http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The Democratic Republic of Congo has displaced Niger to gain the unenviable distinction of being the worst place in the world to be a mother, according to a new report by Save the Children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-drc-worst-mother.html Health Tue, 07 May 2013 05:10:01 EST news287121409 A review of criminal investigations into medical error, conducted by a University of Manchester team, has shown how difficult it is to convict doctors and nurses for wilfully failing their patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-medical-neglect-law-shot-arm.html Health Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:28:08 EST news285920882 Stenting reopens completely blocked bowel arteries, preventing damage and even death from a condition that causes individuals severe pain and leads to excessive weight loss, notes research being presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 38th Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans, La. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-stenting-blocked-bowel-arteries.html Cardiology Sun, 14 Apr 2013 10:00:03 EST news285143087 Older adults who categorise themselves as old and frail encourage attitudinal and behavioural confirmation of that identity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-youre-frail.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 09 Apr 2013 04:16:12 EST news284699762 Although smoking prevalence has declined in the United Kingdom over recent decades, it has changed little among people with mental health disorders, remaining substantially higher than the national average. Yet a study published in the journal Addiction, presenting work carried out for a report released today by the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Psychiatrists called 'Smoking and Mental Health', suggests that general practitioners (GPs) are missing opportunities to help smokers with mental health disorders to quit. Though smokers with mental health problems are more likely than other smokers to receive cessation support from their GP over the course of a year, this reflects the increased frequency of their consultations. Overall, the total proportion of smokers with poor mental health (indicated by a recorded diagnosis or a prescription for a psychoactive medication) who are prescribed a smoking cessation medication in any one year is low: approximately one in ten is prescribed a smoking cessation medication, and only half are advised to quit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-opportunities-smokers-mental-illness.html Addiction Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:00:07 EST news283629426 (HealthDay)—Elderly people who are socially isolated and lonely may be at greater risk of early death, British researchers report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-isolation-loneliness-death-elderly.html Health Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:37:21 EST news283451833 (Medical Xpress)—Positive emotions are known to play a role in physical well-being, and stress is strongly linked to poor health, but is this strictly a "First World" phenomenon? In developing nations, is the fulfillment of basic needs more critical to health than how one feels? A UC Irvine researcher has found that emotions do affect health around the world and may, in fact, be more important to wellness in low-income countries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-emotion-health-limited-wealthy-nations.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 08 Mar 2013 09:19:32 EST news281956766 Marriage may not always be as beneficial to health as experts have led us to believe, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-health-benefits-marriage.html Health Tue, 05 Mar 2013 09:38:11 EST news281698680 Postmenopausal women who have smoked are at much higher risk of losing their teeth than women who never smoked, according to a new study published and featured on the cover of the Journal of the American Dental Association by researchers at the University at Buffalo. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-postmenopausal-women-teeth-due-periodontal.html Dentistry Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:49:46 EST news281386153 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 In the first study of its kind, researchers at the Columbia University School of Nursing have established that poor health literacy among Latino parents is associated with a poor understanding of the proper use antibiotics, particularly for upper respiratory infections (URIs), which can lead to an increase in antimicrobial resistance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-parental-misconceptions-antibiotics-linked-poor.html Medications Mon, 04 Feb 2013 08:56:06 EST news279190443 (Medical Xpress)—To prevent the risk of 'chair disease', The University of Queensland researchers have developed a 'sitting pad' device that uses an alarm to alert workers to stand up more regularly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-pad-decrease-chair-disease.html Health Tue, 04 Dec 2012 07:07:52 EST news273827262 As public health researchers continue efforts to understand the effects of neighborhood conditions on health, residents themselves can provide valuable insights regarding public health issues and potential solutions. A new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania uses in-depth interviews with local residents to examine perspectives on how vacant land affects community, physical, and mental health. The study highlights the importance of community engagement in promoting urban revitalization. Full results of the study, which mirror and expand upon previous studies linking vacant land to poor health, are published online in the Journal of Urban Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-residents-vacant-threatens-physical-mental.html Health Fri, 30 Nov 2012 12:48:06 EST news273502077 One in six people in England aged over 50 are socially isolated. They have few socially orientated hobbies, little civic or cultural engagement with society, and may have very limited social networks. This was a key finding from the most recent report of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a comprehensive study that aims to understand the economic, social, psychological and health concerns of an ageing society. The multidisciplinary ELSA research team showed that the least wealthy over-fifties suffer the most social isolation, with the wealthier over 50's half as likely to become socially isolated compared to the least wealthy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-reveals-key-uk-aging-society.html Health Mon, 15 Oct 2012 05:23:17 EST news269497388 How likely are middle-aged adults to develop kidney failure during their lifetime? A study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN) provides some insights, which may be used to help set priorities related to kidney care and to increase public interest in the prevention of kidney disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-lifetime-kidney-failure.