Bird flu claims second victim in China

A man in southwest China who contracted the bird flu virus died on Sunday, health authorities said, the second human death from the virulent disease in the country in just under a month.

The news comes after neighbouring Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia also reported deaths from avian influenza, and after chickens tested positive for the H5N1 virus in Hong Kong,…

For Older Women, Year Following Hip Fracture Can Be Especially Deadly

Women age 65 and older who fracture a hip are much more likely to die from any cause during the following year than they would be if they had avoided injury, a new study suggests.

The increased risk of death associated with hip fractures was especially dramatic among younger women. In the 65- to 69-year-old age group,…

Lung Cancer Rates Begin to Decline for U.S. Women

The rate of new lung cancer cases among American women is finally beginning to decline, much as it has for men in for years, a new U.S. government report shows.

New cases of lung malignancies fell by 2.2 percent per year on average for women between 2006 and 2008, after rising an average of 0.5 percent between 1999 and…

Teen Driving Restrictions Fail to Curb Fatal Crashes

State laws that place restrictions on teenage drivers and require them to “graduate” from an intermediate license to a full license do seem to prevent fatal crashes involving teens, but only among the youngest drivers.

A new analysis of national crash data published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that between 1986 and 2007,…

Depressed People Often Hide Symptoms from Doctors

Family doctors and other primary care physicians are often the first health professionals to learn that a patient is depressed, but that doesn’t mean they identify all of the depression cases that walk through their offices.

Far from it: A new survey of California adults has found that 43% of people would keep their depression symptoms to themselves…

Stress, Dust of 9/11 Linked to Acid Reflux

People exposed to the terror and dust of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center have higher rates of asthma and post-traumatic stress than those who were further away from Ground Zero. But they also have high rates of a less obvious health problem: heartburn.

A new study of more than 37,000 adults who worked at Ground Zero or…

Study Highlights 5 Keys to Diabetes Prevention

Would you be willing to change one aspect of your life—such as eating healthier or exercising more—if you knew it would reduce your likelihood of developing diabetes? Would you make two, three, or five lifestyle changes to bring down those chances even more?

Every little bit helps, a new government study suggests. Meeting just one of five key health…

Insomnia Costs U.S. $63 Billion Annually in Lost Productivity

People who have trouble sleeping rarely see their problem as an illness that requires treatment, or as an acceptable reason to call in sick. That mind-set may be hurting employers and employees alike by compelling people with insomnia to drag themselves to work and sleepwalk through the day, a new study suggests.

Researchers surveyed 7,428 employed people across the U.S….

Too Little Deep Sleep May Fuel Hypertension

Missing out on deep sleep can leave you feeling slow-witted and irritable in the morning, but the consequences don’t necessarily end there. Over time, too little deep sleep may also take a toll on your heart by contributing to high blood pressure, a new study suggests.

Healthy young and middle-aged adults spend about 20% to 25% of their sleeping hours…

Mental Illness Affects Women, Men Differently, Study Finds

Certain types of mental illnesses affect either men or women more often, a new study indicates.

Men are more likely to be diagnosed with substance abuse or antisocial disorders while women are more likely to develop anxiety or depression, according to the researchers.

These findings show the need for gender-specific prevention and treatment efforts, said the study authors, who analyzed…

No Heart Risk Seen With Psoriasis Drug

For people with severe cases of psoriasis, the injectable drugs known as biologics can provide much-needed relief from the itchy, flaky skin lesions caused by the disorder.

These drugs are powerful, however, and they carry a small risk of potentially serious infections and other side effects. In addition, recent clinical trials have linked a newer subclass of biologics that…