Health and wellness - Articles - Page 2

Study IDs states with highest rates of melanoma due to UV radiation

Several landlocked states among those with highest rates

February 19, 2020

A new study finds a wide state-by-state variation in rates of melanoma caused by ultraviolet (UV) exposure with highest rates in several states on the East and West Coast including Hawaii, but also a few landlocked states, including Utah, Vermont, and Minnesota. The report finds state-level incidence rates for UV-attributable melanoma ranged from 15 cases per 100,000 in Alaska to 65 cases per 100,000 in Hawaii.

Sitting more is associated with higher heart disease risk in older women

Journal of the American Heart Association Report

February 17, 2020

Longer sitting times were associated with higher levels of heart disease risk among overweight and obese post-menopausal women overall, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the open access journal of the American Heart Association.

CDC confirms 14th case of 2019 novel coronavirus in U.S.

"There are likely to be additional cases in the coming days"

February 13, 2020

The CDC yesterday confirmed another infection with 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States in California. The patient is among a group of people under a federal quarantine order because of their recent return to the U.S. on a State Department-chartered flight that arrived on February 7, 2020. All people who have been in Hubei Province in the past 14 days are considered at high risk of having been exposed to COVID-19 and subject to a temporary 14-day quarantine.

A NIOSH Science Blog post

The burden of work-related asthma

Mary Jo Reilly MS

February 11, 2020

Over 300 workplace substances have been identified to cause new-onset asthma and the list continues to grow 1, 2. Other substances can aggravate pre-existing asthma, causing increased illness and medication requirements. Work-related asthma (WRA) comprises both new-onset and work-aggravated asthma3. An estimated 15-55% of all adult asthma is related to work4-7.

Responding to the 2019 novel coronavirus: Guidance for U.S. employers

Morgan Lewis

February 11, 2020

The outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has created a number of questions and compliance challenges for employers in the United States as well as across the globe. This is a fluid and rapidly changing situation. Employers must carefully balance concerns related to employee and public safety with protecting employees from unnecessary medical inquiries, harassment, and discrimination – all while complying with immigration, leave, and medical privacy laws.

AHA: President’s proposal to eliminate FDA tobacco oversight risks public health

Proposed budget cuts are "irresponsible"

February 11, 2020

“We strongly oppose the administration’s proposal to create a separate government agency to oversee tobacco products. This unfortunately comes from an administration that has repeatedly placed the needs of the tobacco industry on equal footing with public health.

Mesothelioma linked to asbestos in talcum powder

February 10, 2020

Thirty-three cases of the asbestos-related lung cancer mesothelioma draw attention to talcum powder as a non-occupational source of exposure to asbestos, according to a study in the January Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. "Our findings strongly suggest that asbestos exposure through asbestos-contaminated cosmetic talc explains cases once deemed idiopathic or 'spontaneous,'" according to the report.

CDC warns of Legionella risk from hot tubs

February 7, 2020

With the spring slate of home and garden shows not too far ahead, the CDC has issued a health alert about hot tubs – specifically those used in displays at such temporary events. According to the CDC, the hot tubs they may pose a risk for Legionnaires’ disease, a type of pneumonia caused by inhaling mist containing Legionella bacteria.

CDC expects more coronavirus cases in U.S.

Person-to-person spread is occurring

February 4, 2020

Only four of the five latest confirmed 2019 novel coronavirus infections in the U.S. are people with a travel history to Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, according to the CDC’s National Center for Respiratory Diseases. Its director, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, said at a press briefing yesterday that the fifth patient – who is in California - is a close household contact of another patient in California.

Researchers: Take-home workplace contaminants are a public health hazard

February 3, 2020

Workplace toxins that are inadvertently tracked by employees into their homes serve “as an intriguing example of how occupational conditions can have broader public health consequences,” according to scientists who’ve studied the problem. In Eliminating Take-Home Exposures: Recognizing the Role of Occupational Health and Safety in Broader Community Health, researchers reframe the problem as one arising from unsanitary worker behavior – the current thinking – to a larger issue that needs to be viewed through an ecosocial lens in order to institute effective prevention.