Many sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in the United States, and a nationwide poll indicates that ignorance about how they’re transmitted could be fueling their spread. About a third of Americans (34%) falsely believe sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can only be transmitted through sexual intercourse, poll results show. In fact, they can also be transmitted by kissing, sharing needles and during childbirth. It also found that 1 in 5 Americans (20%) think they only need to be tested for STIs if they are experiencing symptoms. “We’re likely still experiencing some of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic when STI prevention services were completely shut down,” researcher Dr. Jose Bazan, a professor of clinical internal medicine with Ohio State University’s Division of Infectious Diseases, said in a news release. Syphilis cases have jumped 80% over a five-year period, researchers said in background notes. Worse, cases of congenital syphilis – in which women pass the bacteria to their babies during pregnancy – increased 180% between 2018 and 2022, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During the pandemic, “a lot of STIs were undiagnosed and under-reported then, allowing these infections to spread within the population,” Bazan said. “It’s important that pregnant individuals get screened for syphilis as this is a very preventable infection that can easily be treated with antibiotics. Unfortunately,…  read on >  read on >

A full third of American adults take multivitamins, despite prior studies suggesting they do little to boost health. Now, a study involving almost 400,000 people finds zero benefit from multivitamin use in helping folks live longer. Among people “without a history of major chronic diseases, we did not find evidence to support improved longevity among healthy adults who regularly take multivitamins,” concluded a team led by Erikka Loftfield. She’s with the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI). Her team published its findings June 26 in the journal JAMA Network Open. In the study, Loftfield’s group analyzed data from three prospective studies (meaning people were followed over time) with an average 27 years of follow-up. Over 390,000 healthy adults were enrolled in the studies, and they averaged about 61 years of age upon study entry. Researchers gathered data on the participants’ multivitamin use. Over the nearly three decades of follow-up, almost 165,000 of the participants died. About 50,000 deaths were attributed to cancer, about 35,000 deaths were caused by heart disease and 9,275 deaths were linked to strokes. However, Loftfield’s group detected no association between multivitamin use and a person’s odds of dying within the study period. In fact, “we found that daily multivitamin use vs nonuse was associated with 4% higher mortality [death] risk,” the researchers noted. People’s…  read on >  read on >

Gun violence in the United States has become a national public health crisis, the U.S. Surgeon General declared Tuesday. “Today, for the first time in the history of our office, I am issuing a Surgeon General’s Advisory on firearm violence. It outlines the urgent threat firearm violence poses to the health and well-being of our country,” Dr. Vivek Murthy said in a news release announcing the new health advisory. “As a doctor, I’ve seen the consequences of firearm violence up close,” he added. “These are moms and dads, sons and daughters, all of whom were robbed of their physical and mental health by senseless acts of violence.” “Unfortunately, the problem has continued to grow. Fifty-four percent of adults in America report that they or family member have experienced a firearm-related incident, whether they’ve been personally threatened with or injured by a firearm, lost a family member, witnessed a shooting or shot a firearm in self-defense.” Some Americans are harmed more than others, Murthy noted. “Black individuals endure the highest rates of firearm homicides, while suicide rates are highest among veterans, older white individuals and younger American Indian or Alaska Native people,” he said. “What is especially devastating is how this has affected our children. Firearm violence has become the number one cause of death among children and adolescents, more than car accidents or drug overdoses.”…  read on >  read on >

Weight-loss drugs like Wegovy can improve symptoms in heart failure patients, a new clinical trial shows. Both men and women showed improved heart function after a year on semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, researchers report. Women tended to lose more weight than men, on average about 9.6% of their body weight compared with 7.2% in men. However, both genders experienced similar improvements regarding their heart health, researchers found. This could mean the drug might have heart benefits above and beyond helping people lose weight. The results shed light on “the consistent benefits of semaglutide for women and men,” said senior researcher Dr. Mikhail Kosiborod, a cardiologist at Saint Luke’s Mid-America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo. For the clinical trial, researchers randomly assigned 1,145 people with heart failure to take either semaglutide or a placebo for a year. Heart failure occurs when the heart starts to pump less efficiently, slowing the delivery of oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. This results in fatigue and shortness of breath, making everyday activities like walking or carrying groceries very difficult for some, according to the American Heart Association. But people on semaglutide experienced improvement in both their heart failure symptoms and the physical limitations the condition placed upon them, trial results show. They also had lower blood pressure and a smaller waist circumference after a year…  read on >  read on >