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Two Of Five Drivers Killed In Car Crashes Were Stoned, Study Says

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More than 2 in 5 drivers were driving while stoned when they died in car wrecks in a major Ohio county, a new study says. Coroner records show that nearly 42% of drivers who died in motor vehicle collisions during a six-year period tested positive for THC, researchers are to report Tuesday at a meeting of the American College of Surgeons in Chicago. The deceased drivers had an average THC level of 30.7 ng/mL — far above the 2 ng/mL to 5 ng/mL legal limit set by other states, researchers said. THC is the chemical in weed that produces intoxication. “I was surprised to see that level,” lead researcher Dr. Akpofure Ekeh, a professor of surgery at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, said in a news release. “An average level of 30.7 ng/mL generally means those people must have consumed marijuana at some time close to driving,” Ekeh said. “This isn’t about residual use; it’s about recent consumption.” For the study, researchers analyzed death records from Montgomery County, Ohio, where Dayton is located. Medical cannabis was approved in Ohio in 2016, and recreational use in 2023. The team focused on 246 drivers between January 2019 and September 2024 who were tested for THC following their fatal crash. Of those drivers, 103 tested positive for THC. These blood tests are typically drawn within hours of…  read on >  read on >

Free School Meals Linked To Less High Blood Pressure Among Children

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Universal free meal programs appear to improve kids’ heart health, a new study says. The proportion of students with high blood pressure fell by nearly 11% over five years among schools that signed up for free meal programs, researchers recently reported in JAMA Network Open. The better nutrition kids get from these free meals at school likely helped drive this improvement, along with healthy eating’s subsequent effects on children’s body weight, researchers said. “Adoption of free meals is associated with decreases in average body mass index [BMI] scores and childhood obesity prevalence, which are closely linked to risk of high blood pressure,” said senior researcher Jessica Jones-Smith, a professor of health, society and behavior at the University of California Irvine’s Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health. “So in addition to directly affecting blood pressure through provision of healthier meals, a second pathway by which providing universal free meals might impact blood pressure is through their impact on lowering risk for high BMI,” she said in a news release. BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight. Unfortunately, cuts to food assistance programs are threatening this access to free school meals, researchers noted. “We’re in a contentious time for public health, but it seems like there’s bipartisan support for healthy school meals,” said lead investigator Anna Localio, a postdoctoral…  read on >  read on >

Free School Meals Linked To Less High Blood Pressure Among Children

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Universal free meal programs appear to improve kids’ heart health, a new study says. The proportion of students with high blood pressure fell by nearly 11% over five years among schools that signed up for free meal programs, researchers recently reported in JAMA Network Open. The better nutrition kids get from these free meals at school likely helped drive this improvement, along with healthy eating’s subsequent effects on children’s body weight, researchers said. “Adoption of free meals is associated with decreases in average body mass index [BMI] scores and childhood obesity prevalence, which are closely linked to risk of high blood pressure,” said senior researcher Jessica Jones-Smith, a professor of health, society and behavior at the University of California Irvine’s Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health. “So in addition to directly affecting blood pressure through provision of healthier meals, a second pathway by which providing universal free meals might impact blood pressure is through their impact on lowering risk for high BMI,” she said in a news release. BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight. Unfortunately, cuts to food assistance programs are threatening this access to free school meals, researchers noted. “We’re in a contentious time for public health, but it seems like there’s bipartisan support for healthy school meals,” said lead investigator Anna Localio, a postdoctoral…  read on >  read on >

Immigrants’ Heart Health Advantage Fades While Living In The U.S., Study Says

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Immigrants come to the United States hale and healthy, but that doesn’t last long, a new study says. Immigrants’ heart disease risk increases the longer they live in the U.S., according to research scheduled for presentation today at an American College of Cardiology meeting in Dubai. Living in America takes its toll on immigrants’ blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other risk factors for heart disease, researchers found. “We see that as immigrants are exposed to U.S. dietary and lifestyle habits for prolonged periods of time, it has a negative effect on their heart health,” researcher Krishna Moparthi, a medical student at the John F. Kennedy University School of Medicine in Curaçao, said in a news release. For the new study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 16,000 adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2011 and 2016. Participants were sorted by whether they were born in the U.S. or abroad, and then, by how long they’d lived here — more or less than 15 years. In all, 86% of U.S.-born adults versus 80% of foreign-born adults had at least one risk factor for heart disease, the study found. Compared to U.S.-born adults, immigrants living in America for less than 15 years had lower rates of high blood pressure (38% versus 49%); high cholesterol (28% versus 30%); and smoking (13% versus 20%).…  read on >  read on >

