http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The world population could top 8 billion in the year 2023 if current growth rates remain constant, according to United Nations figures. However, if global fertility rates slow more quickly than expected, there could be up to half a billion fewer mouths to feed on Earth in 2023. Based on a recent study by a University of Missouri anthropologist, economic changes have the greatest impact on reducing family size, and thus slowing population growth, compared to other factors. Understanding the causes of declining birth rates may lead to improved policies designed to influence fertility and result in reduced competition for food, water, land and wealth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-economics-fertility-factors.html Health Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:37:25 EST news286562234 The study, published in The Lancet Oncology, is the first ever assessment of the effect of cancer screening in rural sub-Saharan Africa, and the authors are hopeful that their work, which is on-going, will ultimately show that the increase in early detection of breast cancer results in improved long-term survival chances for women who are screened. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-local-volunteers-early-breast-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:30:02 EST news278789730 The prevalence of tobacco smuggling in Europe is lower than industry figures suggest, reveals the largest study of its kind, published online in Tobacco Control. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-tobacco-smuggling-europe-industry-figures.html Addiction Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:30:06 EST news274381846 Behavior problems, not depression, are linked to lower grades for depressed adolescents, according to a study in the December issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-behavior-problems-depression-linked-grades.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 29 Nov 2012 00:00:01 EST news273344763 Most people are faced with embarrassment or humiliation at some point in their lives. Maybe they get nervous before a big presentation to the bosses at work. Maybe they get a bit anxious thinking about approaching an attractive stranger at a party. But where is the line between normal shyness and social anxiety disorder? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-nervous-social-anxiety-disorder-simply.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:40:55 EST news272551225 Research led by Queen Mary, University of London has found that having asthma is not linked to poorer scores in national school examinations. In contrast, ethnicity and social deprivation were associated with poorer educational outcomes in the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-impact-asthma-social-deprivation-ethnicity.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 15 Nov 2012 09:02:47 EST news272192553 Higher neighborhood education is associated with better self-rated health among Asian Americans who live in Asian ethnic neighborhoods, but this correlation between individual health and neighborhood education levels does not exist for Asian Americans living in non-Asian neighborhoods, according to a recent study in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-asian-american-neighborhoods-affect-residents.html Health Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:15:21 EST news271602906 Mums who carry too much weight and/or who smoke during pregnancy increase the risk of having overweight kids, indicates a systematic analysis of the available evidence published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-overweight-pregnancy-boost-kids.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 30 Oct 2012 06:50:32 EST news270798607 Men have borne the brunt of worsening mental health across the population of England since the start of the economic downturn in 2008, reveals research published in the online journal BMJ Open. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-men-brunt-worsening-mental-health.html Health Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:30:12 EST news269712051 It's a common lament among parents: Kids are growing up too fast these days. Parents worry about their kids getting involved in all kinds of risky behavior, but they worry especially about their kids' forays into sexual relationships. And research suggests that there may be cause for concern, as timing of sexual development can have significant immediate consequences for adolescents' physical and mental health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-true-age-sexual-romantic-outcomes.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 17 Oct 2012 13:07:56 EST news269697766 Overall death rates due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection declined over time between 1993 and 2007 for most men and women by race/ethnicity and educational levels, with the largest absolute decreases for nonwhites, but rates remain high among blacks, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-decline-hiv-deaths-men-women.html HIV & AIDS Mon, 08 Oct 2012 16:00:01 EST news268913256 (Medical Xpress)—New research published online first in The Lancet Neurology highlights the long-term, often hidden, after-effects of meningitis in children. The study, led by Professor Russell Viner at the UCL Institute of Child Health, shows that 1 in 3 children who have experienced meningococcal group B disease (MenB), the most common type of bacterial meningitis in the UK, will be left with after-effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-children-survive-meningitis-after-effects.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 24 Aug 2012 09:10:01 EST news265015099 (HealthDay) -- For anyone raising teenagers, the idea of helping them feel grateful for everyday things may seem like a long shot; just getting them to mumble a "thank you" every now and then can be a monumental accomplishment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-teens-depression-problems.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 06 Aug 2012 11:40:01 EST news263468992 The younger a woman is when she goes through the menopause, the greater may be her risk of having a brain (cerebral) aneurysm, suggests research published online first in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-early-menopause-linked-brain-aneurysm.html Neuroscience Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:30:04 EST news258651885 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers have found evidence that early drug and alcohol use is associated with lower levels of educational attainment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-early-substance-linked.html Health Thu, 17 May 2012 08:05:53 EST news256460742 Although various kinds of substance use are associated with reduced educational attainment, these associations have been mixed and may also be partially due to risk factors such as socioeconomic disadvantages. A study of substance use and education among male twins from a veteran population has found a strong relationship among early alcohol use, alcohol dependence, daily nicotine use, and fewer years of educational attainment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-substance-benefits.html Addiction Tue, 15 May 2012 16:00:06 EST news256309670 (Medical Xpress) -- Adolescents' expectations of an early death can predict their economic futures more than a decade later, according to a new study from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-adolescent-early-death-young-adult.html Health Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:53:56 EST news253302790 Teen school drop-outs are almost three times as likely to be on benefits in later life as their peers who complete their schooling, indicates research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-teen-school-drop-outs-benefits-life.html Health Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:30:04 EST news247768809 Mums-to-be who are both overweight and smoke during their pregnancy risk damaging their baby's developing heart, finds research published online in Heart. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-overweight-mothers-pregnant-baby-heart.html Overweight and Obesity Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:30:02 EST news247149847 Adults who participated in a high quality early childhood education program in the 1970s are still benefiting from their early experiences in a variety of ways, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-benefits-high-quality-child-persist.html Health Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:50:03 EST news246191179 People in Northern Ireland have a lower risk of developing some cancers than those living in the Republic of Ireland, according to the All-Ireland Cancer Atlas - a collaborative publication by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry at Queen's University Belfast and the National Cancer Registry in Cork. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-cancer-northern-ireland-republic.html Cancer Fri, 09 Dec 2011 09:27:54 EST news242645264 Death rates have declined among U.S. patients with cancer of the mouth and pharynx from 1993 to 2007, with the greatest decreases seen among men and women with at least 12 years of education, according to a report in the November issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-mortality-pharynx-mouth-cancers-decreased.html Cancer Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:00:06 EST news241102615 A high childhood IQ may be linked to subsequent illegal drug use, particularly among women, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-high-childhood-iq-linked-subsequent.html Health Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:44:52 EST news240551074 New research analyses maternal breastfeeding in Spain throughout the second half of the twentieth century. Experts believe that its development is associated with socio-demographic factors such as the advice of healthcare professionals, longer maternity leave, a woman's integration into the workplace and her level of education. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-woman-higher-social-breastfeed-longer.html Health Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:23:44 EST news236593410