http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. UC Irvine Health urologists and health policy experts report in a new study that two written assessments that identify existing comorbidities – the patient-reported Total Illness Burden Index for Prostate Cancer (TIBI-Cap) and the physician-reported Charlson Comorbidity Index – can successfully target prostate patients who would not benefit from biopsy to discover possible cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-comorbidities-factor-prostate-biopsy-choice.html Cancer Wed, 15 May 2013 09:18:45 EST news287828319 Several studies have examined the impact of stress on a pregnancy – both chronic stress, such as workload, and acute stress associated with traumatic events like the 9/11 terrorist attacks. They conclude that stress can lead to adverse birth outcomes, including miscarriage and premature birth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-sustained-stress-heightens-miscarriage.html Health Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:25:53 EST news284657146 (Medical Xpress)—California teenagers who live close to a park or open space are more likely to get exercise than those who live in areas without parks nearby, a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-perks-teenagers-physically.html Health Thu, 28 Mar 2013 07:06:44 EST news283673196 In the nation's most diverse state, some of the sickest Californians often have the hardest time communicating with their doctors. So say the authors of a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research that found that residents with limited English skills who reported the poorest health and were enrolled in commercial HMO plans were more likely to have difficulty understanding their doctors, placing this already vulnerable population at even greater risk. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-lost-hmo-enrollees-poor-health.html Health Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:50:23 EST news281281817 The deadly consequences of workplace sectors without inspectors are the subject of a new study by Stirling's Professor of Occupational Health Policy Research, Rory O'Neill. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-exposes-dangerous-lack-oversight.html Health Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:37:01 EST news277378615 (Medical Xpress)—As the California Legislature prepares to consider bills relating to implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and expanding Medicaid, the state has the opportunity to significantly increase health insurance coverage at minimal cost to the state budget, according to a joint study by the University of California, Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.    http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-minimal-state-medicaid-expansion-california.html Health Tue, 08 Jan 2013 07:12:19 EST news276851532 (Medical Xpress)—More than half a million adults in California seriously thought about committing suicide during the previous year, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-million-california-adults-committing-suicide.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 20 Dec 2012 07:50:01 EST news275211073 (HealthDay)—U.S. teens are much less likely to buy cigarettes if they are hidden from view, new research suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-cigarettes-kids.html Addiction Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:10:01 EST news273753335 A study by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) indicates that full implementation of the Affordable Care Act would expand health insurance coverage for more low-income women, enabling more than a million women to obtain potentially life-saving screening for breast and cervical cancer. The study, "Health Care Reform and Women's Insurance Coverage for Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening," was published in a recent issue of the journal Preventing Chronic Disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-million-women-gain-access-potentially.html Cancer Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:00:02 EST news272206669 Patient-led advocacy has created a shift in the way the U.S. government has prioritized funding for medical research, and significantly changed the way policymakers think about who benefits the most from these dollars, a University of Michigan School of Public Health fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research Program found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-patient-led-advocacy-funds-medical.html Health Mon, 01 Oct 2012 02:59:04 EST news268279138 (HealthDay)—New research finds that high cigarette taxes take a heavy toll on low-income smokers, compared to those who are wealthier. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-cigarette-taxes-disproportionately-burden-poor.html Health Tue, 18 Sep 2012 05:10:01 EST news267162329 (Medical Xpress)—A child is desperately ill, and a family faces a stark choice: Should they try to save the child's life with therapeutic treatments, or ease the pain through hospice and other pain-relief services? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-small-mercies-children-life-threatening-conditions.html Health Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:41:41 EST news265538464 (HealthDay) -- Implementation of the International Association of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group (IADPSG) recommendations for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) screening in Israel would increase GDM diagnoses by approximately 50 percent, with risk stratification recommended to reduce over-treatment, according to research published online July 11 in Diabetes Care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-screening-guidelines-ups-gdm-diagnosis.html Diabetes Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:20:01 EST news262008762 Nine out of 10 Californians under the age of 65 will be enrolled in health insurance programs as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a joint study by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-non-elderly-californians.html Health Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:37:17 EST news258899801 The demand for caregivers is growing rapidly as California's population ages, but the majority of state's Medi-Cal caregivers earn poverty or near-poverty wages and have poor access to health care and food, a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-majority-california-medi-cal-caregivers-poverty.html Health Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:46:20 EST news253374353 In 2011, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) convened