In a fair society, education is expected to be the great equalizer. This is based on the belief that education enabled people to escape poverty and join the middle class. In the United States, education is listed as a key strategy to achieve the American dream, even for people born to poor families. Education also…
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The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented pressure on societies worldwide, given the pandemic’s rapid, often deadly spread. In health care, the pandemic has raised the pressing question of how society should allocate scarce resources during a crisis. This is the question experts addressed today in a new position statement published by the American Geriatrics Society…
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Clinicians from two hospitals in Boston report that the majority of even the sickest patients with COVID-19–those who require ventilators in intensive care units–get better when they receive existing guideline-supported treatment for respiratory failure. The clinicians, who are from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, published their findings in the American…
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For patients undergoing surgery, smoking is linked with a higher risk of experiencing complications following their procedure, and quitting smoking before surgery may help reduce this risk. A new BJS (formerly British Journal of Surgery) study examined whether a smoking cessation intervention before surgery is economically worthwhile when funded by the National Health System (NHS)…
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A condition involving excess fat buildup in the liver is grossly underdiagnosed in the United States, according to an analysis of Medicare claims data. The condition, called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is often associated with obesity and is not related to alcohol consumption. In the Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics analysis of information on 10,826,456…
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Use of emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) is common among Scandinavian women, with one-third having used them at least once, according to a study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. For the study, women aged 18-45 years were randomly selected in 2011-2012 from national registers in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Of the 45,445 women, 33.9%…
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In an analysis of randomized controlled trials, individuals who consumed green tea experienced a significant decline in body weight and body mass index. On the other hand, the analysis did not show any significant change in terms of waist circumference (a measure of abdominal fat) with green tea supplementation. The findings are published in Phytotherapy…
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Day services–programs designed to provide stimulation in a safe environment during the day for adults with physical and mental impairments–may help improve the cognitive function of adults with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published in Psychogeriatrics. The study included 161 adults with Alzheimer’s disease in Japan who were divided into two groups according to…
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Many cancer survivors with high medical copayments experience financial toxicity, an economic side effect of cancer treatment. A recent analysis of published studies found that few cancer survivors received financial information support from healthcare facilities during their initial treatment, even though cancer-related financial toxicity has multiple impacts on survivors’ health and quality of life. The…
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A recent analysis of published studies examined the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among nurses and identified factors associated with work-related PTSD among nurses. The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing. For the analysis, investigators identified 24 relevant studies. The researchers found that PTSD is a world-wide issue affecting nurses and…
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