Public Health

Fatherhood can help change a man’s bad habits

After men become fathers for the first time, they show significant decreases in crime, tobacco and alcohol use, according to a new, 19-year study.…    

Researchers discover why measles spreads so quickly

Measles virus is perhaps the most contagious virus in the world, affecting 10 million children worldwide each year and accounting for 120,000 deaths. An…    

Soft drink makers target U.S. youth online: study

U.S. children and teenagers are seeing far more soda advertising than before, with blacks and Hispanics the major targets, as marketers have expanded online,…    

Metal detectors probably safe with pacemakers:study

Airport security screening with hand-held metal detectors is most likely safe for people with devices to help the heart beat regularly, such as pacemakers…    

Preterm birth rate shows three year improvement in most states

Preterm birth rates improved in almost every state between 2006 and 2009, and in several states the change was more than 10 percent, according…    

Insight: Firms to charge smokers, obese more for healthcare

Like a lot of companies, Veridian Credit Union wants its employees to be healthier. In January, the Waterloo, Iowa-company rolled out a wellness program…    

Seven-billionth human marks demographic change: expert

The seven-billionth human is expected to be born on Monday, but an expert who helps do the counting says that event comes as the…    

Researchers identify potential risk factors for severe altitude sickness

Measuring specific, exercise-related responses can help physicians determine who may be more at risk for severe high altitude illness (SHAI), according to a study…    

Doctors Often Overrate How Well They Speak a Second Language

Communicating with patients who do not speak English is a challenge facing all health care providers. New research shows that even those physicians who…    

Study finds no link between elderly patient activity and hospital falls

In 2008, as part of a larger initiative aimed at reducing preventable hospital errors and lowering costs, Medicare stopped reimbursing for the treatment of…    

Poorer countries, those spending less on health care have more strokes, deaths

Poorer countries and those that spend proportionately less money on health care have more stroke and stroke deaths than wealthier nations and those that…    

U.N. wants better life for world of 7 billion

Instead of worrying about sheer numbers when the world’s population hits 7 billion next week, we should think about how to make the planet…    

Walmart trims certain employee health coverage

Wal-Mart Stores Inc will no longer offer health insurance to new part-time employees who work fewer than 24 hours a week and will charge…    

Simple lifestyle changes can add a decade or more healthy years to the average lifespan

Health prevention strategies to help Canadians achieve their optimal health potential could add a decade or more of healthy years to the average lifespan…    

Do hospitals do enough to help smokers quit?

Nearly every smoker hospitalized in the United States is given advice or counseling on how to quit, according to a new study of hospital…    

Family doctors have highest discipline rate

About 62 per cent of Canadian physicians who were disciplined by medical authorities were family doctors, according to the first analysis of its kind…    

Skin color matters when it comes to Canadians’ health: UBC study

A new University of British Columbia study finds that Black Canadians with darker skin are more likely to report poorer health than Black Canadians…    

World TB cases decline for first time ever: WHO

The number of people getting sick with tuberculosis declined last year for the first time, while the death toll reached its lowest level in…    

Steve Jobs died of respiratory arrest, tumor

Apple Inc co-founder Steve Jobs died of respiratory arrest caused by a pancreatic tumor, according to the death certificate.

Jobs died last…    

Limits on supplemental Medicare plans eyed

Medicare supplemental health plans, popular among politically powerful retirees, could come under the budget knife being wielded by the special deficit-reduction panel of Congress,…    

What killed Steve Jobs?

What killed Apple’s visionary founder and CEO Steve Jobs? Neither his company nor his family have disclosed the cause of death, but medical experts…    

Australia seeks world backing on tobacco legal fight

Australia is confident the world’s toughest anti-tobacco laws will soon pass parliament, but the government warned on Thursday that the anti-smoking fight was not…    

Health consumers make deficit fight personal

The numbers are devastating: almost 2,000 poor kids in Texas with cancer, another 18,000 with diabetes and more than 350,000 suffering from chronic lung…    

Listeria outbreak from cantaloupes kills 15, infects 84: CDC

A listeria outbreak caused by tainted cantaloupes has killed 15 people in the United States and infected 84, U.S. health officials said on Friday.…    

Canadian boy who was treated in U.S. dies in Ontario

A 20-month-old Canadian boy with an incurable neurological disorder whose life was extended in the U.S. after a Canadian hospital declined further treatment, has…