In her opening address to the 65th World Health Assembly (WHA), Margaret Chan identified non-communicable diseases as one of the major global health priorities which would cast a long shadow for the foreseeable future. These diseases, which include heart disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases, are being driven by the global spread of unhealthy food, alcohol and tobacco products, changing environments leading to declining physical activity levels, as well as population ageing. The WHA was attended by some 4,000…

WHO urges countries to protect the rights and dignity of people with mental health conditions as it launches a new tool for countries to assess and eventually stop, these violations. The WHO QualityRights Tool Kit aims to ensure that quality of care and human rights standards are put in place in mental health and social care facilities around the world. “Poor quality services and human rights violations in mental health and social care facilities are still an everyday occurrence in…

Improvements in child health are a major focus of the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Targets set for 2015 are rapidly approaching, and, much remains to be done to achieve reductions in child mortality. This week’s Child Survival Call to Action in Washington, DC (June 14-15) will address progress achieved and challenges ahead (www.apromiserenewed.org). International NGOs, representatives of US Government global health programs, and ministers of health from around the world will gather to discuss strategies to advance child survival…

It has been known for some time that people with diabetes have a much higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s, but not why this is so. Now US researchers writing in Genetics say a study of worms has indicated a known Alzheimer’s gene also plays a role in the way insulin is processed. Dementia experts said more work in humans was now needed. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, which affects 820,000 people in the UK. There are medications…

AZ had the biggest % decrease in teen smoking rates in the country according to the new CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey this week. Smoking rates among AZ teens dropped 12% in the last couple of years- while rates generally stayed flat across the country. That’s 11,000 fewer teen tobacco users between 2009 and 2011. About half of the teenagers in AZ that smoke tried to quit in the last year too.   We attribute our success to an array…

AUSTIN, Texas — Rather than gaining “liquid courage” to let loose with friends, teenage drinkers are more likely to feel like social outcasts, according to a new sociology study from The University of Texas at Austin.   The study, published in the June online issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, shows alcohol consumption leads to increased social stress and poor grades, especially among students in schools with tightly connected friendship cliques and low levels of alcohol abuse….

Many doctors-in-training with shaky Spanish skills are willing to discuss medical care with their patients in Spanish — but that may change after they are tested for fluency, a new study suggests. Researchers surveyed 76 pediatric residents and found 64 percent were willing to use Spanish with their patients. That number fell to 51 percent after they were evaluated on their Spanish skills — a difference due to fewer non-proficient speakers using the language after testing. Previous studies have shown…

The National Hispanic Medical Association & the Latino Commission on AIDS announced today in New York City their agreement to establish a groundbreaking partnership. Both organizations will develop a joint effort to complement their strengths and to continue aiming to reach healthy communities in the United States & Territories. “The strategic partnership under this collaboration will develop joint efforts throughout the country in response to the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and health disparities in our Hispanic communities” stated Dr….

Before 2010, nearly half of Americans did not recei ve routine clinical preventive services that are known to save lives, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. Their analysis, detailed in a supplement to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, examined how many people with vascular heart disease were prescribed aspirin or antiplatelet therapy to prevent heart disease (just 46%) and how many adults with hypertension had their blood pressure under control (just 43%). Only…

In 2009, the H1N1 virus struck hard, killing millions of people worldwide.   The days of wearing surgical masks at the airport during the swine flu outbreak may be long gone, but the probability of a severe pandemic striking again is still high.   And when it does, Texas will be ready, thanks to developments made by UT researchers.   Lauren Ancel Meyers, a UT professor of integrative biology and director of the Division of Statistics Scientific Computation, and her…