Ninety-nine percent of doctors believe that part of their job is to encourage their patients to live a healthier lifestyle, but very few actually do it

Israeli doctors believe that part of their job is to encourage their patients towards a healthier lifestyle, better nutrition, exercise and avoiding smoking, but new research conducted by the School of Public Health at the University of Haifa found large gaps between this idea and its actual implementation. While 99% of the doctors surveyed said that they believe that educating their patients toward a healthier lifestyle is part of their job, 80% said they don't do it due to lack of time. Half of the doctors said that they don't get paid to educate their patients and 40% found it difficult to integrate lifestyle counseling into their clinical practice. more  

Call for further study on meningococcal vaccine

Epidemiologist Dr Mahomed Patel said that an analysis of historical patterns of meningococcal incidence should also be examined to better understand, and further prevent, the bacterial infection. more

Plastics in common household items may cause fertility defects

The contaminant bisphenol-A (BPA)—widely used to make many plastics found in food storage containers and dental products—can have long-term effects in female development, according to a recent study by Yale School of Medicine researchers. more  

Enzyme critical for early growth of abdominal aortic aneurysms

Surgery is the only treatment for an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a weak spot in the body's main artery that dilates dangerously over time. If the vessel ruptures suddenly before surgery to repair it, a quick death is virtually certain. Now, scientists say they have identified a key enzyme that triggers chronic inflammation in the aorta and promotes the growth of aneurysms. Their finding raises hopes for developing a drug that could prevent small aneurysms from enlarging to the point where surgery is necessary. more

Nagging spouse? You may have an excuse for not responding  

New research findings now appearing online in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology began with a professor's desire to understand why her husband often seemed to ignore her requests for help around the house. more

Absence of health insurance coverage costs $1.47B in Maryland  

Expenditures for the uninsured in Maryland totaled $1.47 billion in FY2002, according to an analysis conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The sum equates to $2,371 per individual without health insurance—paid for by state and federal funds, private insurance companies, physicians, charities and the uninsured themselves. The results of the study are published in the February 2007 edition of the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. more

A unique twin study on the increased cardiometabolic risk in obesity

Study finds that obesity, already in its early stages and independent of genetic influences, is associated with deleterious alterations in the lipid metabolism known to facilitate atherogenesis, inflammation and insulin resistance. more

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