In 2006, the CDC recommended that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 be tested for HIV at least once. Yet only a year before, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) had not found enough evidence in favor of routine testing and instead stated that such decisions should be made by doctors on a case-by-case basis.
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The link between soda and obesity has attracted a hailstorm of media attention recently, not least of which in New York City, where Mayor Bloomberg is attempting to restrict the sale of sweetened beverages exceeding 16 ounces. Yet, amidst the soda melee, it s surprising how little attention diet soda has received.
When The Pill was developed back in the early 1960s, medical and social philosophers predicted a sexual revolution, as reproductive and sexual fulfillment were, it seemed, finally untied from each other. However, complications ensued.
In the past decade, according to a study sponsored by Prevent Blindness America and the National Eye Institute, there has been a nearly 90 percent increase in the incidence of diabetic retinopathy an often progressive condition caused by tiny hemorrhages in the small arteries of the retina. In fact, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among adults in America.
In January 2011, the New York City Department of Education implemented a pilot program to distribute birth-control information and supplies in 13 schools across the city. The program is part of a wider effort to lower the rate of teen pregnancy, as some 7,000 NY high-school students become pregnant by age 17 each year.
Just last week, the first ultrasound device to improve breast cancer detection in women with dense breasts won FDA approval.
In 1999, ACSH assembled a Blue Ribbon Panel of physicians and scientists, chaired by former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop. The panel, after a thorough review of the literature, gave two members of the family of chemicals known as phthalates a clean bill of health. Phthalates (pronounced thal-ates) are used to soften plastics, which would otherwise be hard and brittle.
In addition to voting for president, this election season residents of California will be determining the fate of Proposition 37, which would mandate the labeling of foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients.
A new weight-loss program for kids has shown promising results and we re pleased to note that the program did not involve reducing the participants dietary levels of BPA. In fact, as Dr. Whelan observes, the pilot program for kids relied on entirely rational methods.
And while we re on the topic of BPA, we d like to applaud ACSH colleague Jon Entine s recent exposé of the disconnect between public relations and scientific evidence that has resulted from uninformed public outcry over the chemical.
Recently, the Ministry of Health in New Zealand moved to ban Hydro, a popular brand of electronic cigarette. In response, Dr. Murray Laugesen, founder of Health New Zealand, called for the Ministry to review its policy on electronic cigarettes, as such a ban is against the public s particularly smokers best interests.
In his open letter, Dr. Laugesen draws attention to a number of key points. As he points out,
If you re at all familiar with the nutritional value of what you eat, you probably know that milk is a nutrient-dense beverage. As Ruth Frenchman, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, points out, the ubiquitous beverage contains calcium, vitamin D, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B12, and other vitamins and minerals. In fact, of the four nutrients most commonly insufficient in our diets calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and fiber milk is a good source of the first three.
In 2008, nearly 215,000 men in the U.S. were diagnosed with prostate cancer and 28,000 died from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That makes it the second most common cause of cancer death in men (after lung cancer), but it is often difficult to accurately determine what if any treatment is the best option.
When it comes to perishable food items, consumers often rely on expiration dates to determine when a product will spoil. But does the same rule of thumb hold for labeled expiration dates on medications?
Harder exercise is better than longer exercise when it comes to preventing metabolic syndrome, Danish researchers reported in a new study published in BMJ Open.
ACSH has long maintained that mandatory flu vaccines for health care workers is one of the best ways to reduce the toll of seasonal influenza, which kills between 3,000 and 50,000 Ame
The debate over whether organic is better came to a head recently when a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that there are no nutritional or safety differences between foods produced according to organic standards and those cultivated by conventional methods.
In what ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross calls one of the worst studies ever, a team of researchers from the University of Texas School of Public Health reported in the Journal of Pediatrics that exposure to a widely used herbicide during pregnancy may raise the risk of a birth defect.
This may be the first and last time you ll hear us praise Vladimir Putin in the annals of Dispatch. But thanks to the Russian president, a personal fitness buff, the Kremlin seems poised to finally crack down on cigarette smoking.
It isn t very often that a world-renowned, respected teaching facility, such as Harvard University s Brigham and Women s hospital, publicly apologizes for promoting bad research but that is exactly what they did. The so-called study, led by Dr.
If there is any perfect example of how supplement makers get away with murder, this is it.
So-called "energy" drinks are currently in the news because the FDA is investigating whether the deaths of 5 people who drank concoctions with names like Monster and Red Bull, are related to the caffeine content in the drinks. The FDA isn't talking yet, but the idea is certainly plausible. Here's why.
Flu shots can stop you from getting the flu. Can they also stop you from having a heart attack?
Adding confusion to the already-confusing world of dietary supplements, a new study published in the British Medical Journal compared the incidence of strokes in people who ate fish with those who took fish oil supplements.
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