Health

(Reuters Health) - Healthy food prescriptions written for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries might lower the risk of costly chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and at the same time lower the costs of care, a new study suggests.The prescriptions would even come with a 30 percent discount on foods, including fruits and vegetablesUsing computer models, researchers calculated that healthy food prescriptions could prevent as many as 3.28 million cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, and save as much as US$100.2 billion in health care costs, according to the study published in PLoS Medicine.People included in the simulations were between 35 and 80 years old and were enrolled in Medicare and/or Medicaid.As part of the modeling, the researchers used data from the three most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES 2009-2014), as well as from published sources and meta-analyses which included demographic information, … [Read more...] about Prescriptions for healthy food might save lives

(Reuters Health) - Total knee replacement is increasingly being performed in younger people, and new research suggests younger patients have higher complication rates."The number of knee replacements we are doing in younger and younger patients keeps increasing every year and we need to let these patients know that their failure rate is potentially higher," Dr. Mark Figgie, orthopaedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, told Reuters Health in a phone interview.Figgie and colleagues reported their observations March 12 at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting in Las Vegas.Using a national insurance database, they compared early complication rates and reoperations in seven age groups, from younger than age 40 up to age 90 and older. The analysis included 114,698 patients having knee replacement surgery for the first time.Diabetes, inflammatory arthritis, smoking and drug abuse were all more common in patients under age 40, compared to … [Read more...] about Younger knee replacement patients have more complications

Health A U.S. jury on Tuesday found Bayer AG's glyphosate-based weed killer to be a "substantial factor" in causing a man's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, allowing the trial to proceed into a second phase on liability and damages. 20 Mar 2019 05:20AM (Updated: 20 Mar 2019 05:30AM) Bookmark REUTERS: A U.S. jury on Tuesday found Bayer AG's glyphosate-based weed killer to be a "substantial factor" in causing a man's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, allowing the trial to proceed into a second phase on liability and damages.The jury in San Francisco federal court in a unanimous ruling found Roundup, one of the world's most widely-used weed killers, to be responsible for the cancer of California resident Edwin Hardeman.The case will proceed into a second trial phase before the same jury on Wednesday to determine Bayer's liability and potential damages. During that phase, Hardeman's lawyers can present evidence allegedly showing the company's efforts to influence scientists, regulators and the … [Read more...] about US jury rules against Bayer in Roundup cancer case

Health Canada will create a national drug agency to help cut the cost of prescription medications as part of a plan to broaden the state-funded healthcare program, the finance ministry said in its budget on Tuesday. 20 Mar 2019 04:50AM Bookmark OTTAWA: Canada will create a national drug agency to help cut the cost of prescription medications as part of a plan to broaden the state-funded healthcare program, the finance ministry said in its budget on Tuesday.Unlike other countries with universal healthcare, Canada does not cover prescription drugs, leaving most Canadians to rely on a mixture of public and private insurance plans.Prescription drug spending in Canada jumped to CUS$33.7 billion (US$25.3 billion) in 2018 from CUS$2.6 billion in 1985.A promise to boost drug coverage is set to be a major plank for the ruling Liberals in an election this October.But the agency is not scheduled to start work until the 2022-23 fiscal year after Ottawa has consulted with the 10 … [Read more...] about Canada to create national drug agency to cut cost of medicines

(Reuters Health) - For morbidly obese patients having knee replacement surgery, losing at least 20 pounds beforehand leads to shorter hospital stays and lower odds of being discharged to a facility, a new study has found.Surgeons often require or strongly suggest that morbidly obese patients lose weight before total knee arthroplasty (TKA), or knee replacement. "Many people are told to lose five or 10 pounds before the surgery but we don't actually know how much weight you have to lose for it to lead to a meaningful improvement," Dr. Benjamin Keeney of Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire, told Reuters Health by phone.To investigate, he and his colleagues took a look back at 203 patients who were morbidly obese. This meant either they were 100 pounds over their ideal body weight, or their body mass index (BMI), a ratio of weight to height, was 40 or more, or it was 35 or more and they had obesity-related health conditions like high blood pressure or … [Read more...] about Study finds weight loss target for morbidly obese before knee surgery