.html Health Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:57:50 EST news282225464 Researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health are the first to report an association between early childhood exposure to the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) and an elevated risk for asthma in young children. BPA is a component of some plastics and is found in food can liners and store receipts. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-bpa-childhood-asthma.html Immunology Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:10:01 EST news281290238 A study by researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, has found that nearly one in four women (23 percent) newly diagnosed with breast cancer reported symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) shortly after diagnosis, with increased risk among black and Asian women. The research has been e-published ahead of print in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-women-newly-breast-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:03:14 EST news281286185 When it comes to having a lasting and fulfilling relationship, common wisdom says that feeling close to your romantic partner is paramount. But a new study finds that it's not how close you feel that matters most, it's whether you are as close as you want to be, even if that's really not close at all. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-emotionally-distant-fine.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:29:11 EST news279973723 A team of researchers have developed a method to identify the cause of infectious disease outbreaks based on online reports about the symptoms, the season, and the ratio of cases to fatalities. Using data from the Internet outbreak reporting system ProMED-mail, the researchers applied this method to more than 100 outbreaks of encephalitis in South Asia, recently identified as an emerging infectious disease "hotspot," to determine which of 10 infectious diseases was causing symptoms of encephalitis, and whether Nipah—a serious emerging infection—could be reliably differentiated from the others. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-surveillance-track-emerging-infectious-diseases.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:33:16 EST news279538390 An allergic reaction to cockroaches is a major contributor to asthma in urban children, but new research suggests that the insects are just one part of a more complex story. Very early exposure to certain components of air pollution can increase the risk of developing a cockroach allergy by age 7 and children with a common mutation in a gene called GSTM may be especially vulnerable. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-air-pollution-primes-children-asthma-related.html Immunology Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:20:02 EST news279307574 Obesity kills, giving rise to a host of fatal diseases. This much is well known. But when it comes to seniors, a slew of prominent research has reported an "obesity paradox" that says, at age 65 and older, having an elevated BMI won't shorten your lifespan, and may even extend it. A new study takes another look at the numbers, finding the earlier research flawed. The paradox was a mirage: As obese Americans grow older, in fact, their risk of death climbs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-age-obesity-death.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:20:44 EST news279289238 The rate of drug overdose from prescription opioids increased seven-fold in New York City over a 16-year period and was concentrated especially among white residents of the city, according to latest research at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The study is one of the earliest and most comprehensive analyses of how the opioid epidemic has affected an urban area. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-prescription-overdose-epidemic-nyc.html Medications Sun, 03 Feb 2013 07:38:22 EST news279099113 Latest research points to the high risk for mental health problems among staff working in humanitarian organizations in northern Uganda, due in large part to their work environment. A new study by researchers at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health examined the mental health of 376 Ugandan workers at 21 humanitarian aid agencies and found that a significant number of the staff at these organizations experienced high levels of symptoms for depression (68%), anxiety disorders (53%), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (26%), respectively. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-humanitarian-aid-workers-uganda-stress.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:00:01 EST news278959803 The national Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program was funded by Congress in 2005 in an effort to create safe environments for American children to walk or bike to school. Has the program been effective? In New York City, most definitely, according to a new study conducted at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health that evaluated the program here. Researchers found that the annual rate of injury to school-age pedestrians ages 5-19 fell 44% during the peak times for walking to school, in neighborhoods where the program was implemented. Significantly, the injury rate did not drop in parts of the city where the SRTS safety program was not in place. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-federal-safe-routes-school-child.html Pediatrics Mon, 14 Jan 2013 00:20:01 EST news277298365 New York children participating in a federal nutrition program had healthier eating behaviors and lower rates of obesity two years after improvements to the program were undertaken, according to a study published online today in Obesity, the official journal of the Obesity Society. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-obesity-children-enrolled-ny-state.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:38:17 EST news276878292 Bisexual men are less likely to disclose and more likely to conceal their sexual orientation than gay men. In the first study to look at the mental health of this population, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found that greater concealment of homosexual behavior was associated with more symptoms of depression and anxiety. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-bisexual-men-poor-mental-health.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 02 Jan 2013 13:25:26 EST news276355514 Asthmatic children in New York City neighborhoods with high rates of asthma make many more visits to the emergency room (ER) than those who live in other parts of the city. While socioeconomic factors such as lack of adequate preventive care are part of the equation (high-asthma neighborhoods tend to be lower income), new research points to a possible biological basis for the disparity. Asthmatic children living in asthma hotspots were twice as likely to experience a common symptom known as exercise-induced wheeze than were those in neighborhoods with lower asthma rates. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-kids-asthma-hotspots-nyc-er.html Pediatrics Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:20:01 EST news274903068