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:00:02 EST news264345420 Expediting primary health care for chronically ill inmates soon after release from prison results in fewer visits to hospital emergency departments, a Yale study has found. The study is published in the American Journal of Public Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-health-prisoners-high-emergency-department.html Health Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:28:02 EST news261995271 Restricting the amount of time spent seated every day to less than 3 hours might boost the life expectancy of US adults by an extra 2 years, indicates an analysis of published research in the online journal BMJ Open. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-daily-hours-life-years.html Health Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:30:01 EST news261073327 Loneliness in individuals over 60 years of age appears associated with increased risk of functional decline and death, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-links-loneliness-older-individuals-functional.html Health Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:00:21 EST news259250027 The health of a caregiver is the most important predictor of orphan health, according to a new Duke University study that spans five less-wealthy nations in Africa and Asia. More important than an orphan's geographic location, living conditions or past trauma, the Duke study finds that an unhealthy caregiver likely means an unhealthy child. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-caregiver-health-strong-predictor-orphan.html Health Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:00:10 EST news258811117 Older patients are increasingly prescribed multiple drugs that, when combined, can lead to negative side effects and poor health outcomes.  A new Cochrane Library evidence review reveals that little is known about the best ways to avoid inappropriate prescribing of medications for seniors or how to maximize health benefits while minimizing prescriptions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-drugs-older-patients.html Medications Wed, 16 May 2012 09:21:43 EST news256378897 A new study that looked at the hunger trends over a 10-year period found that 14.85 percent of seniors in the United States, more than one in seven, face the threat of hunger. This translates into 8.3 million seniors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-great-recession-reflux-amounts-hunger.html Health Mon, 14 May 2012 15:50:11 EST news256229391 A measles outbreak has killed 12 children in one of Pakistan's lawless tribal districts and is spreading as fighting, power cuts and curfews cause a vaccine shortage, doctors said Monday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-measles-children-pakistan-tribal-area.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 14 May 2012 04:10:02 EST news256186073 A research paper which demonstrates that babies born even just a few weeks early have worse health outcomes than full term babies has been published today in the British Medical Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-babies-born-weeks-early-higher.html Health Fri, 02 Mar 2012 04:40:03 EST news249884535 The risk of serious side-effects associated with a common blood-thinning medication are related to elderly patients misunderstanding medical instructions, according to new research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-poor-health-literacy-medication-side-effects.html Medications Thu, 01 Mar 2012 11:05:58 EST news249822348 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 Frequent house moves during childhood seem to increase the risk of poor health in later life, suggests research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-frequent-house-childhood-ups-subsequent.html Health Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:30:02 EST news247768692 The founder of the French firm that made breast implants feared to be at risk of rupturing has admitted using non-approved but non-toxic silicone gels, his lawyer said Tuesday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-breast-implant-maker-non-approved-gels.html Other Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:30:42 EST news244225833 NIH-funded trial shows that therapy with bone-marrow derived cells does not improve heart function after six months; future clinical benefits still possible. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-stem-cell-therapy-heart-safe.html Cardiology Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:26:22 EST news240485170 Ethnic differences in appointment keeping may be an important factor in poor health outcomes among some minority patients with diabetes, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-ethnic-differences-affect-health-diabetes.html Health Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:50:01 EST news238922051 If you want to provide poor people in developing countries with decent health care, you need to overcome several barriers at the same time. That is the conclusion of researcher Bart Jacobs, based on years of research in Cambodia – and on his experience in several other low- and mid-income countries. The local community and existing social networks play an important role, but the authorities also have a role to play. His analysis has in the mean time been partly incorporated in Cambodian national policy, and it resulted in a PhD at the Antwerp Institute for Tropical Medicine and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-health-poor.html Health Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:40:01 EST news236510697