Public Health news and information

Celebrities drive average Americans to want what they have. That powerful impulse can even influence grave healthcare decisions and could prove complicated for women who fear they're at high risk for breast cancer after Angelina Jolie's disclosure that she underwent a preventive double...
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While marijuana may be more commonly associated with inducing a case of the munchies, now comes news from the American Journal of Medicine that researchers have found a link between pot-smoking and a smaller waist size.
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Up to 1 in 5 children living in the U.S. have mental disorders, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about $247 billion is spent on children's mental health each year.
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Maintaining moderation in sodium consumption is key, according to a new Institute of Medicine report that supported past research and reiterated that high salt intake could cause heart disease, but which also warned that reducing salt intake below recommended dietary guidelines could be harmful.
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An eight-year initiative aimed at improving healthcare quality and lowering costs has entered its final phase, and its director says the project's lessons could serve as best practices for healthcare providers across the nation.
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Faced with declines in population and inpatient stays, Rhode Island can expect to see a costly surplus of hospital beds—the equivalent of a full hospital—in four years, according to a state health care council.
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A fundraising push by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is drawing criticism from a key Senate Republican who questions whether she has a conflict of interest.
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Just ahead of Mother's Day, President Barack Obama on Friday spoke from the White House about the ways his signature healthcare law will help millions of American women and their families.
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In terms of revenue and public health needs, annual youth physicals required for sports participation or summer camp attendance may not appear large on the healthcare system's big-picture radar, but they appear to be a growing sore point between primary-care physicians and retailers operating nurse...
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The spreading obesity epidemic, greater intensity of medical care and greater prevalence of chronic disease contributed the most to health spending growth during the better part of the last quarter century, according to new research released this week.
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