Health

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Major Study Calls for Even Tighter Control of High Blood Pressure

Aggressive treatment cut rates of heart attack, heart failure and stroke by one-third, deaths by one-quarter.

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Alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drug use by teens declines; Level of youth with major depressive episodes remains high

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) report shows progress in reducing some forms of substance use – especially among adolescents. Substance use levels in many areas, however have remained relatively constant. Mental illness levels have also remained constant over time, but adolescents are experiencing higher levels of depression than in past years.

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Landmark NIH study shows intensive blood pressure management may save lives

Lower blood pressure target greatly reduces cardiovascular complications and deaths in older adults

More intensive management of high blood pressure, below a commonly recommended blood pressure target, significantly reduces rates of cardiovascular disease, and lowers risk of death in a group of adults 50 years and older with high blood pressure. This is according to the initial results of a landmark clinical trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health called the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT). The intervention in this trial, which carefully adjusts the amount or type of blood pressure medication to achieve a target systolic pressure of 120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), reduced rates of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and heart failure, as well as stroke, by almost a third and the risk of death by almost a quarter, as compared to the target systolic pressure of 140 mm Hg.

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Other People's Flu Vaccines Help Shield Seniors, Too: Study

Reduction in sickness is even greater when older folks also get immunization.

Getting a flu vaccine doesn't just protect you -- it may also help older folks in your community avoid the miserable illness, new research says.

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Sinus Surgery May Also Ease Sleep Apnea

Study finds that procedure boosted sleep and quality of life.

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Seasonal Melatonin Levels May Affect MS Flare-Ups, Study Says

But it's too soon to recommend self-dosing with supplements.

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California Right-to-Die Measure Could Soon Become Law

If approved, it would let doctors prescribe life-ending drugs to patients expected to die within 6 months.

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Child mortality rates plunge by more than half since 1990 but global MDG target missed by wide margin

16,000 children under 5 years old die each day

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Carrying her younger sibling in a sling over her shoulders, a girl child stands holding another sibling in Adone village of Ta Oi district in Saravane province, Lao PDR

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More than half of Asian Americans with diabetes are undiagnosed

New statistics also show rising prevalence of diabetes among all groups

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The graph shows the percentage of the U.S. adult population – both as a whole and by ethnic/racial subgroup – with diabetes (blue bars) and the percentage who have diabetes that has not been diagnosed (green bars), according to findings from researchers supported by the NIH and the CDC.

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Nearly 50 million lives saved since 2000; millions more can be saved by 2030: UNICEF report

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