the Stroke Progress Review Group (SPRG) to conduct a final 10-year review of the state of stroke research. The goal is to set priorities and shape future NINDS programs and policies. While SPRG found much available data for maximizing stroke rehabilitation outcomes, translation to clinical practice is inadequate. To realize the enormous potential for improving rehabilitation and recovery, more resources should be applied to implementing and directly supporting SPRG's recommendations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-group-priorities-future-nih.html Cardiology Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:04:32 EST news251744660 (Medical Xpress) -- Only about 75 percent of HIV/AIDS patients in the United States remain in care consistently, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published online this week in AIDS. The study of patients across the United States is the first to provide a comprehensive national estimate of HIV care retention and information about patients who are most likely to continue their treatment over time. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-hiv-patients-dont.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 06 Mar 2012 06:09:14 EST news250236542 Language barriers could deter more than 100,000 Californians from enrolling in the Health Benefit Exchange, according to a study released today by the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, and the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-californians-health-due-language-barriers.html Health Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:19:01 EST news249740335 Hard hit by one of the worst recessions in nearly a century, hundreds of thousands of Californians lost insurance coverage across the state as employers shed jobs and the health plans that came with those jobs, according to a new report from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-medical-debt.html Health Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:18:12 EST news247767484 The study identifies the respective contributions of direct and indirect government support in research and development of new pharmaceutical drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-respective-roles-private-sectors-pharmaceutical.html Medications Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:09:13 EST news243176934 California's low-income seniors with disabilities are struggling to remain in their homes as public funding for long-term care services shrinks and may be slashed even further, according to a new study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research conducted with support from The SCAN Foundation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-older-californians-disabilities-struggle-home.html Health Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:23:46 EST news242490184 Nearly 2 million adults in California, about 8 percent of the population, need mental health treatment, but the majority receive no services or inadequate services, despite a state law mandating that health insurance providers include mental health treatment in their coverage options, a new report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-million-californians-mental-health-treatment.html Health Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:27:18 EST news241882031 A new study released today offers hope that California may finally be getting a handle on its 30-year battle with childhood obesity, but it also showcases a patchwork of progress that leaves the majority of the state's counties still registering increases in obesity rates among school-age children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-california-headway-childhood-obesity-successes.html Health Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:23:53 EST news240078226 Despite having the second-lowest smoking rate in the nation, California is still home to nearly 2.5 million children under the age of 12 who are exposed to secondhand smoke, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-million-california-children-secondhand-exposure.html Health Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:37:48 EST news238948622 Family members or friends caring for aging or disabled individuals in California are under both financial and emotional strain and are likely to face even greater burdens, given recent cuts in state support for programs and services that support in-home care, write the authors of a new policy brief by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-stressed-caregivers-friends-relatives-emotional.html Health Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:57:24 EST news235832213 Victims who suffer violence at the hands of a spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend, or other intimate partner aren't only brutalized physically; they also suffer disproportionately higher rates of mental health distress, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-partner-violence-impacts-mental-health.html Health Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:09:33 EST news233932160 California's weak economy has voters cutting back on current expenses and largely unable to meet essential future ones, such as the cost of long-term care, according to a new poll from The SCAN Foundation and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-poll-two-thirds-california-voters-unprepared.html Health Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:50:19 EST news232721406 Got lots of fast food restaurants and other outlets that sell junk food in your neighborhood? Then your teen is more likely to nosh regularly on burgers and fries and wash them down with a soda. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-unhealthy-food-outlets-teens-junk.html Health Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:20:05 EST news230994219 Restrictions on eligibility for health care reform programs will result in the potential exclusion of up to 220,000 children from affordable health care coverage in California, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-california-children-excluded-health-reform.html Health Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:44:48 EST news228660275 Despite living in the countryside, where open space is plentiful and there is often significant agricultural production, California's more than half a million rural elders are far more likely to be overweight or obese, physically inactive and food insecure than their suburban counterparts, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-rural-elders-highest-obesity-diabetes.html Health Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:00:08 EST news227285990