Archive for the ‘Public Health Moment’ Category

A new University of Minnesota study has confirmed that neighborhoods with a higher density of alcohol establishments experience more violent crime. But the study also compared neighborhoods with on-premise alcohol sales – such as bars and restaurants – with neighborhoods containing off-site alcohol sales, such as liquor stores.

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Is it healthy for young adults to weigh themselves frequently? That’s what researchers with Project Eat at the University of Minnesota wanted to learn, so they studied more than 2,000 adults with an average age of 25.

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For weeks, scientific debate has focused on the publication of two studies that document the lab creation of H5N1 virus, or bird flu. The debate included varying opinions about the case-fatality rate — in other words, how deadly the virus might be if transferred to the human population.

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In her study, Pinar Karaca-Mandic found that children of parents who pay more out-of-pocket costs use their asthma control medication less often and have more asthma-related hospitalizations.

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A fourth of all reproductive-aged women are at risk of being uninsured or of having gaps in their health insurance coverage. That’s according to research from the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health.

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The economy is recovering, but the percentage of Minnesotans without health insurance remains as high now as it did two years ago at the official end of the great recession. That’s according to findings from the Minnesota Department of Health and the University of Minnesota.

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An increasing number of public health experts are calling for a soda pop tax as a way to combat obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, while reducing health care costs. Roger Feldman, a professor and health policy expert at the University of Minnesota, is a strong advocate for a pop tax.

He said that 34 percent of Americans are overweight and another 34 percent are obese.

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Women with peripheral artery disease, or PAD, are two to three times more likely to have a stroke or heart attack than those without it — yet it’s often unrecognized and untreated, especially in women. That’s according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement.

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In an effort to reduce cancer-related health disparities, the National Cancer Institute is providing a $2.2 million training grant to the University of Minnesota’s Medical School and School of Public Health. The grant will be used to help researchers develop, test, and evaluate intervention strategies related to reducing these disparities.

Jean Forster, a professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota, explains what we already know about these disparities.

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Upon returning home, however, thousands of veterans are finding it difficult to adjust to normal driving behavior. Part of the reason for the erratic driving likely is due to combat training, but it also might be caused by traumatic brain injury. The University of Minnesota is studying this issue.

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