Tag Archives: Health
Health Studies: “Head and Neck Injuries Associated With Cell Phone Use”
From a
Cell phone–related injuries to the head and neck have increased steeply over the recent 20-year period, with many cases resulting from distraction. Although the disposition of most cases is simple, some injuries bear a risk of long-term complications. Many of these injuries occurred among those aged 13 to 29 years and were associated with common activities, such as texting while walking. These findings suggest a need for patient education about injury prevention and the dangers of activity while using these devices.
Since their invention, cell phones have played a major role in the daily lives of American adults. Approximately 96% of Americans own a cell phone, provoking interest in their role in causing injury. Given that head and neck traumas make up approximately 5% of emergency department (ED) visits in the United States, cell phone use in relation to such injuries could be of public health concern, in particular because of the psychological and financial burdens such injuries may entail. In addition, knowledge of the mechanism of injury is vital for patient risk stratification and trauma management,and understanding the mechanisms of common cell phone–related injuries can aid health care professionals in assessing patient needs. Health care professionals and public safety officials also must be aware of the epidemiologic nature of such injuries in order to provide adequate counseling and give input for legislation to protect the population.
Health: “Digestion And The Brain” (Harvard Podcast)
Most of the time your digestive tract toils silently in the background, routinely taking in nourishment and expelling waste. But here’s a key takeaway: Your brain is a critical part of maintaining this smoothly running system.
Here to explain is Harvard professor Dr. Lawrence S. Friedman, faculty editor the special health report Sensitive Gut.
Medical Case Studies: Identifying Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (Johns Hopkins Video)
A Chinese patient initially diagnosed with lung cancer traveled to Johns Hopkins for a second opinion. Noticing inconsistencies in the scans, experts at #JohnsHopkins brought her case to the gastrointestinal tumor board. Working as a team, these experts deduced her condition is actually metastatic colorectal cancer and recommended a new, more targeted treatment plan.
New Study: “Five Healthy Habits” For Diet, Exercise, BMI, Smoking & Alcohol” Lower Chronic Disease, Raise Lifespan (Harvard)
From a BMJ online article:
We derived a healthy lifestyle score based on information on five lifestyle factors—diet, smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and body mass index (BMI).
Our findings suggest that promotion of a healthy lifestyle would help to reduce the healthcare burdens through lowering the risk of developing multiple chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, and extending disease-free life expectancy. Public policies for improving food and the physical environment conducive to adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle, as well as relevant policies and regulations (for example, smoking ban in public places or trans-fat restrictions), are critical to improving life expectancy, especially life expectancy free of major chronic diseases.
The average life expectancy in the world has increased substantially in the past few decades. The aging of the population has led to a high prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Although people live longer, older individuals often live with disabilities and chronic diseases. People with chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes have a shorter life expectancy than do their peers without these chronic conditions. Estimates of the loss in life years due to these chronic conditions range from 7.5 to 20 years, depending on the methods used and the characteristics of the study population.
Modifiable lifestyle factors including smoking, physical activity, alcohol intake, body weight, and diet quality affect both total life expectancy and incidence of chronic diseases. Studies have shown that smoking, inactivity, poor diet quality, and heavy alcohol consumption contribute up to 60% of premature deaths and 7.4-17.9 years’ loss in life expectancy. Nevertheless, little research has looked at how a combination of multiple lifestyle factors may relate to life expectancy free from the major diseases of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
Senior Healthcare: The Challenges Of Safely “Aging In Place” (Video)
The 65-and-older population is the fastest-growing age group in the world. In this video, Stony Brook experts discuss the challenges facing this burgeoning population and their caregivers, and the technology that can facilitate happy, healthy and safe aging.
Innovation In Aging: “Creating an Age-Friendly Public Health System”
From an Innovation In Aging online release:
Becoming an Age-Friendly Health System entails reliably acting on a set of four evidence-based elements of high-quality care and services, known as the “4Ms,” for all older adults. When implemented together, the 4Ms represent a broad shift to focus on the needs of older adults:
- (1) What Matters: Know and align care with each older adult’s specific health outcome goals and care preferences including, but not limited to, end-of-life care and across settings of care;
- (2) Medication: If medication is necessary, use Age-Friendly medication that does not interfere with What Matters to the older adult, Mobility, or Mentation across settings of care;
- (3) Mentation: Prevent, identify, treat, and manage dementia, depression, and delirium across settings of care; and
- (4) Mobility: Ensure that older adults move safely every day to maintain function and do What Matters
The Age-Friendly Health Systems movement, initiated in 2017, recognizes that an all-in, national response is needed to embrace the health and well-being of the growing older adult population. Like public health, health systems, including payers, hospitals, clinics, community-based organizations, nursing homes, and home health care, need to adopt a new way of thinking that replaces unwanted care and services with aligned interventions that respect older adults’ goals and preferences. Becoming an Age-Friendly Health System entails reliably acting on a set of four evidence-based elements of high-quality care and services, known as the “4Ms,” for all older adults.
Health Podcasts: Interview With “Seed” Microbiome Company Co-Founder Raja Dhir
Raja Dhir is the co-founder of microbiome company Seed. Based in LA, Seed is a collective of scientists and doctors, researching how bacteria can improve human health and that of our planet. Its first product, a daily synbiotic, focuses on the stomach.
Raja Dhir is a life sciences entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Seed, a venture-backed 
microbiome company pioneering the application of bacteria for both human and planetary health. He leads Seed’s R&D, academic collaborations, technology development, clinical trial design, supply chain, and intellectual property strategy.
Together with Dr. Jacques Ravel, he Co-Chairs Seed’s Scientific Advisory Board–an interdisciplinary group of scientists and doctors who lead research teams and teach at institutions including the teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the Trial Innovation Unit of Mass. General Hospital (MGH). Raja has designed clinical trials with leading academic institutions including the teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the Trial Innovation Unit of Mass. General Hospital (MGH).
Raja has unique expertise translating scientific research for product development with a track record that includes patented inventions to stabilize sensitive compounds to improve alpha-diversity of the gut microbiome (derived from micro-algae) and most recently, the co-invention of microbial technologies to protect honeybee populations (Apis mellifera) from neonicotinoid pesticides and pathogen colonization. His work also includes biofermentation and scale-up for both facultative and strict anaerobic organisms.
Medical Technology: “Digital Health Trends” At CES 2020 Show (Podcast)
January 8, 2020 – Digital health is one of the hottest and fastest-growing tech categories, not just at CES but throughout the entire tech industry. Join us for a roundtable with media experts discussing health innovations at CES 2020, the growth potential for the health care market and more.
Guests Amy Roberts, Managing Editor, Reviewed Dana Wollman, Editor-In-Chief, Engadget Neil Batra, Principal—Life Sciences & Health Care Strategy, Deloitte
Aortic Stenosis: Early Aortic-Valve Replacement Surgery Lowers Mortality
CONCLUSIONS
Among asymptomatic patients with very severe aortic stenosis, the incidence of the composite of operative mortality or death from cardiovascular causes during the follow-up period was significantly lower among those who underwent early aortic-valve replacement surgery than among those who received conservative care.
Boomers Daily 