Immigrants’ Heart Health Advantage Fades While Living In The U.S., Study Says

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Immigrants come to the United States hale and healthy, but that doesn’t last long, a new study says. Immigrants’ heart disease risk increases the longer they live in the U.S., according to research scheduled for presentation today at an American College of Cardiology meeting in Dubai. Living in America takes its toll on immigrants’ blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other risk factors for heart disease, researchers found. “We see that as immigrants are exposed to U.S. dietary and lifestyle habits for prolonged periods of time, it has a negative effect on their heart health,” researcher Krishna Moparthi, a medical student at the John F. Kennedy University School of Medicine in Curaçao, said in a news release. For the new study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 16,000 adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2011 and 2016. Participants were sorted by whether they were born in the U.S. or abroad, and then, by how long they’d lived here — more or less than 15 years. In all, 86% of U.S.-born adults versus 80% of foreign-born adults had at least one risk factor for heart disease, the study found. Compared to U.S.-born adults, immigrants living in America for less than 15 years had lower rates of high blood pressure (38% versus 49%); high cholesterol (28% versus 30%); and smoking (13% versus 20%).…  read on >  read on >

New Scorecard Reveals Which States Prepared for Climate Health Threats

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A new Commonwealth Fund report offers the first state-by-state ranking of how vulnerable individual health and health care systems are to climate risks.  The report analyzed all 50 states and Washington, D.C., looking at factors like extreme heat, flooding and air quality, as well as policies to combat these threats. Vermont was ranked the best state for its climate preparedness and low health risk, while West Virginia ranked last. States in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest generally scored well, while several states in the South and Southwest ranked among the worst. Top 10 States Vermont New York Washington New Jersey Maine Idaho Maryland Massachusetts Pennsylvania Oregon Bottom 10 States West Virginia Kentucky Louisiana Florida Mississippi Missouri Arizona Arkansas Hawaii New Mexico The report found a clear correlation. “Our scorecard shows that states with strong clean energy and resilience policies are doing a better job protecting health and health care infrastructure, while other states leave patients exposed during potential crises,” said study author Matthew Eckelman, an associate professor at Northeastern University in Boston. Some areas face unique dangers.  Southwestern states like Arizona and New Mexico have the greatest risk from extreme heat, while health infrastructure in low-lying coastal states like Florida and Louisiana has a high flood risk.  Florida has the nation’s highest percentage of hospital beds — nearly 15% — located in high-hazard flood zones,…  read on >  read on >

Knee Arthritis Pain? Radiation Might Help, Study Says

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People with aching knees might receive relief from a course of low-dose radiation therapy, a new study suggests. People with mild to moderate wear-and-tear knee arthritis felt less pain and had better mobility after radiation treatment, researchers reported Sunday at a meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology in San Francisco. “People with painful knee osteoarthritis often face a difficult choice between the risks of side effects from pain medications and the risks of joint replacement surgery,” said principal investigator Dr. Byoung Hyuck Kim, an assistant professor of radiation oncology at Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea. “There’s a clinical need for moderate interventions between weak pain medications and aggressive surgery, and we think radiation may be a suitable option for those patients especially when drugs and injections are poorly tolerated,” he added in a news release. Knee osteoarthritis affects more than 32 million U.S. adults, researchers noted. It occurs when the cartilage that provides cushioning in the joint wears down over time, eventually allowing the ends of bones to rub against each other. Low-dose radiation is regularly used for joint pain in European countries like Germany and Spain, but there haven’t been enough high-quality trials to prove the approach’s effectiveness, researchers said. For the new study, researchers recruited 114 patients with mild to moderate knee arthritis at three academic hospitals…  read on >  read on >

Knee Arthritis Pain? Radiation Might Help, Study Says

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People with aching knees might receive relief from a course of low-dose radiation therapy, a new study suggests. People with mild to moderate wear-and-tear knee arthritis felt less pain and had better mobility after radiation treatment, researchers reported Sunday at a meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology in San Francisco. “People with painful knee osteoarthritis often face a difficult choice between the risks of side effects from pain medications and the risks of joint replacement surgery,” said principal investigator Dr. Byoung Hyuck Kim, an assistant professor of radiation oncology at Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea. “There’s a clinical need for moderate interventions between weak pain medications and aggressive surgery, and we think radiation may be a suitable option for those patients especially when drugs and injections are poorly tolerated,” he added in a news release. Knee osteoarthritis affects more than 32 million U.S. adults, researchers noted. It occurs when the cartilage that provides cushioning in the joint wears down over time, eventually allowing the ends of bones to rub against each other. Low-dose radiation is regularly used for joint pain in European countries like Germany and Spain, but there haven’t been enough high-quality trials to prove the approach’s effectiveness, researchers said. For the new study, researchers recruited 114 patients with mild to moderate knee arthritis at three academic hospitals…  read on >  read on >